You guys, remember my friend Sara’s wedding in Santa Barbara that we went to in the summer? It’s been featured on the wedding blog Style Me Pretty! All the beautiful details that Sara planned for came together with help from their wedding planner Joie de Vivre. And all these lovely photos by Ian Grant make my heart sing. That cake! I still dream about how pretty it was.

I know for a fact that Sara put a lot into making her big day a wonderful experience for us, too, down to the votive candleholder favors made by her dad. Yes, as in MADE, because he’s an actual potter in Hawaii, with a kiln and all. He even made me the cake stand I used in this post, and I only use it for very special occasions.

And, one last story. That beautiful cake in the first photo? Well, that sugar peony on the second tier had had ENOUGH of being ignored off to the side and decided to fall. I was actually walking toward it to take a closer look when it slid down the side of the cake. HORRORS! There was chocolate cake under the frosting, so you could see brown cake through a small gash that the fallen flower had made. I grabbed the closest butter knife and fixed it ever so gingerly, repositioning the flower and working the buttercream in strokes as close to how the cake was originally decorated. I have to say, I didn’t do a bad job retouching! Sara sent me this photo today of me working the buttercream, and it made me laugh. The camera caught my “Gently…gentlyyyyyy…” face.

Congratulations again, Sara! For the beautiful wedding that we’re now re-living through these lovely photos, and for the kick-a** mention on SMP.

Absolutely loving these versions of the vintage British Keep Calm poster. Someday, I will have one of these hanging from my craft room (or kitchen!).

I met a lotta leaves on my vacation.

Yellow leaves…

and red ones…

…wet ones…

…frozen ones!

Look, even ones in applique!

Just leaves, beautiful, pretty aspen leaves everywhere.

We did something I’ve always wanted to do: go leaf-peeping in the fall. And who would think this was right here in California, in the gorgeous Eastern Sierras? I felt like we were out East! Everything was just bathed in color.

I even spied a fabric/yarn shop along Highway 395! The shop winked at me from the side of the road as we drove past. E. laughed at how I spied it even if it was in a nondescript area. When I told the lady at the counter about almost whizzing by the place, she said, “You must have had your radar on!”

So, yes, I’m back now and can’t wait to use all those amazing colors, shapes and patterns  in my crafting. I took pictures of EVERYTHING—tree barks, leaf veins, crazy closeups of pinecones—there’s just so much in nature that can inspire creativity. Even the awesome cloudshapes in this video that E. took are now part of my collection. He took this as a timelapse with his iPhone on a tripod, while we were parked on the side of the road having lunch in the car.

It’s been hectic being back at work after all that time off, but you can’t have everything! At the very least, in my memories, I will always have those beautiful, pretty leaves.

Hello. I know I just got back to blogging (kind of), but you’re going to be hearing some more cricket chirping around here…I’m going on vacation! I thought I would just wait till I get back to post anything, but the one person who reads me (hi, Jen) and insisted I put up some sort of vacation message. We roll out bright and early tomorrow to fresh air and fall colors. And yes, I brought along a cookbook to read! See you on the other side!

Hello!

I am back. I took a blog break, and I kind of think that was a birthday gift in itself—being able to decide to lay off the online writing for a bit. It was good to enjoy my birthday with friends and family, catch up on crafts and spend time with people I love without being preoccupied about the next blog post.

During the short hiatus, I got to do something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time—go apple picking! Fall signals the start of apple season, and E.’s parents took me to see the orchards in Oak Glen, Calif., as soon as they opened to the public. I had so much fun!

We pressed our own cider from apples (and some yummy pears mixed in!)…

…made friends with a pig named Blossom…

…picked some Fuji and Gravenstein apples right off the tree…

…tried to ignore the slabs of fudge in a local candy store…

…tried even harder to ignore the mouthwatering baked treats from a bakery called Apple Annie’s…

…and finally caved by taking with one of these “Five-Pound Apple Pies” home.

All in all, it was a good birthday blog break. I’m looking forward to all the crafting and cooking in the months ahead as my favorite time of year begins. A curly  ”Hello, again!” to you and a warm “Welcome, back!” to me.

* If you’re local to Los Angles, Oak Glen is an awesome place to visit with kids and the young at heart. Many things to see, do and eat! For more information on all things apple, go HERE.

Something sweet from E.’s mom. A yummy tote bag and wallet from Fluff, which she found in one of her shopping expeditions in downtown L.A. All their stuff is so cute, SEE?

Discovered that there’s a Le Creuset shop really close to us in the Citadel outlets. A Le Creuset OUTLET. Holy mother of pots. I had to contain myself because I didn’t want to embarrass E.

Found: Wendy Mullin’s Sew U book for working with knit fabrics for a song in Barnes & Noble. Me: bargain-happy.

How your weekend was lovely!

Whoa! Aaaahhhh! Whaaaatttt?!? No!!! Yesssss!!!!

So yeah, those were all the things that went through my head when my friend S. handed this box to me this morning. She’s just gotten back from Paris, and with her thoughtfulness brought me a box of the ultimate French treat. I was speechless. Especially because she put the box in my hands with the words, “These came from the bakery that made the pastries for that film Marie Antoinette.” *gasp!*

I took these photos in my office with my phone. I know posting all of them is a bit excessive, but I kind of felt like those geeks, you know? Those Apple fanpeople who love their Macs so much they post “unboxing” pictures? This is me being a food geek unboxing MY macs! (Heehee.)

Ladurée was established in 1862. It was the Parisian institution that brought the “salon de thé,” or tea salons, to life. These were places where women could gather freely as they grew more confident in roles in society.

I shared these morsels with friends, though I have to admit I ate three all by myself! I had a coconut one, a strawberry one and a vanilla one to cap off my trio of treats. Not all one after the other, though! I stretched those tastings over several hours, their intense sweetness lingering on my tongue long after the last delicious bite.

S. said the line at the Ladurée shop on Champs-Elysées was out the door, and the pastry chefs had to keep bringing in trays and trays of macarons to keep up with the demand. I want to be in that line someday!

And apparently, a Ladurée shop is where Carrie Bradshaw spent some time during her stay in the City of Lights during the last few episodes of SATC.

Aside from these legendary little cookies, they also make the prettiest pastries! *sigh.*

And they come in the loveliest boxes.

Someday, SOMEDAY, I will eat my way through Paris and have dessert at Ladurée. In the meantime, I will keep this box forever. I even asked for the crumpled-up shopping bag from S. Haha. Such a dork, I know.

Délicieux! May you dream in macaron sweetness tonight!