Bouncing Thoughts

God is so good to carry us through our lowest valleys and our darkest nights.

I had a cup of coffee the other day... and I liked it. Never thought I'd say those words! Granted, it was probably half French Vanilla creamer, but still.

Last night my housemate Stephanie came home with the remains of her pumpkin carving extravaganza with her boyfriend: pumpkin seeds! So I both toasted and tasted my first pumpkin seeds a little after midnight last night. We drizzled most with melted butter, honey, and salt, and the rest with Mrs. Dash's tomato, basil, garlic seasoning. Both were delish! We liked the burnt ones most

Mmmm I am so excited to be done with my print tomorrow. I can finally paint my nails again!

Just for Some Looksies

This week has been a mixture of work, and sitting in my house indolently... trying to avoid that work. It's now Tuesday and all starting to catch up with me.

But I want to squeeze this last little bit of procrastination in by sharing some old pictures I've taken. Just to add a little color to my blog, and to supply you with another means of procrastination as well :)

Some pictures I took at the new and improved Norfolk Zoo this summer

Summer strawberry picking, one of the simplest and sweetest joys there is

I visited a friend in Richmond and took lots of pictures of buildings with character and architecture that I liked. This doorway stood out to me amongst its other doorway-companions. I can't figure out how to make it upright though... still new to this whole blogging business.

Maximus Preston Bruner. One of the absolute most adorable and spunky babies in the world. At least in my world.

Valentines Day cupcakes :)


I wish I had more pictures to post and more time to post them!
I'm realizing that I'm going to have to start keeping my camera more handy...

And so births my blog baby...

What a perfect weekend this was to start a blog!
It was the first weekend of cool, crisp, hint-of-autumn air in Harrisonburg, and it was absolutely wonderful.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my summer sunshine more than anything, but living in the mountains has given me a new appreciation for the season we call Fall (and this not only because college has increased my dependency on “Fall-back” daylight savings…). 

Friday was a picturesque lazy day. 

Slightly overcast with some drizzles of rain, fuzzy socks, a cozy sweatshirt, hot tea, a great book, and a vanilla-scented candle. Yum I love anything Vanilla… just an fyi for all future vanilla references that will be made in my [hopefully] bright blogging future. 

 Not vanilla, but this one is in our dining room. Midnight Summer--also very enjoyable.

 Feeding our house pet, Daisy the turtle :)

OH! And this was so crucial to the perfection of this day—peanut butter marshmallow brownies made by friends :) They were to die for, and after battling with the guilt of a failed “detox” attempt, I finally surrendered to my stomach and tastebuds… and ate half the pan. Oops?

Friday night was equally as fantastic. 

 A good friend and I went to see a Beatle’s tribute band at Clementine Café. If ever you visit Harrisonburg and aren’t sure where to go for great eats and entertainment, Clementine is a sure-hit every time.

Saturday was our yearly bonfire for Inter-Varsity. On the trip there my friends and I stopped to admire the gorgeous scenery and shoot a few pictures….

 Beautiful scenery

 And beautiful friends!

A shot I got with the awesome panoramic setting on my new camera.

Yesssssss, this setting is going to be fun :)

After, some of my housemates and I enjoyed homemade salsa made by Alana's lovely mother. Deeeelish. I’ve acquired a deep affinity for anything with cilantro.
We took Alana’s younger sisters to a dance party late that night so they could get a taste of our always-exciting-never-a-dull-moment lives in college. Or at least that’s how we’re supposed to describe it right? Needless to say, their minds were blown. 

Sunday I made banana pancakes for the house. I love banana, and when I make banana pancakes I want to taste the banananess in every bite, so I like to mash them up and mix them in the batter, and then add a few slices while they are cooking on the pan. Get’s that yummy flavor alllllll in them. I also tried adding wheat germ to the batter, and I think it gave it a good, extra fibery texture. The girls loved them! (Much to my pleasure and cooking esteem.)

That night was a bit ceremonial, we made smoothie pop-sicles to prepare for the few sunny days that were in the forecast for this coming week, and as a final farewell to summer and all its radiance. 

It was a fun summer of challenges and changes, and long beach days and sleepless nights. But as always, all good things come to an end. 

Fortunately what comes after is full of festivities and… pumpkin. 

Bring on the leaf piles!