- Jen Leave a comment

Blog-tember Day 22 // Falling for Fall

It seems like just about everyone loves fall. Starting around September 1st, all everyone can talk about is sweaters and boots and cooler weather, Pinterest is filled with pumpkin recipes, and TVs everywhere are tuned to football games. It may be a little cliche, but I’d have to say that fall is my favorite season…because really, what’s not to love? So today I’m linking up with Blog-tember to share my fall favorites with you!

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Fall would not be fall without…

  • Plaid shirts and cozy sweaters. Of course, you can wear plaid shirts any time of year, but I always start pulling mine out when the weather starts getting cooler. It’s always nice to start wearing sweaters again too!
  • Fall decor. Something I love, probably more than I should, is browsing the fall decorations at Hobby Lobby or the Christmas Tree Shop. It’s so much fun to decorate for the season!

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  • Football. I never really cared too much about football until last year, when Dunkin’ Donuts started offering free coffee the day after the Patriots win. So of course, I had to start watching the games to see if I could get a free coffee! 😉 As I’ve been watching, I’ve been starting to understand more of what’s going on. I’m not an expert by any means, but it’s fun to watch the game on Sunday afternoon!
  • Reading. In the summer, I always feel like I should be outside doing something, but in the fall, I can let myself relax with a good book, either inside if it’s chilly or outside if the weather’s nice!
  • Pumpkin coffee. As popular as it is, I’m not really a big fan of Starbucks’ PSL. Dunkin’ Donuts pumpkin iced coffee or iced lattes are a different story, though! Pumpkin coffee, muffins, and donuts mean fall is officially here.

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  • Colorful leaves. Here in New England, we have some beautiful colors on the trees! You know fall is coming when the trees start turning all shades of red, yellow, and orange. And the leaves are still pretty even when they start falling and decorating the lawn or the roads!
  • Cooler weather. After a hot summer, it’s so nice to start waking up to cooler mornings and going to sleep with the windows open. I would definitely pick cold weather over hot, so I’m always glad when fall starts to bring the cooler temperatures and brisk breezes back around.
  • Snow. In northern New England, it’s not uncommon to get a little dusting of snow around the end of October or beginning of November. A few years ago, we even had a foot of snow that fell the day before Thanksgiving! Usually, that first snow melts within a day or two, but it’s magical while it lasts. Once it’s gone, we can go back to enjoying the pretty leaves and savoring the last few weeks before we’re buried in snow.
  • Thanksgiving. One of the best parts of fall is the beginning of the holiday season. We get to enjoy Thanksgiving and look forward to Christmas (and winter!). Not to mention, the Christmas coffees usually come back to Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts in the beginning of November 😉

What are your favorite things about fall?

- Jen 1 Comment

Blog-tember Day Twelve // Books, Books and More Books

Books, Books and More Books || Grace to Grow Blog

Today’s Blog-tember prompt is right up my alley! I’ve loved reading my whole life, and I have two bookcases and several boxes of books in the attic to prove it 😉 It’s always been my favorite way to learn something new, be inspired, or relax and have fun. I love going to bookstores just to browse the shelves and see what catches my eye, and my Amazon cart is always full of new books I’ve heard or read about. If only I had an unlimited budget…those books would be on my bookshelf instead of in an online shopping cart! 😉 So with that, let’s jump into today’s prompt: a book I recently read, one I’m currently reading, and one I want to read.

Books, Books and More Books || Grace to Grow BlogThe Wedding Shop by Rachel Hauck. I know anything by Rachel Hauck will be good, so I pre-ordered this one and got it the day it came out. I wasn’t disappointed! This is a story about a veteran, Haley, trying to find her place back in her hometown after her military service and a failed relationship. She sets out to restore an old wedding dress shop with the help of her late best friend’s ex-fiance. Her story is intertwined with the story of the shop’s original owner, who ran the shop in the 1930s. They both faced challenges, with the shop and with growing into the women God made them to be. It was a heartwarming story involving two sweet romances, with a couple of plot twists that surprised me and made it hard to put the book down! This book also mentioned characters from her two most recent books (The Wedding Dress and The Wedding Chapel), but this is a stand-alone book. I very highly recommend it!

Books, Books and More Books || Grace to Grow BlogJust a Kiss by Denise Hunter. I’m currently reading this third book in Denise Hunter’s Summer Harbor series. I love that the series takes place in Maine, just a few hours north of where I live! It’s not often I read books that mention towns and cities I’m familiar with 😉 So far, this is shaping up to be another excellent book and a great conclusion to the series!

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The Happiness Dare by Jennifer Dukes Lee. I bought this one a few weeks ago, but haven’t started it yet. I’ve been dealing with some anxiety and uncertainty about the future, and I’ve often thought I just wish I could be happy. Here’s the publisher’s description of the book:

Would you like to be happier? No matter who you are or how you feel, chances are you would answer yes. And Jennifer Dukes Lee was no different. For years, she wrestled with a constant nagging sense that she wasn’t as happy as she could be. At the same time, she felt guilty for wanting something so “shallow.” After all, doesn’t God only care that we find joy in our circumstances? Or is it possible that God really does want us to be happy?

Determined to get answers, Jennifer embarked on a quest to find out whether our happiness matters to God and, if so, how to pursue it in a way that pleases him.

In The Happiness Dare, you’ll learn what she discovered, including how to:

Understand the five happiness styles and maximize yours

Overcome the four biggest obstacles that stand in the way of your happiness

Find your happiness sweet spot—the place, relationship, or activity that gives you the greatest sense of well-being

Discover what you can do in just five minutes a day to be happier

Will you take the dare?

Join Jennifer in the pursuit of your truest, most satisfied, and most faith-filled self.

I’m really excited to read this. One of my goals for this month was to make a dent in my stack of non-fiction books, and I think I’ll be learning a lot from this one! 

What have you been reading recently?

- Jen 3 Comments

Blog-tember Day Nine // North to the Future

Today’s Blog-tember prompt was an easy one! The question is, “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?” For me, it’s somewhere I want to go back to: Alaska!

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Two years ago, my whole family went on a cruise to Alaska for my grandparents’ 50th anniversary. It was so awesome to be there as a family! While we were there, we visited Juneau and Skagway, and we saw the Tracy Arm Fjord. One of my favorite things we were able to do was go on a helicopter ride and land on a glacier. That was definitely a cool experience! 😉

My grandmother, cousin, me, and my sister
My grandmother, cousin, me, and my sister on top of a glacier

Ever since then, I’ve wanted to go back, see more of the sights, learn more of the history, and do some more exploring further north and inland. It was awesome to see Alaska from the water, but I would love to be able to spend a few weeks driving around, visiting small towns and seeing more of what life is like. I’ve even thought about seeing if I could get a summer job at a national park there.

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There’s just something the idea of Alaska that I love. I love the uniqueness of the weather, the culture, and the history. I love the spirit of Alaska; the spirit of adventure, courage, and resilience. It’s a beautiful state, and I love that I got to experience a taste of it with my family. I would go back in a heartbeat if I ever had a chance!

What’s your dream place to visit?

- Jen Leave a comment

Blog-tember Day Four // Currently

I’m a little behind on the Blog-tember prompts…I wanted to get this post ready for Sunday, but things just kept getting in the way. Today’s post goes with Sunday’s prompt, but tomorrow I’m going to jump back in with tomorrow’s prompt. But for now, here’s what’s I’m currently…

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Reading: Quiet by Susan Cain. I started it awhile ago, then read a couple of novels I bought at the bookstore last week, but what I’ve read of this so far is really good!

Watching: The Middle on the Hallmark channel. It’s a show about a family with three kids in the midwest…it can be kind of ridiculous sometimes, but it makes me laugh!

Eating: a pumpkin muffin. They’re back at Dunkin’ Donuts!

Drinking: a blueberry Bai antioxidant drink. I just bought it on a whim, but it’s actually pretty good!

Calling: my sister at college. We got to talk to her for an hour last Saturday, and I got to talk to her for half an hour last Wednesday!

Pinning: all the fall things! Decor, recipes, embroidery projects…now I just need to find the time to make them!

Going: to Target to look for a more professional-looking purse…and probably to get a PSL at Starbucks while I’m there 😉

Loving: that Dancing with the Stars is coming back on next week and that Laurie Hernandez is going to be a contestant! If Olympic gymnast skills translate to dancing, she’ll be awesome!

Discovering: that I don’t need sugar in my coffee anymore! I’ve been having coffee with just cream lately, and it’s pretty good. Every time I can cut out sugar is a good thing, right?

Feeling: excited that the fair in our town is this weekend! It’s one of the best weekends of the year 😉

Hoping: that my sister can come home from college for my birthday weekend. She’s planning on it, but I don’t want to count on it in case something comes up with her classes or work. It will be awesome if she can come!

Listening (to): my favorite podcast, the Boundless Show!

Celebrating: cooler weather! These first few days of September have been pretty cool and breezy, but I have a feeling there are still some hot days ahead.

Smelling: coffee! I’m making 50 gallons of coffee and putting it in the fridge, getting ready to sell iced coffee at the aforementioned fair. As soon as you walk in the door, all you smell is coffee!

Ordering: a new book! The latest book in Denise Hunter’s Summer Harbor series is coming out today, and it should be in my mailbox by the time I get home from work. Days when new books come are the best days 🙂

Considering: where I’m going to look next for a second job.

Starting: to wonder if the Bible study I go to is going to start up again. We took a break for the summer, and I haven’t heard anything about restarting. I should probably ask someone about that…

Finishing: my current embroidery project (a piece for the quilt/wall hanging I’m making with patterns that all involve mason jars) so I can start a new one! I want to do something fall themed next.

What are you up to currently?

Catch up with Blog-tember Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 here.

- Jen 5 Comments

Blog-tember Day One // Introduce Yourself

Ahh, September. The month when it finally (maybe?) starts to feel like fall. As much as I always dreaded going back to school, September has always been one of my favorite months. There’s pumpkin everything, pretty leaves, fall decor, my birthday…doesn’t get much better than that!

Today I’m linking up and joining in on Blogtember! The goal is to blog about different prompts every day in September. I may not end up blogging every day, but since I’m just starting out, I thought this would be a good way to get in the habit of blogging, and to get to know some other bloggers. So here goes!

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I am…

…a list maker. Hence why I’m introducing myself by way of a list 😉 My phone’s notes app is full of lists, and I also have planners, notebooks, notepads, etc. full of lists: to-do lists, goals, blog post ideas, grocery lists, projects I want to try, places I want to go, names for my future children, and yes, even a birthday wish list 😉 What can I say, I like to plan ahead!

…a coffee addict. Whether I make it at home or go out and get it, I have at least one coffee a day, sometimes more. My favorite is a plain iced latte or a peppermint mocha, but I’m not picky!

…an introvert. Give me a book or a podcast and the house to myself for a couple hours and I’m happy. I love quiet evenings at home with my family, and I much prefer getting coffee with a friend over a group event.

…learning to be creative. I’ve never thought of myself as a creative person; my sister has always been the artist/craftsman in the family who could make anything she dreamed up, while I was happy to just have my nose in a book. But I’ve been trying to do more creative activities, like embroidery, coloring, and now writing, and I’m having a lot of fun!

…a reader. I’ve loved to read since I was four years old. I read anything from mystery and suspense to historical fiction to contemporary Christian. I love a good story! But I am trying to read more for learning than for fun. Personal growth, Christian living, business, etc. I love being able to learn by reading, whether through a story or something a little more practical.

…a not-sure-what-I’m-doing-yet college grad. I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in 2015, but I still don’t know what I’m going to do on the career front. I have dreams of someday working in the the pro-life movement or with adoptions, or to own my own business of some kind…but for now, I’m trying to enjoy the season of life I’m in and not to miss the opportunities to grow and prepare for whatever’s next.

…most importantly, a follower of Jesus. I don’t always get it right, but I always want to be learning and growing. Learning more about Him is way more important than learning more about anything else, and that’s what I want my blog to reflect.

Here's a grainy selfie of my sister and me for good measure ;)
Here’s a grainy selfie of my sister and me for good measure 😉

What about you? If anyone out there is reading this, please say hi and introduce yourself! 🙂