Pumpkins and Apple Pie

“Way out in the country tonight he could smell 

the pumpkins ripening toward the knife and the triangle eye and the singeing candle.” 

― Ray Bradbury

We went to Honey Pot Hill Farm over the weekend and had the best apple pie I've ever tasted. 

Of course Lyla didn't really care about the apple trees or the farm animals roaming about

(even though we definitely pretended like she did),

but she IS starting to notice other little kids and she really did like 

that little pumpkin we plopped her down in front of...

The weather was perfect and that caramel apple, hot cider, apple pie 

and warm cinnamon apple donuts were definitely worth every minute of the drive up there. 

I couldn't stop staring at my handsome husband and sweet baby girl all weekend...

I am one lucky wife/mama. 

just for the beauty of it

“I loved autumn, the one season of the year that God seemed 

to have put there just for the beauty of it.” 

― Lee Maynard

It has been a challenge for me to write lately. Its hard to find a reason to do anything other than kiss that little face and spend every spare moment making her eyes light up with laughter (the girl makes you WORK HARD for her giggles). 

She is changing so much and I continue falling so hard. Time is flying fast and the flood of thoughts continuously whooshing through my mind don't linger long enough to be described. 

At first, I worried that becoming a family of three (well, I mean four...we can't wait to get back to our Lucy in a few weeks) would be hard on our marriage - a marriage that was still so new when we found out we were expecting. That first year of marriage had been so good - dating this man who I was lucky enough to call my husband. And I initially mourned the imminent passing of our "single" married days. But that all seems so silly now. 

I have never been more in love with my husband. We are closer now than we've ever been...and we have this little girl...this little life that I can't imagine our family without. I can honestly say she is the best thing that has ever happened to us. This fall seems more beautiful and life so, SO much more full of joy. 

We love you, Lyla Bird. 

Boston > DC > Tampa > Orlando > Boston

“He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream 
and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.” 
― Douglas Adams

[a bird with her wings]

We are back. Again. 

Lately, it seems we spend more time pulling clothes out of suitcases than drawers. 

And once again, it feels good to be home. Sweet, sweet home. 

The beautiful 70 degree weather here is a welcomed respite from the Florida heat. 

Fall is my most favorite season, after all.

 Apple cider, pumpkin patches, boots and crackling fires.

Bring on the bundled babe and bright array of colorful leaves floating from the trees.

Hello, September. 

happy little things

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”
― Albert Camus

Waking up to a crisp blue autumn sky peeking through bright orange and yellow leaves

and Moose's head resting on the edge of the bed 

is a great start to any day...

but it was an especially welcomed treat this morning.

Today I am focused on the little things making me smile:

- flirting with Mr. D at the red light before he turned left toward downtown 

and me, right toward old town

- the colorful trees like bright flower bouquets lining the streets

- the warm smell of a fire burning in the cool fresh air

- holding hot chocolate in the warm mug between my hands

- my grandmother's turquoise ring 

- Thanksgiving around the corner and Christmas songs in my head

May your day be filled with lots of happy little things!

wednesdays.

“Wednesdays were the best thing about Atlantis. 

The middle of the week was a traditional holiday there. 

Everyone stopped work and celebrated the fact that half the week was over.”
― Walter Moers

 Some days there is just nothing better than pulling your hair up 

and feeling a cool autumn breeze tickle the back of your neck.

This morning, a single bird sang a soulful harmony to a chorus of dry, colorful leaves swaying 

just outside our bedroom window. Its so dark in the mornings now 

and the alarm seems to sound so frightfully soon each day...but this morning I awoke to 

this lone little bird's tune filling our room and making its way through the somber sky's moonlit hue.

Happy Wednesday!

photo from weheartit.com

hot chocolate.

“He stared at his hot chocolate like it held the secret to the universe.”
― Lilith Saintcrow

 Yesterday, Mr. D and I both were feeling under the weather

so on this chilly October morning the warmth of hot chocolate in my hand is almost as good 

as a warm bath or a big cozy towel just out of the drier. 

The weekend came and went so quickly that I am just barely able to digest 

the word "Tuesday" on my calendar staring back at me, not to mention "October."

But this is my very favorite time of year and I am looking so forward to the days ahead.

Sick or not sick, I am sure this wont be my only cup of hot chocolate today

and I am already looking forward to the next one...

however careful to slowly enjoy every warm, smooth sip of the one currently nestled between my hands.

It is only Tuesday, after all.

from scratch.

"If more of us valued food and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a much merrier world."
— J.R.R. Tolkien

I made these delicious pumpkin cake bars last night. So good. 

Sometimes there is just nothing quite as therapeutic as baking...and having it turn out well.

Pumpkin bars:

4 eggs
1 2/3 c. sugar
1 c. oil
1 16 oz. can pumpkin
2 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda

Mix eggs, sugar, oil & pumpkin 'til light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, combine remaining dry ingredients. Then stir everything together. Spread in an ungreased jelly roll pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool.

Cream cheese frosting:

3 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/2 c. margarine (softened)
1 t. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar

the walk home.

if only birds thought outloud

"This autumn-
why am I growing old?
bird disappearing among clouds."  — Basho

 [There is a line of trees just like this out by my parent's house in the country]

 

 Never before has a Wednesday tasted so sweet - and not because of the spontaneous cupcake tasting that just commenced in conference room three, although that does help a little - 

Did you know that as we process things our brains learn faster and faster

so time eventually does seem to fly as we age.

If only I could simultaneously slow some things down 

and speed others on ahead...

Happy Hump Day. 

Hope its sweet.

 

PS. My dad is doing well after his surgery yesterday and headed home today! Hooray!

 

 

image spotted here.

home again.

“Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.” ― Elizabeth Lawrence

 I landed back in the District last night in a content daze. I fell so heavily for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society that the flight from Minneapolis seemed like 20 minutes, not two hours. Not only have I fallen face first into a sea of dried leaves for the characters, but my infatuation with reading has taken to new heights.

"Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul." — Joyce Carol Oates 

I have a very full week ahead. I have so many different things going on and the invested hours required is admittedly overwhelming. So I have made two simple goals for this week:

To still find time to stroll streets with those who are very much alive in another world 
and 
capture my current surroundings, to watch the leaves turn with my camera in hand...even as time zooms frazzled around me.

As we neared the District, I watched the tree-lined Potomac River bend and curve below the wing of the plane...it felt so good to be home.


photo found here.

morrow

"Perhaps I write for no one. 

Perhaps for the same person children are writing for 

when they scrawl their names in the snow." 

— Margaret Atwood

I stood with my toes barely over the edge of the curb

an invisible wall between me and the cars whizzing by

and suddenly everything became necessary

the drab mix of amber and toast color leaves fallen in a heap on the concrete

the draft of cool air brushing against my feet

the older woman who walked quickly trying to run only to walk again

and that moment in the middle of the morning rush hour

when suddenly the somber slate street was completely empty both ways

and I crossed in the glow of emerald lights

bobbing up and down in the wind

 Thankful for dinner last night with a childhood friend

and the absence of work ...it felt like the weekend.

 pic.one.here.

October, love.

"no spring nor summer beauty hath such grace
as i have seen in one autumnal face."
— John Donne

The crisp air this morning solidified the fact that its October

And even though I can't believe September is all but gone

I am almost giddy about the start of this month. 

Hooray for the weekend and cheers to October!

 --------------------

In other news, went and saw Catfish last night...

and it was surprisingly entertaining. 

(Also, I have my fingers crossed that Tiffany, 

who has been visiting, will move here!)

photo from here.

and if i were a bird.

This is my very favorite time of year.

And even if I were to try to fill it with lament over the imminent loss of colorful leaves, 

I cannot dismiss the beauty carried in the crisp, cool Autumn air.

A thanksgiving filling my lungs that simply cannot be ignored.

In Autumn, God makes earthly beauty impossible to avoid.

And if I were a bird, 

I would certainly delay among the pumpkin patches and barrels of hay before flying away.

[photos from the country one year ago]

Sweet September.

"My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way." — Ernest Hemingway

 I sat writing for a long time last night, but when I glanced down

I saw only circles drawn again and again on the page.

I had high hopes to escape to some coastal town this Labor Day weekend

soft images of where the water meets and waltzes with land had already started to cloud my mind 

but the onset of the hurricane has made it a difficult thing to plan on.

So, I am rewriting my weekend plans

going back to the drawing board, so to speak and maybe scrapping the whole thing altogether.

And while I continue the never ceasing challenge to convince myself that life is better unplanned,

I am once again looking inward

and in doing so searching out the cloudy path ahead.

Continually remembering to be thankful for every pot hole and hill along the way.

 New beginnings never cease to both overwhelm and excite me,

hope magically dancing around in the breeze and standing tall before the foreboding hurricane clouds.

photo from it's mary ruffle.

the end of summer.

"Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live."
— Mark Twain

It is still summer, but yesterday as a surprisingly cool breeze blew through the still green leaves on 

the trees I could almost smell apple cider and billowing bonfire smoke. 

I'm so thankful to live somewhere where seasons flourish, each equally long as the one before it.

Just before the season actually changes, I am anxiously anticipating it - 

but there is something especially romantic about autumn and I am more than ever

ready for it to commence...but, as a farewell to a wonderful summer

I long to feel warm sand between my toes

and breathe in salty air...

photo one, photo two