Quiet

I've been pretty quiet in this space.  Our lives have been packed full recently.  I have also been in the midst of a big writing push, and I'm happy to say that I sent a large chunk of my dissertation to my advisor on Friday.  The writing is extremely gratifying but also exhausting, and I'm finding it a struggle to motivate myself to write more on this blog.

That's okay.  I'm in a place of acceptance, and I know that this is just a season, one that will soon pass.  If I'm a bit quiet during this time, it's quite alright.  I can fully return when my final chapter is signed, sealed, and delivered~!

In the meantime, here's a glimpse into our lives lately:

• We had a lovely Mother's day weekend.  My boys spoiled me a bit with the most wonderful breakfast.  I had told Andrew that all I wanted was to go on a wildflower hike, and we found the most beautiful, tucked away spot.  The flowers were AAAAAMAZING!  My expectations were completely blown away.  I'm still cataloguing them, but we saw at least 15 different kinds.  Below is a collage of some of them.  I'm pretty sure this hike is destined to become a spring tradition!

• I also got this Shark vacuum for Mother's day, and I'm thrilled.  It's ridiculous how well this thing cleans.  I could not believe what it pulled from my sofa and rugs on the first round.  I had to empty the canister three times, which is scary considering that I'm a clean freak!  It was strangely gross and satisfying at the same time.  I did tons of research and this one had excellent reviews.  Many of the reviews said that it was better than a Dyson.  Dyson's have always intrigued me, but I just can't justify that price.  If I'm going to spend that much $$$ on a vacuum, it should vacuum for me!  

• In my last posts, I referred to our sewer project.  Well...that project turned into a bit of a nightmare.  Here's a picture of our front yard after stage 1.  Stage 2 then required that we bust open our concrete floor in our basement and dig a trench.  So...we are in the midst of repairing our finished basement.  The whole ordeal was one expensive fiasco, but unfortunately, a necessary one.  I'm actually looking forward to having our basement updated a bit. I'm also hoping that this all pays off when it comes time to sell our house!  Needless to say, we also have some landscaping to do....

I had to drink a margarita after this....

• Andrew and I celebrated our 4th anniversary last week.  We've made it a tradition to stick to the traditional wedding gifts, which keeps it interesting.  This year's gift was flowers and fruit.  Andrew gave me this most beautiful bouquet of fragrant flowers.  It smells divine!  He also surprised me with this glass pane with pressed flowers in it! I was having a hard time getting a good picture of it because of the glare, but it's just beautiful!   I made him a batch of chocolate covered fruit :-)

• Our Memorial Day turned into a bit of a bust because our little guy was sick with some kind of virus.  The poor thing.  I swear there isn't anything worse than seeing your child not feeling well.  On the upside, we got lots of rest and our basement is nearing completion.  
• I'm loving these warm days that I get to spend with this little guy.  We have been maximizing our time outside and loving every minute of it!

xoxo

Girls' Backpacking Trip

Last April, I wrote about a weekend away at a cabin with some of my girlfriends.  We enjoyed ourselves so much that we decided to make it an annual event.

And since we all love the outdoors, we decided to make this year's weekend a light backpacking trip.  

We gathered at my friend Beth's beautiful home on Friday night and enjoyed some delicious food and cocktails. I invited my sister-in-law to join us, and I'm so happy she came along.  She fits in seamlessly with this group of women.  I just adore her. 

We woke up on Saturday and packed up. 

And then we hit the trail. We did a small section of the River to River trail in the Bald Knob Wilderness in the Shawnee National Forest. It was perfect.  The wildflowers were starting to bloom, and we couldn't have asked for better weather.

Between the 7 of us, there were some excellent map reading skills. 

We had a fun water crossing and then set up camp along the creek.

We built a raging fire and settled in for the night.

And we ate the most delicious camp meal I've ever had!  

We stayed up late into the night gathered around the fire.  And then spent much of the next day lounging at our campsite.  We didn't actually start hiking the next day until 2:30.  We definitely would have stayed another night if we could!

I just adore these women. Spending time with them is good for my soul, and I always come away a better person. I am so grateful to be blessed with these soul sisters.  And with my hectic schedule recently, it was really nice to get away and spend some quiet time in the woods. 

And have I mentioned my SIL?  She's the best.  I'm so grateful to have her in my life.  

I'm already looking forward to our next trip.  I'm thinking that maybe our girls' weekend needs to happen more than once a year!

xoxo

Lusk Creek Backpacking Trip

We went on a quick backpacking trip in early November, and I'm just now getting the time to blog about it!  Fall is our absolute favorite time of year to backpack.  The weather is usually ideal, and it's a great chance to see the beautiful fall colors.

I love all outdoor activities, but backpacking may very well be my favorite.  I get such satisfaction from carrying everything I need on my back.  I also love a good physical challenge and backpacking is a pretty good workout.  Most of all, I love to camp in the backcountry.  It's so much better than camping at a campground!  

I love the quiet and peacefulness that comes with backcountry camping.  I also love seeing the beauty of natural structures that you have to walk to get to.  

For this trip, we headed to the Lusk Creek Wilderness in the Shawnee National Forest.  I've been to most places in the Shawnee but had never been to Lusk Creek.  Andrew had planned a relatively easy 11 mile hike for us.  Somehow, we timed it perfectly.  We had the most perfect weather and the fall colors were definitely at their peak.  On Saturday night, we camped at the Secret Canyon, surrounded by beautiful sandstone bluffs, probably one of my favorite places I've ever camped!  

We were joined by our good friends and backpacking buddies, Justin and Mylisa.  My sister-in-law and her husband also joined us for the first time.  We had such a good time.  It was truly the perfect autumn backpacking trip! 

Once again, I'm reminded just how truly spectacular nature is.  I'm also reminded of why I love the Shawnee so much.   

Here are some pics from our trip.  My friend Mylisa showed me how to take pictures in the dark by adjusting the shutter speed with a remote control.  Aren't they awesome?!  I especially love the pictures that she took with the tents lit up!

Enjoy!

Friday night enjoying the fire

Tent glow on Saturday night -- courtesy of Mylisa

Saturday night fire at the Secret Canyon

The group

My favorite hiking buddy

Hiking

Pretty fall colors

The Secret Canyon

Lately

Things have been pretty busy around here lately.  What's new right?  It seems to be a common theme this time of year.

Our fall has been hectic.  I'm actually grateful for the time change and the fact that we don't have much planned in the coming weeks.  I'm also really looking forward to the holidays this year.  In the meantime though, here's what we've been up to.

• It rained on Halloween, but we did get a chance to take Liam out for a bit.  This was his first trick-or-treating experience.  It was pretty cute.  He caught on pretty quickly.  Here he is with his friend Cecelia.  He's a dinosaur and she's dressed as Angelina Ballerina.  They are such buddies.  

• Last week I submitted an application for a dissertation fellowship through my university.  I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I'm really really hoping I get it.  Fingers crossed!  It would allow me to focus solely on my dissertation, which would be really helpful in terms of completion.  As much as I love teaching, it just takes up so much of my time!  I should know in about a month so please send some positive vibes!

•  I can also now share the news that I'm going to Paris in February to present at a conference.  It's been in the works for awhile, but now it's official!  I've never been to Europe so I'm super excited about this opportunity! I can't wait to see this beauty.

 

Source

• Andrew and I went backpacking this weekend in southern, Illinois.  It was such a beautiful fall weekend.  We could not have asked for better weather.  The trip was amazing and deserves its own post but for now, here's a sneak peak.

 

Happy November!  I'm headed home this weekend with Liam to visit my parents for a few days.  Andrew is going to stay home and replace our bathroom ceiling that was damaged from a leak.  I'm pretty sure I'm getting the better end of that deal! 

xoxo

Fall Favorites

It's no secret that I love autumn.  Having grown up in the Midwest, I have a certain appreciation for the change of seasons, and the fall season is one of my favorites.  

It tends to be a busy season for us as we try to maximize our time outdoors and enjoy the beautiful weather. I'm okay with that because I know that the winter season usually brings slower days spent indoors. 

So what do I love about autumn?  I love the cool crisp mornings combined with warm, sunny days. I love watching the colors change on the trees.  I love pulling out my boots and sweaters.  I love drinking hot cider and the smell of leaves burning.  I also love the traditional fall activities of bonfires, hayrides, and visits to the pumpkin patch.

We try to get outdoors as much as possible this time of year.  Liam and I have been hiking at least once a week for the past month. These pics are from our family hike last week.  The little guy was beaming the entire time.

While we spend a lot of time outdoors, I also like to bring a little fall indoors. Our house is small so I don't have a lot of space for seasonal decorations, but I do add a few touches.  In our next home, I hope to have a fireplace.  I would love to have a mantel to change up with the seasons, but until then, I like to keep it pretty simple.

I frequently change up the centerpiece on our dining room table.  I love the vibrant colors of these fall leaves. 

I'm also big on natural touches and have a thing for candles.  This little arrangement sits on my grandmother's antique sewing machine.

One of my favorite ways to change my decor is to change out our decorative pillows.  I love the fall colors and embroidery in the middle pillow. 

I also have a love for all things pumpkin.  I light this candle every evening and I love how my house smells!

I also recently discovered Trader Joe's pumpkin butter.  Wow.  So good!  

In an attempt to save money, I also started making my own pumpkin spice latte using this recipe.  It's so good and gives Starbucks a run for it's money.

Happy fall!  I hope you get to enjoy all that this beautiful season has to offer!

xoxo

Joshua Tree

Last month Andrew and I spent a few days visiting Joshua Tree National Park.  Since we were headed to San Diego for a wedding, we decided to tack on a few extra days and hit up a national park.  

It was an awesome trip!  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  And as much as I missed Liam, I must admit that it was very nice to spend several days alone with my husband, just the two of us.  

Since it was August, in the desert, we decided to stay in a cabin.  Our cabin was adorable, comfortable, and well-equipped.  It sat adjacent to the park, and it was so nice to come in midday to nap and relax in the air conditioning.  At night, it was cool enough for us to sit in the hot tub while watching for shooting stars in the desert sky.

View from our front porch into Joshua Tree National Park

I'm fascinated by the flora and fauna of the desert.  Here are some of the various cacti we saw.  I need to give credit to my husband for taking these pictures.  He was up at sunrise exploring on our first morning while I cozily slept in!

On our first day, we took a late morning hike up Ryan Mountain.  It was quite hot but the view from the top was worth it.

View from the top of Ryan Mountain

These dead trees were everywhere and looked like sculptures

After an afternoon nap, we returned to the park that evening to catch the sunset.

The next morning, we were up early for a sunrise hike to Willow Hole.  We had 7.5 miles to cover so we hit the trail early.

Cool enough for long sleeves at dawn

Beautiful Joshua Tree

Willow Hole

Wonderland of Rocks

This hike was my favorite part of our trip.  As we hiked to Willow Hole, we came upon the Wonderland of Rocks. For miles all we could see were beautiful mountains of rocks and boulders piled on top of one another.  It looked like something out of a science fiction movie.

After our hike to Willow Hole, we drove to the southern end of the park and hiked a 3 mile loop up Mastodon Peak.  At the start of the hike is a palm oasis. It was so bizarre to see these huge palms in the middle of the desert.  They housed quite an ecosystem. 

Palm Oasis 

This portion of the park is in the Colorado desert which looks quite different than the Mojave desert, which has the Joshua Trees.  This section was rocky and barren.  If you look closely at this picture, you can see the Salton Sea in the distance. 

View from the top of Mastodon Peak looking at the Salton Sea

My favorite hiking buddy

He's more adventurous than I am!

The old Mastodon Mine is also on this trail. I still can't quite wrap my head around how they built this mine on a mountain in the middle of this harsh desert. 

Mastodon Mine

Later that evening we returned to the park to visit the Arch.

The Arch

View from the White Tank campground

As far as national parks go, Joshua Tree is pretty small so we really got to see most of it in just a few days.  It was a great trip.  We spent some quality time together, did some challenging hiking, and got to explore a really unique landscape.  And, we got to check another national park off our list!  

I just love that Andrew and I share the same love for the outdoors.  It's so nice to journey on these adventures together!