stuff.

wow, have i been a terrible blogger lately. my mind has been going all sort of directions and apparently keeping up this blog has not been one of them. this season has been going so fast... we have just over two months before we make the big cross-country move. doesn't seem possible. in the meantime we have much going on (and much to plan & figure out, including a place to live in portland). in the last few weeks, we've helped my sister & brother-in-law move, traveled to Asheville for our anniversary (more on that soon), had a grad party for Joel, drove to the U.P (Escanaba to be exact) for a college friend's wedding, on top of trying to start packing, starting to inquire about rentals online, trying to sort out work transition stuff, etc etc. let's just say there's a lot to figure out yet. oh yea, and there was that time that joel helped open up for Eddie Money at DTE.

strangely, i am staying very calm lately, despite the garage sale coming up in 2 days that we are not all that prepared for and the move into my parents' house next weekend that we are definitely not prepared for. it'll all get done, somehow. and once it's done, we will be off to Denver for my dear friend's wedding and then to some very exciting, long-awaited travel plans (in celebration of Joel finishing his PhD). 

photos from our trip to the beauuutiful oasis that is the U.P. this weekend. we will miss it dearly. 

this my friends, is shaping up to me the most eventful, epic summer of my life. in mostly good ways but also chaotic ways. and eventually heart-wrenching ways. i got a tiny glimpse of the flood of emotions to come last night when we were watching real world portland (did i just admit that publicly) and the roommates were all saying their goodbyes in typical dramatic fashion to people they had known for what, 3 months? i was painstakingly reminded of the fact that i will be saying goodbye to friends i have know, oh just 10, 15 years and oh yea, the most important people in my life (second to Joel), my family. ok that's enough of that. i'll check in soon with more happy thoughts, on Asheeville. 

a fall color tour.

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed that my hubby and I went on a rather epic fall color tour this weekend, in the Upper Peninsula of our beautiful Mitten State. We've been wanting to do a fall tour up there for a few years now and decided during our annual trip there this summer that we better do it this year, since it will most likely be our last year living here. (In this week alone, Joel is applying to six positions is six different states. Surrealness.)

I'm so glad we made that decision. The display of colors was astounding; I've never seen anything like it. It's amazing how different the terrain is once you get deep into the U.P. It's rugged, rocky, and even a but mountainous (small mountains but still mountains! Have I mentioned how very much I want to live near mountains?!) Also, there are waterfalls even on the side of the road. The U.P. is rather sparsely populated, and there are miles and miles of forest, which makes for some pretty amazing vistas. It's pretty much my happy place, there is really no place like it. I'm already planning our next trip (hopefully for our anniversary in the spring). There is still so much to see!

I actually took a lot of photos with my big girl camera during our trip but haven' had a chance to edit them yet, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorite instagrams for now. 

As you can see, it actually SNOWED while we were there.. I was quite upset at the sight when I woke up to it, but then I realized {after a while} it was an absolutely stunning sight. I mean when else do you see vibrant fall colors peaking through freshly fallen, pure white snow.. I'm kicking myself for not getting out of the car and snapping some photos of those snowy tree-lined country roads. They were absolutely magical. 

this weekend, i...

{oh, look! all my photos revolve around food...}

- welcomed the first day of Fall with these pumpkin pancakes (from the pumpkin recipe roundup in my previous post) & they were SO yum, easy & mess-free.

- finally tried Zingerman's Roadhouse in Ann Arbor & had my first Cornish hen (delicious!!)

- saw this documentary and highly recommend it, it's a truly incredible story.

- cleaned our house & put away summer clothes/organized my closet.. it's amazing what a sense of relief/peace I have when or house is clean/a {teeny} bit more organized!

- bought my first piece of clothing for fall thanks to a Target gift card. it was exciting. my spending freeze continues and it has helped put things into perspective for me. although, i have to admit, i have a serious hankering to go on a fall shopping spree.

- started this devo on the YouVersion app, thanks to this pretty lady. good stuff, so far!

- had an awesome dinner guest on Sunday complete with a fall-inspired, dinner, a bonfire, these for dessert, and oh yea, Trapped in the Closet.

i am loving {potentially our last} Michigan fall so far! can't wait for the leaves to change. hope you are all enjoying the new season, wherever you are. even if it still feels/looks like summer there, at least you can get a Pumpkin Spice Latte and pretend ;)

{who knew Michigan had mountains?!}

It appears I disappeared for a couple of weeks again.. how did that happen? The month of August was a whirlwind of traveling, working extra hours/extra hard, and celebrating my {28th} birthday. Last time you heard from me, I had just returned from my beautiful trip to Maine and was about to road trip to da U.P. {Michigan's Upper Peninsula} with hubby. Well even though it's old news by now, there's no way I could refrain from sharing photos of our trip. We really love the U.P.; we've been there every summer since we started dating. But we just started to really explore it last summer, finally taking in Pictured Rocks. This year, we ventured all the way over to the Porcupine Mountains (with lots of waterfalls stops on the way). So worth it.

Lake of the Clouds, Porcupine Mountains State Park. can you imagine this place in the fall?!

highest point of the park | mighty Lake Superior | waterfall bathed in sunlight during an epic hike | Presque Isle River

We did a lot of hiking at Porcupine Mountains State Park. It was invigorating! Between this trip & the hiking I did at Acadia National Park earlier in August, I have suddenly gotten way in to it. I hope to live somewhere one day {perhaps within the next year :o} with lots of pretty hiking options nearby. I'd choose it over running any day!!

We stayed at a friend of Joel's cottage, which was a totally last-minute God send. It was literally in the middle of nowhere.. I have never felt so isolated from civilization in my life! There were no lights or sounds to be heard {nor was there electricity or running water.. can you spot the outhouse on the left?} The first night we stayed there, my heart was beating out of my chest as I tried to fall asleep.. I kept picturing a bear trying to get in, haha! I knew it was totally irrational, but it was just such a foreign feeling for me.. I'm using to falling asleep with the glow of street lights and the sounds of cars and drunk people stumbling home. We never did see a {black} bear though they are quite common up in those parts. Perhaps next time..

Sunset on Lake Superior. Can you see why i often call the Great Lakes oceans by accident?

It is pretty incredible all of the beauty that our Mitten State has to offer, especially the U.P. There is just so much to explore, it is unreal. Plus it's the most peaceful, easy-going place (it contains just 3% of MI's total population!) And the stars... I have never seen a night sky like that in my life. I even saw the Northern Lights for the first time! It was breathtaking {despite the irrational fear that a bear would approach us at any moment, haha}.

Love the rocky shoreline of Lake Superior. It is my favorite Great Lake despite its frigid temps.

Because there is still more to see, because we have never seen it in the fall, and because this may very well be our last fall living in Michigan, we decided before we even got home {because I could barely stand to leave} that we would return in early October for a fall color tour. I can hardly wait. I've talked about it an unhealthy amount & had it planned out within a few days of our return... I'm a bit obsessive. But what can I say, I love da U.P. {and traveling}!