Both of them make great company – Noah wants to share pretty much all his food with you, while three-year-old Ethan randomly bursts out with adorable things like “I love you so much!” and “Can you come over and play Super Mario on the Wii, four player?” He wasn’t a fan of my Connect4 tactics though, and kept scolding me for blocking him.

Something about the straight lines of the stems, the soft, hazy purple tones, and the possibility that a bee might not ever be far off makes it impossible for me to walk by any without taking a picture. There were tufts of lavender dotted all around Treebones, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

Then we went for a wander around the gorgeous grounds and into their organic gardens, where lots of what we’d eaten for dinner the night before was grown.

I can’t wait to post more snaps, hope you enjoyed these.

I’m going to start halfway through the trip, with some shots from our stay at Treebones Resort. It’s a self-sustained ‘glamping’ resort along the Big Sur California. There are no rooms – instead we stayed in ‘yurts’, which are kind of like fancy tents (and I’m not talking Electric Picnic fancy; these things come with double beds, heaters, sinks and skylights!) which boast spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean.

Treebones is completely off the grid, and stepping onto it, you kind of go off the grid too. We got there late in the evening, but made sure to get up early to catch the sunrise.

Litte being the operative word here. Just a quick post to wish you all a very happy, relaxing, lovely Christmas and sparkling, fun-filled new year. I’ll be spending the day with my family, including my much doted-on nephews –  this little bundle of cuteness, and his very excited three year old brother who is getting a “very big, red, big bike” from Santa.

Just a couple of days after the present unwrapping and turkey eating I will be boarding a plane with Ben and heading on a 12-day road trip across California’s West Coast. We’ll be taking in San Francisco, the Big Sur, Paso Robles, San Diego and LA. Needless to say, I’m insanely excited, both for the amazing sights and tastes that await us, and for the opportunity to spend time hanging out with one of the funniest, loveliest people I know (who just so happens to be as big a photo nerd as I am). The blog will be quiet for a little while, but expect an explosion of shots when I return in January.

Thank you so much for reading and commenting, and see you in 2012!

I got a really lovely DM on Twitter from someone who has been having a hard time recently, telling me that they’ve enjoyed the blog. So to that lovely person, I really hope these pics cheer you up – they certainly brought a smile to my face.

Hola! My poor camera and blog have been a wee bit abandoned these past few weeks but I’m delighted to be back hanging out with both.

I absolutely love this time of year. The leaves, the gorgeous golden tones, the pretty autumnal bokeh. Drool, the bokeh…

Anyway. Some shots from a recent trip to Phoenix Park with Ben below.

There are still some lovely flowers to be spotted around the park.

Other autumn tones  – my beauts new camera bag from Ona and tan knee boots from Office.

And finally, another seasonal highlight – Oktoberfest! Those giant pretzels were delish.

He weighed in at just over 9lbs and is just over 52cms long. I am, once again, a super proud auntie. Ethan has been very gentle and lovely to his new baby brother so far, offering him his teddy bears and his soother. Cute!

P.S. The title to this post comes from this very brilliant Elbow song.