Friendies!!

Kristin is in the hospital gown.  (Sorry Kristin, but it IS on facebook and you look beautiful!  Megan is the other adult.  ;)  Devany is the one in the striped pants.  She is Megan's daughter.  January is holding Autumn and they are both Kristin's girls.  ;)
 

So, I am really excited because I get to see not one, but TWO of my best friends next week!  Pretty soon after college, most of my closest friends moved away, and not just one state over or anything, but on to the other side of the country!  Tennessee, Minnesota and Massachusetts!  Geesh.  What's a girl to do? 
 

Well, next Tuesday Megan is coming into town to meet Sara's new baby, Jessa, and I am going to pick her up from the airport.  It will be a quick thing but I am just thankful that I get to see her at all.  I'm thankful that Sara lives here, she is so close to Megan she is practically family.  (They grew up together in Montana.)  And Jason's sister and brother-in-law and their kids live here too.  All GREAT excuses to come out here and visit frequently. 
 

Then next Thursday, Emily and I are flying out to Massachusetts to visit the Cooley's/Fish's/DeFilippo's!  We are staying with Kristin and Megan's parents, the Cooley's, and we finally get to meet January, Devany and the newest girl in the family, Autumn!  Can you tell that I can't wait??!! 

 

 

We are going to a baseball game one evening in Boston, and we may go apple picking in the New England fall weather!  Can you believe that?  I always think of the end of Anne of Avonlea when I think of apple picking, when Anne and the once-evil-turned-nice principal are picking apples.  :)

 

It has been three years since we've seen Kristin (she came out to stay with us when my dad died and was a major help) and even longer since we've seen Megan!  It's hard to believe that it's been that long.

 

So.  I will obviously have much to post about after we get back.  I love my friends and I am so thankful for the chance to see them.

It's Almost Here!

I am so thankful that although September is not generally a very fallish month around here, today is nice and cloudy!  Humid...but cloudy.

And in my mind that means it's time to break out the Fall music, order a pumpkin spice latte and go buy a pumpkin!  Well, maybe save the pumpkins for October.

 

 

Go outside and enjoy this weather!

 

 

5th Annual Sister Day

This post is way overdue and I really didn't get too many pictures, but I can't let a Sister Day go by with no mention whatsoever!
This Sister Day was a lot of fun. It fell on a Sunday so Em and I went to church in the morning. We stopped at Starbucks for a quick little treat first.
Don't mind the absolutely hideous picture! (Of me..not Em. She's always cute. :)

Em wanted to open the presents in the car but I convinced her to hold off until after church. ;) During the high school service I gave Em's small group pieces of a little puzzle with a note just to have something Sister-Day-like going on. They gave them to her throughout the morning and she put it together at her desk before we left.

After church, we made our way to Knott's Berry Farm! Our family grew up going to Knott's every Christmas because my Grandpa Shaw...and actually his brother, my Mom and Aunt Donna, all worked there when they lived in Orange County. My Great Uncle Foulton was friends with the Mr. Knott! ;) Anyway, we used to get free tickets every year and it was always a fun time. We hadn't been since high school so a trip there was due.

We opened presents in the car on the way. Can you tell I had some fun wrapping Em's gifts? Pinterest inspired me of course!

When we got there, we were surprised to find multiple roosters in the parking lot! I, personally, was also surprised to see some of the new rides. They looked terrifying! In high school, roller coasters didn't phase me a bit...but now that I'm old, I get a little nervous. But it all worked out. One ride we DID NOT go on was the giant swing ride. Em thought I was silly at first but after we went on Supreme Scream, she agreed that we had had enough of heights. And the swing ride was 50 feet taller! You can see the difference between the two in this picture. Yikes!
We had one more surprise. (It was funny too because in the morning it was pouring and so hardly anyone was at the park, even though by the time we got there it was a beautiful sunny day.) Anyway, I'm not a good judge of guessing numbers of people, but it was an empty park. As we were walking up to the front gate we saw a group of high school staff people! We had no idea they were going that day. So it was funny seeing them pop up here and there throughout the day. Apparently they had a little game of "Where's Waldo" going on trying to spot Emily and me. ;) All in all it was another Sister Day success!

Fall (or Autumn) Music

If you've heard me say it once, you've heard (or will hear) me say it a million times. I love Fall! Which I interchange with the word Autumn. Sometimes I like one word better than the other. I like to say, "Fall weather." But I'm not sure if I like "Fall music," or "Autumn music" better. But that's not the point of this post.
Yesterday was the PERFECT day. I decided that God can't make everyday be like that or else I'd already think I was in Heaven. Okay, I wouldn't go that far, but I really really really love days like that. It started out with clouds and rain. But not just any kind of clouds. Dark thunderstormy looking clouds. The clouds that look like they're pregnant and about to pop! Then in the afternoon it started to clear. Bright, blue, crisp sky with white puffy clouds. And at evening time there was a delicious breeze and when the sun began to set there was pink and gold. But weather is not really the point of this post either.
The point of this post is to let you in on my Fall playlist. Season's need a particular sound. Which is why I SAVE CHRISTMAS MUSIC FOR CHRISTMAS!!! Ah, there...got that out. Right now is the perfect time for Bluegrass! Music that makes me want to go outside and rake leaves and jump in them, buy big old pumpkins and carve them, bake yummy honey cornbread and put on fuzzy socks and wrap myself in a blanket and sip apple cider. Oh my word.
Onto the playlist:

Although I'm not thrilled, to say the least, with the Dixie Chicks personality as a whole, I do love this album. And I listened to it in Autumn way back in high school when I was just starting to realize that I had a favorite season. I even remember an outfit I wore one day in high school when I went to Lombardy to get a pumpkin and I was listening to this album. Is that weird? I was wearing white chords. Yep. White. And a pale blue turtleneck. And probably some warm coat. Mmm. Cowboy Take Me Away is a classic. And Hole in My Head is just fun.



I've been listening to Nickel Creek since...I think college actually. Maybe high school. Thanks to Christen. We've seen them in person a few different times, my favorite place being Largo. Small little restaurant in LA somewhere. Wondeful ravioli.



I first heard Alison Krauss, unbeknownst to me that it was her, in the movie, Oh Brother Where Art Thou? She sang some classic gospel songs like Down to the River to Pray and I'll Fly Away for the soundtrack. I liked her...and then I found out who she was and I gave one of her albums to my mom for her birthday. I think she has a beautiful quality to her voice.



Very new find, through Pandora. Like 'em.



I first heard about Patty Griffin a few years ago when our friend told Em and me about her song, O Heavenly Day. I loved this song, but I never checked out the rest of her music and I forgot her name. Well, the other day Em and I bought tickets to take my mom to see Emmylou Harris at the Greek Theater and Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller were opening for her. I read their names and hoped they would be good, then Em told me who Patty Griffin was. And oh my goodness! I loved every song she did! Then I went home and listened to more of her songs on Grooveshark and now I just want to go and buy all her albums!



Then some non Bluegrass honorable mentions:
Norah Jones
James Taylor

There you go! Enjoy!

Pinteresting Wednesdays

Well, I planned on having another post up inbetween this and the last one, but I just didn't get around to it. My life needs to be a tad more interesting! Ha. Right now it's clearly just pinteresting. Ba doom ch!

Anyway, here are my weekly pins!

I've always wanted to get married in a church, but this idea just may have me changing my mind. I never thought about having an outside wedding at night!


This week, I found a grown up tent! I don't how I will accomplish this, but someday I WILL have one of these in my house.


I love the outfit ideas you can find on Pinterest. When I don't know what to wear I usually open my computer to this board and find some inspiration.


Um. Do I need to write any words about this? I think not.


So fantastic.


There's just something so well...romantic about twinkle lights.


I would want this birthday party even at this age!


I like this simple idea for a bookmark. I'm always in need of a bookmark.


Aren't these the cutest? Who says someone needs to be getting married to break these out?


The twist braid. Wish I had more time in the mornings.


Hehe...does this make me a nerd that I like this so much?


Two words: yum and my. I haven't tried these yet, but my friend Ashley has and she said they were amazing!


Perfect DIY for the oncoming Autumn weather!


Who doesn't want to know how to make their own Frosty??


There is something so whimsical about this.


There was more but you'd get tired of it. Until next week!

It's that time of year!

Fall is officially here (okay, so not officially, but in my opinion it is) and I am beyond excited! Fall is my favorite season. Well, when spring is here I sometimes think that that is my favorite season, but really, I think it's fall. Or I should say Autumn. I really like the name, Autumn. I think it's the nicest sounding season name. When I hear the word, Autumn, I think of a red, crisp leaf.

So it only began to feel like autumn on Tuesday. It was a little chilly in the morning, and that familiar crispness in the air arrived. Then on Wednesday, I awoke to gray clouds.....and I got to wear.....a sweater! Oh it was wonderful. But I actually felt the first hint of autumn this past weekend when I was at Starbucks with Emily. I decided to order a hot drink because I was just tired of ordering cold ones. I bought a Pumkin Spice Latte....one of my all time favorites. I took a sip, and it was amazing! The sip embodied Autumn! I closed my eyes and took another sip, and even though it didn't appear to be true...I could hear the wind howling outside and the leaves on all of the trees were instantly red and gold, and I was wearing a sweater.

Today the crispness was there again in the air and the sky was the bluest blue and the clouds were huge, puffy, and very white. It was my favorite sky. I couldn't help but look at it and think of our amazing God! I am so thankful that He created Autumn.

Seasons!

People say that there are no seasons in Southern California. I beg to differ! These pictures are of the same street and tree in my neighborhood and as you can clearly see...there are FALL colors and SPRING flowers.