September: the best of my days

September has somewhat surprisingly
marked the start of Fall in San Diego.
Although this month is normally still filled with warm summer nights,
the air has began to crisp,
our crock pot has come out of hiding,
and our home is filled with all things Fall.

I love it.

1. My car door magically opened after being broken for a week
2. Purchasing new yummy fall candles on sale
3. Spending time with our grandparents
4. Date day by the bay
5. Paid Holiday - 'nuff said
6. Pushing through a workout when I felt like giving up
7. Our friend Justin telling me he appreciated the dinner
that I cooked for him while his wife was away
8. A romantic candlelight dinner during the Blackout
(yes, it gets capitalized these days)
9. Crafting with my sister
10. Playing in the annual Qualcomm Softball Tournament
11. Hanging out with my Papa, his sister and her husband
12. Reading in bed after a long day
13. A great workout
14. A head massage after an unplanned Mikovits family dinner
15. Another great workout
16. Holding sweet baby Jacob at the Zion Golf Tournament
17. A quiet and productive morning alone
18. Spending time with family
19. An insanely productive day
20. The smell of pumpkin muffins fresh out of the oven
21. Girls Night In
22. A successful team building event at work
23. Having coffee with Katie and little miss Elle before their big move
24. Working on Christmas cards
25. Watching the football game with the Kookers
26. Getting a handwritten letter from my Grandma
27. 10+ hours of sleep the night before. Amen.
28. The way spontaneous family dinners fall into place
29. A simple garden salad in the grandeur of Times Square
30. The beautiful quaint streets in the Village

And while September was absolutely wonderful,
I think October is going to be just as lovely.

Cheers to the Pumpkin Patch,
Rainy Days, and a Hawaiian Vacation.

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January

Empire State of Mind

I'm jumping out of my pants with excitement

because tomorrow morning
my mom, sister and I will be on a flight to
the beautiful big apple.


That place is magical.

But this blog won't be.
I'll be MIA for a few days.

Girls Night In: Welcome, Fall!

This month, Girls Night was a tribute to the coming of Fall.

We sipped spiced cider
and munched on pumpkin cupcakes and peanut butter popcorn balls.
We exchanged books
so everyone would have something new to read
as they cuddle up to the fireplace this Fall.
We lit the Fall candles
{which are totally 2-for-$20 right now!)
and the house was filled with
Autumn, Marshmallow Fireside, and Cinnamon Pumpkin.

We strung together simple garlands
to give our homes a touch of the festiveness.

And this month, I was reminded again
the way these Girls Nights have grown me this year.

Praying for Katie

Katie is a friend of one of my college roommates.
and earlier this month she was diagnosed with Lymphoma.

I don't typically post prayer chains on my blog,
and I actually don't know Katie at all,
but something about her story tugs at my heart cords.

Please pray for her.
and please donate.

The Lord is doing a mighty work through her.

Imperfectly Perfect

So remember when we stayed in Coronado last month?
Well, we brought Diana along too.

Here's our staycation through her point of view.
and this one turned out completely messed up,
yet oh-so-beautiful

Autumn Rains

{*}

“Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the LORD your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful.
He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.”
Joel 2:23

I haven't studied the context of this verse at all.
I just think it's pretty
and perfect for the first day of fall.

Happy First Day of Fall, my friends!!

On Running

I'm typically not much of a runner.
I don't run marathons, or halves, or even 10Ks (yet!).
I try to conquer the treadmill a couple times a week,
but running seems to turn to walking after the first mile.

But when I read this quote from James Thurber,
I thought to myself:
maybe I am a runner after all.
Maybe we're all runners.

"All human beings should try and learn before they die
what they are running from, and to, and why"

This is a path I plan to venture down, the asking.
And of course, Pastor Doug started a new series on Jonah this week as well.
So I have a feeling there's more of this running business to be uncovered.

Stay tuned.
and share your thoughts.

Good-bye Oggis. Hello Cafe McLeod

Aubrey introduced me to one of the most amazing appetizers ever.
Unfortunately, Oggis has since discontinued their
absolutely delicious fried ravioli.

I thought I would never have it again
until I found this recipe on Pintrest.

Per Aubrey's wise advice,
I added jalapeno juice to try to spice it up a bit.
But that didn't really work.

Next time, I'm thinking a little red pepper might do the trick.

But regardless... they were still pretty tasty.
and because I found ravioli made with mozzarella and chicken
(instead of ricotta)
I was able to eat a couple with my salad!

Fa-la-la-la Fall

It's beginning to look a lot like Fall around our house.

The table is set.
The Fall garland is hung.The Fall candles are out.
And little pumpkins are popping up all over the place.
Goodness me, I love this time of year!

J.J.H.

Our friends Drew and Erica
welcomed a sweet little addition to their family last month.

On Friday night, he got his first bike!

On Saturday, we received his birth announcement.

And on Sunday, he was baptized.

And after holding the sweet little man this weekend,
I of course dreamt I was pregnant last night.

I'm not.

Feeling Special this Fall

Another one of my goals for 2011,

is to find special ways to show my family and friends
just how much I love and appreciate them.

I've been trying to do that by
spending extra time with them,
sending thoughtful text messages,
making dinner for them,
lending a helping hand,
being generous with our resources
and being intentional with words of affirmation.

A couple weekends ago,
my sister and I put together little "Welcome, Fall!" packages
to help my mom and mother-in-law
know that I am oh-so-thankful for them
and for the unique roles they play in my life.

For my mom,
we put together a couple pieces of Fall decor that reminded us of her,
a mini word-art canvas and a refurbished vase full of Fall foliage.
For my mother-in-law,
we made her her own mini word-art canvas,
a refurbished vase,
and wrapped it up with a little decorative pumpkin.
I had so much fun crafting with my sister all weekend,
and I hope I was able to make my moms feel extra special this Fall.

A Sacred Conversation

Last weekend,
my Papa, his sister and her husband
drove down to spend the afternoon with our family
eating lunch, watching football, and shootin' the breeze.

I hadn't seen my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Paul
for over a year and a half.
And I had surely never spent much one-on-one time with them.

Until that Sunday.

And as I sat and chatted with them,
it was a sacred moment for me.

It was as if the Lord had heard this prayer
and answered.

I got to know my Aunt and Uncle better,
I got to hear their stories. I got to laugh with them.

And in a way,
it was like spending a little extra time with my Gram.

Thank you, Lord.
For what felt like the shiniest of pennies.

Date Day by the Bay

A couple weekends ago,
Jeremiah and I enjoyed another lovely Labor Day date on the bay.

After church,
we headed down to OB for ginormous acai bowls.
As we ate them, we walked along the beach there
and then headed over to Private Beach
for what has become our traditional Labor Day Weekend stroll.
#quaint&lovely
Of course we took the scenic route, though.
And stopped to reminisce (and take pictures!) at Sunset Cliffs.After our walk, we drove around the bay for the Festival of Sail.
I absolutely love the view when the bright red trolley
drives through the green trees and city buildings downtown.
We finished up our afternoon
with a delicious lunch in Old Town.
The avocado chicken tacos there are yum-to-the-my.
And all the bright colors just make me happy.

It was such a beautiful day
in my favorite city
with my favorite person.

Perfection.

If I have this job...

...for just one of these reasons,
I have much to be thankful for.

To be witness to how the Lord provides, contrary to my fears.
To gain respect and learn how to encourage Jeremiah
as he continues to work full time to provide for our family.
To find my worth.
To go through the self-discovery process.
To learn to lean on God daily.
To experience and appreciate the value of mentorship.
To open my eyes to the world's need.
To fund my hobbies and things that bring me joy.
To learn that when I'm faithful with little, I will be entrusted with much.
To understand the value of community and of friendship.
To practice obedience.
To learn these things. or these.

And boy do I have a million blessings to be thankful for.

A Simple Fall Frame

I saw this frame on Craft Magazine a few weeks ago.
and since I've had a glassless frame
sitting in our spare room for the past couple months,
I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try it out.

I wrapped the frame with twine one afternoon,
but I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do after that.

I clipped on a couple Diana prints at first,
and although it was kind of cute,
it just didn't have enough flair.

Then came Fall.

Ok, so maybe Fall hasn't completely and officially come,
but Labor Day has come and gone,
and Starbucks has pumpkin spice lattes for gosh sakes.

Anywho, Fall inspired me
(as it tends to do).

Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Dead.

I once had a quaint little clock hanging on my living room wall.
I made it with canvas, a set of clock hands and some spare fabric.

Well, as the batteries died
so did its ability to keep track of time. (duh!)

I guess I could have just replaced the batteries,
but I took this as an opportunity to switch things up a bit.

Enter: word art.

This quote is one of my faves,
so when I saw this little canvas on Pintrest,I just knew I had to make my own with the wise words of good ol' Frank.

From this shot, it looks like nothing but a blank canvas,
but I think it actually turned out pretty cute.