50 Facts About Me- Part One

Hello there all,

I don't know if you have ever seen these over the interwebs, but this is kind of a thing: the "50 facts about me" on the blogosphere. I promise.

ANYWAYS....

Let's learn way too much about me.

1.) I am not a very well organized person, but there are some aspects of my life where I am overly organized. For example, my tank tops are all organized by color, my books organized by genre/author, etc.

2.) My favorite type of cake is "funfetti."

3.) I prefer to brush my teeth before taking a shower. I just don't feel clean unless I brush my teeth first.

4.) Growing up, I didn't like my name. For awhile, I remember thinking that I was going to change it, and I had many different ideas of what it would be. Now, I love it!

5.) Most people seem to think that my parents are big ole hippies because my name is Autumn, but they are not big ole hippies. I'm the bleeding heart of the family.

6.) I blew my first bubble from bubble gum in high school because I just couldn't figure it out before then.

7.) Constantly, I am aware of how awkward I am which is what makes me awkward. I over think it all, so I become more awkward.

8.) I love animals sooooo much, but I think my neediness to have them love me is off putting to them.

9.) If I could just create all day, I would be one happy camper.

10.) I could eat Mexican food for every meal for the rest of my life.

11.) During my dreams, I am often lucid. Also, I have been able to wake from dreams and go back to sleep to continue the same dream. It is awesome! It doesn't always work though.

12.) I am not a vegetarian, but I don't often eat meat. Our freezer is full of fake meat products (and some real meat), and I often prefer the flavor of veggie burgers.

13.)  I have never been to Disneyland/Disneyworld.

14.) After a certain amount of time of wearing shoes/socks, I feel claustrophobic. When I get home, the first thing I do is take my shoes off. If I had to be barefoot forever, I would not miss shoes. I WOULD miss cute socks.

15.) As a kid, I would often walk around with an orange pop mustache.

16.) I have been to 8 countries including the USA.

17.) I have been to 12 states including Oregon (not including layover silliness).

18.) My first CD was the Backstreet Boys, and I loved it. However, I was definitely a *NSYNC girl.

19.) My least favorite foods are pineapples and pickles. My favorite food is anything with potatoes!

20.)  When I watch a movie that is older than 5 years AND has a dog in it, I often think about how the dog is now dead in real life. Isn't that awful?  I LOVE dogs, and I HATE this.

21.)  One of my most prized possessions is a quilt that my late great grandma made, and I sleep with it every night.

22.) I like to name inanimate objects.

23.) I used to sleep with the tv on while I slept growing up, but the only tv we currently own hasn't been plugged in for over two years. Yes, we still have the internet, so we haven't cut off watching shows completely. However, watching things is now a much more intentional choice.

24.) With that said, I can definitely binge watch some shows.

25.) Orange became my favorite color in 6th grade when I saw a boy that I liked wearing that color, so I decided that it was my favorite color. Oh 6th grade me...However, I do legitimately love it now along with burgundy. I love me some autumn colors.

Part two coming soon to a blog near you...

-Autumn

We got a house! Part three (and final)

Hello there,

Over the last week, I have been sharing glimpses of the house because I think it is so darn. Alsom I pretty much want to continually talk about it. We are knee deep in packing, cleaning, etc., so I need to focus on the fact that this wonderful place will soon be home to get me motivated.

Here's round three:

The upstairs area before the bedrooms:

First upstairs bedroom:

Second Upstairs Bedroom:

Garage:

 

That is it guys! I'm excited to share our journey from turning this house into a home :).

-Autumn

The Little Things on Valentine's Day

Hello there all,


It is almost Valentine's Day, and during this time of year, we start seeing innumerable social media posts about who loves who more. Valentine's Day has become a grand display of affection which is wonderful because love is something to be celebrated. However, the truth of the matter is that so many people stress about this holiday because of the financial burden. Valentine's Day is supposed to be about celebrating love, and you shouldn't be putting a price tag on something like that. I'm not saying that buying something is bad, and if you do want to spend some money, you can use apps like Personal Capital's financial tools to determine a smart budget for special occasions. When done correctly, you should be buying something that is meaningful-not just buying something to buy something. It isn't about how much you spend but about how much YOU that you put into it. In our household, we celebrate each other and our love through the little things. If you ask me, the best things in life are the little things. You know the in between things that really add up and make something special.

The little things are what become the BIG things.

Here are some little things that the Mister and I do that any Valentine would appreciate:

1.) Gifting each other little bits and pieces of things that are beautiful- Constantly, I am surprised with gifts of beautiful rocks that the Mister found or a beautiful flower that he found on a walk earlier that day. We see something beautiful, and we want to share it with each other.

2.) Saying how you feel- Throughout the day, we are telling each other the things that we love about each other or how we care for the other person. An example of this is the "Today, I Love You Because..." board that I posted about here last year. Alternatively, we also plainly say the things that we feel when we are frustrated with the other person. It is a wonderful gift to not make someone guess on emotions and feel like they are being played with. Say what you mean (nicely) and say how you feel (nicely).

3.) Surprises!- Nothing is better than a sweet, unexpected surprise on at an unanticipated day/time. Hate getting up in the morning? This means that your loved one isn't going to expect you to get up and make them breakfast. They will also see it as such a sweet gift that you endured on to make them happy. For Valentine's Day, a great way to do this would be to give them something the day before or to show up to their work with their afternoon coffee. Another way, I love to do this is to leave little notes around the house like "You're smoking!" on the smoke detector.

4.) Acts of Service- An act of service is the concept of doing something for another person to ease their day. Examples of this are making dinner, doing the laundry, grocery shopping, etc. Everybody likes a little bit of help to make their life easier. It means even more when you know the person HATES doing it. For example, when The Mister does the dishes, it makes me swoonsy because it means that I don't have to do it, AND I know that he hates it even more than I do. However, he was willing to do that thing for me to make me happy, and it sure works :).

5.) Doing things that make them smile- Identifying the things that make them happy and committing to gifting that person those moments: watching their favorite movie together, dressing in their favorite shirt of yours, making their favorite food, etc. It shows that you pay attention to who they are, AND you want to celebrate it with them.

What are you planning to do for your Valentine this year?
-Autumn 

____________________________________________________________________________________
 This post is done as a collaboration with Personal Capital and other bloggers around the blogosphere.
 

We got a house! Part two

Hello there all,

Alright, I am back with more photos of what the house looks like. You know, the house that I'm going to live in! Oh, I am so excited and can't stop talking about it.

During this post, we are going to do the main level of the house.


Living room

Dining room

Walkway to bathroom/main level bedrooms

Bathroom

Bedrooms

Kitchen/breakfast nook

 

So excited, too excited!
-Autumn

We got a house! Part One

Hello there all,

So, something that I have been DYING to talk about on here is that we got a house! We just got the keys on Friday, and we are in love. There is a lot of work to be done, but it already feels so us. I am over the moon with excitement and decorating/planning in my head every waking moment.

ANYWAYS, let's get onto the fun part: photos!


Outside 

Backyard views

It even came with a cute little greenhouse in the corner

Basement/Lower Level

I'll be back soon with more pictures of the main level and second floor. This is just one VERY picture heavy post already.

-Autumn

Just Some Reads 3

Hello there all,

Here are some fun things that I have enjoyed on my side of the internet lately.

Always trying to learn how to be a morning person

How to enable and encourage play in your household

This video is so beautiful: the music and visuals make me swoon.

Everyone wants to be happier. Here are some ways to get there.

Having trouble leaving work at work? Try this solution.

Because the Teenage girl in me still loves internet tests, and the adult in me cares about style and decor. Here is a great style profile test that got me pretty well.

I am a sucker for cute dog photos.

The internet has been full of Star Wars theories. This one is my favorite so far.

Interesting thoughts on sharing things on social media.

For some reason, I can't stop listening to this.

So true, too true. This video all about dealing with periods.

-Autumn



 

Collector's Collections: Old Photographs

Hello there all,

Something you may or may not know about me is that I am a collector of many different things. Awhile back, I watched this video which talks about collecting and how creatives often are collectors because they see the beauty in so many places (I highly recommend the video because it also goes onto very interesting topics). This is why I collect so many things- I see beauty in so many different places. Also, I want to fill my environment with elements of beauty and happiness.

I'm starting a little something on here where I will share bits and pieces of some collections that I have. Some of them are much smaller (like the one that I will share today) and some are much more extensive.

The collection that I am sharing today is my collection of old photographs, and I know several people may think this is weird (and you are probably right). The photographs that I collect are ones that I feel have a story behind it. The photograph has to speak to me, and I have to feel like there is something extraordinary/unusual going on in the photo. I don't want to just have portraits of random individuals. I want to surround myself with wonderful, beautiful stories of others.

This is how I am currently displaying some of them, but I am working on a better method. It is just too cluttery/chaotic.


Here are some of the stars of the collection:

Left: I just love these two sitting together. It is such an intimate sign of affection which I don't associate with the times.
Right: I love how shy these two seem together. When I saw this, I assumed that the two cared for each other and a friend made them pose together. It embarrassed them, so the photo shows their endearing shyness.

Top left: Look at how totally independent and badass this group of women seem. They look like they are about to mess someone up.
Bottom left: The lady that is getting ready to throw an apple at the photographer just slays me. I love it.
Right: These three ladies all seem so elegant and dressed up. I imagine that they are three friends that wanted a reason to wear their wedding dresses again, so they are having a little party for the three of them.

When I found these photos, they were scattered throughout a pile of photos in an antique mall. Originally, I grouped them together because I was worried that they were going to be separated (I do this all the time at stores. Put things together that should go together or would be cute together). After marinating on it for awhile, I decided to grab them for myself. I was worried that this love story would be lost, so now, I get to carry it on for them.

-Autumn