Showing posts with label fall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fall. Show all posts

Yankee Candle. Amazing.
Sunday, September 5, 2010



Welcome to my Yankee Candle exhibit. Oh, you prefer "cheaper" candles? Gasp! Maybe you have never gone through a season with the real, pure smell of one of these guys. It's possible that my addiction doesn't rest in the candles themselves, but the feeling I get one I light one up and it automatically brings me to that season. See, for each season, I've got about 2 favorite scents; if one of my candles gets discontinued, I won't only write a hate letter to Yankee, but that season will no longer be in existence to me.

For Spring, I'm not really that picky because Spring is probably my least favorite season and if it never happened, I wouldn't really mind. But, this past Spring, I burned "Drift Away" and also purchased "Beautiful Day" but never burned that one although it smells really good.
When Summer draws near, there is nothing that can really make it seem closer than burning "Macintosh & Peach," "Macintosh," or "Beach Walk." Yes, all three. Not at the same time, but kind of in their turn. If you noticed, Macintosh isn't in my inventory . . . that one just doesn't last more than a week with me because I never blow it out. But, I do keep the Macintosh car fresheners. All the time. In fact, that's what is in my car every season except Fall.
Fall. Oh. My. Gosh. Fall is my favorite, favorite, favorite season. I love how warm and cozy Fall feels. I love wearing jeans and a hoodie when I go out, but I would rather sit in the house with my candles lit and watch a movie. But, my favorite Fall candles are "Pumpkin Spice," "Autumn Fruit," and I just found another that I like (and was on sale) called, "Autumn Leaves." I only have the car freshener for that one. I am sooo eager to burn my Pumpkin Spice candle (and eat pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin bread, and sleep all day), but I will not allow myself to do that until the first day of Fall. Otherwise, every day will be Fall for me. Even in July.
Winter is another one of those seasons that will not exist if Yankee didn't exist. I think that God intended the scents of Winter to be captured only by Yankee Candle. My favorite Winter scents are "Mistletoe" and "Christmas Eve." There is no way Winter would be Winter without that Mistletoe candle. Amazing.
And if you've got a man in your life that hates those "girly" candle scents or is just afraid to light a candle in fear of another male friend coming over unexpected, the perfect scents for him are "Midsummer's Night" and "Mountain Lodge;" both of those are manly, cologne-y scents. My man chooses those two for his car fresheners. :-]
I just realized that I am beginning to sound like a commercial or advertisement for Yankee Candle. Eek! I mean, if Yankee wants to give me free candles for writing this, e-mail me for my address! ;-]

Posted byAshley C. at 9:46 AM 2 Love Notes  

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Banner update
Sunday, November 22, 2009

I told you all that I'd have pictures for you of the Michigan Ave.  Yeah, I gots none.  Not a single one.  Evidently, every other person in Illinois decided to blog about the hype and go out and capture it on camera.  There was way more traffic than normal.  Normally, I don't mind sitting in traffic, but I was gettig frustrated and getting a headache from all that was going on.  We didn't see the tree.  No, we didn't see the lights, either.  We have decided that maybe we'll give it another shot in a couple of weeks.

Tomorrow morning before school, me and Josh are going to work out, go for a walk at a park, and then grab some breakfast.  We have never gone for a walk in the morning and I'm really hoping that it actually happens.  This week, I had an idea.  A brilliant idea.  You know that photo banner of mine at the top of this page?  I have been wanting to change it for a while now because it just needs to be updated.  Well, I love that picture too much to just add it to a file folder and never see it again . . . so, I think we are going to take that same picture with the same background but for each season.  It will be fun!  We are going to that park tomorrow and hopefully we are able to recreate it. :-]  Obviously, I am going to change it again once there is snow on the ground, but we just need to add a fall photo, too.  We'll see what tomorrow brings!  :-]

Posted byAshley C. at 9:23 PM 0 Love Notes  

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Oh, the controversy!
Friday, October 30, 2009

One of the most controversial issues between Josh and me is whether or not our kids will be allowed to dress up for Halloween.

His opinion:  Our kids are not going to be allowed.  He did not grow up "celebrating" Halloween, going trick-or-treating, or even slightly acknowledging the day.  If we let our kids dress up for Halloween, we are showing them that under certain circumstances, it is okay to conform to those around you.  They do not need to do what everyone else is doing (dressing up or trick-or-treating).  So what if they feel left out?  They will learn that not everything everyone else does is okay. 

My opinion:  Our kids are going to be allowed.  I grew up dressing up for Halloween, going trick-or-treating until my bag was too heavy to carry (and then weighing it when I got home!), and waking up in the morning excited for what the day was going to consist of.  I feel that if our kids are raised in a godly home (which they will be), they will understand that it is never okay to conform to those around you and that Halloween is just another day on the calendar, with some added jazz!  However, I will not allow our kids to dress up as anything "scarey."  They will not be allowed to dress up in a mockery costume (i.e., Adam & Eve, Jesus, Angels, etc.). 

We never see eye-to-eye on this issue.  I just think that our kids need to be kids.  There is no harm in letting our kids dress up as long as they understand that it shouldn't be taken too far.  I've offered the option of starting our own traditions for Halloween instead of everyone else's tradition and he was all for it; but I'm not going to let him win this that easily!  :-]

Posted byAshley C. at 1:36 PM 0 Love Notes  

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Big dinners, long jackets, and new employees
Friday, October 2, 2009

I kind of had to pause my night for just a second because I felt the need to blog.  Not about anything particular, but just because it has been an interesting night. 
Me and Josh planned on going out to dinner at Olive Garden tonight since our How Sweet The Sound "date" kind of fell through (because of too much traffic) the other night.  Anywho, today Josh got a card from a friend that just moved pretty far away.  In the card, there was a gift card to Olive Garden (just a "thank-you-for-being-such-a-good-friend" card).  It worked out perfect because guess how much we had to spend . . . only $16 (not including tip)!  That's a good deal because Olive Garden is pretty expensive, especially for people that eat like me and Josh do! 
As all of us have noticed, the weather is beginning to be more Autumn-like.  Very cold, rainy, and windy.  I have a North Face fleece jacket, but I felt like I needed something a little more sophisticated and warm, so Josh said we could go and get me a nice jacket!  We went to the mall and I got a really nice long, wool Calvin Klein jacket marked at $375 for only $100.  Yeah, I'm not going to lie, money is tight, but you need a winter jacket, right?  And not to mention, that's a really good deal (and it'll last me a while since it's higher end).  Bargain hunter, yes!

One quick funny story . . . Me and Josh have a new addiction.  Oberweis ice cream.  I love, love, love their coffee toffee waffle bowl and Josh gets their hot fudge brownie sundae.  After dinner, we went and got ice cream.  Their new employees wear this "I'm new" badge (kind of embarrassing!).  Well, when we pulled up to the window, the "new" kid gave us our ice cream.  I asked Josh if he can ask the kid to put some toffee bits on there because there weren't any.  So he nervously said, "Oh yeah, I knew I was forgetting something."  So, he puts some toffee on the ice cream.  When he came back, he brought our drinks to the window, his arm knocked my glass bottle over, spilled half of it all over the counter, it's fizzing all over the place, and then said, "Do you really want a new one?" Umm, yes, I want a new one . . . did he plan on giving me a half-empty, flat Diet Coke?  When he ran back to get a new one, I couldn't help but laugh and ask Josh to tip the kid.  He completely embarrassed himself and was new.  So, Josh tipped him $5 and the kid's face lit up!  I was really happy we did that.  Poor kid.

It's raining outside and nothing could be more perfect than cuddling and a movie! 

Posted byAshley C. at 8:36 PM 0 Love Notes  

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Fall is my absolute favorite!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009

It's almost Fall!  I have to admit, I love Fall way more than any other season.  Summer's too hot.  Spring's too unpredictable.  Winter is too cold.  Fall is just perfect.  There is something comforting about Fall more than anything else.  I cannot point out only one thing I love about fall, so I'm going to blabber on about what I love about it!

-Coming home from church, throwing on sweatpants and cuddling on the couch to watch football.
-Time for hoodies.
-The beautiful colors of leaves.
-Raking the leaves that never stop falling.
-Lighting Yankee Candle's pumpkin spice or macintosh.
-Baking pumpkin pies and pumpkin rolls . . . or any Fall dessert for that matter.
-Staying in on weekends, renting movies, and ordering pizza.
-Believe it or not, the heavy course load (for school).
-Going for walks until our cheeks get too cold.
-Carving pumpkins and baking the seeds.
-Making warm, comforting soups.
-Putting cute little pumpkins on the front porch and hanging our scarecrow on the front door.
-The way it starts getting dark so early.
-Thanksgiving dinners . . .
- . . . and the Day-After-Thanksgiving sales!
-Going through huge corn mazes with friends.
-Eating "Affy Tapples."
-Sleeping with my window open and space heater on (shh!).
-Bonfires and s'mores.
-Costume parties

I could keep going!  Is anyone else with me on this, or am I the only "crazy" one that isn't absolutely in love with Summer?  Fall officially begins on September 22nd . . . bring it!  I promised myself that I will not light any Fall candles, put my (pumpkin) Yankee Candle car freshener in my car, or order any pumpkin desserts until then; everyone else's eagerness is making it hard haha!
Josh and I decided that as soon as the leaves in Northern Wisconsin begin to change, we will take the 5-hour drive up and enjoy the scenery for the weekend.  I keep asking him every day, "How will we know?" but he said not to worry, so I wont! ;-]

Posted byAshley C. at 3:33 PM Post a comment (1) Love Notes  

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Love in Full Bloom
Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Love in full bloom. That's what I have been feeling a lot the past few days. Maybe it has something to do with the weather. There is something so much more different from winter and summer and the feelings the two seasons bring.

Today me and Josh were supposed to just go to the park with our bucket of baseballs and two bats. One of which is probably two times the size I should use. We make do with what we have . . . I guess. We planned on going and hitting around some balls and just have fun together. Of course, those plans didn't go through. Instead, we decided to pack ourselves a lunch and go have a picnic instead. Again, those plans fell through as well. I had to hurry to get to class, so we just set up our lunch on the back patio and enjoyed it there instead. Before we started eating, I felt like something was missing on the table. "Close your eyes. Promise you won't open them." I told Josh. So, I snuck over to the lilac tree, cut him some lilacs, and brought them to him. He deserved something sweet for once. Even though they made his allergies flare up.



The weather has been so beautiful and so fresh lately that it really has forced me to look at me and Josh's love a little differently. I truly do believe that love goes through its seasons. Summer is the best. Both in the actual seasonal meaning and in the relationship sense. Why summer? Because not only is it a time for couples to be able to enjoy each other in the beautiful weather, do enjoyable things, but most of all, my favorite reason: it's temporary. If summer were summer all year round, it wouldn't be what it is. Summer is a time of renewal, fun, and freshness. I look at summer as a representation of a dimension of love. Of course, there are 3 other seasons and love needs that. Love needs a time of hardships, dryness, and storms. If it didn't, love wouldn't be what it is. Love needs a summer time for the reconnection of the two and as much as I don't want to say it again, but a refreshment of the two souls. Even though summer is a more enjoyable time, it's opposite, winter, needs to be embraced, as well. When winter comes around, it really is a hard time for all living things like plants and animals to endure and push through this kind of weather. Not all living things get a chance to see summer again, but if they are strong enough to get through the craziness of winter, they are sure to see summer. This is so much like love. Not all couples are strong enough to persevere through hardships, but when they do, they are going to have so much more beauty to show off in the most beautiful seasons of life.

I am so grateful and thankful that God has placed an amazing man like Josh to go through life with. Anytime I need Josh, he is never behind me watching me experience life, he walking beside me, hand-in-hand experiencing it with me. I couldn't ask for more.

Joshua, I love you and I appreciate you more than I could ever express. We have the most beautiful love I know because we have been able to endure the hard times and embrace the good. Let's enjoy our summer together. I can sleep well at night knowing that I have the most amazing man to hold me through winter's nights.

Random fact: The original name for a butterfly was a flutterby.

Posted byAshley C. at 9:13 PM Post a comment (1) Love Notes  

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