Last week, in the midst of a nasty cold, I drove myself to the grocery store to pick up the one thing I had decided would make me feel better: tomato basil soup + an oozy grilled cheese. I planned to be in and out and back in bed in a matter of minutes, and did in fact blaze through the store in record time, but just as I was about to hit the checkout stand, a basket full of shiny autumn-colored goodies caught my eye. It was a basket of squash & gourds, in all shapes and colors and sizes – and so I spent the next 15 minutes picking out the perfect five. (I actually walked halfway to the register when I thought I had my perfect set, only to walk back to the basket because NO! it was not quite yet perfect.)

And it seemed that my squash spree set off a wonderful influx of decorating wonders into my life, because within the next 2 days I came across two more wonderful finds. The first was a bundle of Chinese lanterns, one of my favorites. I had a single bloom while I was in Japan that lasted the entire year I was there and have been coveting some ever since. Would these not be amazing in a bouquet (see a gorgeous option here in Martha Stewart) or a centerpiece? I may or may not have plans a-brewing to use them in a shoot…

(Almost everything in the above photos are from Etsy. The vase is by Jill Rosenwald and is one of my most favorite things in my home – I want to buy every thing in her shop!)

In addition, I know have this:

It is a yam plant that Scott’s mother had lovingly started. I’ve have tried to start my own before but seriously, if I can’t keep an already green and thriving thing alive, how am I going to convince something that doesn’t even exist yet to sprout?? I am absolutely fascinated by this yam and it’s pretty leaves – it makes me happy to glance over at it as I’m sitting and editing photos.

And of course, the gourds:

I think the prettiness surrounding me from all these goodies definitely helped me get over my cold in a jiffy! What fall decor do you love?

Back in August, Scott and I found ourselves with a very rare and enticing situation on our hands – a free weekend! We usually have at least one wedding or engagement session per weekend, but that weekend we found ourselves entirely open and decided it would be the perfect opportunity for a mini summer trip. We brainstormed a few places to visit, and ended up choosing the Santa Ynez Valley, a new untapped spot for both of us, filled with stunning vineyards and located just above Santa Barbara.

And that’s how it became one of my new favorite places. Amazing food, beautiful rolling hills covered in grapes, wonderful little oak trees lining both sides of the highway, and well, Solvang (who doesn’t love Solvang?) – it was the perfect location to refresh our minds before the fall wedding season. Come take a tour with us!

(Special thanks to Betty of Type A Planning, Josh & Lauren, and Bonnie Tsang for their amazing recommendations on where to go and what to do!

When we first drove in (or Scott drove in and I reluctantly rubbed the sleep out of my eyes) we found that the weather was not quite the perfect sunny wine-country weather we imagined. But what could make that better? Sandwiches! We drove straight to Panino, an amazing sandwich place that came highly recommended. They were deliciously fresh and tasty:

Afterwards we headed to the place I was looking forward to most on the trip – Saarloos & Sons! A beautiful tasting room that I first saw on Design*Sponge. But an absolutely lovely interior alone, though giddy-inducing, was not quite enough to make me as excited as I was – a built-in cupcake shop, however, was!

I’ve had my fair share of cupcakes, but I have to say Enjoy Cupcakes *ahem* takes the cake (yes, I just went there, I did). I know this is a strong and dangerous statement to make, but they are in fact the BEST cupcakes I’ve ever tasted – the sweetness, the consistency, the ratio of frosting to cake is all perfection! And the best part, many of the flavors are wine-inspired, like Chocolate Blackberry Syrah and Pineapple Chardonnay. The Honey Mousse was my favorite:

Afterwards we visited Solvang to walk around for a bit and also stopped by the mission to take in the view of the hills – and do some crazy jumping shots of course. It seems Scott is quite excited about our mini-vacation:

That night we had dinner at Root 246, a new restaurant in Solvang with delicious food and a clean, modern vibe:

On Day 2 we visited a few different wineries, my favorite which was Foley Estates. As you drive up the road to the tasting room it feels like you’re pulling up to a Tuscan villa!

In the midst of our winery tour, we came across an awesome little find – an ostrich farm! I may look smiley but I was really holding onto that feeder for dear life. Ostriches are all kinds of violent when they eat:

And some emus! I’m not going to lie – they are definitely no cuddly puppies (but a little less spastic than ostriches when you feed them):

It was almost time to head home, but we couldn’t leave Los Olivos without having just onnnne more of those amazing cupcakes. So we picked up some sandwiches and some creme brulee cupcakes and had a little picnic at Firestone Vineyards…

Stay tuned for more on Firestone Vineyards next! Just a few weeks after our trip we returned there for Scott’s sister’s beautiful vineyard wedding! Can’t wait to share about their amazing day!

       

Even though it is now officially autumn, wedding season for us is still in full swing. In fact, it almost seems that autumn will be busier than summer, as we have weddings straight through to December (there are going to be some fantastic ones – so excited!) But as I mentioned in a previous post, taking a moment to refresh always does wonders, and last week Scott managed to tear me from my death grip on my laptop and we hopped over to the neighborhood theater. I’ve been raving about Julie & Julia before it even hit theaters and was SO excited to finally see it. It basically combines all my most favorite things in the world (food! Paris! blogging!) and I couldn’t imagine not loving it immensely.

And I so did. It was funny and sweet and inspirational, and the whole movie gives you a warm cozy homey feeling, like a big plate of beef bourguignon for dinner. But I loved it most because the characters are all so relatable, and the situations all so real: the hopelessness of not knowing your purpose in life, the joy of finding something you’re passionate about, the frustrations of bumps you encounter along the way. But most of all, the impact of the support of someone close to you.

I saw bits and pieces of Scott in both Julie & Julia’s husbands and my heart sunk a bit in shame of my unthankfulness. Because I would not be here, writing this entry to you, working with amazing people, photographing these beautiful weddings, if it weren’t for his support from the very start. Because for Julie it was “I want to start a blog” and for Julia it was “I want to take a cooking class” – but for me it was “I want to be a photographer”, and that very night Scott brought over a handful of Canon catalogues and leafed through the pages with me to help me choose my equipment. And though I have had dozens more breakdowns than Julie had and at times act INFINITELY more unlovable than Julie ever did, his faith in me has not once wavered.

So in the middle of this busy season and to usher in this exciting fall, I just want to say two things: (1) go see this fabulous movie and (2) don’t forget to thank the Paul Childs & Eric Powells in your life.

{ photos: Columbia | Sony }