autumn bliss.

As much as I hate to say it... there is no denying the truth. Summer is over. Done. Gone for another year.  Before we know it, winter will be showing its ugly face and dropping loads of snow.  I have a strong dislike for all things winter, with the exception of Christmas. I love Christmas.  

Despite the sad end of my favourite season, I'm making a desperate attempt to make the most of my second favourite season... Autumn! 

Mild weather, gorgeous landscapes, pumpkin flavoured everything, and Thanksgiving... what's not to love about this time of year? 

Yesterday I returned from what has become one of my favourite pairings, due to the fact that I leave at dinner, fly for an hour and a half, go to sleep, fly back... and get home by 9 in the morning.  2 days of work, most of it spent sleeping.  Rather than listening to my cozy bed that seemed to be calling for me to crawl in and call it a day, I opted to make use of my entire day and enjoy as much of the gorgeous fall weather as I possibly could. It was my mission to incorporate as many of my favourite aspects of the season as possible into one day.   

This started with a trip to the grocery store to prepare for dinner that evening.  I picked up a roast, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots, threw them in the slow cooker and carried on with my day.  Whoever invented the crockpot was a genius.  I also picked up some candy corn, because I was feeling extra festive and I find them to be somewhere between disgustingly sweet and addictingly good. 

I went for lunch with my husband, to a small Korean restaurant where the owner greeted everyone that entered with an enthusiastic "Happy Day!!!".  On the way home I stopped at Starbucks because no perfect fall day is complete without a Pumpkin Spice Latte.  Especially when they accidentally make it a size too big and you find yourself shaking from the mass caffeine content. That, my friends, is bliss.

Back home my roast was making the house smell delicious and doing a decent job at disguising me for an actual good housewife.  I grabbed a handful of candy corn and brought Niko to the car. I wanted to go for a walk in the River Valley, despite having no idea of where to go to have access to the trails. After a good amount of time driving aimlessly, I parked the car in a quiet residential neighbourhood adjacent to some decent looking trails. Niko happily ran along, crunching the leaves below his paws and sniffing everything in sight. It was a beautiful day and the trees were a gorgeous shade of yellow and orange. Niko looked up in awe, quite impressed with his very first autumn.  

We walked and walked and walked, down the paths and a huge set of stairs. Okay, let me clarify... I carried Niko down the stairs, because he took one look at them and simply refused. 

He did much better on the way up, however, which led to a puppy that slept the entire way home.  

We drove home, and had a wonderful food filled evening! 

I love this time of year!