Christmas is Getting Closer :)

Christmas is getting closer and I am VERY excited! Traditionally my family gets their Christmas trees the weekend after Thanksgiving, so Mike and I followed tradition and ventured about 45 minutes to cut our own tree down. Our friends, Josh and Jackie were also in on the adventure. About 1 hr. later, we found "the tree"...apparently VA has been quite dry and the tree selection was not so healthy, but we persevered through the fields and found a keeper :)

Here are some pictures of our adventure.....
Foxfire Christmas Tree Farm

Before finding "the tree"
I'm ready to take action
And we found it!

There's my hunk of a husband who tore that tree out with his bare hands (okay, so I may be exaggerating :)

A Much Needed Weekend with Kim!

In-home counseling has it's ups and downs like many other jobs. However, these past couple of weeks it has been more challenging than usual. All that to say, a rejuvenating weekend was needed and accomplished when Kim came into town.

Kim with her new favorite coffee drink from the Mud House...Mocha with shot of hazelnut :)

We had such a great time....great conversation and sight seeing. Mud House coffee at the downtown mall, Veritas wine tasting, a visit to UVA, & more wine, cheese and bread topped off with a strawberry and Nutella crepe....yes we ate well :)

I am at the basement wine cellar/bread shop in C'ville (one of my favorite places for unique cheese, good budget-friendly wine & homemade breads)

As it turns out, Kim is related to Thomas Jefferson!

We enjoyed the UVA campus

Veritas Winery

Apartment Face-Lift

With the wonderful Fall season approaching, I thought it would be nice to redecorate our apartment. Also...Mike was out of town a bunch this month, which left me with a lot more alone time :)

Here aresome pics the new and improved apartment :)

The newly painted office:

Mike getting into a football game...I am guessing Michigan or redskins :)

Our new free love seat!

Living room fireplace:
Living room:
The apartment is ready and waiting for visitors!!!!

Felts Spectacular Weekend in NC

Introducing, Mr. & Mrs. David Felts....

Mike and I had a great time...a Grove City reunion, great food & drinks, a remarkable best man speech (of course delivered by Mike), some shopping, meeting new people & a great day for a beautiful wedding.

(Nathan, Kathy & Lyla)

(Timmy & Mike)

(The happy groom and best man)

(Mike..what's the face for?) (Bob & Carrie)

Autumn in C'ville

Football, chili, chips, apple cider and donuts, leaves changing, and cooler weather…



Autumn is my favorite season! I have to say, nothing compares to Autumn in N.Y., but C’ville has it’s appeal…this weekend we went to Carter Mountain’s Apple Harvest Festival with friends, Josh and Jackie. The view was amazing and the apples were just as good. Mike and I thought about quitting our jobs to buy a large piece of land on top of a mountain in C’ville to start a similar orchard and winery. Ours would have better cider shipped in from Schutte’s Cider Mill of Webster, NY! Oh yeah, I guess you need the finances to start something like that.





So, after a great Fall adventure, we were left with many apples. I decided to make applesauce, easy enough right? Well, lets just say many hours later I had great applesauce. My lesson from that adventure….learn from your mistakes (core the apples before you boil them). Thanks to Jackie’s special touch, I have many containers of sugar-free cinnamon applesauce in my freezer.

Good Times in NY

There we are at my parent's fire pit...you could say it is a Baker family tradition!

I was able to take some time off and head to NY for Baker family fun :) Meghan was able to fly home the same time as I, which made the trip even more special. I saw Missy and Jess' new home, my cousin Katie's new place, spent time with my grand parents, sisters and parents, and of course bonded with the kidos!!

Mattie is so grown! She has matured so nicely....diving in the deep end of the pool and interacting in a reciprocal conversation...I was amazed! Morgan is all girl (she came back from C.A. with her ears pierced...so Morgan :) She loved to talk my ear off and "mother" her cousin, Jake. She literally asks Bobbi if she can be Jake's mommy. What a hoot! Jake is no longer a baby, but a grown toddler. He loves climbing and LOVED his Veggie Tales. It was really great to bond with these amazing kidos (I am not bias :)

Take a look at these pics:

Mattie and I at the pool

Art work in Bobbi's backyard and Papa's John Deer Rides:

Mugga and the girls:

Jake watching his Veggie Tales:

I miss them already!!!!

One Year Ago Today, Mike and I Were Hitched!

It's hard to believe that one year ago today, I was walking down the isle! It has been a good year full of new experiences.

We took an anniversary getaway to Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia...we stayed in a cabin directly on the lake. The weather didn't completly cooperate, but we were able to enjoy the peacefulness of the lake. We were excited to see an entenna... we were actually able to watch four channels on the t.v. (this was a treat because we don't get any channels at home).

We had a romantic dinner at a fancy resturant located within a marina (well we tried to make it as romanitc as it could be. We were seated by a large table of middle aged adults that were re-living their serority years of college...it made for a very entertaining atmosphere)....we discovered the other side of the lake. There were a lot of wealthy people enjoying their margaritas. (For the Rochestarians...many Pittsford people). Unfortunately we were seated in a corner by the back wall with an air vent directly under our feet. No worries, we placed a menu over the vent :) It was my first time eating raw tuna filet...yes, it took a while to get past the slimy texture, but the black bean rice made up for it. A brownie sunday and many laughs made our dinner complete!

Here are some pictures of our weekend at the lake......

Here is the cove our cabin was in:

We are on the lower deck relaxing and reading

A view of the deck from the cabin

Our favorite spot...the shaded deck (kept us dry when it rained)

Crab Tree Falls

Another great weekend in C'ville! We went hiking at Crab Tree Falls. Yes, it was a workout (it beats the treadmill :), and also a beautiful hike in the mountains along side the tallest waterfall on the East Coast (So I am told :)

Here is the beautiful view from the middle of the mountain:

Here are a couple pictures at the beginning of the hike:

Here we are at the top of the waterfall..we made it! Mike climbed up a rock to take the picture. You can see me sitting on the bench taking in the view.

Maybe the altitude was getting to us...we were goofy and exhausted by the time we reached the top :)

A Great Ending to the Month of June

We had a great time with Felts and Jess! They got engaged and we were able to enjoy their company. We went tubing on the James River (not the tubing on the back of a speed boat...more like sitting in a big black tube and dodging the rocks so your bottom doesn't become bruised...it was very shallow :)

We also went wine tasting at Veritas Winery which was amasing!





As Mike would say, What better place to get engaged than a beautiful and historical place like Virginia's mountains. He is definately a Virginia LOVER!

The engaged couple, Felts and Jess at the University of Virginia...what a beautiful campus.

There we are on UVA's campus. Who knows maybe we will eventually get our Doctorates from UVA :)

After Felts and Jess left, we had my cousning, Katie and her boyfriend Jordan come stay with us. It was a great time showing off Charlottesville and its great European feel!

Soooo to say the least, we have been busy enjoying Charlottesville and our friends and family. We both love this area!

Here is the view across the street form our place:

P.S. Missy, Bobbi, Mugga, Mom and Dad: I hope this posting didn't just confirm your desires to come to VA for Thanksgiving, but I hope it also opened a desire to maybe eventually venture down here for good :) What a beautiful place to relocate!