Later, this week, I'm headed to NYC with a few girlfriends to celebrate my birthday and take in the beauty of the city during the holidays. I've been looking forward to it for months. Finally, travel for pleasure! We have a long list of places to visit...unique shops, markets and antique stores...mostly locally owned, brick & mortars to support.

I've always loved the thought of an old fashioned Christmas. The kind of holiday where many gifts are handmade or homemade with thoughtfulness in mind. And although, I always make homemade treats for family and friends...the past few years I've been more in the habit of picking up gift cards in an effort to save time. 

So this year, I decided to plan ahead. That's the main reason I'm in a mad rush...no planning. One way, is that I've been inspired by so many great cookbooks, and have gathered a few new recipes to try. The first one is Candied Citrus Peel from the book The Art of Preserving.

It's been quite a while since I first posted about our chicken coop. Actually, it's been over 2 years! I can't believe it's been that long. It's still one of my most popular posts and we continue to sell plans to the coop every day. It's been quite an adventure.

Over the weekend, I had some time to take new photos to share with you. Not much has changed...a few plants have been added, a new fence and some new "girls"....

One of my recent shoots for Country Living was tucked away on this gorgeous property in Oregon. This was the driveway to the guest cottage we shot for an upcoming issue. Can you imagine driving home to this after a hard days work? How fortunate for Trina and her wonderful family to live in such a beautiful location.

Since I flew into San Francisco with only carry-on, I knew my shopping would be limited at the Alameda Flea Market. So I focused on a few small items I was needing for upcoming shoots and projects. I bought this bundle of air mail letters for $5.

On Friday, I flew up to San Francisco for a girls get-away. I decided to leave my camera at home so I could be "off the clock" and enjoy the time more freely. But I did snap a few shots with my cell phone. We started with a visit to the Ferry Building where I bought a petite cake pan from Miette. Now my cakes can look like theirs but probably won't taste like them. ;)