ten things {i heart fall}.

fall is my favorite season. besides christmastime, it is hands down, my most *favorite* time of the year. and there is something oh-so-lovely about fall in new england. trees turning such brilliant shades of red, gold and orange. cool, crisp air with the hint of firewood burning in the distance. apple picking and pumpkin patches. tall boots and warm sweaters.

this post is all about the things i {heart} about this most wonderful time of the year.

1. fall foliage.

in just a couple of weeks the leaves here in maine should be at their peak. the forests will become patchwork-quilt-like, dotted with bright, bold hues... golden leaves carpeting the grass. it is an absolute display of god's handiwork and i can't wait to take it all in this year.

2. boots.

it's always an exciting time for me when i get to unpack my boots, where they have been hibernating all summer, just waiting for the weather to turn cold. one of my all-time wardrobe staples, this picture shows my favorite pair i bought last year from old navy. skinny jeans + boots = one.happy.girl.

3. fall-scented candles.

i have some burning even as i type. a couple pecan-pie scented candles and an apple one in our kitchen. how can you resist? the minute labor day is over, i can't wait to fill our home with the delicious scents of pumpkin pie, apple crisp and cinnamon. doesn't reading those scents just make you feel warm&fuzzy?

4. pumpkin goodies.

i love everything pumpkin. pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pancakes (see my recipe here)... but i would have to say that there's still nothing that can compare to the ole classic: pumpkin pie. thanksgiving dinner isn't complete without it.

5. cute costumes.

i have always thought halloween is kind of a pointless holiday... until i had a little one to dress up :) now, i start buying halloween costumes in september; i just can't help it they are so cute. last year, we dressed bella up as a flower, which was adorable and this year we bought her this super sweet strawberry costume from old navy. i'm just hoping she will keep the hat on for at least two seconds so we can get a good pic...

6. football.

i love football. and nick? well, he played football in high school and college and has coached it as well... so, we are a football-loving-family, which makes for really fun sundays from september through january. our home cheers on the patriots (me) and the cowboys (nick) and several fantasy teams between the two of us.

7. picking apples.

one of my favorite childhood memories. today bella and nick went for their first apple picking trip of many... we picked a whole bag full and only paid twelve dollars. on the menu? applesauce, apple crisp, a pie or two, an apple breakfast dish for my crockpot and some apple dumplings. i'd better get cooking...

8. sweaters.

one of my favorite things to wear. there's nothing comfy-er than wrapping up in a thick, warm sweater on a crisp, fall day. i think i need a shopping trip to the jcrew outlet :)

9. comfort food.

ahhhh, comfort food. i love cooking in the fall and winter because it means using my crockpot a whole lot, soups, chowders, chicken&dumplings, chili and homemade biscuits. yum. i think your family should always know what season it is by what you give them for dinner... that's how i like to cook anyway; if it's fall, i want my food to feel like fall :)

1o. fall crafts and home decor.

i used to love going to barnes&noble to study while i was in school... i especially loved it in the fall because my study breaks consisted of a pumpkin spice latte and flipping through a martha stewart living magazine, checking out all of her beautiful fall decor and dreaming of my someday-house. well, now i still dream of what my house will look like once we get fully unpacked and settled, but i did manage to put out some pretty gourds today! tis the season ;) hopefully i will get my act together and at least make a wreath or something...

what are the things YOU love about fall?

ten things {life in new england}.

in just a couple of days, my lil family will have been living in our new home state of maine for a month.

yes, maine.

whenever i'm asked where i'm from and i say i grew up in maine, it is usually followed with one of two responses:

"maine? does it ever not snow?"

(annoying)

--or--

"i have always wanted to go there!"

(much better)

i haven't lived here for twelve years, which is so crazy to think about. there are so many things about living in new england that i love and just suits my little family of three so well. we (okay, mainly nick&i at this point!) love the simple life we're finding here. and there are soooo many wonderful things i'd forgotten about that i loved about my home state.

here are ten things (besides friends&family) that i heart about summers in new england.

1. quaint villages.

i just loooove the quaintness of new england. old buildings. pretty churches. boutiques, hole-in-the-wall restaurants (see #3) and big, historic homes with widow watches and sweeping front porches. just like a postcard.

2. lobster rolls.

these are a new england specialty. you can't come to maine without having a lobster roll! i think i've already had three since we've been here. shredded lobster meat mixed with mayo on a buttered&grilled hot dog bun. perfection.

3. hole-in-the-wall restaurants.

we *love* hole-in-the-wall restaurants. and maine specializes in them. there are the regular chain eateries: chilis, olive garden, applebees... and in the big city of portland even a chipotle, five guys and cracker barrel (gasp!). but there's nothing quite like a truck stop restaurant that's been serving homemade meals since the fifties. or a building the size of your living room that looks like it's about to fall into the river but serves the most amazing seafood you will find. or a dozen irish pubs or clam-chowder-places that fill new england's cities and towns. hungry yet?

4. antique shops.

growing up in maine, i loved antique shopping with my mom. i started collecting old vintage oil lamps and other treasures for my future home. i had forgotten just how much i love the fact that there are antique stores absolutely everywhere!! there's nothing like antiquing in new england. and i've already purchased a vintage tray and tea kettle, rocking chair for bel and some lace to add to my ever growing collection :)

5. blueberry & strawberry picking.

i have NOT always loved blueberry and strawberry picking. in fact, when i was a little girl i kind of dreaded it... after the first few berries i picked (that never made it to my pail, by the way) i got a little bored. but this year i.cannot.wait! i'm already thinking of all the things i can make with my berries... and apple picking this fall? don't even get me started. sooooo excited.

6. festivals and open air markets.

there are always tons of festivals and markets going on in the little towns of maine. open air farmers markets overflowing with fresh fruits and vegetables. booths displaying artwork and other handmade crafts. local bands showing off their stuff. there is a lobster festival and a whoopie pie (a yummy maine treat) festival... along with a million others!

7. wearing sweatshirts on june evenings.

ahhhhhhhh. that's a huge sigh of relief, by the way. i loooove maine weather in the summers! warm, sunny days and cool, breezy evenings with the hint of the smell of firewood in the air. wearing sweatshirts to rock on the front porch or go for an evening stroll in june? just lovely.

8. lighthouses.

so. beautiful. nothing says new england like the sight of a lighthouse, standing tall along the rocky coastline. the picture above is of my favorite maine lighthouse: nubble light in york beach, maine. my family went here for a weekend every summer when i was growing up and i still love going there today.

9. homemade ice cream stands.

deeeelish. good old fashioned ice cream stands are another "maine-thing". most of them feature homemade ice cream in pretty much every flavor you can imagine. and be prepared to stand in line; it's an everybody favorite.

10. lupines, lilacs and other fresh flowers.

i honestly had totally forgotten about lupines and lilacs since i'm not usually in maine during june when these are in bloom. i love these flowers that fill the fields and roadsides with a beautiful purple. pretty, pretty.

multitude monday.

188. road trips. even really loooong road trips (35 hrs to be exact).

189. dunkin donuts coffee.

190. hills, trees, the ocean... being in nature.

191. the quaintness of new england. oh, how i've missed it.

192. dirk nowitzki. let's hope he pulls the mavs through. who really wants to see lebron and dwayne win? not me.

193. wedding anniversaries... and the nostalgia that comes with them.

194. lobster rolls.

195. hole-in-the-wall restaurants.

196. new england pubs.

197. strawberry rhubarb pie. or strawberry rhubarb anything. yum.

198. fried clams.

199. sweatshirts on cool summer nights.

200. doing/eating/seeing all the above with really, really good friends. the kind you will always be friends with; the kind you will never replace. love you guys!!!!

hello, goodbye.

aaaaaaand i'm back. after all the packing, moving, and traveling across the country (thirteen states to be exact) i'm finally returning to the blogging world.

and it feels good.

this week i will be playing catch up. and it may take me a while, so bear with me. alot has happened since you and i last chatted. a cute little girl turned one. a woman and a handsome man celebrated their third wedding anniversary. and said family relocated thousands of miles away from their home in dallas to bangor, maine.

(yes... bangor, maine).

it's been quite a whirlwind. but a good one.

now, let me back up a bit. i moved to dallas seven years ago from living in ohio with my girlfriends after we graduated from college. i headed there to go to dallas seminary, and figured once i graduated i would pack up and head back home. to maine. and then came nick cornwell. a handsome--really handsome--guy with bright eyes and a constant smile. and that was the end of the that plan. we were married within a couple years and settled in irving, texas. moving to maine was something we had prayed about and talked about for a long time, but never felt fully released from our life in texas. and then came bella cornwell. a chubby-cheeked, flailing arms-and-legs, crazy-haired baby that stole our hearts. and we began revisiting the idea of moving and re-evaluating what we wanted for our family.

we decided a while ago, after much prayer, to move our family from dallas to my home state of maine. the reasons were various (aside from god's leading in our lives) but simply put, we wanted a simpler life. we wanted seasons where we could pick apples in the fall, and play with our kids in the snow. we wanted cooler summers where we could sleep with our windows open, go for walks in the evenings and watch the ocean waves pound the rocky coastline. we wanted a place where we could relax a bit more and live life more slowly. we were dreading saying goodbye to our family and friends in dallas, but the life that awaited us, along with god's promise and sovereignty, kept nudging us forward.

neither nick nor myself have the personality where taking risks and trusting god comes easily. we both struggle with having faith in what we can't see. so you can imagine how scary this move has been for us... and not surprisingly, god has provided courage and grace for every step. it has been incredibly humbling to watch jesus show up and continually remind us that we are following his leading even if it feels as though we are walking a bit blindly.

yeah... he's good like that.

we spent our last week in dallas packing up our apartment, and spending as much time with our family&friends there as possible. my parents (thank you, mom&dad!!) flew in on thursday to get bella and fly back with her so we wouldn't have to take her on our thirty-five-hour-road-trip. my parents and our friends so graciously pitched in and helped us put all of our belongings into cardboard boxes and loaded them into the back of our moving truck. phew.

saturday morning we met a group of about twenty of our best friends at a local diner for a tearful breakfast. as i looked around the room, i saw the faces of people that had been such a special part of the last seven years of our life in dallas. nick&i are exceedingly grateful for the blessing of friendship in our life--those that will never be replaced, those that will never be severed.

we pulled out of dallas at about ten thirty that morning with three of our best friends, matt&camille and candace and had the road trip of our lives. thirteen states in two and a half days, endless conversation, some music thrown in, junk food, and lots and lots of stops at mcdonalds (ehhh). through the mountains of tennessee, the hills of virginia up through the hectic highways of new jersey and new york and into scenic new england... it was quite the drive.

and then we were home.

on monday evening, nick&i rolled in to my parents driveway in our big, yellow moving truck at the same exact time we were married three years ago to the day. i love god's timing like that. he always amazes me in the small things. it's his way of reminding me he is there; divinely orchestrating the events of our lives... big and small.

we said goodbye to texas last week, but hello to our new life in maine. we will never forget our time there. dallas was where we met, fell in love, had our first apartment as newlyweds, had endless hang-outs with some of our best friends, brought home our beautiful bella grace and became a family of three. our hearts will always be tied to texas and the memories we have there.

as we pulled closer and closer to our new home, i sat in the moving truck with nick, holding his hand, tears streaming down my face. excited about what's to come. hopeful about our future. amazed by god's goodness, his provision and his faithfulness.

hello, maine. i know your winters will be cold, it will take some time for us to get to know you, and i know life will not be perfect, but i know god has lead us to you. and i trust him. and i'm excited about our life together. really excited. because you are pretty great. and god's plan is even greater.

"great is thy faithfulness

o god my father,

there is no shadow of turning with thee

all i have needed thy hand hath provided,

great is thy faithfulness

lord, unto me."

a year of blessings.

as i reflect on the past year and prepare to welcome the new one, i can think of one word to describe it well: blessed.

in many ways, it was a year of the little things... learning to cultivate a heart of gratitude for the simple blessings that surround us. and in other ways, it was a year of BIG things... many joys, many changes, many moments that i want to hold onto forever.

here are just a few.

january

* starting off the new year in maine, snowed in with my family. my sister, gretchen and i were both with child which made for some really fun photos. despite the new england blizzard, we were able to make it out of boston to fly back to dallas without any major mishaps. amazing.

* we found out at my 20 week ob appt that we were--as EVERYONE suspected--in fact, having a GIRL. bella grace cornwell... we could now call her by name. our home was suddenly flooded by everything pink.

* hot date with the hubs to celebrate my last birthday in my twenties at my fav: maggianos. which is even better, i discovered, when you're eating for two. YUM.

* january 15 my little sis gave birth to my sweet nephew,
jude farrington keezer. i began counting the days until i could hold him!!

february

* snow in dallas. yes, it's true. and it actually didn't melt the second it hit the ground this time! nick&i both got out of work early one afternoon due to the storm, and were snowed in the next day... along with a bunch of our friends who all live in the same apartment complex with us. it felt like we were little kids again. so fun.

march

* flew to maine to spend the weekend with my family, meet jude for the first time, and for bella's first shower! it was a very special visit... i got up early every morning just to soak in getting to hold jude every second i could. bella was showered with so many sweet gifts from close friends and family and we were beginning to collect tiny onesies, dresses, shoes and headbands for this sweet little person that was about to change our lives!

april

* with the help of our amazing friends, we finally got bella's nursery set up. nick worked so hard refinishing furniture and painting and i spent my time organizing clothes, diapers, and all things baby. we were so pleased with our hard work, and we were getting more and more ready for our sweet bella!

* three more baby showers this month... god was so sweet to us. we are truly blessed with some of the most amazing family&friends!! great memories.

may

* i felt like a ticking time bomb. i was in "early labor" for about 2 weeks and we had our hospital bags packed and ready. we spent a couple of weeks soaking in date nights and impromptu trips to get chips&salsa at chilis at 11 pm.

* may 19, 2010 at 1:57 bella grace cornwell entered the world at baylor hospital grapevine, weighing in at 7 lbs, 12 oz and 20.5 inches long. we were instantly in love... and fell in love with each other all over again that day. bella was immediately surrounded by our friends and family and i will never forget how precious those moments were... our new sweet lil family of three feeling so surrounded and loved by people precious to us. some in that hospital room, and others calling, texting and letting us know they were rejoicing with us. god is GOOD.

* my parents flew out to meet bella grace when she was a week old. it was such a special time, and one i was soooo excited for since my family wasn't there for her arrival. so fun to watch my parents as "grammie and grampy"!

* nick&i celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary a week after bella was born. grammie and grampy babysat as we got away and celebrated over a dinner at maggianos. i think that's the second time i've mentioned that restaurant in this blog. nice. SO blessed by this man!!!! excited for another 50+ years of our life together!

june

* adjusting to life with baby... we loved it!! my mom and aunt came down for a visit at the end of the month and we had so much fun. bella got introduced to shopping right away. and good food. and lots of laughing. i love my family!

july

* bella's first trip to maine! the best trip home ever. bella met her aunt gretchen for the first time and the rest of the family and lots and lots of friends. nick&i got to go to the coast, have a wine and cheese tasting at a quaint little vineyard and nick got to hike mt. katahdin with brian, where the appalachian trail ends. it was such a fun trip... we love our summer vacations to maine!

august

* god, in his perfect sovereignty, allowed all of our post-baby plans to crumble and instead granted me a huge desire of my heart: to get to stay home with sweet bel. i finished up at the counseling practice i was working at... saying goodbye to my clients was very bittersweet, but i was so excited to be a stay at home mommy. it was a huuuuge season of faith and trust for nick&i and our finances, but god provided a couple of amazing babysitting jobs for me with two really sweet families in the month of august. it was so neat to watch god bring everything together and provide for us in ways only he can do.

september

* friday nights at football stadiums began for our family this month! nick was hired as the offensive line coach for the first baptist academy saints football team... and we had a lot of fun! bella and i were able to go to all of his games (i think we missed one) and almost every week we had friends come along to cheer on our favorite coach. bella loved being outside, loved the lights, the band, the cheerleaders and she is a *huge* football fan. or maybe just a *huge* daddy fan :)

* bella and i were blessed with a trip to chicago for a reunion weekend with some of my best girlfriends from college. it was a wonderful time of reconnecting, memories, chatting and laughing. love. those. girls.

october

* took a family trip to a local pumpkin patch and had a great time taking pictures of our little pumpkin. her first halloween; she looked so sweet in her lil flower costume!

november

* as much as we loved the football season, we were also thankful for it to come to an end so we could have our weekends back as a family! thankful for our saturday morning breakfasts, time in pj's, and lazy sunday afternoons with my two favorites.

*bella's first thanksgiving! homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast, macy's thanksgiving day parade, and lots and lots of family time. we spent it at nick's sister, jessica's and bella was uncharacteristically FUSSY (except for when playing with her cousin, wyatt). it was a bit of a stressful day, but special nonetheless. we spent the next day at nick's aunt ann's out in the country and we had a blast! bella was in a much better mood and we played games and ate all day. perfect.

december

* i. love. this. month. shopping for bella's first christmas gifts. putting up our tree. starbucks holiday drinks. making bella's first christmas ornament. family trip to see the lights and christmas displays on main street in grapevine. games and food with nick's extended family. christmas movies.

* christmas in maine with my family. after some minor travel mishaps, we finally made it there. bella and jude's first christmas! we took them to see santa claus at the mall and took plenty of pictures in their plaid christmas outfits and christmas eve pajamas. it was a great visit... looking at christmas lights, family, making seafood chowder, presents, and lots and lots of memories.

* blizzard! we spent the last few days of two thousand ten the same way we started it... being snowed in at my parent's house in our pj's. perfect.

thank you, jesus for a wonderful year. we are so blessed. we have learned more and more how to trust you. we have been reminded more and more of your faithfulness and your goodness. we have experienced you and your love in more tangible ways over this past year than ever before. and for that, we are so grateful.

"the LORD has done great things for us and we are filled with JOY." (ps. 126:3)

maine...the way life should be.

if you've ever driven across the border into the state of maine, you are greeted with a sign that has one simple statement: maine...the way life should be. i would have to say (although i know i'm biased) that i agree wholeheartedly with this claim. i haven't lived there since i was eighteen, but go back every summer to it's rocky coastlines, dark blue lakes hidden among the thick pine forests and seafood..the best seafood you have ever tasted. it's been especially fun to bring nick up there to see where i grew up. maine has taken on such a special meaning for the two of us as well... we got engaged in acadia national park ontop of cadillac mountain at sunrise in september of 2007. we've spent christmases there. eaten meals late at night at the old truckstop down the street from the house where i grew up. gone sledding in the snow and walking along the beaches. we've eaten a lobster roll or two and on a beautiful spring day in may of 2008 we promised to love one another for a lifetime at an old inn on lucerne lake.

this summer we were able to bring our sweet bella up to maine for her first vacation... this is the first of many summers for her filled with ice cream cones & sticky fingers. sunny days spent on the seashore accompanied by buckets and sand. lighthouses. mornings on grammy&grampy's front porch. running through the lawn barefoot. though this summer did not include any of these activities since she is only two months old, so many precious memories were made. stepping off the plane, nick got to meet his nephew jude for this first time, and gret got to meet bella; something she's been waiting since may 19 to do! jude&bella got to "play" together, which consisted of us putting them in the crib together and taking pictures as they looked at each other (ok...jude more than bella), smiled and held hands. so. sweet. gret&brian, nick&i got to go to a wine tasting on a beautiful vineyard on the coast of maine... and good wine, too. the kind you would have to watch yourself as you drink it's that good. nick and brian got to climb mt katahdin, the tallest mountain in maine where the appalachian trail actually ends. let's just say gret and i were glad when our husbands were back on level ground with the rest of us. and then we had this crazy idea of us taking our kids to york beach, where we had vacationed every summer with mom&dad and our grandparents since i was twelve years old. sounds sentimental--and maybe someday it will be--today? not so much. it was fun to go back down memory lane, but somehow it seems more attractive maybe next year when we don't have to stop every five minutes to change someone's diaper or feed whichever baby is crying at the time. nevertheless, we will never forget it.

aside from all these memories, the best part of our trip was being with family. getting to watch my mom&dad as grammy and grampy to my precious daughter is so priceless. to see bella coo and smile at my sister...to get to make my nephew laugh and screech and watch him play with his big, bright eyes, laughter and chubbiness is joy beyond measure. i don't get to be with my family often, so when i do i savor every moment and capture them all in my mind so that i will always remember these times. showing nick all the places and people that are so special to me. drinking coffee with gret in rocking chairs on mom&dad's front porch in the rain. having family dinners on the back deck. holding hands with nick along the ocean's shore. going on double dates with gret and brian. seeing my mom and dad revel in being grandparents. these are all the things that make me love going back to maine. we don't get to go there often, i soak every minute in that i can when we do. these are the moments that i hope i never forget. moments that make life the way it should be. moments that are the reason for the name of this blog...my cup truly runneth over.