almost wordless wednesday {spring is here!}

Just like typical ENC weather, it's been chilly all week, and the first day of Spring was closer to feeling like winter. At least the pear trees got the memo that the calendar said it was officially springtime.

Happy Wednesday, readers!

almost wordless wednesday {one of the last summer sunsets of 2012}

Summer's almost over you guys. SOB SOB. So tonight, in honor of quite possibly one of the last summer sunsets that will take my breath away in 2012, I snapped a couple pictures to document it.

Pea ess: These are completely unedited. God is awesome, no?

fall bucket list 2011

It's no secret I love Fall. Like, really LOVE Fall.

It's also no secret that there are plenty of fall bucket lists floating around on my beloved Pinterest. You know what's also not a secret? I'm kinda sorta a perfectionist and instead of using one of those beautiful PDF files you can download with a click of a button, I'm writing out my own list because those other lists didn't have everything I wanted on them. Yeah, I like to do things the hard way in order not a compromise sometimes.

Without further ado, here's my Fall Bucket List, to be accomplished before the end of November {or at least as long as it doesn't snow because let's be honest: that's a more realistic goal for me}.

{Bake Pumpkin Cookies}

If there is one thing that I want people to know me for after I die, it's my pumpkin cookies...second to being a Christian, duh. I love my Jesus and don't doubt that for a second. But! Pumpkin cookies are amazing and I've tweaked my baking hero Joy the Baker's recipe until it's become my own. It's the highlight of fall for some of my friends and I'm not even stretching the truth.

And on that note, baking something once a week seems like an attainable goal since it's getting dark out earlier and earlier.

{Drink a Pumpkin Spice Latte}

Obvs, I've done this. One from Sbux on a dreary Friday afternoon when it was just the slightest bit chilly and  numerous from the Coffee Shack. But since I'm a stickler for rules and such, I'll only count the one I drink after I finish this post. Who knows? Maybe I can drink one with one of my readers in spirit!

{Have a Fall Photo Shoot}

Yeah, this one's pretty self-explanatory for a photographer like myself. All I need is a volunteer...or multiple volunteers. I'm cool with either. Any takers? When I get my ducks in a row I'm going to send out a mass text to all my GORGEOUS Word of Life girls and plead with them to let me take pictures of them. Sounds like a plan to me.

{Host a Park Day}

I still have memories of the impromtu park day we had with our CBS friends last year. I'm thinking of getting some of my age friends and swinging to our hearts content...with my camera in tow, of course.

{Have a Fire in the Fireplace}

When you live in an old drafty house, you learn to heat up the house in creative ways. Baking something, having a fire, etc. We've yet to have a actual fire in our wood burning fireplace {no gas logs for us!} so I can't wait to sit around the fire late one Friday night watching our favorite family TV show. Perfection.

{Play Football with Clark and his friends}

I love football...no ifs, ands, or buts about it. While I'm not the BEST player in the whole wide world, I understand some simple plays and love to play a quick game with Clark and the Furloughs now and then.

So that's my Fall Bucket List 2011. Five simple, attainable goals to make me feel like I accomplished something in my all time favorite season. The only thing that's left? To ask my readers a question and here it is: would you rather get an update post every time I cross something off my list or have one big recap post when I've completed them all? It's up to you!

Happy Fall readers! May your skies be blue and leaves be red...or something like that. I never said I was a poet.

water's weekend

After STORM last Friday, we got up bright & early, packed the car and grabbed breakfast before hitting the road to go visit 2/3s of Dad's siblings in Fuquay-Varina. It was a surprise trip; Clark & I only found out a couple days before we were going. I literally jumped up & down because I was just SO EXCITED. I love all my cousins but since Brock, Garrision, and Quinn live close {and we're close in age}, we have a special bond with those crazy kids.

The view was AMAZING up there! The closer we got to F-V, the more color the trees had and I was snapping pictures left & right because I knew that we wouldn't have much of a leaf turnout {the hurricane either stripped the trees of the leaves or confused them. the pear tree started blooming in the middle of Sept! crazy}. God amazes me with His gorgeous creation.

A tradition that always takes place on our roadtrips: a breakfast stop at Mickey D's. I satisfied my biscuit craving and even got a hashbrown to go with it. And then there was the hot chocolate...I was in heaven. And   we hadn't even made it outta our own county!

Coffee cup bokeh. OH YEAH. 

 Dad: "So when do you think you want to drive up here?" 
Me: "Oh, I was thinking about NYE."
Dad: ::nods head:: "Sounds good."


I think I'm the designated driver for our annual trip to stay with the Waters. Hold me.

Almost there! 

 Biscuits were consumed, pictures of the scenery were taken, and our special playlist on Dad's iPod was on repeat. We could've turned around & headed straight back home and I would've been perfectly content, but the fun was just about to begin!

We drove up the driveway to see Brock cleaning off the go-kart & everyone else staying inside where it was a little warmer. Once we were unpacked, we geared up to go to the first soccer game of the afternoon, which was Garrison's. But first, there were grits involved. Aunt Michelle makes the BEST grits period.

With my bellah full of cheesy grits goodness, we headed off to soccer game numero uno: Garrsion's. If I though that the scenery was beautiful on the way UP to FV, it was amazing up there. Take a look...

See?! It made me happy because I had my camera there to photograph it but sad because I knew that ENC wouldn't have this {the hurricane stripped most the leaves off & completely confused the trees cycle. we had a pear tree blooming in Sept. crazy}.

I kinda sorta LOVE this photo. 

Note the Washington Redskins shirt. We all sported our fave teams colors...Dad & Brock with the Skins, Aunt Michelle & me with the Packers and Clark with his beloved Bengals. 

Nice faces, dude. 

Btwn halves the boys played football. Typical of any Waters/Lyons gathering. 

At first I thought Garrsion was a little too into the game...but then I realized some of those boys could care less if they won and Garrsion seemed intense compared to them when he was really just being, well...normal! He played GREAT and if I remember right, they won. Way to go, buddy!

Unfocused but cool. I wish I could say I planned that but alas, I'm not that good of a photog. 

There was the.cutest.baby beside us who just learned to sit up on his own...it was so cute to watch he get all excited about sitting then topple over and catch himself {or his parents caught him}

After Garrison's game we trekked back to the house long enough for the boys to ride the gokart for a few minutes in the tobacco field behind their house. After a walk in which Quinn confessed that if she had the option to trade her uber-special rocks {rocks that you wouldn't trade ANYTHING for, duh; they are pictured below} for anything Justin Bieber, she would. It was too funny...I almost busted a gut trying not to laugh at her because she was dead serious. Aunt AM & Uncle Tyler are proud parents for sure ;)

We were totally in for a shock at Brock's game. First off, the temperature. It was considerably colder. Like, really. I zipped myself in Aunt Ann Marie's North Face jacket because all I had was a fancy pea coat for church the next day. Nice, SA.

Second, it was INTENSE. I'm not lying! There was the goalie for the opposing team who was so annoying he got hilarious to me by the end of the game. Yelling out instructions for the team like he was the coach and making a big deal when he kicked the ball {he claimed he hurt himself one time}. And the best part? He was supposed to be under 15 but he was sporting a full beard. A FULL BEARD! Wow.

Also, there was his dude that thought he was all that and a bag of chips & made show about getting knocked down and scratched on his back. I didn't see it but he ended up getting a red card {or getting kicked outta the game} after he cussed the coach out. Ah, the drama.

Brock's team ended up losing but it was a GREAT game! Good job & effort, Brock!

Hand on the hip...I think he means business. 

Remember how cold I said it was?! This was Garrsion when the sun was setting...

.
..he's crazy but we love him.

Granddog London came with us! 

After we had thawed out {OK, it was only me. I can't handle cold well}, dinner prep was under way {pictured below} and we watched ECU win the Navy game even though they didn't really win. It was a win off of a horribly called touchdown, so not a win in my book. Still love my Pirates though! Watching it outside on their screened in porch with the smell of burgers wafting through the air made up for the so called "win".

I went upstairs at one point and found the guys playing a messed up game of Madden '12...they purposefully made bad plays so they would drop the players ratings down. It was kinda funny to watch them, actually. At one point they had a kicker as quarterback!

CLASSIC Garrison face. Cracks me up. 

We finished the night with Gran Jan's homemade apple pie {amazing, BTW}, the Ballad of Ricky Bobby {we're classy like that. also, it's the most pointless movie ever}, and showers. It was a good night.

We woke up, threw on clothes, ate breakfast & loaded up. But! Not before I got a picture of the Waters all dressed up in their Redskins apparely {they got tix to the Skins vs Panthers game that day}...

It was an AMAZING weekend, ya'll. I love my family so much & writing this post makes me miss all the gokart antics, belly laughs, and football scrimmages. Can't wait for New Year's guys!

neutrals have my heart

Like the title says, I have a special place in my heart for neutrals...give me earth tones over neon colors any day of the week.

I've had my eye on this sweater/shrug every since I saw it in Mama's closet this summer, and with the days warming back up over here {but not quite warm enough for a single thin long sleeved shirt}, I decided today was the day to bust out this bad boy & see if the outfit in my head I had dreamed up matched what it looked like in the mirror.

{Shrug} Mama's closet {Striped Shirt underneath} Old Navy {Jeans} JCPenneys 

And...it did! I know, you were holding your breath to see if it did ;) The shoulders could be a little more slouchy than I thought, but other than that, it's just like I imagined it. Don't you love it when that happens?

So we're up to outfit post #3...are you readers still enjoying them? I know I am!