Fall Favorites!

Hello, friend!

As you now know, it's FALL!! My favorite season woohoooo! I cannot wait for all of the festivities to begin. (I might have listened to one Christmas song last Sunday, whoops). I love Autumn because it for me, it symbolizes change, and the fresh air and crunch of the leaves are calming and yet very exciting at the same time. There is something melancholy and nostalgic about this season as well that I LOVE. Since I love this season so much, I decided that I would do a Fall favorites post where I talk about random things that I've been enjoying so far this season, cuz why not? Let's dig in!

1. My Bullet Journal

I find that most people don't know what a bullet journal is, and it's basically a really in-depth planner/whatever you want kind of journal. Since I've been applying to colleges recently and there are a lot of activities going on with church, cross country, work, and school, I've been trying to balance it all and stay neat and organized in my black Moleskine bullet journal that has multiple lists of things that I need do and accomplish, especially by the time that October is finished. What I love about bullet journalling is that it's flexible and adaptable to whatever your heart desires! I personally also journal in mine, and I keep little things like leaves and movie ticket stubs inside of it to remember places I've been and things that I've done. If you want to start one, here is a good website to start!

2. Lakes and Sunsets

This is quite random, but recently I've been loving beautiful Autumnal sunsets, and when I visited Lake Leelanau in Michigan two weeks ago for our friends Kyrstyn and Mark's wedding, it was B-E-A-utiful. We stayed in this cute little cottage and had a great view of the sunset.

@Jessica

I highly recommend going to a beach or lake during the fall when you don't necessarily swim, but just enjoy the sunset and the water, and whoever you go with's company. Taking time out of your busy week to reflect or journal with the nature surrounding you is very helpful to remember to not get overwhelmed with life and all that it brings. Maybe make a bonfire and bring some marshmallows??

3. My October Music Playlist

I just made an October playlist over on Spotify, and if you have time feel free to check it out because it makes me very happy. I have all sorts of songs on there that I have been digging the past few months, and a couple of throwbacks because whats a good playlist without some classics?

:) PLAYLIST

4. PigeonGames

This is also super random, but with the new IOS10 update on our iPhones, you can play games with your friends like battleship and pool and 20 questions!! I've been addicted to this, my friend Naomi started a game with me and I'm so glad because I have started games with so many people and its super simple and not crazy time consuming like some other games.

5. Books to Read:
1) Great Expectations, Charles Dickens. I picked this one up randomly after reading a short excerpt from it in my English class, and decided to give another classic a try(if you know me you know I LOVE classic novels). It's been such a great read so far, I have been trying to read a chapter before I go to bed each night. Dickens' humor is funny, and it's really easy to understand versus Jane Austen's novels, which are in old english and a tad more confusing.

2) Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling. This season is the PERFECT TIME to get back into the ol' Harry Potter series and get cozy with a blanket and hot apple cider. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get back into the movies now would it? :)

Well that wraps it up for my favorites so far. I hope that this blog post got you excited for all things Autumnal! 
Happy pumpkin-picking!
Joy :)

It's Finally Summer

Hello friend! 

As some of you have probably seen from my social media, a couple of weekends ago my friends Dhiya, Sarah, and Lars all went to the Peony gardens at Nichol's Arboretum. It was one last hurrah before Dhiya left us to go back to her home in Indonesia(although one could argue that her home is also here in Ann Arbor with us). Lars is going to leave soon as well; all of the exchange students are heading home since the school year is over.

Going to miss this crew!

All the pretty peonies.

I honestly can't believe that this school year has gone by so quickly. Time seemed to speed up during all the testing in the Spring. I literally remember sitting in chemistry in September and saying to my friend Alex, "I can't wait for summer..." (I know, already!) and now it's here. Even though this year has been quite busy and stressful, it has been the most memorable so far of my high school experience. I met wonderful people, Dhiya, Lars, and Sarah for instance, and become close friends with EveryoneAtmyEnglishTable and peers who I had never talked to until this year! 

Sarah, Anna, Bryce, & Kaycee(who are posing the same) and me!
Best English table!

Along with the school year closing, this amazing woman who I admire so much, Keren(pronounced Ker-in not Karen), got married last weekend! Her wedding was on a blazing 93 degree sunny Saturday, but having the wedding outside was definitely the right thing to do. The flowers looked were so colorful and pretty in her wedding(and of course she looked AMAZING)!!

Dad!! 

Yes, they also had a donut cake!! It was SO yummy. I taught some of my friends how to do fancy napkin folds at the table when we were waiting for our turn to get food. We made roses, candles, and fan-like napkins. The rest of the wedding was so cute and I am so happy for Keren and Andrew!

Now that summer is here, there is a lot of reading to do! I have ordered about 15 books from the library in the past week, and I think I'm going to try to always be constantly reading a book during the summer. This is just for fun, and if I feel like I don't want to finish a certain book because it's uninteresting, I can just set it aside and move to a different one. More leisurely reading! Less stressful reading.

Here's a cute vision board I have made of just random things that I enjoy. Vision boards are basically pictures and quotes or words that you find interesting and you paste it all together into a picture! I will be doing more of these in the future, it's a fun way to make art.

Props to you if you know who the girl is.

I'm also going to be doing a lot of traveling this summer, so I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post them on here and on Facebook! Recently, I got a job at AJ Boggs, and IT(information technology) services company, so I will also be working more and still teaching piano lessons. Getting this job was definitely a gift from God, I am very grateful for the experience I will gain this summer. 

What are some of your summer goals and activities?  Feel free to tell me in the comments.

Joy : )