Fall Festivities!

Awe fall… I love you! Michael asked if I would rather have the trees green all year round or the reds, yellows, and oranges of the trees right now… I would have to say I love the trees of fall. Of course come spring and summer I’ll be raving about how much I love the green sprouts! So I have come to the conclusion that I love seasons… though I don’t like the bitter cold of winter I have a soft spot for snow around Christmas time ( I mean who doesn’t). But for now I’m basking in the changing beautiful trees and the delicious smell of fall.

Our mums are not only surviving but they flourishing! YEY! Thanks to new pots and loyal watering they are ALIVE and absolutely beautiful! Take a gander…

We had a fun weekend of fall festivities! Apple picking and Hall-o-scream! Carters Mountain Orchard is just an amazing place – they have a huge selection of apples, gigantic monster pumpkins, and delicious apple food! Our favorite is the apple doughnuts and their apple cider (hot or cold)- now of course these two things are delicious separate but delicious x delicious when you dip the doughnut in apple cider!

So if you ever come across apple doughnuts and apply cider you MUST try them together! Now for the just plain apples – if you want to try the most fresh delicious apples you must pick them yourself! I’m amazed at how delicious they are!

Theme parks – we love them and at the end of the day we want to run to the car to rest our poor aching feet. Just going to a theme park won’t satisfy me anymore… I absolutely love when a park is decorated for a holiday – there is nothing like Ireland decorated with thousands of pumpkins! J Nearly 12 hours in the park – riding our favorite roller coasters, walking through haunted houses, and eat expensive foods – by the end of the day I literally couldn’t walk anymore! We got our money’s worth that is for sure! So our fall festivities are underway!

More to come about our Halloween Festivities! :) Here is a sneak peak!

Hamish And Andy - Personal Space Invaders

These guys are great! I literally just laughed out loud in my office when he is hiding behind a bush... watch this! haha

Ah relaxation...

There is so much joy in doing nothing on the weekend - no plans - just hanging out with Michael. This was our first weekend in a long time where we had no plans to hang out with anyone, do anything, or go anywhere. So we had a wonderful time watching movies, making delicious food, potting our mums, and just hanging out.

We have had to settle in to learning how to keep our plants alive. Andie Anderson from How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days would be appalled.

"Our love fern! You let it die!
- No, honey, it's just sleeping"

Our love... mums have persevered through this learning period and are now nicely potted and growing again. Thank goodness out love mum are not dead! I have decided that since I cannot have a puppy or a baby at this point in my life I will love my plants as such. :) A girl has to have something to take care of right... other than my husband of course!

Here is our beautiful back porch - thanks to Michael who potted our plants!
It's a very happy place to read and relax - we love to sit our there and have dinner! We are looking forward to the fall weather so we can do this more often. Bring on the fall weather God, we are so ready!

I find the most satisfaction in baking - I have learned that I am a great baker of delicious cupcakes and cake but there is still Michael's favorite that brings joy to our hearts - Apple Crisp. We usually only eat this during fall since apples are in season so I made the first apple crisp of the season on Saturday and it was delicious, like spoonful of fall.


The beginnings.



The next day....
Needless to say we love our apple crisp!

Autumn Breeze

Ahh what a glorious refreshing lunch break I had today. Though it did not feel like the first day of fall - it is too hot to call today a truly fall'ish' day - I enjoyed a breeze that the spirit of fall was riding on. What else would I do other than read Anne of the Island on such a day as the first day of Fall? I knew I made the right decision to download the book to my phone when I read the 1st chapter which starts with this quote...

But everything in the landscape around them spoke of autumn. The sea was roaring hollowly in the distance, the fields were bare and sere, scarfed with golden rod, the brook valley below Green Gables overflowed with asters of ethereal purple, and the Lake of Shining Waters was blue -- blue -- blue; not the changeful blue of spring, nor the pale azure of summer, but a clear, steadfast, serene blue, as if the water were past all moods and tenses of emotion and had settled down to a tranquility unbroken by fickle dreams.

How very perfect for a day such as today - yes, the Lynchburg landscape is not speaking of autumn quite yet but my spirit is ready for it. Ready for the clear blue skies, bright fire colored trees, and the crisp air - once the weather is here I will truly be able to appreciate and savor a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

It's amazing how my spirits can be lifted by reading a little bit of Anne - it's like coming home.

"I wonder if it will be - can be - any more beautiful that this." murmured Anne, looking around her with the loving, enraptured eyes of those to whom "home" must always be the loveliest spot in the world, no matter what fairer lands may lie under alien stars.

I don't believe there will ever be a book that makes me feel more 'at home' that Anne.