The Leaves Are A-Changin'!

The weather has been up and down, clear and rainy, calm and windy, and mild and cold over the past two weeks... which means, it is fall! Even though we had a very cold, wet summer, it seemed to redeem itself in the end and cling on a bit longer than usual, so fall was pushed back a bit. I was starting to think winter was going to force fall to abdicate and muscle in early because it seemed to be getting colder but the colors in the trees weren't changing.

However, I have noticed as I've been driving around this past week that there IS some beautiful color happening in our trees right now. Here is proof from my own back yard!

I love the evening sunlight in the fall and winter, too. It gets that gorgeous lemony color that I don't recall seeing in the spring and summer. I happened to run in and grab my camera just in time to capture this leaf aglow from the setting sun. Within two clicks of my camera, the sun had already dropped just enough that the light had changed and the moment was gone.

It reminded me that life itself is full of fleeting moments, and when you have one happen to you, you had better enjoy it fully because if you blink a couple times, you might miss it. As fall is rapidly giving way to the rush of the holidays that heralds the beginning of winter, I am making a vow to myself to make sure I stop blinking sometimes and open my eyes fully to those moments so that I don't miss them. Maybe I'll even have my camera handy, and I can share some of them with you!

Pumpkin Patch Time!

I absolutely ADORE fall. The crunchy leaves, the wind in the trees, the stormy rainy days, cozy meals, and the annual family trip to the pumpkin patch!

This year we decided to try out BelleWood Acres - known mostly for their apples (and they are amazing!) but they also have a pumpkin patch. BONUS: you can ride in a train of apple carts pulled by a tractor. My kids were thrilled.

You get a gorgeous view of Mount Baker while selecting your pumpkins. They've set up a great photo opportunity to take advantage of it. The cart in front is our selection of pumpkins. My oldest was excited that his pumpkin was the tallest of the five.

 They also have a wonderful shopping area where you can buy fresh-made donut holes, apple cider, a wide variety of apples, caramel apples, cookies, other treats, and fun decorations! Plus, the kids can sit on this awesome rocking horse. Although, as you can see, my 2nd son was less than thrilled to share his turn with little sister, hahaha!

Despite the look on Thad's face, we had quite a fun time on this year's pumpkin picking trip. Our two boys both have extra needs plus our daughter is three, so family outings are always an unknown. Will they behave? Will we have a meltdown? Will more than one of them meltdown at the same time? (This has happened and is probably one of the most parenting stressors known to mankind, ha!) Thankfully this time everyone behaved (mostly - they ARE kids, after all - some whining is expected) and we all went home happy.

Are You Ready for Halloween? Well, My Son Is!

School doesn't start until next week, yet my oldest is more interested in Halloween being only 2 months away (LESS THAN TWO MONTHS NOW, as it is September 1st as I am writing this) than he is about starting 2nd grade next week.

Seriously, two weeks ago he was in the garage pulling down our Halloween decorations (I think we have five) and painstakingly placing them around the play space. I thought he was playing with Legos. Silly me.

So when a friend of mine posted a link on Twitter to one of her awesome sculptures and it happened to be a pumpkin version of Munch's "The Scream" I just had to make a Halloween treasury. I knew Isaac would flip for it.

Allow me to share it with you. You might find that Halloween decoration you never knew you always have needed! Plus, with stuff that you buy via mail, it is always safer to buy early (in fact, three items in this list have already sold, so better not hesitate!)

... and let's not talk about how this is my first post in 2011, shall we? Thank you. (Hopefully I'll post more often, but let's face it. I've made that promise before!)

VOTE for YOUR Favorite THREE New Scents!

Vote Now in my Fall/Winter Scent Poll!

Choose the three scents you would most like to see in my Fall/Winter lineup!

If you would also like to be entered in my drawing for a free 3-pack lotion sampler featuring the three winning scents, please post your Etsy shop name or email here so I can contact you if you win!

Thank you!

Fall/Winter SCENT Contest!

It is time for me to put three new seasonal scents in my shop! I had a contest for my summer scents, and it was so much fun, I decided to do it again!

First of all, I need to gather suggestions before I compile a list for the final vote.

Please leave a comment here letting me know which scent(s) you would like to see!

I will put the name of each person in a hat for a drawing (make sure I have an email or Etsy shop name so I can contact you if you win). Each person gets ONE entry, but feel free to post as many suggestions as you like. The winner will receive a FREE lotion sampler pack of the three final winning scents!

Thanks so much! Here is the list of scents I already have (so please don't put these ones on your list!)

April Showers - like a fresh rain on a spring day
Au Naturale - unscented
Beyond Melon - eating melon at a summer's picnic
Chocolate Orange - ALMOST as good as eating chocolate!
Citrus Basil Breeze - great unisex scent - bold and clean
Coconut Lime Verbena - like a pina colada for your skin!
Elemental Bamboo - light woodsy floral, mellows nicely
Garden Sage - smells fresh from the herb garden!
Gardenia
Geranium - as spicy and sweet as the real deal!
Ginger Creme - ginger cookie topped with vanilla frosting
Green Tea & Cucumber - as fresh as it sounds!
Juicy Pear - mouthwateringly pear-like. A Best Seller!
Lavender - made with lavender essentail oil.
Lavender Vanilla
Lily of the Valley
Morning Rain - Like collecting raindrops off of flower petals
Mood Lifter - Smile! Orange, ylang-ylang, & chamomile
Orange Spice - a spicy & sensual orange scent for grownups!
Patchouli - earthy goodness
Sleepy Time - soothing lavender w/ StressFree aromatherapy
Spruce & Berries - like eating berry pie in the forest
Tangarine - sweet and tart - perfect!
Wild Strawberry - smells like it was freshly picked!
Winter Sunshine - fresh light floral w/ a hint of lemon

Also, Beyond Melon, Wild Strawberry, and Morning Rain will be retired till spring, so get them now while you can! :) I am trying to keep my scent list to 25 so as not to overwhelm myself!