Saying Good-Bye to Summer

And we thought things would slow down once all things wedding related came to an end. Who were we kidding? Things have been non-stop since the at home reception. As much as Drew and I would like a weekend to just cuddle and watch movies the whole time, if just hasn't happened. Instead, I launched my own home business, we've been working on more Knotty Cakes Ranch projects, we've been going through all the wedding and at home reception photos and having a bit of a social life (outside of the wedding), again.

We've started preparing the yard at Knotty Cakes Ranch for the arrival of cooler temperatures. This requires cutting back many plants, like the banana and ti leaf plants, wrapping their stalks in burlap and putting mulch around the base to help protect them from frost. It's ironic how as we've been preparing the yard for winter our hibiscus plants have been blooming like we're in Hawaii.

One of many hibiscus from our backyard. 

We've been lucky in Portland to be having such a nice autumn. The sun has been shining bright, until today, and we were trying to soak up as much sun as possible while it lasted. Besides preparing the yard for winter, Drew also instated our new screen door. It looks awesome and really makes the front of the house pop. Don't you love it?

A sneak peak at the new screen door before the doorknobs were put on. 

Enjoying the sunshine while preparing the yard for winter. 

Even our cat, Cupcake was trying to get as much time in the sun as possible.
He hasn't been enjoying the cooler nights. 

We've also had to spend some time cleaning up everything from the at home reception in the backyard. It all made the backyard look so fun and cheery we left it up to enjoy it a bit longer. It was hard to take it all down and put it away with all of the other summer items. Some of it we planned to be used as items for the backyard in the future and will be seeing it's return next summer.

A hand-painted wedding flag banner made by Amanda and Mom that we used again for the  at home reception. 

Wedding flags made by Mom with fabric we brought back from Maui.
We used them to decorate all of the fence. 

It's always hard to say good-bye to the summer. To put away the summer clothes, close down the backyard tiki bar and put a cap on the BBQs with friends. Luckily, we have a lot to look forward to in the next couple months. And many more Knotty Cakes Ranch to get to.

Do you have a hard time saying good-bye to the summer? Is there anything that you do that makes it easier?

All photographs are from our personal collection.