Five Loves on Friday // First Week of Fall, Puppy's 1st Walk, Mom/Daughter Fun, and Pumpkins

Happy first Friday of the greatest season of all, FALL!  I hope you've had a good one!  In the midst of all the heaviness of the times we are living in, it was refreshing to enjoy a week filled with simple pleasures.  I found myself smiling and laughing more than in recent weeks.  Friends, Proverbs 17:22 holds true, "A joyful heart is good medicine."  I'm looking forward to sitting down in my comfy new computer chair (so thankful for that thoughtful birthday gift from my awesome hubs) and reflecting on the goodness of it all with you now, my sweet readers and cherished friends!  If you aren't in full fall mode yet, perhaps this post will help with that. ;)  In any case, I hope you leave here inspired to enjoy the little things of life.  Let's get to those loves now, shall we?

One  //  Fall Has Arrived!

I shared this in my Instagram stories in celebration of the start of fall this week.  I must admit I've been ready to add Nat King Cole singing 'Tis Autumn" to a story for months now. :D

I'm always giddy when I first see fallen leaves scattered on the ground this time of year!  While out this week we enjoyed all the sights and sounds of fall.  I spotted a tree shifting to a brilliant shade of burnt orange.  I soaked up the sounds of leaves being blown by a gentle breeze as other fallen foliage crunched underfoot.  There was a crispness in the air as temps dipped down into the 60s.  (I'm trying not to think about the 90s in the forecast next week.  I'd rather reflect on this perfection instead. Ha!)  I spent the first day of fall cozy in a mustard yellow sweater paired with a velvet burgundy headband, listening to a Fall Coffee Shop Bookstore Ambience video on YouTube while surrounded by home decor in all the shades of autumn and pumpkins a plenty.  My heart could not be happier!  

Two  //  Toffee's 1st Proper Walk

This week our sweet Toffee hit the two week mark after completing her puppy shots meaning it was officially safe to take her out for a walk in public!  (I think we may have been as excited as she was! :))  The very first stranger we passed on the trail said, "That is the cutest puppy I've ever seen in my life!"  So sweet!  

Three  //  A Sweet Autumn Mom/Daughter Night

On Wednesday evenings during weeks that Jason plays guitar for our church's Sunday services he meets with the other musicians for practice.  Our youngest daughter is also at church for high school youth group during that time.  This gave my firstborn and I the perfect opportunity for a fun first night of fall mom/daughter night!  We planned to watch Hallmark's Sweet Autumn and did start it, but paused for a moment and ended up chatting through the rest of the evening.  She broke out a new puzzle and we talked to our hearts' content.  We'll finish the flick another time.  Gabbing with my girl will always take precedence. ;)  I loved every bit of the night!  These precious hours of one-on-one time are priceless!

(Side note:  I have seen Sweet Autumn before and it's a super sweet movie!  Definitely DVR-worthy if any of my fellow Hallmark fans wanna keep an eye out for its next airing.)  

Four  //  A Sweet Snack Date

If you've been around for a bit you may be familiar with my fondness for trying Limited Edition Oreos.  My youngest daughter is my favorite taste testing buddy.  She's also been a longtime Pokémon fan making these new limited edition goodies the perfect fit for some mom/daughter snacking fun! 

When new Oreos come out we're typically excited to enjoy a new creme flavor, but this time around it was all about the cookie.  They created 16 unique designs.  We took our cookies out one by one to see which we "caught".  We ended up with 14 Pokémon.  Not bad for one package!  I may have bought a second package at the store last night.  We'll see if we have a complete set yet.  Either way we'll have some dunkable yumminess ahead!  Anyone else having fun with these cute cookies?

Five  //  A Replacement of my Beloved Glass Pumpkin

Lastly I'll conclude this week's loves with a story of adoration, heartbreak, and restoration.  Okay, it's really just the tale of a glass pumpkin dish that I used to own and enjoy using each fall, until I clumsily dropped and broke that beautiful vessel for seasonal sweetness.  Every autumn since I have missed it.  I've kept an eye out for a replacement for years, but didn't see any in-store anywhere.  This year I became more dedicated to the hunt.  I spotted some overpriced on eBay.  I also tracked them down from the official brand (Anchor Hocking) on their website for $26.99 plus shipping.  I was just about to purchase it when lo and behold I spotted the same gorgeous glass gourd on Target's website for only ten bucks!  I scooped it up immediately!  I seriously opened the package with such joy singing, "Reunited and it feels so good!" haha! :)  Ten dollars well spent in my opinion.  It's the little things, my friends.   I haven't filled it yet, so I'll include a pic from 2015 of my last one, that's now resting in pieces.  Things are just things and in this case it could be replaced.  I have no doubt that seeing it will bring me more smiles than even the goodies inside!

That year it was filled with Pumpkin Spice Oreos.  This year my new one will hold another limited edition fall flavor, Apple Cider Donut Oreos.  I could put the Pokémon cookies inside, but apple will be more perfectly themed for a fall treat jar, don't you think? ;)

Thank you for stopping by today to hear about a handful of loves from my week!  I hope that you'll take a moment to reflect the goodness that was sprinkled throughout your own as well.  Always remember that a week doesn't have to be extraordinary to be great.  Our lives are made up of many ordinary days.  God's goodness can be seen in them all and for that I'm truly grateful!

A Note on Comment Replies:  

I've started replying to all comments right here on each blog post rather than via email.  Many of the sweet comments I've been receiving come from no-reply blogger accounts (simply meaning there isn't an email address visible for me to reply to) and I'd like to be able to respond to all who take the time to leave me a comment.  If you are so kind as to say, "Hello!" in the comment section below, I invite you to pop back by that post the next time you're here to see my response to you.  I aim to reply to each comment within one week of receiving it.  Thank you for reading, and if you have a moment and care to comment before you go, please know that hearing from you adds a smile to my day!  Either way, I appreciate you being here!  You are always welcome here in this corner of the blogosphere. :)  Take care, sweet friends!

Now I'm linking up with Andrea and Erika for another round of Friday Favorites!  

Earlier This Week on Chatting Over Chocolate:

Direct Link to Post - Trip Report Tuesday: Throwback Edition // OUR 20th ANNIVERSARY DAY!

Join me in the adventures to come!

Follow along on Bloglovin for future blog posts and on Instagram for snapshots and stories in between!