the best one yet

it's no secret that fall is my favorite season. in my opinion, all things wonderful happen during the fall...

football season

my birthday

changing leaves

fire pits and s'mores

volleyball season

cooler weather

pumpkin waffles

boots and sweaters
the yummiest scented candles

...just to name a few. living in florida for the last two "falls" of my life was taxing to say the least. i missed a lot of my favorites because fall in florida translates to "milder summer." some love it. i just wasn't one of them. i made up for it as best i could with trips to asheville, branson, and denver but trips are temporary. i'm happy to report that fall (and its wardrobe) is back in my regular rotation now. and hopefully forever if i have my way.

this may just be my favorite fall yet. why? because i got to spend it in all of my favorite places with many of my favorite people...

:: asheville ::

waddells + harts

:: branson ::

 
jackie + jenny

april

jane + lindsay + mallory

shayla

lauren

:: chapel hill ::

heather

gracie

i just don't think it can get any better than this, but i'm hoping it does. grin.

bekah

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

life gets in the way

it's inevitable. when you move away, you lose touch with some people. doesn't mean you love them less. doesn't mean you don't miss them and wonder what they're doing. but it happens. life in another city, state, or time zone steals your time and attention.

that being said, Kevan, Paula, and Sarah fall into that category for me. this family was like a second family for me in high school. i would leave school and go eat their food and watch their tv before volleyball. i took trips with them. i love love love this family. so when i packed up and went off to Chapel Hill and then Branson and now Tampa....well, life in another city got in the way.

but the good news is that i was able to sneak in a lunch date with all three of them while i was home for Christmas. the Sis came with since she obviously knows them too, and we had ourselves quite the little reunion laugh session. caught up on all the news i've missed, talked about Sarah's wedding that i also missed, and how Kevan is getting old. ha!

anyway, this family holds a special place in my heart and i'm so grateful that they continue to be a presence in my life as such an encouragement and needed dose of laughter.

Paula, the Sis, and Kevan

 Sarah and the Sis

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

from resident to visitor

a line from the book i just finished reading said...

"I realize with a wave of remorse and panic that Andy and I have suddenly, instantly morphed into visitors--tourists--in a city where we once resided."

this, unfortunately, is the story of my life. both Asheville and Branson have become just that for me. vacation destinations with memories of once being home.

yes, part of me will always consider Asheville "home" (i answered a coworker's question in that mindset just the other day actually), but my days of hopping in the car and running errands in this eclectic mountain town every day are done. i enjoy the moments when i'm home, obviously, and i'm tempted to relocate at times, but that's part of growing up and building my own grown up life. i don't get to stay forever. some stay, some go. i'm a go-er. as hard as it is, i'm a go-er.

and Branson is the same way in a different way. no biological family, but pretty darn close when it comes to how much of my heart is invested in the people there. but now i'm a tourist. i can proudly claim the status of a "has been local" though, and you better believe i will. i had my taney county driver's license that was good for local discounts at one point. so can i get an amen?

all that being said, i hope that someday i can say the same about tampa. i don't plan to live in tampa forever. let's be honest, i'm a mountain girl through and through. the beach will never float my boat. i crave the mountains. i crave crisp, cool air. i crave hikes and camping. sand is my enemy. here's to hoping tampa becomes a place full of rich relationships where my heart is fully invested and i can one day look back and say it truly felt like home for a time.

bekah

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

happy #4

nothing beats time at home with the people you love. today was spent at church and then at the river with the fam for a stuff your face til you're sick to your stomach style picnic. delish. so much food. so much green (leaves and trees that is). so much cool weather i actually had chills. welcome to the mountains. :)

happy #4

Jim & Sara Hart

the little girl cousins

the boy cousins

and the big girls

spending time with people you love and eating yummy food while you're at it

[credit to Liza for the idea of posting happies each day]

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

happy #3

i'm headed to NC today and can't wait to see the mountains and my family. i feel sorry for the person next to me on the plane. i might squeal. it's been almost 9 full months since i was home in my beloved Blue Ridge Mountains and that is WAY. TOO. LONG. needless to say, this visit is long overdue and much anticipated.

happy #3

seeing the fam and being home in the mountains again

[credit to Liza for the idea of posting happies each day]

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

i pledge allegiance to...

image

allegiant airlines is quickly becoming my best friend. yours truly just scored a flight home for labor day weekend for $120 round trip (taxes included). let me just state for the record that i was paying around $400 to fly home when i was in branson. yet another perk of moving to florida.

i'm scheming fun things to do while i'm home, but let's be honest....i'll probably spend most of my time on the fabulous sectional sofa watching movies & ball games with mom and dad, or reading a book. less than three months until i'm home again in the mountains. do you hear the angels rejoicing? i do.

bekah

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.

asheville

let's be real. i love asheville. it's quirky. eccentric. earthy. vibrant. diverse. perfect. it will always be home.

yes, technically i was born in georgia, but i left before i have any recollection of it. north carolina has been home for as long as i can remember. it always will be. i love everything about the state. i mean, who couldn't? it's the "tar heel state"...duh!!

so, for those of you who haven't had the privilege of experiencing this not-so-little gem of a town firsthand, i'll attempt to convey it's awesomeness. here's why i love this little mountain town with all my heart...

1: downtown. you'll never see the same thing twice. it's a perfect mesh of earthy, liberal, modern, mountain, business....life. so much for your typical southern town. i love it.

2: i never have to use a gps. never. i know this city inside and out. and that makes me happy.

3: i will always call it home. cedar view drive will always be the place where i return. no matter where i go, i'll always come back. and it will always feel right.

4: biltmore village and biltmore estate. who else can boast "america's largest home" in their hometown? yeah, that's what i thought. it's gorgeous, and so full of history. i love escaping to biltmore village to browse the boutiques and slip away to biltmore estate to go back in history. love love love.

5: grove park inn. every friend who ever comes to visit me will wind up walking the halls of grove park with me and sitting in the lobby to chat and listen to the live music. it just feels right.

6: everywhere i go holds a memory. whether it's east asheville with the ball parks and ACA's old campus where i spent the first 12 years of my school career...or west asheville with the fresh market's yummy goodness and the old mcdonald's on merrimon that used to have the indoor playplace with the giant purple creature...or south asheville with the racquet club where we spent every sunny summer afternoon at the pool and church every sunday at Arden Pres...or north asheville with, well, i guess i don't venture into north asheville very much. maybe i should work on that.

7: crisp, cool mountain air. i've never breathed better air. seriously. it could be the middle of the summer and the air is still crisp....none of that "i'm breathing in a cloud" mess.

8: water that literally tastes like you took it straight from the spring. better than bottled. and it's from the tap. no funky sulfur taste or massive amounts of lime junk that leaves the funky white residue in your tea kettle. just pure, clean, bona fide mountain water.

9: small town feel with big city opportunities. maybe it has something to do with the fact that mom and dad both grew up in asheville and returned to raise us there too, but it just feels comfy and right. i can go out and see someone i know, but not everyone. you can feel connected, but not invaded. everyone doesn't know your business, but enough people know and they care. they really care. you're connected.

10: the mall. it's seen quite the facelift since i left for carolina, but it has always been a great place to go and spend an afternoon wandering the stores and spending more money than i should. and it's slightly more enticing now that there's a dippin' dots stand in the food court. um, yes please!!


11: all four seasons. we get all four seasons in perfect doses. winter isn't bitter. spring is budding. summer isn't blistering. and fall is gorgeous. i have never seen a place more beautiful in the fall than asheville. and i'll argue that i never will. see for yourself and join the rest of the tourists that come to drive the blue ridge parkway and marvel at the leaves. stunning.

12: mountains. mountains. mountains. i am not a beach girl (ironic that i'm moving to Tampa?). take me to the mountains every time. 10 out of 10 times i'll vote mountains. some people go to the beach to see the majesty and splendor of our Creator God. i go to the mountains. i find refuge there. i find Him. i love when i come up old fort mountain and see asheville nestled among the mountains in front of me, or when i look outside the plane window and see the blanket of green bumps that are the essence of this little mountain town. they make my heart skip a beat. i love the mountains. always have, always will.

"ASHEVILLE SYNDROME:

some people come down with it for a week.

others are happily afflicted for life.

in this north carolina town,

virtually everyone is seeking a wilderness fix.

and no one goes home disappointed.

in fact, you may not go home at all..."

for me, i don't have to go home. it is home. 

bekah

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.