// adventures. / fall break 2015 //

Hello dear lovely people! It feels like it’s been nothing short of forever since I’ve written a blog post. In reality it’s only been a month, but that’s still enough to make my writerly soul nearly burst with all the things I need to say.

Today marks my final day of my last fall break spent at home, but I refuse to linger on that bittersweet little thought. Instead I want to share all the loveliness that went down this past week, and give a little update on my hectic-yet-beautiful life at present.

Well, now that we know for sure that I am indeed going to Liberty next year (I was overjoyed to receive my acceptance call and letter last month!), my parents had wanted to make a trip up there to discuss financial aid and all that practical loveliness with them. I was looking forward to visiting again, especially knowing that my goodness I’ll be calling this place home soon, but the truly fun part was that my dear friend Taylor came along with us for the journey. (By the way, it’s actually her birthday today, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLOR I LOVE YOU.) And so we simply HAD to take cute pictures. 😉

We took a little detour on our way home from Virginia on Friday, and may I just say, that was one of the best mini-adventures I’ve ever had.
Have you ever heard of the State of Franklin? It’s this little corner of northeastern Tennessee that, long ago, tried to become the fourteenth state (yep– it would’ve been the first state to join the original thirteen colonies). It didn’t work, but some people call it the State of Franklin even today.
Anyway, there’s this adorable little town in Franklin called Jonesboro, surrounded by sprawling countryside and hills and autumn-covered trees. It was the first city established in Tennessee, and is drenched in history and rustic charm.

Jonesboro is so conservative and non-politically-correct. I love it. They’ve got the Ten Commandments up on the town hall, American flags everywhere, and cute little Protestant churches lining the streets.
And then there’s the other loveliness– a farmers’ market every Saturday (we were there on Friday unfortunately, but my parents have seen it before), antique shops, candy stores and artisan chocolatiers, and even a handmade-pen shop and a storytelling hall. And on the outskirts of town are a bunch of cozy little bed-and-breakfasts with historical flair.

We got to stop in a few shops, and this is the random loveliness I felt the need to document in photographs:

(floral teacups in an antique shop)

(artisian chocolates– almost too pretty to eat)

(mine was called “raspberry rose”, isn’t that delightful?)

I also purchased a gorgeous hand-crafted acrylic pen, all golden base and ivory-with-pink-swirls. The guy who made it said it was called “strawberry swirl”, and it was on sale, so clearly I had to get it. Taylor told me it matches my personality perfectly, which is probably true. 😉

Friday night, before I went to bed, I just knew I had to journal about this adventure. And I’m so glad I did, for it was truly a fall break to be remembered. I’m forever grateful to my parents who make these adventures happen, and to my Heavenly Father who paints each day so brilliantly, especially in autumn.

“Let us ride, let us ride home again with a story to tell!”

// Into the Fire / The Scarlet Pimpernel: The New Musical Adventure //

{love, Em}