My Ideal Fall Weekend Getaway

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year.  The leaves changing, the various fall-scented candles, football, and cooler weather are all so appealing to me.  So what would be a better time of year to get away for the weekend to really enjoy the season?

If I had a chance to go on a weekend getaway this season with my husband, I would undoubtedly choose a small cabin in the woods (but not entirely secluded- I’ve seen too many Criminal Minds episodes).  Ideally, it would have a little fireplace, a cozy living room, one bedroom, and an eat-in kitchen.  It would be cozy but quaint, and it would have just enough room for two of us.

The cabin would be surrounded by beautiful red and orange leaves.  We would have the opportunity to go hiking one morning and see the foliage.  We’d spend the afternoon pumpkin or apple picking nearby.  We would eat a romantic, candle-lit dinner at the cabin.  We’d end the night by watching a rom-com while sipping on wine.  We’d talk about life, love, family, our hopes and dreams, where we want to be in 5 years, houses, kids, etc.  Maybe we’d even have enough time to sneak in a nap!

The weekend would end by cuddling and watching football together at home with my favorite pumpkin spice candle burning.

With that being said, what’s your ideal weekend getaway?  Is it similar to mine or do you prefer doing something different?  Let me know in the comments below!

31 Fun Activities To Do This October

Can you guys believe we’re already 5 days into October?  Where has the time gone?!  This year is definitely flying by.  To make the most out of your free time this month, I’ve created a list of all fall-themed activities you can do (almost) anywhere in the country!

1. Visit a pumpkin patch.
2. Have a Halloween movie marathon.
3. Write a scary story.
4. Visit a haunted house.      
5. Carve pumpkins.
6. Go trick-or-treating or hand out Halloween candy.
7. Have a sleepover with friends and tell scary stories.
8. Go hiking.                                                      
9. Visit a state known for beautiful fall foliage.
10. Bake pumpkin pies.
11. Bake apple pies.
12. Go on a hayride.                                                               
13. Decorate for Fall.
14. Craft a fall wreath.
15. Go to a football game.                        
16. Jump in leaves.
17. Toast pumpkin seeds.
18. Go to a bonfire.
19. Make S’mores.              
20. Go to a corn maze.
21. Go to a fall festival.
22. Watch Hocus Pocus.
23. Burn a fall scented candle.
24. Buy a warm sweater.
25. Eat Chili.
26. Drink hot cocoa on a chilly night.                      
27. Read a book.
28. Get fall photographs taken.
29. Go apple picking.
30. Host or go to a Halloween party. 
31. Visit a cabin for a weekend getaway.

What is your favorite fall activity?  Is it on my list?  Let me know in the comments below!

Emily

My October Goals/Bucket List

New month, new goals!  Too often do I find myself creating goals for myself, but I never write them down!  Instead, I end up remembering them a few weeks later and try pushing them off until the next month.  That’s about to change starting now!  Take a look at the list below for all of my goals I wish to accomplish this month.

1. Incorporate more yoga into my fitness routine.
2. Write consistently on my blog.
3. Read at least one book.
4. Build my portfolio site.
5. Gain 3 new followers.
6. Exercise consistently.
7. Go to sleep earlier.
8. Have weekly date nights with Kyle.
9. Declutter and organize!
10. Research for NaNoWriMo.

To add to my list of October goals, check out my October Bucket List!

1. Watch 5 different Halloween movies.
2. Carve pumpkins.    
3. Watch a horror movie.                             
4. Go hiking.
5. Eat S’Mores at a bonfire.
6. Decorate for fall.    
7. Buy a fall candle.
8. Host or attend a Halloween Party.
9. Visit a pumpkin patch.
10. Write Halloween-themed short story and post to my blog.

So what are your October goals and/or bucket list?  Feel free to share in the comments below!

The Ultimate Bucket List: 33 Fun Things To Do This Summer

We’re more than halfway through the year and it’s the summer solstice!  Even though it gets unfathomably hot outside, summer is my second favorite season.  I love the feeling of the windows down and the wind blowing my hair around, the smell of summer rains and the idea of spending as much time outside soaking up the summer sun.  As an adult, I still have a bucket list of things I want to do over the next few months.  Here are 33 fun things you can do this summer!

• Read a few books
• Go to a drive-in movie
• Watch a new movie in theaters
• Go to the beach
• Go on a bike ride
• Go hiking
• Visit a water park
• Visit an amusement park 
• Go on a road trip
• Go somewhere new
• Finish a series on Netflix
• Eat S’mores
• Watch the sunset
• Have a water balloon fight
• Go swimming
• Go on a picnic
• Attend a concert
• Go bowling
• Go mini-golfing
• Go to a park
• Visit an aquarium
• Take a day trip somewhere fun
• Go camping
• Host a barbecue
• Go fishing
• Create a blanket fort
• Have a movie marathon/lazy day
• Go white water rafting
• Run a 5K
• Try out new recipes
• Write more often
• Visit a zoo
• Try out a new local restaurant

Are you doing anything fun this summer that I didn’t include on this list, or is there something you’re looking forward to doing this summer that you want to share?  Leave it in the comments below and I’ll respond as soon as I can!  Also follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to keep up with my summer plans!

P.S.  I GOT MARRIED!!!!  Look for my post in the upcoming week that discusses wedding crafting, unexpected things that went wrong (and how you don’t even notice them and/or care), and a description of how the big day went.

12 Random Facts About Me

In an attempt to make my blog more personal, check out the list below of random facts about me!

1. I’m the youngest child of four, resulting in me being infinitely spoiled by my grandparents as a child and having to learn from my parents at a young age that I, in fact, cannot get everything that I want.
2. Speaking of being the youngest, I always joke about getting the hand-me-down genetics.  To an extent though, I truly do believe it.  I’m only 5 foot half an inch, and I stopped growing in 8th grade.  My two brothers (the oldest two siblings) are both over 6 foot and my older sister is inches taller than me.  So, hand-me-down genetics, right?
3. Being the youngest influenced my parents to bless me with eight names.  Just kidding!  I only have four names but that still confuses everyone- one first name, two middle names, and my last name.  To make matters more confusing, I go by my second middle name.  How?  Two words- my grandma.  She was a saint and helped my parents with me when I was first born (remember, I’m the youngest so my parents were dealing with toddlers and a pre-teen) and she was really in love with the name “Emily,” so when push came to shove, my parents just threw that in after my other middle name because I was the last kid.  I have a hunch that as soon as I was born, my grandma immediately started calling me Emily and that’s how I became stuck with it.  It’s actually a pretty cool story.  Also to note, I have the same name as the royal toddler (Charlotte Elizabeth).  The only difference is the Emily vs. Diana as the second middle name, but I still think it’s pretty cool.
4. I started karate when I was 11.  Chugoku Kenpo Karate, a Japanese style, that literally means “Chinese secret science of the law of the fist and empty hand.”  Also, I was one step away from black belt (in my style, that means a three-striped brown belt) and didn’t move forward to my black belt only because of timing (I was in college, it was difficult to cram all of the testing into summers and holiday breaks).  But I’m very close with my sensei and she’s like a second mom to me.  She’s the first person in the first row on the left.
5. I have done other sports, too!  Karate was my first love, but running is a close second.  I did cross-country and track from middle school through college.  In fact, I just ran my first half-marathon in my hometown last weekend!
   

   

   Two hours and nineteen minutes later…

6. And that handsome man in that picture is my fiancé, who I met in college and have been dating for four years, engaged for two, and who I’m getting married to in just 17 short days!  And in reference to my names that I listed earlier, I told Kyle I was going to hyphenate as a joke to just continue the ridiculous length of my name.
7. Speaking of weddings, I have a kickass pair of heels that I splurged on (treat yo’ self!) but I actually HATE shoes.  I mean I love the heels that I got and I really am looking forward to wearing them, but I hate anything being on my feet, unless they’re sandals where my feet can breathe.  (This means I hate socks, too!). As a side note, when I say “splurge” I really only mean like $60, which is WAY better than what I spend on running shoes (~$100) but it still doesn’t sit well with me to spend that much on one thing.
8. I love walking and running and hiking and traveling to new places.  I’ve been to several states in the US, but I’ve also fortunately had opportunities to travel to England and Germany.  Next on my bucket list: Ireland, Italy, and Switzerland, hopefully!
   

   
9. Here’s a weird one for you that I’m sure not many people can relate to: I HATE cheese.  Absolutely hate it.  Hate the smell, hate the taste, hate the texture.  I’m un-American (my fiancé’s words, not mine).  I’m not sure what happened.  I used to love Mac and cheese as a kid, along with cheesy pizza, but something clicked one day and I gagged when I bit into a previously thought delicious slice of Papa John’s pizza.  To the people who love cheese but cannot have it due to their digestive systems, I’m the worst, and I apologize for my un-Americanness.
10. Speaking of weird things, I have an irrational fear of…..water.  Yep, you read that right.  Whenever I go into a pool, or an ocean, I have to stay in a level where my feet can always touch the ground.  I know what you’re thinking- can you swim, can you tread water?  I can do both of those things.  However, for whatever reason, the moment I’m in a body of water that’s deeper than neck level, I freak out because that’s when I have to be on tippy toes and any further I feel like I’ll drown.  You guys probably think I’m so weird by this point.
11. But something that’s pretty cool and un-weird is my love for tattoos.  I love how the same designs (i.e. Harry Potter tattoos) can mean something completely different to another person, and I love how you can express what you’re feeling on your body.  I have two tattoos, and they’re both for my grandma on my dad’s side who passed away of lung/metastasized breast cancer.  She lived in Texas so I only met her a handful of times before she passed away, but she made a huge, positive impact on my life.  The first tattoo I got was a flower that was designed by my sister.  The second tattoo was from my favorite book, “Slaughterhouse-Five,” and it lists the famous quote, “So it goes…”  My sister and I got that one together in almost the same spot on our bodies.  She has also designed another tattoo from Slaughterhouse-Five with the quote “Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt” in remembrance of my grandparents on my mom’s side (yes, the grandma who gave me my name).  But that is a story for another time.
12. Lastly before this post gets absurdly long, I clean when I’m upset.  Why?  I have no idea.  I supposed it relieves stress?  Any psychologists have any idea why I do this?

 

I’d love to learn about you!  Share a random fact (or several, if you wish), or even rant to me about my un-Americanness in the comments section.  I look forward to reading them!