a few of my favorite things

[This post has some incredible photography, none of which is mine. Thank you, Marjorie Howell.]

Once upon a time, it was October.

Which is probably my favorite month of my favorite season. For a lot of reasons. October brings changing leaves, harvest time, birthdays, crisp weather, and tiny whispers of winter.

It also brings apple picking, which is probably the most delightful activity there ever was.

If you plant me a Cortland apple tree, I'll love you forever. Fact.

So this weekend, I went to an orchard.And I picked. And I ate. Well, we ate.

And we took pictures and laughed.

Oh, did we laugh."We" being me and three amazing people that God has seen fit to bless me with.
How it makes sense, I don't know; but I am grateful.

It was the most enchanting day I've had since coming back from Nigeria. By far.

It is true that life also goes through seasons. Some are filled with trials and pinching and stretching. Other seasons, like this one, are filled with innumerable joys. The differences between today and 365 days ago are vast, but my trust is in the same God, who is still faithful, still in control, and still blessing me.

Here's to a new season, which coincides nicely with my favorite season.

All pictures courtesy Spencer and Marjorie Howell. Thanks, you two.

most wonderful time of the year

You guys, it's here. Fall.

You know, the season I've been waiting for and talking about and missing all the way from Nigeria?

Well, it's here.

Yesterday was drizzly and blustery and under 60F. Which was awesome, and totally sweatshirt weather, except that I didn't have anything to wear to work.

I don't mean that I pulled everything out of my closet onto the floor, stamped my foot like a twelve-year-old, and complained that I had nothing to wear. I mean that I stared at my closet for a full minute looking for a combination of long pants, long-sleeves, and a cute fall jacket. There was no such outfit.

Apparently, I've never needed autumn dress clothes. All previous autumns have been spent in the collegiate world of Wheaton sweatshirts, with the exception of last autumn, which was spent in 90-degree Nigeria.

Yesterday, I wore khaki pants and a khaki raincoat. They khlashed. It was bad.

After work, I picked up some decent matching clothes. At Target, I ran across this:
Yankee Candle's Autumn Festival jar candle, a.k.a. Autumn-in-my-Room.

These things: this candle, these clothes, this time of year, this crisp anticipation of what winter has in store, these things help me miss Nigeria less. Only a little bit, but still. I'll take what I can get.