Or Autumn, depending on where you're from. The Harvest Moon has just passed. The hay is being rolled in. The horses near our village are enjoying the weather- if their romping in the fields is anything to judge by.

This would be a great time for a horseback ride... I'll have to mention that to the mister.

I love fall. Do you? The crispy weather, the leaves changing colors and crunching under your feet. The chilly breezes resulting in pink cheeks. The shoes. The boots. The jackets. The scarves.

I currently have my eye on a G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S emerald green vest that I just think I have to have. The mister disagrees.

The mums decorating my patio. The sunflowers in my window. Pumpkins and gourds and squash everywhere.

So while everyone is getting excited about pumpkin everything- pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin soup- I'm kind of lamenting the end of summer. Yes, of course I'm excited about fall- this is probably my second favorite time of year and my absolute favorite time to buy clothes, but I'm going to miss fruit. Perhaps I should get excited about apple everything- apple cider, apple crisp, apple pie... what else can I work apples into?

Specifically, I'm going to miss strawberries. I paid over $10 last week for two small pints of fresh strawberries because I realized it was likely the last time I'd be able to get them for a while. I do love strawberries. And watermelon- another summer time goodie. (I was really spoiled in Florida where we could have those things pretty much any time we wanted.)

The problem with buying so many strawberries is that we can't eat them all before they go bad, so I decided to try making a Strawberry Vinaigrette. I've been making our own salad dressings for a while now and I rather enjoy the process and I feel like they must be healthier for us. They are fresher, at least.

And, yes, I store my dressings in used Snapple bottles or sometimes used Coconut Oil jars. I find that either one is the perfect size and I don't have to buy anything new. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, man!


Overall, the process is pretty simple:

1. Set up the blender
2. Add Strawberries, chopped up
3. Add EVOO, Apple Cider Vinegar, a splash of Lemon Juice, and honey if you want
4. Add herbs, salt, and pepper
5. Blend to your hearts content
6. Taste, adjust, blend
7. Repeat #6 as necessary

I worked mostly from the recipe from The Gracious Pantry, but I tweaked it a little, adding some tarragon and a dash of fennel seeds. I used a bit more ACV, too, because I like the vinegary bite it adds. And I didn't measure anything as I was going along. I think next time I'm going to try it with balsamic vinegar. I love drizzling it over fresh strawberries and eating them that way - so decadent! - so I'm pretty excited about that.

So I guess my pink days are over for a while and now I'm moving on to orange. I'd like to try a pumpkin soup this year and a butternut squash soup. Mmmm.... soup....

What are your favorite parts of fall? Is it the clothes? The Christmas Shopping? The fact that the kids are back in school? Or do you spend your days savoring the last little bits of sunshine before winter sets in? (Around here winter can be rather gloomy.) And if you have any yummy dressing recipes you like, please share away! I love trying new things!

Amazon  | Barnes & Noble

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble

And a Cemetery Shoot Off!

.... Just 'cause we're silly like that.

While we were in Prague recently, Mike and I came across a beautiful cemetery. I know, I know. Cemeteries are creepy, right? Well, maybe for some, but they've never creeped me out (much) and some of them are really beautiful- from the ornate all the way down to the super simple country burial grounds.

I think they are interesting. I like poking about and being nosey.

So we found this cemetery, but no dogs were allowed inside. Mike really wanted to go in so I handed him the camera and told him to take some shots to show me what was on the other side of those big stone walls and I'd find a shady spot to chill out with Miss Lola.

I don't know how long he was in there, but when he came back he quickly handed me back the camera and took the dog exclaiming over how I just had to go inside- it was that beautiful. We decided I'd take some pictures, too, and we'd compare later.

It's kind of cool to see what he sees without me around, and vice versa. I thought it would be fun to show you a few of my favorites, too.

Up first, Mike's pictures:

I love how ethereal she looks with the sun flare.

I love this one! It's so creepy to me! Hello, Miss Zombie lady....

I really love this one, too, and don't remember seeing this anywhere. I missed out.

Likely my favorite of the bunch.

It's an interesting look into what makes my husband stop and observe. He took a lot of pictures of the church spires from all angles, but I only shared one. Partly because it was the best of the lot and partly because I took one almost just like it.

And what I saw:

I love all of the lines in this one.

Almost identical to the one Mike took.

They say patience is a virtue... it's not a virtue I possess. I wish I had waited for that lady to move out of my shot.

Another one almost just like Mike's. I like how his has more green surrounding it and how he got the wall in the background.

I think this might be my favorite that I took.

Yeah, pretty much the same picture he took.

And another almost identical shot.

So Mike likes angels a lot... I have a soft spot for crosses and flowers. We're both drawn to drama and strong architecture. Or that's my spin on it at least. I'll have to ask him what he thinks later.

Wanna see what Lola was up to while we were playing?

Just being her normal dare-devil self:

Chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool....

Ok, that picture was actually taken a few minutes before either of us went into the cemetery but it's pretty much what she did all afternoon.

That's her M.O.: Find somewhere cool to sit, look cute, smile at people and make new friends. Seriously, we can't take her anywhere without random strangers stopping us to ask if they can get a picture with her. We should start charging a fee... I mean, we haven't saved a dime for her college education. It's a good thing she's pretty enough to get by on just her looks.