Garden Tour

Hi friends!

We’re on baby count down, only 6 days left until my due date. I wonder if he’ll make an appearance this week! In other news Andrew and I went on a garden tour a few days ago. And to think we did all this walking and no baby, some wives tale that is.

Maple Rock Gardens is a beautiful 30 acre ranch located in Northern California. The homeowners have spent many years landscaping and tending to their lovely garden. Once a year they open their home to the public to view their oasis in the foothills.

I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

Taste of Fall

Good morning! How was your weekend? Ours was perfect, we had our first taste of fall. It rained early morning, just enough to dampen the patio. I love this time of year!

We spent the lovely afternoon in the Apple Hill area.

I even picked up some dried corn stalks, I can’t wait to decorate with these!

A doe was spotted in the apple orchard.

The rest of the day was spent indulging by eating caramel apples and homemade truffles.

A Day Around the Lake

Living in Northern California definitely has its perks! Beautiful Lake Tahoe is less than 1 hour away from my house, so Andrew and I travel there at least once a week or more.

Its something about the atmosphere there, everyone is so happy…maybe because everyone is on vacation. During the winter months streets are lined with snowboarders and skiers getting of the mountain,  and during the summer the beaches are packed!

 Zephyr Cove, NV

M.S. Dixie II

Highways and roads hug the shores around the entire lake, during the winter majority of the west slope is closed due to the snow. Causing people to drive through the Nevada side if you want to get to North Shore or vise versa.

So what some people would say is a pain, and completely out of their way…we enjoy driving the extra hour to North shore. Although we tacked on an extra 30 minutes by taking the wrong route.

If your trying to get from South Shore to North and your traveling through Nevada, stay away from the Highway 50 turn off or as the locals call it, Spooner Pass. Spooner pass is a 15 minute down hill grade with no turn offs or turnarounds. So your pretty much stuck until you hit Carson City, NV (beginning of the desert).

Lets just say we’ve learned our lesson, and we promise to visit North shore more often.

Once we arrived, we played in the fresh snow!

We ended our day around the lake with some hot soup from the Evergreen Restaurant in Tahoe City.

Colors of Autumn

…Darn, I’m caught! So I decided to put off some projects for a beautiful (cold) day in the Sierra Mountains. With a mug of hot coffee in hand and extra warm socks on my feet Mr. SK and I hit the road.

The Sierra Mountains this time of year are gorgeous, with the trees turning red, orange and gold...the pictures below don’t even need an explanation.


Bridal Veil. A small waterfall off highway 50 near Fresh Pond




Next stop, Echo Lake! A 30 minute drive took 1 hour thanks to a tree laying across the highway.


Echo Lake Boat Dock


It was freezing cold (34°) and extremely windy. I wasn’t expecting it to be this chilly; luckily I had Mr. Survivor Man by my side to provide me with some much-needed layers.


We filled out our day use permit and hit the trails.

My Morning Place

Caffé Santoro, a place where I find more than great coffee in the morning. A cozy, family atmosphere makes this my favorite morning spot.



Every morning bright and early you will find Mr. Personality himself (and owner) Ken. Who knows all of his regular customers by name and even their drink of choice.

Caffé Santoro crew, they will make you feel part of their little Italian family.


The Italian-esque caffé has walls lined with family photos and local made pastries. Owner Ken traveled to Italy himself to try and replicate the Italian café experience, truly a great spot and a local favorite.



Where does everyone else spend their wee morning hours? ...At home, a favorite bakery or coffee house?


(All photos curtsey of Caffé Santoro - Eikon Photography)

The First Storm

It has been raining non-stop today, and I’m not talking on and off again showers. The wind is whipping (per weather.com 39mph)…I actually had to move my potted plants into the garage. The lights inside have been flickering and my patio is drenched with water (its probably seeping into the garage as I write)!



You’d think I would want to stay inside today and work on some crafts or make a warm homemade soup for dinner. Instead Mr. SK and I went for a drive up to the mountains.



It was very cold out. I’m surprised it wasn’t snowing. We stopped by a friend’s house to get warm by the fire, and then we were off again, traveling through the mountains. The roads were slick and covered in debris, just how I like it.

While traveling through Apple Hill area (a great area in Northern California that has 56 different ranches. From winery’s, orchards, Christmas tree farms, pumpkin patches and craft fairs.) we stopped at Boa Vista Orchard. You’re truly not in the apple hill spirit unless you have a cup of hot apple cider and an apple turn over in hand.

Visit Boa Vista Orchard #3 Online.

And the beautiful flower fields at Bill's Apples #35




So that was our glorious, raining, yucky, wet day. And I loved every minute of it. But sadly Miss Mia did not!



She hates water. Mr. SK and I can barley get her outside to go to the bathroom.

Well happy raining season everyone…up next SNOW!

Fall Has Officially Arrived

Fall is in the air. We’re finally out of the triple digits and according to the weatherman yesterday morning there were chances of “spritzles”. All morning I was looking for raindrops on my patio but didn’t find a single one. (Sigh)

Since the raindrops were a no show, Mr. SK and I decided to go on a bike ride…a 5-mile bike ride down to the river. And we weren’t the only ones with the bright idea!





How is everyone else enjoying the fall weather?