For the love of hiking daycations!

The roommates and I all had the day off on wednesday, so to Celebrate Veteran's Day...we took a trip to the gorges of Ithaca!

It was fabulously scenic

We were equally adventurous

A lot of painful jumping photos happened

We made it all the way down to the waterfall

We climbed up mini hills and swung on tree roots, and got abruptly reprimanded.

((all in all. great way to spend a day.))

For the love of *The Little Rascals

I've had quite the craving for childhood memories these days sitting at home... yesterday we watched some adorable home videos from 1991, it's so funny to see how much we have all grown up yet stayed the same in all the little personality quirks and facial expressions we have!

Now playing....The Little Rascals, one of my all-time favorites!

"You are a rare rose in a garden of weeds, you have the sophistication of a woman of 12."

"He's smoother than a babies bottom, and he smells better too!"

"Darla, would you thank me for it...if I asked you for a... big wet one?"

"A he-man so manly, that if he fell off a building, he'd go out of his way to land on a girl."

"I'll trade you my pickle for a nickel!"

For the love of the last 2 months*

So... I've had plenty of time to ponder the [great.grand.good.bad.ugly] aspects of life from my sickbed in (home quarantine) for H1N1+sinusitis+bronchitis for the last 1o days!

On that note: In my prescription drug-induced fog...I am actually starting to see the end of this horrendous sickness in the near future, my fever broke yesterday and I was able to walk around a bit, talk on the phone, and feel considerably less aches and pains than the past week.

ps- I was the queen of sarcasm when it came to H1N1 before I got it... and fyi, it's no joke, especially with the nasty complications I developed! So take lots of vitamins and wash your hands often!!

In light of all of this, here are a few things I've been appreciative of over the past 2 months:

I was able to spend some quality time outdoors on 2 wheels whenever I was motivated to ride my bike, I wholeheartedly loved freedom to explore and expand on inspiration [that I'm sure will be useful as soon as I can get back in the studio]

Fall is a good time to be festive and celebrate. I love having a nice place to host theme parties, dinners, small gatherings, ect. Entertaining is always a good time at *71 Alliance

The chic autumn style is to.die.for. All shades of yellow are my new style obsession* These shoes are my glamourous friend Meg's wedding shoes from the most innovative, fun-filled wedding a few weeks ago. [love & cheers to the Sortore's]

There are few things that compare to my fascination with nature and color, so October wins the prize for most brilliant collaboration of those two things.

I think we can all appreciate the extra hour of sleep we get, even though it means less daylight. This year I spent that hour in the emergency room, but it was funny to look at the clock and realize the 2 hours I spent there was literally cut in 1/2 when the clock should've turned to 2am but went back to 1!

These months are the start to Hot Chocolate season* yippee. All the days and nights of coming in from the cold chill of winter are coming up, but hot drinks are often the saving grace to this prolonged season of below freezing temperatures.

The last couple months before the frost hits always seems to be the best time to enjoy being outside! Cheers to fun.fall.adventures*

For the love of my favorite local letterpress designer*

Here's the latest beauty from Rachael Hetzel [*pistachio press:]

There's a Full 12 month Calendar and a tear-away. Both are letterpress printed and the imagery is inspired by vintage china patterns.

It's a fabulous giveaway going on right now, so check out her blog to enter. I sure did, but if I don't win... chances are, I'll buy one anyway and you should too :)

ps- more photo posts of my festive fall activities to come!

For the love of *friends & weddings & reunions!!

To my favorite BobbyWes Crew

Our dear Friends Val & Neil got married about a month ago.

Friends traveled from near and far to celebrate with them.

We all stayed in a lovely Bed & Breakfast for the weekend to soak up the opportunity to be all together!

The details at the Lindenwald Haus B&B were stunning*

Top 10 reasons I treasure time with this crew:

#1. They are random and hilarious!!

The Story:

Wedding Officient: "And the reception will be held at.....in a couple hours.."

Kell: (speaking far too loudy, almost shouting among other quiet and patient guests)

"What the FriCk are we supposed to do for 2 hours!?"

Me and Laur: "KELL what is wrong with you!?" hahaha

Our friends: "There's a salvation army up the road...let's Go!"

#2. I laugh incredible amount whenever we are together!

We stayed up past most of our post-college life bed times the night after the the wedding. This was honestly one of the most fun nights I've ever had!!

We played some of our favorite games, including The Bowl Game and The Question Game. Both of these games are very simple, and require only paper and pens- but have been the source of some of the most hilarious and entertaining inside jokes with this crew! The games themselves aren't funny at all...but the people make the game what is is...and in the case of this night...WE ALL CRACKED UP AN EXTREME AMOUNT!

#4. I have the "big sister" I always wanted! Kelly Ann Nelson and I are a good team. Although we are completely different people in so many ways, we can relate on a level that means so much to me! We stand by each other through triumph and excitement and support each other through sadness and defeat. Growing up with 3 brothers, I would say I'm glad to call Kell* my favorite sister!

#5. They are caring and compassionate toward people. Almost every one of us works for some sort of non-profit or service oriented organization to better the lives of people around us. This type of common attitude helps us to care deeply about one another and interact genuinely, catching up on life when we are able to spend time together!

#6. They like are fun and fit, and able to climb/run/jump/explore just about anywhere!

The story: We found an old box car and decided to live out our childhood stories of the Boxcar Children!

#7. They can make anything fun!

Example: Bocce Ball with pebbles, duck tape ball toss, the bowl game

#8. We are all incredibly good looking ;) For a big group of young adults, we can hold our own on the style scale! I love getting together and sharing cloths/accessories with the girlies, and appreciate the unique outfits we seem to assemble as a co-ed team.

#9. They are willing to go on all kinds of adventures, just for the sake of being adventurous.

The story:

Our friend Nigel from the Tom-Tom GPS lead us to what we thought would be the perfect place to see a nice selection of beaded moccasins.

This was not the case. It was instead a tiny cabin, up a dirt road, appearing to be a closed information center for who knows what?

#10. Everyone brings a completely unique personality to the group and we appreciate each other for who we are. We are completely ourselves when we get together, and no matter how much changes in each of our lives- and how long it's been since we've seen or heard from each other-- our friendships remain the same!