SNAPSHOTS: CELEBRATING FALL IN NORTH GEORGIA

I'm back! As some of you know, Jon and I turned off technology last week to focus on resting and spending time with each other. It was seven days of unplugging, eating healthy, spending time together, and rest. We had an amazing time and feel so rejuvenated and closer. We love the idea of making this a new tradition in our family before the holidays start each year, so we can gain perspective and slow down for the seasons. We spent time cooking, working on a puzzle, taking walks, working in the yard to dress it up for fall, cuddling, reading, and talking about life, the future, and how we want to grow as individuals and as a married couple.

On Saturday, we decided to end our week with a short day trip to Ellijay, Georgia. Ellijay is in North Georgia and is a beautiful place to see fall. We went to downtown Ellijay and visited some antique shops, watched a parade, and shopped around some of the outdoor vendors. Afterward we drove to the fair grounds to visit the Apple Festival. We left with homemade pumpkin bread, peach cider, olive oil, spreadable cinnamon honey, apples, and a piece of pottery. After visiting Ellijay, we took a drive through the mountains and stopped at Burt's farm to pick out some pumpkins for our yard.

As soon as we got home, we stopped by Trader Joe's to pick up a loaf of bread and soak it in our garlic and herb olive oil from the festival. So, so good!!

I feel so blessed to have had such a special time with Jon. I'm also so excited to be back and share some exciting things with you throughout the rest of the month! Also! A huge thank you to all of the wonderful ladies who contributed guest posts while I was away. I feel so loved. :)

A TIME FOR REST

Starting today, Jon and I will be embarking on a week of rest. We are calling this week our sabbatical; a time for rejuvenation, growth, and most importantly, rest. A time for us to break away from our routines, busyness, and focus on each other, our goals, life and where we want to be//need to be.

We've decided during this time, among other things, that we will be pressing pause on some of our daily pass-times and weekly commitments. We will be focusing on our health, pressing the "off" button on all electronics and canceling social time with friends. We will still be going to our 9-5 jobs, but once we are home and during the weekends, we will be technology free from Sunday 14th - Sunday 21st.

Jon and I have been planning out this week for the past month and we are so excited and at peace about this time. We feel like it will be a huge challenge, but it will also be such a sweet time of focusing on each other, focusing on ourselves as individuals, talking about where we want to go in the future, enjoying this beautiful fall weather, and re-charging our hearts spiritually. We've made plans to cook some yummy and super healthy meals, go on dates, take a short trip to North Georgia, have a lot of conversation time, work on some projects together, and just "be". We are hoping this will become a new annual tradition for us. :)

In the meantime, while I'm away from Maiedae and my graphic design work for the week, I've put together a collection of fall-themed posts and guest posts by some amazing and talented bloggers that I truly adore and respect. I think you'll really enjoy their contributions; they're sure to get you in full spirits for fall. Talk with you soon, my friends.