It seems like I haven’t been here to chat with y’all in forever and yet, the time has flown plumb away!  Did you catch that?  “Plumb away.”  I’m sounding right Southern y’all.

I’m enjoying my blogging break, trying to take time to fully breathe and take in my surroundings instead of constantly rushing to the “next thing.”  I find it hard . . . to be still, to rest, to wait.  Mr. OTN is fond of saying, “Just do the next right thing.”  Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what that is.  Right now, it is continuing to write for myself.  One day that writing for myself may be shared here with you. I hope so.

In the meantime, here are a few things I learned in the month of October:

I learned that patio courtyards take a long time to construct.  I had no idea what all went into a project like this! 

I learned that choosing colors for this house is nothing like choosing colors for my old house.  We have a lot more shade here and the colors I put on these walls look totally different than in a light filled home.  If you are following me in Instagram you’ll know that I’ve been painting from room-to-room.  It is such a good feeling to make everything new and fresh.

I learned that though the “greige” color I previously painted in my living room was nice it wasn’t right for me.   Every time I looked in this room I felt like something was missing, so I spent a lot of time moving things here and there and still . . . it was lacking something.  COLOR!  I learned that color makes me happy as I finally chose and painted Benjamin Moore’s Beach Glass on my living room walls.  I am at peace 😉

In a trip back to Washington State I learned that staying in the guest cottage we once owned feels strange.  Wonderful but strange.  Knowing that we gutted and restored nearly every surface of this cottage made me feel proud and happy, but also made me wonder why we’d never spent the night here when it belonged to us.  I’m thankful to our friends John and Debbie who bought our old house and let us come back again for a visit.

I learned that going through my in-laws pictures can be fun as I came across Mr. OTN’s high school graduation picture.  How young he looks here.  Cute too.  I wonder if we would’ve dated each other if we’d met in High School. 🙂

I learned, as we’ve been taking regular day trips into the mountains this Fall, that one can find the most amazing treasures in the most out-of-the-way places.  I also learned that when we are driving down the highway at high speed and I yell, “Stop!,” Mr. OTN is a very good sport, even when he has his own destination in mind and limited time to get there.  He is so good to me.  I do think I would have dated him in high school.

I learned that by stopping to explore these fun out-of-the-way places it is almost impossible to refrain from picking up a little something.  Stay tuned for the project we are working on together.

I learned that sometimes the most amazing and colorful sights are found in complete darkness as we chanced upon and toured Linville Caverns in North Carolina.

I learned that some of the best birthday presents are those I buy for myself, a whole month early.  I know, right?

I learned that sometimes contractors aren’t as quick as I’d like them to be.  The patio project progresses . . .

Finally, with all of the traveling and exploring we’ve done this past month I learned that some of the greatest beauty lies right down the street from home.  The colors of Fall are gorgeous here in my neighborhood!

I hope and pray that no matter what is going on in your world, you will take the time to stop and feed your soul by capturing moments of beauty around you.  They are everywhere if you’ll only take the time to see.

Blessings dear ones,

I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!

Sunday:

TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, GiveMeGrace

Monday:

IShouldBeMoppingTheFloor, TheDedicatedHouse, Dwellings, ProjectInspired,  InspireMeMonday, BetweenNapsOnThePorch, CelebrateYourStoryMaking Your Home Sing Mondays, The Beauty in His Grip What Joy is Mine/Monday Musings, Darling Downs Diaries, The Art of Homemaking,SmallWonder, LifeGivingLinkup, MomentsOfHope, Glimpses, SittingAmongFriends

Tuesday:

TalkOfTheTown, HomeStoriesAtoZ, AStrollThruLife, CoastalCharm, CozyLittleHouse, CedarHillFarmhouse, KatheWithAnE,TuesdaysAtOurHome, TheWinthropChronicles,  Rich Faith Rising Unite Linky, Testimony Tuesday,Cheerleaders of Faith,Tell His Story, IntentionalTuesday

Wednesday:

SavvySouthernStyle, TheBlissfulBee, Posed Perfection, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesdays, ChristianBloggerLinkup, Whole Hearted Home, Mom’s Morning Coffee, Women with Intention, Coffee for Your Heart, MessyMarriage, ThreeWordWednesday

Thursday:

ShareYourStyle, ImpartingGrace, EmbracingChange, HaveADailyCupOfMrsOlson, MyRepurposedLife, ADelightsomeLife, KatherinesCorner, PrettyPreppyParty,  The Deliberate Mom/Shine Blog Hop, I Choose Joy,  Live Free Thursday, Thought Provoking Thursday, PartyAtMyPlace, 100HappyDays, SincerelyPaulas, ThankfulThursdays

Friday:

FrenchCountryCottage, TheCharmOfHome, RootedInThyme,  TheDedicatedHouseAnythingBlueFriday, ShabbyliciousFriday, Sweet Inspiration,  Faith’nFriends, Missional Women Faith Filled Fridays, Dance With Jesus

Saturday:

FunkyJunkInteriors, OneMoreTimeEvents,  SaturdaySparks, TheInspirationGallery, Make My Saturday Sweet

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