{Fall Commeth Quickly}

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As I mourn the passing of summer, a part of me welcomes the coming of fall.  There is a calm that seems to settle around me as the air turns cooler and the leaves start to change their color. 

I am content to stay home after work, wrapped in blankets and crafting or reading after the dishes are done and leftovers are put away.   Sunshine and warmth beckons me outside to wander, yet the chilly air leads me home.

The seasons of Michigan are beautiful, although I do wish that winter here didn’t last six out of twelve months.  But fall in Michigan brings a bit of something magical along with it.  In my mind, it’s almost as if Tinkerbell comes from the depths of her Neverland to sprinkle pixie dust on all us busy people, steeped in our oblivion. It helps me open my eyes and see the beauty in my surroundings. 

Fall is enchanting.  The crunching of leaves under my feet, people lined up for Pumpkin Spice lattes at Starbucks, and the parade of scarves, boots, and hats that I see everywhere.   I watch through the window and see people smile as the crazy wind whips their hair all around until they can hardly see through the tangled mess.  I see them laughing as they try to juggle umbrellas and bags, until they give up and just make a run for it. 

People are talking about gift-giving, cozy decorations, and passing around yummy candles to smell.  Soups are simmering on the stove and bread is baking in the oven.  You come home and everything smells so good, so inviting. 

Football games, bonfires with roasted marshmallows, crafty projects, jazzy music, knitting scarves, drinking hot cider, sleeping with open windows and listening to the sounds of wind and rain whirling around outside.  There are visits to apple orchards, hay rides and homemade cider with donuts.  Neighborhood homes have wreaths on doors and are scattered with pumpkins & gourds on doorsteps.  The scene makes my heart happy.  

I take a deep breath and sigh a happy little sigh. 

Fall is here, and I never get tired of anticipating its arrival.  I know soon I will be longing for spring, the green grass and birds singing in the trees, but I am glad that to everything there is a season, and for today, this season is mine.  I will stand breathless as I watch it bursting forth with incomparable beauty and explosions of color, hand painted by the God of the universe, here for us to enjoy. 

{hello monday}

Today I am channeling my inner Lisa Leonard and stealing her idea of hello monday.

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hello perfect sunday

hello 80 degrees and beautiful sunshine

hello shoes and long walk with my husband.

hello birds, singing and happy

hello rabbits jumping in the grass

hello fresh flower beds and daffodils

hello picnic table back on the patio

hello smiles and laugher because we're outside

hello first grilling of the season

hello sun-kissed faces and windblown hair

hello grass soon needing to be mowed

hello fresh laundry hung on the line

hello perfect day; i so enjoyed your visit

hello monday; thank you for the memories of yesterday

what are you saying hello to this morning?

Fairytale Dreams




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Sometimes I think about how amazing it would have been to live in a medieval castle.

We have fantasized about fairy tales since we were little.

Balconies. Moats. Drawbridges. Towers.

Will you climb the tower to save me?

 Knights & Fair Maidens. Princes & Princesses.

The daring rescue of the damsel in distress! 

These tales have undoubtedly created an unrealistic picture in my head of what it was really like way back when.  Back before modern conveniences and equal opportunity.

Blood.  Poverty.  War.  Contamination.  Slave labor.

But there is no denying, those castles look mighty stunning.



 

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The castles themselves might be out of reach, but the men that guarded them...

Those heroes...

They're still around.

I live with one.

I get to spend every day with my hero. 

My prince. My knight in shining armor.

He protects his family. 

Loves me with all his heart.

Works hard to provide.

Slays my dragons.

He tries to make all my dreams come true.

So maybe I don't have any moats or drawbridges, but that doesn't mean I don't have the fairy tale.

Every day I get to be a princess, and I wouldn't trade my prince for all the castles in the world.



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Missin' Maui

Have I mentioned that I fell in love with Hawaii when we were there last year?  Yes, I'm sure I have.  Once, twice, maybe a dozen times.  There is a reason they call it paradise. 

Over the past year, many reminders of our time in Hawaii have crept into our lives.

Ornaments.

Window decals.

Birthday parties.

Greetings.

Most recently, I cleaned the shells we brought back.  I soaked them in a bleach solution and scrubbed them up the best I could. 

This is where we found them:

And this is where they are now:

A constant reminder of the place that invades my dreams.

Where are you dreaming of today?

Spring in iPhone pics

The local Tractor Supply store was having "Chick Days" last week 

and it reminded me again of how many fun things there are about spring.

Cute things ~

Small things ~

Fuzzy things ~

Noisy things ~

I gave up my dreams of farm life and marrying Pecos Bill long ago, but when I see little animals, goats, horses, and even the occasional cow, a part of me wonders what it might be like to live country style for awhile.  But Dee Drummond I am not, so I come back to reality when I realize that I only live five minutes from several grocery stores, the library, a mall, dozens of restaurants, and Best Buy.  So I pet the little fuzzy chicks & ducks, and went on my merry way.

I got home that night and saw that there were tulips starting to poke their way up through the dirt in the flower beds that have been left unattended since last fall. 

I can't wait until the dirt is overshadowed with dozens of blossoms and bursts of color!  The roses from my husband are still alive and beautiful on the kitchen table, and when I look at them every day it makes me long ever more for the beauties of springtime.

As I marveled at the beauties around me, God blessed our little town with a beautiful sunset -- the first one I've seen in months. 

The clouds cleared away and color was burst across the sky! 

It was as if everything around me that day was filled with anticipation of spring.  Warmth.  Sunshine. Joy.  Excitement.

I love seeing the new life everywhere!

What do you love about spring?

Wordless Wednesday

Hello, ice.

Hello, wind.

Hello, day home from work.

Hello, books. Hello, blankets.  Hello, hot tea.

What's going on in your backyard?

Melting. . .

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I love the sound of melting snow.

The steady flow of water running through the downspouts.  Drips and splashes leaving a pinging sound as they hit the metal and fall to the ground. 

The temperature hit 40 degrees today; warmth we haven't felt since around November.

We left the heat on and opened up all the windows.  Silly, I know, but oh the smell of that glorious fresh air!

I stood by the window and let the sun beat on my face and just listened to the water.  It's a sound that always fills me with hope. Hope that spring really is coming soon and that any day I might see a Crocus trying to push its way up through the dirt.  I couldn't help but smile as I stood and listened. 

And then I thanked God, Creator of all, for the sunshine and the sound of Hope in the air.

What Winter Brings

Sometimes winter is breathtakingly beautiful.

Face Stuff

 

With cold weather upon us, my face is already starting to dry out and get flaky. 

Kinda like this:

So I have been trying to find a moisturizing routine that keeps my face soft and smooth (without making it oily), otherwise all you see is my makeup clumped up with my skin all flaking and dry. Oy.

This is the duo I have come up with:

Aveeno Skin Brightening Daily Scrub

Followed by:

Alba Aloe & Green Tea oil-free moisturizer

I do this before bed at night and sometimes rub a bit more cream into my face in the morning before I put my make up on, depending on how many dry patches I have.

Any other suggestions for warding away the winter dryness?

OPI - My new love

Last week I tried OPI nail polish for the first time.

Admittedly, I have been skeptical about everybody’s rave-reviews of this product, not understanding how one brand could really be that much better than another. (Plus I had never wanted to spend $9 on a bottle just to try it out.)

This past week I found it on sale and splurged, wanting to see if it really lived up to its reputation.

I applied the Japanese Rose Garden color to my nails, did a clear top coat and waited for the wow-factor. I got nothin'. It pretty much looked like any other nail polish I had ever used. Nothing special here.

The next morning however, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that even after doing a sink full of dishes and showering, the polish was still firmly intact.

Now, four days later, it still hasn’t chipped! Typically nail polish will last 10-15 hours on me and then look awful. I have never found one that doesn’t chip, peel, crack, or need daily touchups – until now!! !

My tips need to be touched up now, but that’s just from normal wear & tear (I’m pretty hard on my nails).

All that to say, I’m sold!

Do you wear OPI?

Has anybody used the “Nicole” by Opi? Any differences or benefits to that one?

Hawaii - Part 2

Yes, I've been back on mainland soil for 3.5 months already, but a piece of my heart stayed firmly planted in Maui.  Here are more glimpses of the loveliness of the Island.

Beautiful flowers and Hawaiian blessings were left on my pillow each day.

This lovely waterfall was on the grounds of our Resort.

We passed this gorgeous Hibiscus bush on our way to breakfast each morning.

Longhi's was our favorite restaurant and you could find us

there most mornings before starting our daily adventures.

This particular morning we lingered over French Press coffee

and a warm-from-the-oven blueberry scone. 

What they failed to mention when we ordered

our coffee that it was $15.  Yes, a Bodum of coffee,

holding appox 3 cups worth was $15. 

Have I been living under a rock?

In the town of Lahaina we went on a 2 hour whale-watch and afterwards our guide

said we saw a weeks-worth of humpback whales in that single outing!

Also in Lahaina we stumbled across the Banyan Tree -- so cool!

The perfect ending to any warm day in Hawaii is Shaved Ice.

Soooo delicious!

On this trip I became an Island Girl 

 

and forever fell in Love with the beautiful Island of Maui.

Aloha,