Little Town ✽ Trip to Aiken

I really wanted to visit a small town with cute shops and scenery for my birthday this year, but because the best was an hour away and the day was rainy with the coming hurricane, we decided to postpone it until after our birthday season and make a girl's day out of it <3. So today, Mama, Tori, Bethi and I took a day trip to Aiken! (And little Isaac was a very well behaved little party crasher, of course ;) <3...) It was so much fun <3! Aiken is a gorgeous little town (which was apparently awarded south's best small town of 2018!), and there was so much to enjoy.

First we stopped for coffee, which was a feat to accomplish, because everything was against that coffee... haha. But we persevered and enjoyed our drinks anyway ;), and were on the road! Our first destination was Hopeland gardens, which was a gorgeous small park. It had huge trees and lots of fountains/ponds.

Also, snow. Or the SC equivalent, Christmas lights being prepared for next month ;)...

Isaac was mesmerized by the water fountain!

This right here was some sort of gum tree... I don't remember which, because there were several variations there. But this one is supposed to be known in the south as one of the best for fall foliage, with lots of yellow leaves whrn the season turns... see how "yellow" they are? That's our fall this year, y'all ;P.

Tori said these little wood/tree whatever they ares looked like meercats sitting by the water :).

Our little buddy in the back <3. He did SO good the whole trip!

Yes, my phone camera is bad. Yes, this town is adorable anyway.

Isaac matches the horse in the art store! (And I do not, I know. Ignore me, he couldn't hold himself, hahaha! I wanted to get him "riding" it, but of course there was a sign that said do not touch :P...)

I really liked the clay sculpture art, for some reason! They were unique and fun.

We stopped at a couple of antique shops while we were there, and one of them had a whole wall of shelves... all of them ticking all together, it was such a fun sound <3!

Baby found himself in an antique mirror ;). He was adorable talking to his reflection. (A lady who passed us just could not handle how cute it was, haha, she had to tell him!)

Sadly, those books were not real, hahaha! But I thought this was gorgeous!

We stopped by a little sweet shop, and we had to pick up some taffy and other candies ;). We enjoyed some chocolate covered caramels on the way home, they were delicious! I overheard another lady in the shop saying that no small town was complete without a candy shop, and I whispered to Mama, "truth", haha. This particular candy shop sold popcorn - on the cob! I had never seen that before!

That window display <3. Decorating with candy - and so beautifully! I loved it!

I loved these flowers!

We stayed pretty much until the the shops we wanted to window shop through closed - and we didn't even make it to a couple, because they weren't open on Mondays! The town has a thing for horses (hence the horse Isaac matched ;)...), and it was cute to see the "yield to horses" signs with the traffic signals. (There were also signs to "please do not park for the health of our trees" around what looked like a dirt parking lot?) There was so much beautiful architecture, and cute items in all the local/handcraft/art areas, it was definitely everything I was hoping it would be!

As everything closed, we stopped to grab some snacks and head home, bringing home a pizza party so the rest of the family could help us finish up our amazing day!

Do you like small towns? What is your favorite thing about them/to do while you are there :)?!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri <3

"Snap Shots" from My First Week at Work

Okay, before I get into my post, can some one please explain stick chickens to me? I genuinely do not understand. But I laughed, lol! (And, no, these aren't found at Chick-fil-a. I ducked into Tractor Supply to get out of the rain after work, haha.) I have so many questions. But Tractor Supply has cute layering shirts for somewhere that I didn't even realize sold clothes, hahaha. (And I promise my hand is as cold as it looks in that picture... lol.)

As of last week, I am officially a part-time cashier at Chick-fil-a, and while the transition felt rather intense (especially the first morning I was on my own), I also feel like after just one week I already have a good understanding of the rhythm and am already settled in a good bit - I was ready for this. (And learned much faster than I expected, which has been such a relief to my perfectionistic self... haha!) I know several of you have shown interest in what I am doing, and so I thought you'd enjoy hearing a little bit about the highlights of my first week :).

• First off, major thanks to my Mama, who rescued me the first morning as I tried to iron my uniform and 1. it wouldn't iron and 2. instead the iron was leaking water all over it. I had about 12 minutes to get out the door and was already past the anxious crying stage and at the resigned despair stage when I called on her, but she turned things around so fast and so well. It was honestly amazing.
• Soooo, I briefly considered a job at a coffee shop before applying to Chick-fil-a, but decided against it for several reasons. But get this, the first thing I was trained on at Chick-fil-A... was making iced coffees. Y'all do not know how funny I find this.
• My trainer also showed me how to make shakes quite early on, and she was in shock at how well she thought I did. And the very first strawberry shake I made went to a sweet older lady who popped up at my elbow thirty minutes later just to tell me that it was the best shake she'd ever had (I then admitted to her that it was my first strawberry one, haha!). Coffee, ice cream, and people. If this job description doesn't fit me, I don't know what does. Haha!
• I work with some really great people! I feel like I've already made a few friends. Especially one of the girls who took me "under her wing" if you will, during my first solo day, just to encourage me and fill in some of the gaps, she was so sweet.
• The highlight of my morning shift was when an elderly gentleman heard about the discount for his senior coffee and he was so excited and touched like I had just made his morning with a gift. It definitely paid me back for the panic I felt not knowing how to do the discount the first time it had been ordered, haha!
• The little kids that come up for refills and trading in their toys for ice cream cones are definitely some of my favorite customers, I love all the smiles!
• Yesterday, I had to stay at work just a few minutes late. After I gathered up my belongings to leave, I was heading back to the front of the store when I saw a familiar face. "Mr Robert?!?!" I asked, as I came out the door. My uniform threw him off for about ten seconds, and then his face just totally made my day as he recognized me! Mr Robert was our fill in choir director in Virginia (yes, I said Virginia!), and it had been years since I had seen him! He's moved here to be near his brother, so I shouldn't have been surprised to see him... but I was excited!

It's definitely been a change that we're all getting adjusted to, I think. While my hours aren't long, I was gone last week four days in a row, and the 3rd day, Joey looked at my uniform and asked me, "Why do you always leave?" His little voice made me so sad <3. But now this week he wants me to work as soon as possible, because Mama told him that one morning when I work, she'll take him shopping, sooo, I believe I may have a fair weather friend on my hands, haha ;).

On the whole, I am enjoying it. I definitely feel like it was the right decision and that the Lord is going to use this chapter of my life to grow me and bless me, even though it's one I didn't see when I "skimmed the pages" before. And so I am grateful :)!

Rejoicing in Hope,

Bri <3

Homemade Chocolate Chip Frappes

I have a confession to make. I don't even like chocolate chip frappes that much.

Lol!

But, I started trying new "fun" coffee recipes, and Tori loves the chocolate chip frappes, so obviously I made it anyway when I was shown a recipe online.

And then I had to make it a couple more times because I wasn't going to serve mediocre treats and call it good, I had to make it right ;). And I do like them better now then I did the first time Tori let me try a sip of hers ;). For those of you who want to try this for the first time, the taste is great; I just like my drinks to have a smooth texture, and these frappes are purposefully made with chocolate shavings ;). They are so easy! And they don't have any coffee in them, a fact that disappointed me (but, honestly, didn't surprise me since Tori likes it ;)), since they are served from a coffee menu, haha!

Chocolate Chip Frappe Recipe

2 cups ice

1/8 teaspoon vanilla

3 Tablespoons chocolate sauce

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup ice cream (or heavy whipping cream, but the ice cream made a slightly thicker drink)

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup large chocolate chips

Blend until ice is smooth and chocolate is shaved (we have a ninja blender and I let it go for about 25 seconds).

Makes two small frappes or one large.

Serve with whipped cream, if desired!

Next up on my "try-to-perfect" list; Caramel Frappes!!! That's what I usually get, and the one I tried to make was a worse disappointment than these were the first time, haha! But I think I identified all the issues with those, too, and I want to incorporate some of the changes I made to this recipe ;).

I hope y'all have had a great day. Tell me, what is one thing that you are excited about this week :)?!

Rejoicing in Hope,

Bri <3

Summer ✽ Autumn

I somewhat feel like I now have a tag blog, I so often have one of these posts (with one more coming next month!)), but they are so much fun... haha :). So thank you to all those who think of me and my humble little blog when you are tagging people :)!

Today I am going to fill out two tags at once; one very opportunely looks back at summer, and the other is a little questionnaire for September, the beginning of fall, so it seemed the perfect way to combine the two posts and the blending of the seasons that many of us down here in the south are seeing at this time (because fall treats and flip flops are both the norm here right now, right?)

Speaking of which - Happy Autumn, y'all <3!

Blessings of Summer 2018 Tag

THE RULES

*Please thank the person who tagged you! -Thank you, Alyssa :)!!!
*Please include these rules on your blog!
*If it is past the summer, for example: Winter 2019, you can use this tag as “Blessings from Winter 2019 Tag!”
*Write 10+ blessings from God during that season in your post!  Include pictures!
*Tag 4 bloggers!
*If it’s a new season, bloggers can re-tag those who were already tagged a previous season!  (So if this tag circulates, instead of potentially dying off, we can keep it going by using it again each season.  Like, if a blog friend of yours doesn’t get around to doing it till mid-fall, they can re-tag you to do it again for fall 2018!)

BLESSING OF SUMMER 2018...

The hardest part about listing all my blessings is that I always think of all the little moments, and I feel like y'all are probably more interested in the big events... haha :). But, here we go with a few of my favorite things from the past months :)!

Abbi and Emmi enjoying a fun birthday outing!

1. Summer starts and ends with us celebrating family, with 6 birthdays from June to mid-September (Andrew and Tori will take care of our fall birthdays this week, and Bethi and the middle boys take care of spring birthdays - we currently have no winter birthdays in the immediate family!). Each and every member of the family is a gift, so it is wonderful to have a day set aside for each to remind them of how thankful we are for them!

First sibling pic with 10 <3!

2. The most important birthday of our year deserves a special mention all it's own! Isaac Charles Lee joined our family this summer, and has been delighting out family ever since <3. Baby Bear smiled on purpose at 2 days old, and he's been hitting milestones and proving that he's very alert ever since then. He is just the best little snuggle bug, and he's currently sleeping in my lap while I type this. He was the best blessing our family was given this summer <3.

Blueberry picking...

Rock climbing...

Riding ponies for the first time...

I love this picture of Noah!

Our zoo had so many babies this year! Here is the koala...

And if you look really, really, really hard, you might see the baby gorilla, haha :). 

3. Summer obviously isn't summer without enjoying some sunshine! (Although autumn leaves are even better ;).) We enjoyed the outdoors several times this summer with trips to the zoo and going blueberry picking, water fights and a couple picnics in the back yard! And Bethani, Andrew and I enjoyed even more as we tended our garden (which did somewhat better than last year's, but we shall not mention how disappointing it was) and went on walks :).

Father's day outing!

4. One outdoor outing we took was quite unusual. Andrew, Bethi, Daddy and I all went to a state park one night to see the synchronized fireflies! They had a very short trail marked off with lights for main viewing, but we took one of the side trails to get to the lake. The walk there was quite pleasant (for Bethi and I - Daddy and Andrew were attacked by bugs left and right), but coming back was not nearly as fun, as only Daddy could see more than three feet ahead of him, haha. But, it was worth it to see all the fireflies lining the tree tops, all flashing their lights at the same time :)! It was definitely a neat experience!

Peter hit several milestones this summer, including loosing his first 2 teeth, and beginning to read!

5. My summer was filled with several unexpected times of fellowship! Our church held an afternoon for the woman to come together and knit/crochet, which Bethi and I attended and greatly enjoyed! I also met up with a friend last minute when she ended up in town, and reconnected with a friend via blogger  - and I also got to meet Ashley, the sweet blogger from Precious Moments! She and her mom attended a wedding, and on their way by they stopped in at our church, that was so neat :)! Our church friends also blessed us greatly after the arrival of little Isaac, with cards and gifts and meals.

6. Small blessings are always my favorite... we can't forget bible time, coffee, snuggles and books with littles, plants, and all those wonderful things! 

Mama has always homeschooled year-round so that we can take breaks when it's important to us, instead of when other people are used to; it just works better. So several times over the summer, Noah came to do puzzles beside me while I worked on shop to-dos, so he wouldn't be a distraction during reading time :).  

7. With summer came several opportunities for me to volunteer at extra events held by the church that  I work with that has a special needs ministry. It was such a blessing to get to invest in the people that I have come to love a little more, especially since the respites, that I usually help with, are always on break through the summer months.

 Mama stenciled this onsie!

And this blanket <3. 

And these are a few of my favorite personal projects :).

8. No season of life is ever complete for me without a couple of things having been accomplished... crafting, and reading (and probably cleaning out my boxes and drawers, at least quickly). Our summer was filled with a very special reason to craft, preparing for Isaac's arrival! Hand lettering, fabric stamping, crocheting, knitting... there was plenty of everything to keep us plenty busy!

9. There were many books that I enjoyed reading... a couple of my favorites were "Girl Defined" and "Women of the Word", both of which I highly recommend to everybody! I also got some time in for some fun fiction books. Right before Summer ended, several of my siblings, my Mama and I all started going through a bible reading with many, many other ladies through an online ministry that a church runs. It has been so neat to go through it with so many other ladies who each notice different things that the text brings to light. And it has been so much fun to all be at the same place and better able to discuss what we are reading, learning, and noticing for the first time!

Fourth of July.

10. Our summer came to a close with the events of hurricane Florence. Thankfully, but the time it hit land, it had already started to lose it's force, and we and all our friends in it's path were kept safe! Our family personally didn't even lose power, we just had a very rainy, cozy Sunday, which was the perfect day for me to get some cleaning and work done to be ready and caught up a bit for autumn. Despite how blessed we were, though, there were several deaths and damage caused by the storm, and I know that many of those affected would be grateful for continued prayers.

And I realize, looking back at my summer, that I probably want to think about taking more pictures than I do. Actually, it's something I have been working on recently. But. 1. I still don't think about it as much as I would like, because I get too busy/think I have plenty of time later, and 2. My phone camera is really not that great, and so it's not a very great encouragement to remember more when I do remember, haha...

Now it's your turn! Any of you can take this tag and fill it out :)! What blessings do you think of when you look back at your summer?

But, I'll also tag several of you especially :)...

-Kainoa from Kainoa's Corner.
-Ashley from Precious Moments.
-Maddy from Little Bit of Sunshine.
-Hosanna from Having a Heart Like His.

Go ahead and do whatever season you get around to ;). Haha!

Hello September Blog Tag

(Or, you know, the "September means fall and fall lasts longer than the beginning of September, so this tag is still relevant tag" ;)...)

THE RULES

*Thank the person who tagged you. Thank you, Maddy!

*Answer the questions.

*Nominate at least three other bloggers. 

*Write out at least ten new questions or just copy these. 

*Include the guidelines in your post, use the tag picture, and try to avoid nominating bloggers who have already been nominated. 

THE QUESTIONS

Fall or autumn?

Autumn. Always Autumn. I may say fall, because that's just kind of what we call it here in the USA, but I will always think of it as autumn. I promise there is a difference ;).

Favorite fall activity?

Baking spicy sweets and going for a walk when it actually feels/looks like fall :)!

Sweaters or hoodies?

Sweaters. I love sweaters! Although I admit, they are kind of hot down here until about January... haha!

How would you describe the perfect fall day?
The perfect fall day would include baking + doing something crafty, a walk outside with a crisp wind blowing and the colored leaves rustling, followed by a warm cup of coffee + a fall treat enjoyed while reading/watching a fallish book/movie (not a book or movie about fall, because there seem to be few, but a book or movie that has the comrade-ish, beautiful, thoughtful feeling of fall). And then a family supper enjoyed leisurely, and a few moments before bed spent journaling about + thanking God for some of my many blessings :)!

Windy or rainy days?
Windy. That way I can get outside and enjoy it!

Apple pie or pumpkin pie?
Mmmmmm, my mama's pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream! We actually just had some for Andrew's birthday, delicious!

Do you like apple cider donuts?
I have had them once - we went apple picking with my grandparents, and they "treated" everyone. I was skeptical at first about fruity donuts, but now that I have had one, I kind of want them again every once in a while.

 
Favorite fall time drink?

Warm coffee. What other answer did you think I could give ;)?

If you could go to one state in the USA, just for the fall scenery, where would you go?
Just for the fall scenery? Let's just say Virginia, but the truth is I would do more than look at scenery while I was there, haha (I like to multi-task/do the most productive things when given a choice - if I were taking a trip, it just makes sense to say hello to friends at the same time). BUT, it DOES have such gorgeous colors when fall comes <3. Here in SC, half the trees are pines, and they aren't that fallish, but Virginia has next to none, and they have pretty falls!

What color leaf do you like best?
Hm. That's a tough question. I think orange, but I also love red. Yellow and brown give nice contrast, but I wouldn't want those to be the only colors :).

I tag...

-Alyssa from Here is Love.

-Molly from A Ramble Through the Woods.

-Bethi from Gratefully His.

Here are my questions for you girls! (For what is, I guess, now the Hello Fall tag ;)...)

-What book do you think has the qualities of fall in it? 

-What is the first thing you want to do when autumn gets here?

-What is your favorite fall treat?

-Favorite thing pumpkin?

-What is one thing that most people think is a fall activity that you may or may not indulge in in secret year round?

-Do you like another season better than autumn?

-Is the scenery pretty around you during autumn, or do you have to pretend fall has come?

-What are 3 things you are grateful for?

-Do you enjoy apple picking?

-What is your favorite bible verse about gratefulness?

And now I'm going to wrap up this post... but I will be back very, very soon... because October and Write31 are just around the corner!

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri

Recipe Review: Homemade Iced Caramel Macchiatoes

Last year, I was talking with a friend about my Write31 series, and she told me, "Write about coffee". And I was kind of like, "I do that all the time. How would I make a whole post out of it?" (Or worse, a whole series, haha.) So I didn't. BUT, I got really excited about this recipe when I found it, and wanted to share it with people... and then I remembered that conversation and laughed and went for it; but never actually got around to editing it, haha.

Today, I realized that I had overlooked posting yesterday before I went to a church event, and that I wouldn't have time to get a full post out before I left the house again today (at least, if I went with my current post ideas, and finding a new idea would take even longer). So I almost decided to skip this week's post, but then I remembered this draft, and thought y'all might enjoy this now as much as later! So, without further ado...

One day this summer, I was struck with an urge for some coffee... but not just a cup of coffee, I wanted a fun coffee. A creamy, cold coffee, but one that was a little different from what I usually make (just milk+sugar+coffee with ice, usually eyeballed, because I'm a toss-and-hope-for-the-best-cook quite often). I have seen some little charts floating around with all the nifty measurements about this drink holds so much steamed milk and milk foam and espresso and this or that syrup, and I kind of wanted to experiment. So of course I went straight to pinterest and looked for a recipe to try ;).

I found this one, and I was impressed by how it had that professional look of being "layered"... http://eugeniekitchen.com/iced-caramel-macchiato/. I totally spontaneously made the vanilla syrup in the link and some double strength coffee. It wasn't hard at all, and waiting until the syrup cools to add the vanilla syrup was a good call, so that it didn't cook off and lose that vanilla taste!

Then I researched how to do the milk, because I was getting differing opinions on whether I should simply pour it, steam it, or shake it, because I guess the warm and iced ones are different. I decided to shake it in a mason jar to twice it's volume, and whether it changes the taste or not I can't say, but it certainly helps it have that "look" to it. I'm almost obsessed just with the different colors, haha. It was layered and so pretty, and that thrilled me as much as the taste, though it may sound silly. I didn't get a picture of that one, but I just made another one, and although it didn't do quite as well (Abbi was rushing me and I didn't shake the milk as long as I should have, haha), you can kind of see it :). I made one for Tori, and she was like, "Woah... this looks... fancy."

I used some caramel sauce we had on hand the first time, but the next time I made up some more vanilla syrup, I decided to make the caramel as well, while I was already in the kitchen. That wasn't hard, either, though I was worried I was going to burn it. I didn't, and, it fact, next time I will decide not to even worry about it, and just keep melting the sugar until it's completely smooth, because I left a couple small sugar lumps in the finished syrup, and had to strain it out, but it was still yummy :). It bubbled a LOT when I added the water, so it sounded dangerous, haha. But  it was just fine.

It's yummy with whipped cream on it, too ;). Bethi seemed to really enjoy both of the ones I have given her, and Andrew said it was really good, even though he point blank thought coffee was nasty last time I gave him any, haha. I definitely love this recipe, and I drink too much coffee when I have these syrups sitting in the fridge ;)... Also... Noah approves...

Because this onsie is a lie, and who could say no to that face? Neither Mama nor I drank coffee for several weeks at one point, and this child went crazy when he saw Mama's first cup afterwards, haha...

And now, I need to be off to accomplish some things before I get busy... the story of my life ;).

Do you like coffee? What's your favorite coffee drink :)? Are you interested in trying this recipe now?

Rejoicing in Hope,
Bri