Can we just have two Fall seasons? Back-to-back, all smooshed together?!

I can hardly believe that my dearly beloved September has come and gone and we're already on the fringes of sweet, sweet October. For us, September still lingers with a few unpacked trinkets not yet decidedly placed into our new nest and the still sweet warm-and-fuzzies from another anniversary celebrated. We kept it simple this year, which was just perfect. A ride up in the mountains, digging around some antique stores...always a no brainer for us. Add a good, solid heart-to-heart about allthingslife. You know you have it good when you long for a simple life - when your essentials are.just.THAT.good. Anddddddd my soul sighs. 


Talk about big shoes to fill, but October never disappoints. Work has done its job (chuckle, chuckle)...which is take over life during the week, but our weekends have been so refreshing. We keep checking back up on our mountains, making sure the leaves don't peak without us and slim but quality time with family has kept gas in our tanks. And we carved out some time to run our first 5k which was a fun day with some of our best friends getting some exercise for a good cause. And back on the home-front, thanks to Pinterest the decorating may.never.end, amen ladies?! There's just so many ideas! Anyways, you'll have to give me a break cause I'm not quite ready to dish out a virtual tour of our new home yet, but I am willing to share some of the details...and some other October happenings :)

Sully Bink enjoys a good mountain ride about as much as us

Run for Hungry Children 5k at Furman University

And in honor of compromise, Michael agreed to refinish our bedroom furniture to make me happy :)

And Sully's always such a good helper :) 

The dresser, all finished! 

The weathered, crackled detailing that I just had to have

Some vintage National Park postcards I found near the Grand Tetons and put in an old barnwood frame from my Dad.

My new (actually old) earring hanger! PS. I spy earrings that aren't mine, I'll return ASAP :)

My antique medicine cabinet from one of my favorite antique stores, Warther's Originals in Walhalla. Their store was actually my very first job :)

Our foyer filled with goodies - my antique igloo metal cooler, some old banisters from my Dad's stash of junk and an old hearty pine bench, also from Warther's. 

Its coming along. Maybe by the end of October...

But we won't be tackling any interiors this weekend - we've got a wedding with so many of our closest friends from home Saturday night, and it'll be extra special because the venue is at Table Rock where we got married 2 years ago :) And we'll be looking for another Tiger win against GT to add to the Shock the World Tour! And then, and then, and then...perfect icing on the cake is an offroad trip up to Bear Mountain and Jumping Off Rock at Jocassee with the old small group crew on Sunday! Ahhhhhh - and my heart singssssss :)

My plate as of late :)

Hmmm...to fit it all into one adjective. You could still describe our life as busy. Yep, I would say it still fits into that category. But we are settling in, settling down and establishing a new routine. 


Currently our typical week includes Mike's Bible study on Monday nights, my Bible study on Tuesday nights, keeping Sully entertained and active after we get home from work everyday, getting back into cooking a balanced dinner spread each night (after living with our in-laws who so graciously took care of the dinner portion of life), helping our dear friends, the Martins, renovate their new house, stepping up our workouts and running regimen, checking out different gyms to see what fits us best, gearing up for our very first 5K in a couple of weeks, always keeping up with family and friends, and work. Can't forget work. And new opportunities at work, which is stimulating and exciting.


So settling down with that plate full does feel good. But part of me inside still clings to an aversion towards the "rat race," uninspiring, typical pursuit of the American Dream, although there's another side of me that is really happy where I am at, even at the start of a budding career. 


Really and truly, at the root of it all, I just want to live in balance. I want to live freely, not ruled by the weight of my progression down a path culture pushes me towards. I find myself tailoring my decisions and effort around that progression, and I want to instead tailor myself around purpose. Like the true purpose. His purpose. His purpose that always stays the same but can look so differently from day-to-day. I want to live intentionally, be missional, operate on an awareness that life is just a blip and the inconsistencies don't matter, only the constant does. 


This is my season now. And I don't want to get lost in it, but I want to live it out the best I can.