broke out the guitar again today. playing a few tunes definitely helped me get out of my funk that recent life events put me in. i always encourage clients to express themselves through poetry, writing, art, music, dance, etc so it's only fair i practice what i preach. artistic expression is always a good coping skill and everyone should try it, whether they are professionals or just amateurs (like me). there is no right or wrong when expressing yourself. 

So it's been a pretty tough week/month. Full of fun adventures and also tough work challenges. When I got home from work today I was greeted with wonderful surprises. Flowers from my boyfriend and a wonderful gift from a dear college friend. The timing for these couldn't have been better. I wonderful supportive people in my life. Thank you for the reminder! 

these sweet pups are our neighbors dogs that we tend to kidnap every now and then :) here they are soaking up some rays waiting for us to walk them to the farmers market this past Sunday. 

my boyfriend is always eating apples. this month he has a birthday so every week i have been coming up with small surprises to celebrate. when i found out there was a great orchard not to far north i decided we had to go check it out. here are a few photos from our first apple picking experience this past weekend. he was pleasantly surprised :) 

we have been celebrating jason's birthday a little bit each week this month. a few days ago i bought him an ice cream cone :) 

my wonderful man and i started off this unusually cold fall weekend off right. we were able to attend the Johnny Cash Musical Festival. Pictured here is Rosanne Cash. We also Willie Nelson and The Civil Wars. 

Lately I have been really into cooking. It's turned into a therapeutic release that just kinda snuck up on me. I didn't realize that I had begun to rely on it as a way to calm down after work. It's not that I am outright stressed, but I do stay pretty busy working with the kids all day long. It's been fun the past few weeks being creative in the kitchen. However, all creative ventures do not always turn out as planned. Last night I attempted Saffron-Vanilla Snickerdoodles. 

I really had to squish these guys into a ball because....

this is what dough looks like when you do not have a mixer...very crumbly!!! 

the cookies turned out to be more like biscuits but were so good!!! the ladies at my book club loved them AND gave me a good idea. Serve them with some ice cream and strawberries as a more healthy strawberry shortcake dessert! :) 

making dinner with our own eggplants. i think they turned out pretty good look'n :) 

burning the beeswax candle for some clean air. smells pretty nice too, especially if you like honey :)

a quick bite to eat at a surprisingly quiet cafe from all the tourists across the street enjoying Gharardelli 

my first time to see the Golden Gate Bridge! the water was freezing! it did not feel like August in San Francisco 

the fog really does roll in. so pretty. 

this lil guy ended up in the fountain at the house we looked after during the month of July. took me a while to get him out. i had to shoo him away before the dogs sniffed him out in the yard. 

one of the books i read this summer, WILD. highly recommended. 

This guy was originally on the corner of the street, however, still in his new location (less visible to passersby)  he waves with one hand and messes with his iPod in the other. Tough gig. 

i found this little guy in the garden

as the sun sets...

view from the kitchen window

doing work at the dining room table 

House plants that I have managed to keep alive...for now (except one)  

the poor Orchid...

this one will look like the top of a pineapple..but really tall (thought it was perfect for the beach feel of the bedroom) 

my favorite on the mantel 

these are not my favorite things, i much prefer butterflies, but i was impressed how well this guy held on for so long onto the window outside battling the wind. 

sunset last night during my VERY hot (104 degree) run 

At the Root for lunch last Sunday 

 Inside a cafe to cool off from a hot afternoon 

This is the first tomato I have grown! It looks like a fine Cherokee tomato until you see it from a different view......

I am not sure why it split like this....

took some of the patients on a hike today and a few of them begged me to take a photo of this dragonfly cause it was so beautiful :) 

These plants have been growing for a while and up until now they have just been getting taller. So today was a nice surprise when I found they bloom these beautiful flowers. Now, if only I could remember what it is I planted last summer in these pots....:)

Lavender! 

Not sure what this is but look like we are going to fine out soon! 

Things are grow'n in the garden :)

This would be quite the party!