Fall

The Transition

/ jennced15 / 1 Comment

It has been a whirlwind summer. Did anyone else feel like that? Time passes by quicker than I could have ever imagined. One minute I am prepping for my friend to come and stay with me for a couple of months and the next thing I know, I am putting her on a plane bound for her next adventure. After the airport, I found myself at the grocery store picking up a few items and when I walked in I was assaulted by Halloween greeting cards and candy. Is it really that time of year again? While I am a HUGE lover of all things fall and Halloween—I have to wonder how I missed the steps between 1 and 100.

The only thing I can compare it to is an accident I had a couple of years ago. I remember everyone asking me if I was alright and mentally I thought I was responding to their questions only to realize that I was in shock and it took a moment or two for my brain to fully process what was happening. That is how I feel about moving from summer into fall this year. I am going to need a moment to process . . .

As I process, I thought it best to write down the top 5 things I want to accomplish this fall before it escapes me and becomes winter. What are your plans as we transition the seasons?

  1. Purge old clothes: For some reason, during the summer months, it is acceptable to get by with ratty t-shirts, shorts, shoes and everything else in between but we all know they are just going to sit at the bottom of drawer for the next 6 months and when we pull them out at the beginning of spring we will realize we don’t want to wear them, leave them in the drawer and go purchase new items to replace them. Break the cycle!
  2. Deep clean the house: I know this is a typical spring thing to do but I like to do it twice a year (it makes it easier to accomplish). I get everywhere and clean out everything and somehow it makes the winter rest more enjoyable. Not to mention it readies my house for all of the holiday parties and visitors.
  3. Party planning: For those that know me, parties are my thing. I love celebrating with the people I love and making people smile and the holidays present the perfect backdrop for parties. While I won’t have the time to plan my larger parties; I do hope to plan multiple smaller parties. I want to do a harvest party, Halloween party, and a thankful party (since I will be gone for Thanksgiving). Planning will now need to ensue.
  4. New kitchen skills: I am looking forward to a season of warm soup and crusty bread. While I do have skill in the kitchen; I want to hone and get better. I have so many soups that I need to try making and I have actually never made crusty bread so I am looking forward to learning that new skill.
  5. Gratitude reflection: Nearing the end of another year makes me want to take stock of all the blessings that are in my life. I want the people in my life to know how grateful I am for each and every one of them. I want to personally reflect on all the things that I own and are able to do and devise a process for the rest of the year and for the next that will adequately express my gratitude. I want a conscious thankful heart each time I walk in my door or jump in my car. I want to show love more readily and more often. In short, I just want to be a better person/steward to all the people/things that touch my life.

The Music Tells the Story

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Did you know that Halloween is a week away? I can’t believe it! I am more mad that the whole season escaped me then about anything else going on right now and that includes the exorbitant amount of money I have had to pay out during this transition of my life. I am determined to make the most of it for the last week. In fact, I made a trip to one of my favorite fall spots this week: Sauvie Island.  It was a lot of fun just hanging out with my Mom while she is here helping me unpack. Thank heavens for Mom’s and Dad’s!! I don’t know about your families but I do know that I got stuck with some of the most wonderful people in the world! 🙂

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Since this is the music post; I decided to do something a little different. I am going to share my top 5 classical music songs that remind me of fall or Halloween. Got to get in the mood right? 🙂

What songs remind of fall and/or Halloween? Please share!!

 

  1. Funeral March of a Marionette by Charles Gounod 
  2. Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 
  3. Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig Van Beethoven (Side note: I actually play this on the piano) 
  4. Simple Gifts from Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copeland 
  5. The Four Seasons (Autumn) by Antonio Vivaldi

Finding the Best of Halloween

/ jennced15 / 3 Comments

So I know this is traditionally the post about the best places I have been . . . and believe me, the list is very long. However, all week I was thinking about all the fun things that I would like to do in regards to my favorite time of year, fall and, my favorite holiday, Halloween.

This year has been weird with the move, the lack of cooler weather on a consistent basis, missing my Halloween decorations and of course no party. I have really tried to get in the mood but for some reason I still feel like I am on some extended summer vacation.

So I have been dreaming about all of the things that I want to do in my life regarding fall and Halloween and I decided that I would share with you my top five. Do any of you have a fall dream?

 

  1. Ireland– yes, Ireland. I want to be there not for St. Patrick’s Day but for Halloween since technically Halloween is an ancient Druid holiday started by the Celts. We can visit the church that inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula, climb up an old decaying castle at midnight and tell ghost stories and I am sure, party with the best of them in Dublin. 
  2. Romania–I guess we can see why I would want to go here. I would actually love to participate in one of the Halloween parties that take place every year at the Bran Castle (Dracula’s Castle). 
  3. Mexico–so the celebration starts on October 31st but it goes until November 2nd because it is Dias de los Muertos! Fiesta anyone?! Mexico is full of such vibrate color and life and to celebrate your ancestors for 3 days . . . what could be more wonderful than that? 🙂 
  4. Salem, Massachusetts–You have to visit the “Witch City” at least once in your life. Besides that, everyone knows how beautiful the fall foliage is this time of year in Massachusetts as well. Make a weekend of it!
  5. Fall Drives–that is right; you can’t celebrate this season without taking a leisure drive through beautiful country, stopping at cider mills for hot cider and donuts. I have been on at least 5 of these in my life time and I am positive there are more and the most important one I still need to do is drive through Sleep Hallow, Vermont. 

HAVE A WONDERFUL FALL SEASON AND A HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

August So Far

/ jennced15 / 2 Comments

Good Morning Everyone!

We have started this month off with a bang of activity and it isn’t going to slow down before the end of the month. I have all of my weekends tied up until after Labor Day and hopefully I am on the cusp of a job which will impact the month as well.

The whirlwind of activity has everything changing so rapidly. Yesterday while driving to Park City, I noticed the leaves changing on some of the trees . . . what? The girls also reminded me that they start school in 2 weeks . . . what? What I am figuring out is that maybe my diatribe on fall coming too soon to local stores isn’t too far away after all. What is a girl to do? 🙂

If you can’t beat them, join them right?!

Here is my list for the favorite things that I did this week. I hope each and everyone of you are enjoying the last of your summer.

 

1. Deer Valley Music Festival: I have been volunteering at the festival for the last three weeks as a way to get out of the house, enjoy friends, and forget about the fact that I don’t have a job. It has been wonderful!! I highly recommend everyone in the Utah area taking in one of these concerts next year.

  1. Wayne Bartholomew Park: I have now brought my nieces here twice and we love it. It is great family fun for an entrance fee of $0. Can’t beat that! It does get crowded on really hot days and it will be hard to find a spot on the beach but try and get here if you can.

  2. The Dodo Restaurant: This is one of our favorite restaurants in the Salt Lake Valley. It has great food, GREAT desserts, and a great atmosphere to hang out with friends and mingle. My girlfriends and I headed over here for dessert this week to celebrate the end of an era and the start of new things to come.

  3. New Desserts: So the girls stayed the night and we partied hard. We colored up a storm, went to the library and checked out 16 books that needed to be read before they left, went to the lake, camped-out in my room for bed, roasted s’mores and of course had to make a treat. The girls couldn’t decide between something chocolate or citrus so we made both. These lemon cookies were a HUGE hit. We doubled the batch and the cookies are officially gone as of today. The chocolate poke cake was good as well BUT there is a disclaimer of eating it sparingly. It is SUPER rich and is likely to make you sick if you eat too much.

  1. Fall Weather: We ended up with a very cool and rainy day twice this week. Both days I pulled out long-sleeve shirts, wanted a cup of tea and was starting to dream about a Halloween party. Luckily for my mother the party won’t be at her house this year and hopefully I will be able to still get a party in even if I am living in a different location. Fingers crossed!!

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