We are emerging from a fall hangover over here–one that included a week of breathtaking scenery and a very special wedding we’ll never forget. I’ll break this into two posts with the wedding later this week.

We’ve been planning this trip for almost a year, and our original plan was that the entire family would drive up. When Brett’s work plans changed and he wasn’t able to go, I figured driving 11 hours alone with three kids wouldn’t be feasible. “Why not?” was Brett’s response, to which I had no answer. Now that we’ve done it, I’m inspired to map out future adventures. The kind of storybook fall scenery I dream of isn’t a giant expensive plane excursion away but a fun road trip that required a car and less patience than I expected. The kids did great, the drive was smooth, and we broke it up into six hours of driving each day with only one cockroach cabin blip. Lainey had a short week of school last week which made the adventure even better (still missed a couple days, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat). And though we experienced some pretty magical fall days and my standard North Carolina landscape reaction was “Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God”, our most treasured memories were with our people. A wedding that will go down in the books as something pretty special. And all the talks we shared as friends last week, volleying our gaze between the little kids who added–well, let’s just say a real life flair to what was so aesthetically beautiful–and a young couple whose mamas remember as little as my kids as if it was just yesterday. All I can say is, I hope the space between their littleness and bigness is filled with many more experiences like we just enjoyed.

With no further ado, the beauty of North Carolina. Its state spoon will be well-polished among my collection.

(above photos are actually in Cordele, Georgia)

The house my friend rented was tucked right into the top of this mountain (outside of Franklin, North Carolina), and the view looking out changed in just the five days we were there from mostly green lightly speckled with yellow and orange to a full technicolor fall dream.

We visited Dry Falls twice on our trip, the epitome of a fall postcard. You have to drive up Highlands Road to get there, a white-knuckled grip-your-steering-wheel-and-stare-straight-in-front-of-you drive that winds through the mountain with nothing but a rusty guardrail separating you from treacherous drop-offs. Treacherous drop-offs with gorgeous waterfall views, but still–treacherous. “Don’t tell me how pretty it is or I’ll look,” is how you have to drive it.

This is as far as Nella would go the first trip to the falls. By the second trip, she had conquered her fears and went all the way down underneath them.

Dash, on the other hand, was ready to climb in a barrel and go over them.

On the way back from the falls the first time, we passed a sign that said “Baptist Church–one mile this way.”

“Bet that’s a pretty sight,” I said as we drove by. Steeple against foliage, little church in the mountain woods. It was enough to make us swing around and creep the one mile up the road to find it. There was no one around when we did, so we parked the car, opened the doors, blared Brandi Carlile and had a dance party in the parking lot. I’m sure the Baptists won’t mind. I mean, we weren’t in the church, and it’s not like we were twerking on God’s grounds. We saved our inappropriate moves for further down the mountain.

This right here? Well this makes me insanely happy.

Downtown Franklin where the sweet ladies of Rosebud Cottage served us up some nice pasta salad and sandwiches.

Mountain fog? Nothing like the horror movie fog. Much kinder, thank you. Although I’d like to thank Brett for watching the movie one night, a week before our trip so that when the fog set it in, I had a quick instinct to hit the deck as my mom would say. So did Dash. Look.

There was a scenic pull-off on Highlands Road, and I happened to pull over right while my grandma was waving from heaven.

Lainey was ecstatic to take the bag of gems she mined for to school today as they’re learning about geodes and gems right now. If you’re headed to the Highlands area, check out Jackson Hole on Highlands Road, just a short jog down from Dry Falls. You can mine for gems, sample some cherry cider and shop the most adorable collection of little gifts–Davy Crockett hats, hand carved slingshots and bows-and-arrows, cut gems and geodes, jewelry, children’s books, jams and ciders and my favorite–flavored honey sticks.

Happy and fall-full here. Part 2 to come.

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Bring the cozy vibe of North Carolina home with this simple family fall party you can throw at home. I’m over at eHow this week with suggestions for fall treats, movies and fun for your next Friday night at home.

I’m just going to apologize for making you all read about the spiders. If it makes you feel any better, Karma got me back. After driving with the kids all day earlier this week on the way to a wedding in North Carolina, we tried to find a hotel for the night. Apparently the entire population of Georgia is attending agriculture conferences at every hotel along 75, so after ten attempts to settle in for the night, Brett finally got online from home to see if he could score us something (he has to work and sadly couldn’t come with). He did–a cabin by a lake, forty minutes north of where we were driving. “Looks exactly like something you’d love,” he said.

It was darling. Quaint as ever. Fireplace, knotty pine, old furnishings. We arrived late at night, and I got the kids in the tub, anxious for our lakeside cabin adventure. An adventure that ended ten minutes later when I saw two huge cockroaches crawling on the bedroom walls–and heard them crawling.

Aw, hell nah.

We were out of there. And I’ll admit, I immediately thought of the awful spider story and the way I made you all share it with me.

So, enough of that. A quick little stop-in from North Carolina before wedding festivities begin tonight. We are in heaven, enjoying the best of the best of God’s creation–a landscape that has taken my breath away numerous times this week.

More to come. Happy Weekend!

Tired of Michigan pictures? Too bad. Alright, alright, I’m wrapping it up. But Sleeping Bear Dunes is ridic beautiful, and I have this one last bit before I move on to important matters of reality like school starting and kids growing up and people to love.

People to love–my people. I feel all Moses saying “my people” but, for the record, I would totally travel 40 days in the desert for any of them.

You know what’s amazing? Kids know their people. Even if they’re usually hesitant of new faces, even if they haven’t seen these people in months and months. They can sniff out family, instantly feeling comfortable, secure, loved. I love watching it happen.

A day at “the point”–the shallow part of the lake where all the boats come to hang out

The rest of our trip was spent with family–three cottages full. Mornings were my favorite. The little kids wake up first with my dad, coffee’s brewed, bacon’s put in the oven and the “ssshh, everyone’s sleeping” admonition slowly lifted until kids are hollering and running outside, a rooster’s call to all to wake up. And they do–aunts, uncles, nieces, cousins–barely awake, dragging their feet into the kitchen, looking for coffee. Then we pile up into couches or chairs on the deck, bed head’s a plenty, and we tell stories, make fun of each other, act out as many scenes from the past as we can, diverting into the hilariously inappropriate realm often. And every morning there’s a moment when everyone’s loud and laughing, my kids in respective cousins’ laps, coffee cup number three in the works and my dad’s all call to the table for French toast about to commence (FYI: don’t make him call twice)–and I think, “This? This is special.” And because it really only happens once a year, I drink it up, oblivious to the not-so-perfect moments that naturally accompany our time together.

Musical Kayaks, Dash’s favorite game.

My nephew, Max, pulling his babysitting shift.

Lodge night. Uncle Bubby passes out pool tips and I discover that sadly, The Cranberries'”Linger” has been retired from their juke box. The horror.

One of Nella’s favorite peoples: Kaity. She gets to be a flower girl in her wedding come October.

Behold, Sleeping Bear Dunes. You can’t go to Northern Michigan without visiting the dunes. We only climbed the first one and even then, we were panting and near collapsed at the top. It’s worth it though. Completely. I hear it’s worth it to also climb the next three dunes to the water, but we weren’t about to test out that theory with kids on our backs.

little beach outside of Glen Arbor


That’s right, Dash. Eyes to the ground, buddy. Do not be distracted by the view on your left. Nothin’ to see there, nothin’ to see there.

Last time we visited the dunes, we cut our visit short and missed out on the town of Glen Arbor. Never again. This darling little town nestles so many gems within a few short blocks–cafes and restaurants, soap shops, The Cottage Book Store (think log cabin full of hidden rooms, creaky floors and books–in other words, heaven) and Cherry Republic which hosts a winery, bakery, restaurant and store with all things cherry. Cherry salsa, cherry soda, cherry wine, cherry ice cream–even cherry lasagna. Even their toilets are made out of cherries. Okay, I made that up.

The Cottage Bookstore


Walked into this store and got the most amazing individualized attention and a lavender sand blaster hand massage. I peeked out the open door out back and there was lavender everywhere–and rows of pretty tea towels drying on clothes lines. Absolutely charming.

I slipped out of dinner early on our Glen Arbor night, hoping to walk Nella and Dash to sleep in the stroller because they were–let’s go with irritable. A few corner turns led us here instead, a secret little place we found that magically reverses irritability.

And now we are home, fully submerged back into our routines, and it feels good. We really missed Brett–thankful for FaceTime and printed heads-on-sticks to allow him to hilariously appear in some of our pictures, but still–there were many “Brett would love this” notations.

Happy to be home. School starts next week. Until then…another cup of coffee.

Have a great weekend!

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Saying Good-bye to Summer and Embracing New Season Inspiration over @eHow this week.