Happy Fall Y'all!!

Ok, I know tomorrow is the first official day of Autumn but Fall is in the air. Can you feel it? I can! And it's glorious. I alluded to it a few weeks ago about how ready I was for a new season and I am now more than ever. To start things off right I enjoyed my first Pumpkin Spice Latte this weekend. Yummy!! But it doesn't really compliment my lowcarb lifestyle well at all ... so that will be a rare treat if at all. I added some pumpkin pie spice to my coffee yesterday morning before church and it offered a nice fall flavor. So I'm going to work on tweaking that a bit and see what I can come up with. 

Milk Bottle $1.99ea.

I also decorated my apartment for fall. Michaels had most of their fall decorations on sale for 60% off and they had advertised some milk bottles a few weeks ago for a table decoration that I was interested in. I bought 2 at $1.99 a piece and had seen on Pinterest how you could take the glass Starbucks Frappucino bottles to paint as well. So that gave me 4 bottles - 2 venti and 2 tall if you will - to paint. I used Martha Stewart's opaque gloss glass paint in "pollen". I didn't pay attention as to whether or not I was supposed to prime the bottles or not. I just started painting. It took about 3-4 thick coats of paint to get them where I wanted them - i.e. no transparent spots. I then added my flowers and rejoiced over their beauty. For real. I was excited that it came together so well!  As much as I love birds I have yet to buy a birdhouse for my apartment. The cute ones were always more expensive than I wanted to spend money on and I can easily talk myself out of such purchases. But I found one at Michaels for 60% off and I got it for $7.99! I was quite pleased with that. I think for my little fall bundle of flowers I spent around $4. I bought 4 shiny brown chargers for $5 and laid them on top of my whimsical owl place mats that I bought at Dollar General two years ago! I was given a lovely orange cake stand from a friend so I knew I would put my birdcage on top of it and added an owl from my living room to reside in the cage. (No actual living owls were harmed in this process). :) I also bought at Michaels their pumpkin pie jar candles for $5 each instead of going to another store for their 2 for $22 sale on jar candles.

Fall Table Bliss

Now, let me tell you about my dishes. These dishes have been in my family for 34 years. Not a terribly long time but considering I'm 30 ... they're older than me! My mom's parents bought these when my parents were getting married. These are the everyday dishes that my mom picked out. My Mawmaw loved the pattern so much that she bought a set for them as well. Anticipating a growing family she purchased a table setting of  10-12 (I think) plus two vegetable bowls, a butter dish, gravy boat, sugar bowl and creamer. When I was little I actually thought these dishes were ugly. I don't know why ... I was a hateful child. Just kidding. But as I have grown in wisdom (lol) I have come to appreciate these dishes and then this summer while visiting my grandparents my grandmother asked me if I wanted them. I said, "Of course!" See, I had been wanting to get a set of fall dishes for a while but that's not a necessary expense at all and it is certainly something that could wait. So when she offered I joyfully accepted and then I was delighted to discover all the extras that came with it. I love that the edges are ruffled (that's how I'm choosing to describe them) and that they are so sturdy at the same time. When I see those dishes I remember so many family meals eaten off of those dishes. I can hear the laughter around the table, the clinking of the forks on the plates as turkey quickly disappears and I still see the steam rising off the coffee that was drank from those cups. I also see 34 years of love represented in those dishes because they were picked out when my mom was picking out her dishes to set up a home for her and my dad. And they represent the hope I have for the future meals that will be enjoyed on those dishes.

Past/Present/Future all wrapped up in these dishes!

Speaking of hope and the future ... I deleted my Christian Mingle account this morning and I have never been happier. I feel free. I personally have friends that have met on dating websites and have found the love of their lives. I rejoice with them over such a blessing but I was absolutely miserable on there. Maybe I didn't give it enough time but to be honest with you the last thing I need to be worrying about is who is or isn't viewing my profile each day. Thank you, Jesus, that is one less thing to stress over. :) I believe this is further evidence that I am content with where God has me personally while at the same time I feel like I'm about to embark on the next big adventure in my life. What is it? I don't know. It may just be that I'm so excited to welcome a new season but I do believe I am entering a new season of life. Either way, I know that the Lord is calling me to further obedience and to daily die to myself. Oh that I will be faithful to His calling. In the meantime I will seek to faithfully find joy on the journey ... Happy Fall Y'all!!

I love you all.

Blessings ...

- Melody Faith