TWENTY-FOUR | Fall Bucket List

I am so excited for fall and for this prompt! I am an #eagerbeaver when it comes to all things fall so I have already been working on my bucket list. The achiever in me wanted to add more but I wanted to keep it fun and motivating! I just love lists so much. 

Today's Prompt: Your fall bucket list. What do you want to do before winter rolls around?

My Autumn Bucket List:

• Drink a Pumpkin Spice Latte
• Go to a Pumpkin Patch
• Celebrate Thanksgiving with family
• Decorate our apartment for fall
• Spend time in nature, maybe go to a cabin
• Wear something long sleeve without sweating
• Celebrate my birthday
• Try a new recipe, chicken potato chowder soup
• Practice gratitude
• Drink hot chocolate
• Make homemade soap/maybe candles
• Create a healthy rhythm and schedule for working two jobs
• Save money every month
• Get a pedicure/manicure with a fall color
• Blog about fall because I love it
• Be cozy
• Eat pumpkin seeds
• Go wine tasting
• Make pumpkin bread
• Order a yoga dvd
• Go to a fall party
• Have a photo shoot with leaves and scarves with film
• Eat apples with carmel dip
• Send out fall and Halloween cards

 There is it! What are some things you want to do this season?

TWENTY-THREE | San Diego Gems

Today's blog prompt: A guide to your city! Share some of the hot-spots and hidden gems of where you live.

I live in San Diego, CA ~

If you’ve been here you know how big it is and how there are tons of little cities within this great big city. I currently live in an area known at Normal Heights/Kensington. When I first moved out here for grad school I didn’t live here. Once I was engaged and only months before the wedding I moved into the sweetest neighborhood here and haven’t looked back.

I grew up in the country in Nebraska on 30 acres of land. Obviously San Diego is NOT like this. However I feel that I have found my own “small town” feel living in Normal Heights. It is certainly more of a cement urban jungle than country but it has it’s own unique charm and hidden gems. Pedestrians, bikers, dog walkers and antique stores line the streets of Normal Heights. There is a yoga studio across the street where I pick up classes, the post office is literally around the corner of our apartment, my hair stylist is just down the street a block. The library is a couple blocks down farther and is quaint and smells of dusty books. Here are a few local favorites :

Dark Horse Coffee Roasters: Go here to learn more about my obsession for this place and their pour over and cold brew coffee. 

Adams Avenue Bookstore: Used, antique, vintage books. There are windy stairs and rows and rows of colorful books. The children's section has its own little room that shares with the psychology books as well. What more could you want! 

 Blind Lady Ale House : One of my first times hanging out with Scott was here. We would go after our class was over around 10 pm and order some beers. I prefer wine over beer generally but this place has fantastic craft beer. I love the atmosphere. I always get the cider or framboise. 

Ponces Mexican Restaurant : Another favorite spot just down the street. Authentic mexican food. I have their shrimp tacos that make my mouth water. They also have bomb margaritas and unending servings of chips and salsa. 

Soda and Swine : This restaurant is exactly what it says. They have craft sodas and all their entrees include some kind of swine whether it's in spaghetti or a slider or a sub. I personally love their side dishes of macaroni and cheese, asparagus, and their frites. They have a fireplace and an open roof that views the stars. They also have Polite Provisions attached to their space which is a classy 1920's places with the most creative drinks. 

Carmelite Monastery : This is one of the beautiful places in our neighborhood. I love riding my bike or walking down here to explore the gardens popping with flowers of reds, yellows, pinks and purples. This is where I find my leaves in the fall and where I gather my faults and learn how to breathe again and again. It is an enchanting little place.

Salon Bordeaux : This is where I get my hair done. The girl I see is fantastic. Going here is like a whole spa experience where you have wine, a girlfriend to chat with and you leave looking gorgeous. Read more about this experience here.

Of course San Diego is filled with so many amazing places. They have the best Vietnamese, Thai and Mexican food I have ever had. There is Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, The Wild Animal Park, Birch Aquarium, Balboa and all their museums, and of course tons and tons of beaches. In the summers, we are congested with tourists and I usually hide from these specific hot spots though.  

I personally love going to the Old Point Loma Lighthouse. It is so serene and beautiful. 

One time this summer on a rare foggy day, Scott and I packed a picnic and headed to the lighthouse. It began to rain and it was everything I love. Rain, mist and a romantic lighthouse overlooking  a stormy sea.  This is also a great place to go searching for sea glass too if you are a collector.

             We even were able to tour the inside of the lighthouse and learn all about it's history! 

What about you? What are your local favorites?

TWENTY-TWO | Blogs I read

Blog Prompt: Introduce us to 5 blogs you read on the regular, and tell us why!

Okay this one is tough because I love so many blogs out there! I couldn't swing 5, so I tried for 8. Ha. Since it's more than 5 I will be short and sweet regarding the "whys" of my blogging choices. 

Glennon Doyle Melton's momastery blog : Her blog is fantastic. Read her book, "Carry On Warrior". She shows up for her real life every day. 

Audi's  brave and beautiful blog : Audi has been someone I have admired and looked up to for years! She has mentored me and been there for me through some pretty tough stuff. Her blog is raw, sincere and beautiful. Her words are tender and gentle. Read about her journey!

Elizabeth's selflesslove blog : E-beth is my best friend from my hometown. We met in third grade and have been friends ever since. She has a heart of sincere gold. She is wife, mother of two and is passionate for what matters. She is a great writer AND a great photographer. 

This lady's iwillbloom blog. This lady is RESILIENT  She is brave and courageous. She's also a beautiful and prolific writer. 

Leanna's blog : Her beautiful words and stories inspire me. She reminds me to look for the art. She writes that she is a gypsy at heart. 

Elise's polka dotted blue jay blog : Elise is my friend and fellow blogger! She has introduced me to so many blogging communities and has taught me a lot about buttons and links and how to be an organized blogger! She's super creative and I'm envious of her colorful wardrobe.  

Elizabeth Esther's blog : Her blog is full of zest and spunk. She is open about growing up an abusive cult and how it affected her. She is a fighter. 

Donald Miller's blog here at Storyline : Well he's just neat. And so are his books. 

P.S. Brene Brown's blog obvi (read it)

Now tell me what blogs you read on the regular! 

TWENTY-ONE | The Best of Fall

Sept 21st: Fall Favorites. What do you love most about this season?

I absolutely adore fall so I was very excited for this prompt! What don’t I love about fall?! Living in the Midwest to living in San Diego was a tough change due to the seasons not exactly changing all that much. Everything stayed at 70 rather than moving into a cooler season with crisp fall leaves, chilly days and a need for jackets. However I noticed the small things and I highlight them. When my roommate and I moved here from Minnesota 6 years ago we got super into fall. We would decorate our little apartment with all things pumpkins and cider smelling candles. We would go to Oktoberfest on our street and dress up for Halloween even when it was 80 out. We made it cozy, fallish and festive here even though it’s always sunny and appears like summer. So here is what I love about this very special fall season:

·      Leaves. Even here, the leaves fall and change color. They take on magnificent beaming color of brilliant oranges, reds and browns.

·      THE PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE. Go here to see how to properly drink one.

·      

  Chocolate-chip pumpkin muffins. Ever since I can remember my mom would be busy in the early mornings on a crisp fall day baking these little treats. Whenever I go home or even if I don’t mom figures out a way for me to have them. (fall care package) I know I could bake them but my mom is just better at it.

·    Fall scented candles. They are the best. Baked Apple pie. Cider Web. Pumpkin Spice. Leaves. Pumpkin Pie. Cinnamon Bun. (Ironically I don’t like pie but I love the smell)

·      The evenings become chilly! Yes, even in San Diego. Once the sun sets you need a sweater or jacket. I take full advantage of this drop and break out the boots and scarves. Of course this chill doesn’t really set in till late October since September is one of our hottest months. But one can pretend right?

·      The Pumpkin Patch. I LOVE PUMPKIN PATCHES. Need I say more.

·      Scarecrows. My mom and my aunts always made scarecrows stuffed with old clothes and vintage overalls and straw. They would put him on our porch to greet our guests. He was also pretty inappropriate.

·      Fall parties. Fall parties are the best. My aunts always decorated their house for fall and Halloween. In college, my roommates and I would travel up to their home, trick or treat with their kids and slurp on their yummy homemade soups and cherish the season. My friends and I would dress up in costumes and gallop around the neighborhood like we were kids again. 

·      Boots

·      School supplies. Even though I am not in school anymore I work at a school and even if I didn’t, pretty sure I would still get excited about seeing school supplies lining the aisles at Target.

·      MY BIRTHDAY. My birthday is in November and I celebrate it all month long. I take it all in.

·      Swimsuit Season is Over. Can I say this out loud? Yes I think I can. 

   Scarf Season Is Here! 

·      Thanksgiving. I love the food. The long tables. I love the family. I love the intentional time to focus on gratitude. Every other year, my husband and I go up to Yosemite for Thanksgiving with his family. It is all things redwoods, cabins and fireplaces. It is the best.

·      Walks around our neighborhood with my husband right before dusk are some of my favorite moments of fall. We can take in our surroundings. We notice how the tress are different. We notice the fog. We observe our neighbor’s pumpkins on their porch, we walk to the monastery and see the gardens changing shades and shapes.

  What about you? What do you love about fall?