Fall in Photos

Two weekends ago, the Mister and I took a nice little jaunt up North to Linville Falls for some camping. We met up with the infamous Vandres and had the trip of a lifetime :)

We visited the falls, hiked, went on leaf watching drives along the Blue Ridge Parkway, visited a historic apple orchard (complete with a rockin' hootenanny and clogging), fed some wandering campground dogs Ramen cup noodles, and built lots of campfires.

We just had a fabulous time, and we were so lucky to get out of the city and into the beautiful mountains for a couple of days. Plus, the Fall leaves were spectacular! :)

Feeling Festive

So, usually, I hate when people bring Christmas into the equation way too early. For instance, decorations being put out in stores toward the end of September. And listening to any sort of holiday song before the day after Thanksgiving? Forget about it! How are we really supposed to enjoy the season when it lasts for three months?

However, She and Him came out with the most bombtastic Christmas album, and since I am a sucker for those two and have no patience, I have been cranking that bad boy like it's December 23rd!

I recommend "A Very She and Him Christmas" wholeheartedly; instead of adding a bunch of extra stuff in there and making the tunes completely unrecognizable, they kept the majority of them very simple, with just the sound of a guitar and Zooey Deschanel's totally awesome, retro-y voice.

Sidenote: I feel like she and I could really get along... Like, sometimes, I have this fantasy where we are college roommates/best friends and she picks out all of my outfits and we talk about how adorable Joseph Gordon-Levitt is.

Moving on...

I need a new arsenal of holiday jams for when the season finally rolls around, so I would love to hear some of your favorites, friends! List away :-)

Yum

People, I have a new food blog obsession.

I am of the mindset that trying new recipes is fun, but they darn well better be pretty simple, not require a lot of ingredients (I hate things sitting around after only being used for one dinner), and mostly healthy (extra points if they are chocked full of veggies!)

Well, my friends, I have found the golden ticket. The creme de la creme. The pot o' gold at the end of the rainbow.

And it is Real Girl's Kitchen.

Haylie Duff (yes, that Haylie Duff) is one talented lady en la cocina! Maybe I am, like, the last person on Earth to discover this little gem of a site (if so, I give you permission to give me the "Um, duh, where have you been? That blog is so three months ago" thing). If not, I hope you find it as charming and helpful as I do.

There are lots of delicious sounding dishes that are healthy and don't require a 200 dollar grocery bill of ingredients you will use once. Hooray! I am hoping to crack into the Fresh Basil Pinenut Pesto soon.

So, if you are looking for some new meal inspiration like I am around our house (how is one supposed to make it through the winter/holidays without A. Being starving all the time or B. Needing a triple bypass?), then check it out!

BABY watch!

So, it seems as though my lovely friends will both be going into labor within the next day or two.

HOORAY!

Can you tell that I am excited? Maybe the whole mentioning it every post hasn't indicated that, yet.

Sorry, I just can't contain it.

Early congratulations to Katherine and Ashley!

Yay for procreation!

:)

Outdoor Splendor

Want to know what we are doing this weekend?

Here's a little hint...

Oh, Nat. You cut right to the core of me.

We are heading up to Linville Falls to take in some beautiful Autumn leaves and camp with Pauncy (aka Paul and Nancy).

Here's hoping that I will not freeze my heiney off.

Pictures to come! (really, I promise)

Home

I was listening to this song earlier and might have gotten a little teary.

I am getting SO excited to go home for the holidays.

It will be a nice chance to recharge.

Huzzah!

Radical Face-Welcome Home

Blame it On the Rain

I have been a grump and a half this week.

It hasn't been pretty.

In true Alyssa fashion, I am not going to take responsibility for it, and blame it on the weather (it has been raining since Monday).

To brighten up the day (and, frankly, get my act together), here are some things I have to look forward to and be excited about.

1. I GET TO SEE MY MOM AND AUNT TOMORROW!

2. Camping/fall foliage observing next weekend

3. My Sharing Time lesson this Sunday-those cuties always have awesome little nuggets of wisdom to share :)

4. Kat and Ash's babies coming soon! YAYYYY!

5. Harry Potter movie for FHE on Monday

6. Halloween and Trunk or Treat

7. I guess this already happened, but I went to Trader Joe's the other night and it was awesome, as usual. Heaven!

8. Cooler weather

9. Pumpkin everything (pies, cookies, etc.)

10. The Primary Program!

After being so grouchy, I read through this talk and felt uplifted again. Thank you, General Conference and Carl B. Cook :)

Here's to positivity and the weekend!

Sidenote:

My friends are awesome.

A big thanks to Ashley, Katherine, and Nancy for all of the ideas.

I feel super empowered and like I can tackle this issue head on now :-)

Yay for tidiness and order!

I also felt super whiney and ungrateful with the last post... I love the little home that we have here and I feel very lucky, but I am just not naturally gifted in the organizational department, so quite often it makes me want to scream not nice words. That's all.

Lastly, is this not the cutest picture you've ever seen?

I want a baby otter for Christmaaaaaas.... Only a baby otter will dooooo!

Help! I need somebody

I know I keep promising lots of pictures and updates, but ladies and gents, I am SWAMPED.

I kept complaining this morning while Jord and I were getting ready that I feel so out of control with my life that I don't know what to do with myself, and it's true. I can't tell whether or not it's because of increased responsibilities or the whole "sharing a car between two people" thing, but I feel like I have no time for anything outside of work. By the time we get home, eat, and things slow down, I can't muster up the energy to get much done.

SO! I spent my break at work today making a huge list (Seriously, HUGE. Like, takes up a whole page huge) of all the things I want/need to get done. Sadly, creating a mass of blog posts about what we've been up to is somewhere down toward the bottom.

However, organizing, cleaning, and revamping our apartment is at the top. That's where you come in! I need some major advice/help regarding how to keep a small space neat and tidy. Our place is VERY little, and I feel like it is always messy because we have nowhere to put anything.

If you have any ideas for me, I would greatly appreciate it. Favorite organization methods, cheap-ish and small furniture or organizational items that have been a life saver for you, or any ways you can think of how to get rid of clutter without needing a giant bookshelf or tons of room. We especially need help in our bedroom and kitchen. I know all of my friends (and mother :-D) are super women when it comes to this, so I have high hopes here! I am talking to you, Katherine :-)

If it can be neat and tidy while also being cute and homey, more power to ya! I understand that all of you are super busy, too (i.e. my two bests that are having cute little bebes VERY soon!), but even something small will do.

Bless you, friends! Advice, engage!

P.S. I already checked Pinterest. Yes, there are many cute ideas, but most of them seem either way too time consuming, out of my price range, or just not right for our space. Also, most of them made me feel like the least creative being on the Earth, so I stopped looking