…relishing the fall days here in Tennessee. It’s actually been a little warmer this week, but the evenings and mornings are pretty chilly still…and there is still that little fall nip in the air even when the temperatures are upper 70’s. I always forget how much I love fall, and it took me a while to get into the spirit of it this year for some reason…but I’m all in now!

…doing the pumpkin-ing thing with everything I can think of. Pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin smoothies, pumpkin whoopee pies, pumpkin crisp, pumpkin lattes! It’s like this craze that you just can’t get away from this time of year. If you’re a fellow-pumpkiner, hit up your local Trader Joe’s for an over abundance of pumpkin themed treats and foods. Their pumpkin butter is one of the best things you’ll ever stick in your mouth during the fall.

…feeling so unsatisfied with my hair again. For one, it’s all falling out. HELP. For two, I’m just in the mood to do something different with it. Different cut, style, color…I don’t know! Just something different. I’ll pull up style images from Google or Pinterest like every other day trying to find the magic one that hits me, but so far I’ve come up empty.

…looking forward to having my mom and sister here for the weekend! Ben is away at a conference for a few days, so they are coming up today to keep me and Ayla company while he’s gone. I’m sure there will be lots of eating out, coffee shops, and snuggles with Ayla during their visit. I’ve been dying to hit up this spot ever since we moved, but I’m not sure I can convince my sister that she’s a foodie enough to eat raw-vegan for a meal…we’ll see and wish me luck!

…loving this and this from Old Navy. I feel like Old Navy has suddenly started popping out some super great stuff, and the baby section is really dangerous also. The blouse is one of my absolute favorite items in the my closet right now, and I have it in black and maroon. It’s really hard for me to find tops that are the length that I like, and this one is practically tailored made to what I like to have! The terry top is also a longer length and super comfortable.

…already thinking ahead to Christmas shopping. It’s crazy how fast it comes around every year, right? I always like to have as much (if not all of it!) of my shopping done before Thanksgiving, because even though I love to shop, I can’t stand getting out in the crowds during the holiday season. It’ll be Ayla’s first Christmas, and I’m hoping she’ll be old enough to sorta maybe enjoy ripping into presents by the time Christmas Day arrives.

What about you: what are some things you currently enjoying about the fall season?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Ayla and I spent last week in South Carolina at my parent’s house, and it was a fun time of seeing lots of friends and family and basically being on what felt like a vacation, hehe. Mom helped me can some salsa on Friday, and I was really glad to get that done. It was on my top priority to do over the summer, but between baby and moving, it just never happened. Hopefully it’s enough to last us until next summer…but then we do eat a lot of salsa, so we’ll see.

I planned to leave at 5:15 on Saturday morning to meet a friend on my way for coffee, and then head for home. Thanks to setting my alarm for PM instead of AM, I woke up right at 5:15 (thanks to ayla). I got ready in about five minutes flat, threw everything in my suitcase, fed Ayla, and dashed out the door. Thankfully lights and traffic were cooperative and I wasn’t that late for my breakfast date. We hung out at the coffee shop for an hour or so, and then left for Tennessee. Ayla slept for the first three hours (!!!), and since we only had five hours from where I met my friend, she was sleeping for most of the trip…that always makes the trip feel so much easier. We got home a little after noon, and unpacked, did some baking, and sat around waiting for Ben to come home from his trip to New York. His flight was a little delayed, so he didn’t get in until six thirty that evening, and it was really really really good to see him finally come driving in and be back together again. We missed him! Ayla was so content to just sit in his lap when we were having supper, and she would just turning up her head to look at his face over and over again.

We spent the day at home on Sunday…a leisure breakfast, a walk around the neighborhood (ayla loves her ergo carrier so much and gets such a pleased little expression on her face when she’s in it), a big lunch, naps, and then evening church. Ayla was having a bit of a rough afternoon, and things didn’t get much better at church…but we made it, hehe.

Here are five things I love:

– this pretty thing
– this helpful tip
– this song
– this coat
– this dessert

Have a great week, dears!