And the winner is...

The winner of the "first day of fall" giveaway is comment #12...Aunt Meesh! 

"Aunt Meesh" just so happens to be my sister-in-law, Michelle Fisher (Steven's sister and Luci Belle's aunt).  I swear this wasn't rigged!

The giveaway package will take a little bit 'o autumn all the way to Northern Iraq, where Michelle and her husband Cody live, helping fund life-saving heart surgeries for Iraqi children through the Preemptive Love Coalition. 

What was one of Michelle's favorite fall memories?

well this is easy - fall walks in Aspen with my favorite LuciBelle! (come on - that's gotta count double, right?) {insert aunt meesh/luci belle moby pic} was that really a year ago?? time flies...

The last time we saw Aunt Meesh was last October when we took a lovely vacation with Steven's family to Aspen.  I love remembering her carrying a 3-month-old Luci Belle snugly in the Moby wrap all through the quaint streets, the stunning mountains.  Ahhhhh.  I miss Colorado.  But we miss Aunt Meesh much, much more!

On a walk in Aspen

Downtown Boulder: Michelle, Cody, and a very hungry Luci Belle

I can't believe how wittle Luci Belle is here...

Aspen is truly magical in the fall.

Thanks to all who entered, I loved reading your favorite fall memories!

"First day of fall" giveaway!

Today is officially the first day of autumn, and here in Texas, we're slowly recovering from almost 100 days of 100 degree weather.  Sweet Lord, I never thought it would come, but I'm more thankful than ever for the changing of the seasons, for the "unforced rhythyms of grace."  It was in the 70s and sprinkled rain during my walk this morning, and I almost wept.  What a simple gift.

So, I thought I'd do a giveaway to celebrate!  If you win, you'll receive a package of goodies that will encourage you to slow down and enjoy this fall season a bit, to take care of yourself, to rest.

What does the package include?  First, something that celebrates a movie I'll always love, You've Got Mail...

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address."  - Joe Fox

A "bouquet" of newly sharpened pencils...

It's high time we started using pencils again, don't you think?  How about writing in a journal with them?  Drawing some sketches?  Doodling, erasing, and doodling again?  My pencil "bouquet" is tied with yarn and includes a felt leaf and paper tag with an inspiring quote.  {Whoever wins must promise to actually use the pencils though!  I almost got carpal tunnel hand-sharpening those suckers!}

Second, one of my personal favorites, Desert Essence Organics Vanilla Chai Hand and Body Lotion...

This stuff smells like fall, and you will want to eat it.

Lastly, I thought I'd throw in some yummy teas, and...a SURPRISE!  Only one hint: the surprise will be handmade by yours truly.

To enter the giveaway, post a comment below and share one of your favorite fall memories.  On Friday, September 30th, I'll choose the winner from a random drawing.  Hooray for fall!

3 reasons why I love Pinterest.

I am completely in love with Pinterest.  Have you tried it yet?  Several friends told me about it, but I was hesitant to take the plunge, because I just knew I'd love it.  Well, that's the understatement of the year.

"What's Pinterest?" some of you might be asking.  It's a site where you can create virtual "pinboards" of anything on the web and browse through what your friends have pinned and repin the things you like to your own boards.  For instance, I have a pinboard to collect ideas for creative ways to use chalkboards.  Or wood pallets. Or color inspiration or inspiring words.  Check out all my pinboards for yourself!

So, why do I love Pinterest so much?

1. It's inspiring.  Finding moments to be creative everyday is an absolute necessity for an artistic soul like myself.  Taking just 5 minutes to browse through Pinterest satisfies that need, even if I don't have time to actually do a craft that day.
2. It makes both the left and right sides of my brain happy.  My creative side loves browsing all the photos, especially how they're arranged as collages on the page.  My organized side finds it a wee bit too fulfilling to put all my pinned items into neat little categories.
3. Easy and fun DIY ideas.  Previously, I bookmarked ideas for DIY projects or crafts in various places on my computer but never did anything with them. Now they're all in one place and for some reason, I'm actually doing them - score!  Most of them I can do with materials I already have, or for just a few dollars.  Here are the links to each project I've done so far and then my version below...

~~~

Fall yarn wreath

This was so much fun and a lot easier than I thought it would be.  I'm also now nerdily obsessed with felt.  There's so much you can do with it!  I used the wreath tutorial above and also this easy tutorial on how to make felt flowers.  Doesn't it look purty with our orange door?

~~~

Autumn leaf garland

I do like how this turned out, but next time, instead of using thick yarn, I'll probably use a needle and thick thread or at least a thinner yarn.  To make this garland, I had to cut 5 small notches in each leaf and hand-thread the yarn through.  I asked my husband what he thought of it when it was done and he said, "Nice!  What are they?  Kites?"  Awesome.  So I think I'd like the effect a lot better if it was hand-stitched with thread like this so it creates a more realistic "vein" line down the center of the leaf.  I'd also love to try using textured felt.

~~~

Paper punch heart garland

This was totally free.  I already had a heart paper punch and a bag full of paint color samples I'd collected over the years.  Add a needle and thread, and voila, a cute little garland for above the door in Luci Belle's room.

~~~

Mason jars with acorns

It was fun walking the neighborhood collecting all different types of acorns for this project!  I used a hot glue gun to add some burlap trim and a green felt heart around the rim of each jar.  They made great decorations for a fall-themed baby shower I threw yesterday, and I love them so much they're staying on the table!

Other projects I can't wait to try...

• Spraypainted chandelier
• Wood pallet art - this for above our bed, or this headboard for the guest room
• Pinecone garland
• Styrofoam ball yarn wreath for Christmas

AHHHHH!  See?  I'm outta control!

~~~

Have you tried Pinterest?  How has it inspired you?

Jersey love: "The Shoo-uh."

Post senior prom, everyone in my senior class - and I mean everyone - drove down to the Jersey shore (pronounced "shoo-uh") for the weekend.  When you graduate from high school in New Jersey, it's just what you do.  On the way to dinner on the boardwalk one night, we even saw our high school principal, Mr. Padian, biking down the main strip in Seaside without a shirt on.  He had muscles?  Who knew?  Anyway, I'll spare you the details of everything that happened on that post-prom weekend, but let's just say it involved Zima, Blackberry Jack, and a deck of cards and leave it at that.

Growing up, families in town would go "down the shore" for the summer (tip: New Jerseyans never EVER say "to the ocean" or "to the beach") and return all brown and leathery.  My parents would take us down to Point Pleasant, our favorite shore point, for the day where we would walk along the boardwalk, play games at Jenkinson's Pavilion, catch sea crabs, and eat vinegar fries to our heart's content.

Many years have passed since I've been to the shore, since we usually visit in the fall, so it was high time to return!  There was no Zima involved this time, though.  Sorry, Snooki.

We decided to drive down to Spring Lake, a small, quiet town right on the water.  For lunch, we ate at The Mill Restaurant, which was lovely...

We walked around the town a bit...

...before heading to the beach so Luci Belle could put her feet into the sand and ocean for the very first time in her life.  It was such a gorgeous day - look at that sky...

What's this stuff??

The waves were pretty rough, and when the first time one came in, she got startled and grabbed my shirt.  Pretty scary if you've never seen one before!

But then she started pointing out seagulls and waving at everyone in sight, as usual...

 ...and was even brave enough to dip her toes in the icy water...

 

All in all, a successful shore excursion!

Jersey love: joywalk/joyride.

joy·ride [joi-rahyd] 
noun

1. a pleasure ride in an automobile, especially when the vehicle is driven recklessly or used without the owner's permission.
2. a brief, emotionally exciting interlude.

~ ~ ~

As much as I would love to say that we were daredevils living out definition #1, we did have permission to take my mom's red Jeep for a joyride.  We left our daughter happily playing on the lawn with Mimi so we could finally have a few moments to ourselves and cruise in the 75 degree sunshine through the hills of Basking Ridge, New Vernon, and Mendham.

After purchasing a special wrench from the local hardware store and wrangling the strength of four adults, we finally managed to remove the hard top from the Jeep.  And then we set out.  Sweet FREEEEEEDOM!

 

We didn't have a particular destination in mind - we just drove in the general direction of hills and horse farms and old mills and streams down deserted quiet winding roads.  We had heard of a restaurant in "The Hills" section of Basking Ridge that we'd wanted to try called Fresh.  We decided to go check it out.

When we saw this on the restaurant window, we knew it was exactly what we were looking for...

It was bright and cheery inside...

...but we got our food to-go so we could eat it under the bare sky.  We shared their Vietnamese chicken salad and a housemade chicken salad sandwich on a soft, sweet brioche bun.  But the crowning beauty of our meal?  Oh, just this unbelievable ice cream sandwich - vanilla soft-serve ice cream rolled in Oreo crumbles and served between two chewy sugar cookies.  These are the kinds of things you eat on vacation {droooool}. 

Sticky hands, ice cream in my tummy, sunshine on my face, alone time with my love...a perfect date it was.

~ ~ ~

Then, the next day, it rained.  Rain?  What's that again?? Coming from the extreme drought in Texas, it had been so long since we'd seen it - not just a few droplets, but giant, soaking golf-ball sized rain that makes imprints on the blacktop. 

And afterwards, it was lush and golden outside, and we knew a walk was in order.  If there's such a thing as a joyride, why not a joywalk?  We owed it to Texas to rejoice in the rain, to revel in it, and to pray for the same kindness to fall back home.

 

Coconut milk latté.

After a heavenly walk in the coolness yesterday, we turned off the air, threw the front and back doors open to create a wind tunnel, and had a wonderful, slow food breakfast with close friends.  Linda knows the way into my heart and brought over my favorite tea in the entire universe - Enfusia - which has recently been discontinued by NutriHarmony due to supply issues.  I've missed my daily Enfusia lattés so much, so I savored every sip!

Isn't it beautiful?

Here's how to make the perfect coconut milk latté...

• Brew some coffee or maté tea, and make it strong
• Froth coconut milk in a big mug if you have a frother, or heat it slowly and whisk it in a pan on the stove
• Slowly pour the hot coffee or tea into the mug with the frothed coconut milk
• Add a few drops of Vanilla Creme Stevia, to taste
• Cover with a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg

The house looked so cheery with the light coming through...

And while we ate, our poor, crisped back yard got some sprinkler time...

A perfect morning.

Autumn has finally found us!

Yesterday we experienced the very first bit of cool air since May. As one of my Facebook friends said so well, "This cool air is like Prozac." 

To start the day, Instagram helped me capture the beginnings of autumn on our walk - oh, how we've missed our daily walks!  But they're back, folks, they back.