A Few Fall Favorites 2018

I just wanted to jump on here to remind us to slow down, enjoy, and appreciate Fall because it only comes once a year. The quote above is so true though. Sometimes it is so necessary to finally relinquish control and to let go of things. Some things in life hold us back from moving forward and it can be so necessary and healthy for us to let go sometimes. Like an arrow, sometimes you have to go backwards to go forwards. Once you let go of something that needed to be forgiven, the feeling can set you free. 

That is something I have worked on with my personal growth over the years. Time heals/fixes everything. For me I have a hard time letting go of how I feel people that are close to me (family) have wronged me. I pray and work at my heart every week to try to move forward and forgive. Because in the end, it only festers in your heart and can make your mind and soul bitter. Now i'm not saying forget because a tiger doesn't change its stripes, just move forward and move on. These thoughts surface especially around the holidays for me when emotions are heightened for everyone for whatever reason. I personally work on these negative emotions around this time of year to prepare myself for any situation that may come my way. 

Seeing those beautiful leaves change and fall to the ground can be a gorgeous reminder all around us of the beauty of letting go!

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On to some of my Fall favorites. The majority of having a "Fall mindset" for me is all in what I wear (and smell, aka, awesome candles). So here are a few picks from my Fall Forever 21 haul. And yes let me tell you how weird it was turning 22, finally past the age of "forever" 21. 😳

This outfit I love and enjoy the fact that I have this beautiful dress extender so I can still wear the cute dresses that are a bit too short. 

I love this quick and easy look for a date night and/or movie night!

This outfit is especially perfect for church and braving the cold walking in and out of the building. 

I love this one for a cozy walk around the block or errand day!

And let's not forget the minion socks!

I couldn't help it 😂 I had to add a funny and it reminded me so much of Sasha!

Another Fall favorite when it comes to food are these amazing cotton candy grapes found at Publix! They legitimately taste like cotton candy! The peak season for these grapes is September-October. 

I also found some of my dairy free ice creams that I love (minus the blue bell one;) that one has dairy). I am on a cotton candy kick lately! The best one by far was the cotton candy one but the pancakes and waffles flavor is a close second. 

Let's not forget the marshmallow pumpkin latte foaming soap! This smells ahhhmazing!

My absolute FAVORITE thing to do during Fall time is to hike. It's not too hot and not too cold. We love going to Harrison Bay and walking the trails. 

The scenery is such a plus. I could get lost just sitting there looking out over the water ❤️.

Let me end with these decadent Fall themed donuts. The bottom two are pumpkin spice donuts and the top four are the limited addition plain chocolate glazed donuts from Krispy Kreme. They are original glazed donuts but with chocolate glaze instead of regular glaze on the line! Get em while they're hot the first Friday of every Fall month! Very delicious!

With love,

Kayla Raborn 

11/24/18

Life Update and Halloween!!

Hey everyone! Long time no see! I have been slacking on blogging because honestly nothing has been going on really lately (in a good way)! Life has been so quiet and peaceful!

Football season for Soddy Daisy ended on November 9th sadly but now Cody and I have more time together and we can prepare for next season;). During the months of September, October, and November we've been meeting and working with our architect to get some house plans set in stone to hopefully break ground by the end of this year! Cody and I have been catching up on life, going on date nights and working out together again, our favorite. We have also just gotten into the season The Walking Dead and still don't quite know what to think about it.

September was a busy month at work for me but has been really great! The past few weeks honestly have been really busy at work with new projects but I like the challenge and staying busy. One of the main flooring projects I perform testing on and help develop is launching this coming March and that is a huge accomplishment in our group! I love my job and look forward to the exciting things coming in our innovation group!

Cody and I have found our love for hiking again and try to go any chance we can! I personally like the long trails that take hours on end but Cody loves walking a lot of short trails.

Earlier in September Cody and I were invited to East Hamilton's homecoming game for tailgating, seeing our old friends and getting a free alumni t-shirt! 

It was neat going back to our old stomping grounds bringing up past memories of the two of us:). It will always be an honor being the first graduating class and how this is the building that kind of started it all for Cody and I. So many happy memories!

For old times sake, we parked in my old parking spot. Wow the memories. I used to sit in my car 10 minutes before school started, drinking my coffee and reading the newspaper, solving the word puzzles. 

It was fun seeing the game and so strange to see old friends. It was like a mini reunion. I have mixed feelings about what it was like seeing old high school friends. It had been over 7 years since I had last seen most of them. People warn you that when you go to reunions people never change, most are still "stuck" in high school, living the past and the ones that were mean still are, ones that were nice are still, and ones that were stuck up in a click then.....still are now. Let me just say how true that all was. It was surreal to stand there and observe feeling like not even a day had passed because truly nothing had changed. That was the most disappointing thing of all. It was nice though catching up with some of my personal old friends and seeing what they have accomplished and where they are now. I miss them!

In October Morgan came down to visit and she and Edgar (her fiance!) sweetly invited mom and I to tag along on their Bed Bath and Beyond registry list creation. I was so happy to be there and throw in my 2 cents. It is fun seeing their excitement and love. Morgan and Edgar made some sweet choices for their apartment when they move in together after the wedding. 

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A memory that popped up on my phones time hop was this picture of Cody and I from 3 years ago! It was his first corn maze and it was so so cold and muddy but we were one of the only visitors there and had a blast!

This particular picture popped up from 2 years ago when Cody and I went to the Mayfield Dairy. We had only been married for a few months and were just having the time of our lives!

In honor of corn mazes (which we unfortunately didn't have time to go to this year) is this sweet autumn outfit I found at forever 21.

I'm glad overalls are coming back in style, I have always loved them!

At the end of October on a rainy Saturday I ended my whole 30 and finally got to have my chick-fil-a hash browns!!

Btw, we love the new Chick-fil-a near us!

One of my favorite whole 30 "meals" is drinks from Smoothie King/Planet smoothie/Juice Bar. Also notice the cool new cups from Smoothie King! Now recyclable!

Coffee and Donuts! I love festive/unique socks!

At the beginning of November, we tried the Keto diet for 15 days. It was a flop. I can see the benefits but it felt so strange to put more ranch, mayo, cheese, and bacon on things. It felt so wrong...and greasy. This was one of the recipes that we made during keto that was actually really tasty. Head over to my Sunday School breakfast blog post coming soon to check out the recipe!

Moving on to Halloween! So this year Halloween rolled around on a Wednesday. Cody and I had the very best candy ready in a bowl in front of our door and got into costume,...ok, well I just did, Cody dressed as himself. It was fun handing out candy to the kids but sadly only a few came to our door. I get really excited thinking about taking our kids one day trick or treating. One day, one day:).

I dressed as Merida from Brave. 

I had to act the part! Too bad I don't have extremely red curly hair lol. 

Cody and I went out and got a quick dinner then drove around our new neighborhood to see what it would be like when we are there next year and what our future kids will have to look forward to:). Fun times are ahead!

For Thanksgiving this year, we are going to Knoxville to both of my grandparents houses to eat and meet Edgar's family. Then we are helping them put up their Christmas trees the next day. Stay tuned for a detailed Thanksgiving post and Christmas decorating cheer!

With love,

Kayla Raborn

11-18-18