Boston in the Fall

We finally got to go into Boston on Saturday, and we loved it! We didn't really plan our trip except we knew that we wanted to park near Mike's Pastry, which we'd heard was a "must." And yes, we did allow our entire day to revolve around a pastry shop. So, we parked on the North End (Italian District) and just wandered around on that end of town and found a great place for lunch . Our hostess was from Greenville, so that was really fun to meet/hear another voice from the south. We brought along our GPS and walked to Boston Commons in order to burn off our lunch full of carbs. We found an adorable market along the way with amazing prices on produce. It was hard to refrain from buying anything!

After I tore Thomas away from begging me to buy a whole goat, we pressed on to Boston Commons and all of the historical landmarks nearby. Thomas is quite the patriot and loves anything that has to do with our forefathers. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for America too, but my thankfulness is nothing compared to his passion. He wanted his picture taken with every marker we saw:

Yes, Thomas is wearing shorts. And yes he quoted the poem about Paul Revere. And yes, all I cared about having my picture taken with was the Make Way for Ducklings statue. If you have children, I urge you to buy a copy of Robert McCloskey's book about Boston for children. It is one of my favorites from my childhood. 

And don't you worry, we then headed back to Mike's Pastry and stood in line for 20 minutes in order to get a chocolate whoopie pie (not the greatest thing I've ever had), a red velvet whoopie pie, a cannoli and a p-nut butter brownie. The cannoli was unbelievable and as Thomas says "hard to believe this has zero calories." The only picture I took was from my phone, but we'll be back soon in order to take more photos. :) 

Swans live here

I don't know if seeing a swan swimming in a lake beside a highway is a normal occurrence for you, but it isn't for me. Well, 2 weeks ago it wasn't.

Here is a glimpse into daily life in the Austin household: every morning I wake up {at what seems like the crack of dawn} and take Thomas to practice. Side note for a good mental picture: us driving into the immaculate Patriot's football facility in the green mullet truck with the dent in the side and pulling up next to Escalades, BMW's, Land Rovers, Hummers, etc etc. And me driving in my pajamas with my eyes barely open. Anyway, I digress. I take Thomas to and from practice because we are going to try to make it as long as we possibly can with just one car. So, I pass a number of lakes en route to the facility, and the lakes always have SWANS nonchalantly swimming around. Now, in the south you may see any number of geese or ducks swimming around on the water, but I have never, ever, ever, seen a swan in the wild. Thomas argues with me EVERY day and says it is no big deal. He says "there are lots of swans at Swan Lake in Sumter, why are you getting so excited about swans?" But I have told him many times that the swans at Swan Lake are not WILD. Well, they aren't wild like the swans here are. The Swan Lake swans are all tagged and the Swan Lake people lure them there. But these swans are just chilling on the lakes up here, acting like it is their job.

Okay, obviously I'm obsessed with the swans. Thomas yells out "SWAN!" every time we spot one and makes fun of me and even has started sending me links to articles about swans, including this one about some stolen swans in Orlando. He wanted to steal one of the swans we see everyday and keep it for a pet. No thanks, I don't care to be a criminal. Anyway, I finally got a picture of a swan today {after nearly killing us by crossing multiple lanes of traffic} and am glad I captured an image before they migrate to warmer places.

And in other news, after a long search today we have completed our living room with another great couch. We can officially have visitors without everyone having to sit on the same couch! Hooray! 

We went to about 5 furniture stores today and after our 5th store Thomas was like "Margaret, you are not making any decisions, what is wrong with you?" I just hadn't seen one that I LOVED. There were plenty that I loved the looks of, but the price tags were just more than I was willing to spend. I know I was spoiled by my awesome white couch for just $150 bucks, but I just wasn't seeing anything that I thought was perfect. Everything Thomas liked looked like a hotel couch or was a hideous reclining couch. We decided to run to Ikea and see what they had in their "as is" section of furniture. Well whaddya know they 

had a PERFECT couch for $200 bucks! The only problem with it is that the left arm has something wrong with the stuffing, but you can't tell when you look at it. So, the green mullet truck with the dent in it came to the rescue again and faithfully carried our new couch home.

Thomas says the couch is purple. I say it is brown. The people in the store said it was purple-ish brown, which sounds hideous.

I still say it is brown.

Oh, Autumn

My new friend Alissa  from church recently posted a George Eliot quote that I absolutely loved, and I had to share it in light of the glorious New England autumn we are getting to experience:

 ‎"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." - George Eliot

If I were a bird, I would certainly "fly about the earth" seeking some of my favorite things about autumn. Thomas' day off is Tuesday here in the world of the NFL, and it is a strange feeling but we are adjusting. Yesterday we went on a fun hike at a nearby state forest. The colors of fall are full throttle here and the air is truly crisp. Thomas loves it and wears shorts every day, whereas I am terrified of winter because I'm already complaining about being cold. But maybe that is because my husband leaves the windows open every night with a fan in our bedroom window? I'm not joking folks, he wants as much of the 40 degree night time air as possible. Here he is in his shorts, climbing every rock we saw yesterday.

He took these awesome pictures of the lake we {finally} found on our hike:

And then we had a hysterical 15 minute self-timer session of hanging the camera from a tree limb, me jumping over rocks and twigs to get into the photo, stepping into a nasty mud-hole, and coming out with some quality laughs:

Please note that I am wearing a down vest {Thomas wisely recommended it} and my husband is wearing a fishing shirt and shorts. 

And we were both wondering how old the rock walls were that were running throughout the state park. They were all over the place and were so cool. We started speculating about who built them: pilgrims or Indians? Whoever constructed the things, they've stood firm for a long time. I wish people still made things like this. Everything here seems so old and I am always saying to Thomas "do you think the pilgrims stood right here? Was this road here when the pilgrims were here? Can you imagine being a pilgrim and living here when it was wilderness?" I have a deep appreciation of the pilgrims, thanks to my Aunt Nancy who faithfully produced a Thanksgiving play every year that included pilgrims and Indians. Maybe I'll find some photos and post them when Thanksgiving rolls around. Anyway, the rock walls were cool:

Happy Fall folks!

Under $10

I have a few more favorite things to share...and of course they fall under the category of {cheap} too! 

A friend of mine uses these flour sack towels in place of paper towels as a way to "go green." I grew up in a house where my father used an insane amount of paper towels for EVERYTHING. Maybe I will give him some of these as a stocking stuffer this year! I love having them on hand and just throw them in the washing machine every now and then. And they are only $5 for 5 at your local Wal-Mart! They also look nice on the kitchen counter in a basket or just stacked by themselves. 

My sister-in-law Elizabeth introduced me to this amazing hummus.  I'm sure many of you have tried this brand, but it was new to me and much better/smoother than any other kind I've had. I used to make my own hummus but couldn't pack my food processor, so this kind is a great alternative. The best part is, Costco sells a HUGE bowl of it for only $6!

And my favorite thing that is under $10 is Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliott. It is one of the most encouraging books I've ever read. Elisabeth Elliott is a STRONG woman and a great writer. She really preaches the Gospel throughout this book, and it is such an easy read. It is a compilation of her newsletters in the form of a book, so each chapter is about 2 pages.

 I've been reading a chapter each day, most days for over a year now, and I've never read one I didn't like. I've read plenty that convicted me and instructed me and encouraged me, but none of them are anything but Truth. I'm going to include a portion that really encouraged me the other day:

 The original sin, pride, is behind my "poor self-image," for I felt that I deserved better than I got, which is exactly what Eve felt! So it was pride, not poor self-image, that had to go. If I'm so beautiful and lovable, what was Jesus doing up there, nailed to the cross and crowned with thorns? Why all that hideous suffering for the pure Son of God? Here's why: There was no other way to deliver us from the hell of our own proud self-loving selves, no other way out of the bondage of self-pity and self-congratulation. How shall we take our stand beneath the cross of Jesus and continue to love the selves that put Him there? How can we survey the wondrous cross and at the same time feed our pride? No. It won't work. Jesus put it simply: If you want to be My disciple, you must leave self behind, take up the cross, and follow Me.

George MacDonald writes, "Right gladly would He free them from their misery, but He knows only one way: He will teach them to be like Himself, meek and lowly, bearing with gladness the yoke of His Father's will. This is the one, the only right, the only possible way of freeing them from their sin, the cause of their unrest."

Home sweet {small} home!

After vacuuming up about a gallon of cat hair (the previous resident apparently had a kitty), mopping the floors, nooks and crannies with Pine-Sol, and buying real curtains for the first time in my life, I took some photos of our little abode. We love it! Thomas' allergies are especially loving it now that I got rid of as much cat hair as possible.

Dining room in the entryway. I know it is sparse, but I had to leave 95% of our belongings in South Carolina, including things to hang on the wall. 

Tiny kitchen. Emphasis on tiny. If you ever came to our duplex in Clemson and saw how small that kitchen was...this one is smaller. But I still love it!

I love that our apartment is on the top of the building and faces south. We get great light all day! You may notice there is no skirt on the bed. I can't bring myself to buy another one because I have one in storage that matches our bed spread perfectly. But alas, these are the small things I must give up. I know, I know, I have a really hard life, having to give up bed skirts and such.

And here is our happy living room! I love it with all of my heart. Even if it is just a couch, a table and a chair that is being used as a table. Again, great light in this room that makes it so bright and cheery.

And the most important room in the house {in Thomas' opinion} is the tiny bathroom. Emphasis on tiny here as well. VERY tiny.

Check out my sister's blog soon for my super duper easy pumpkin muffin recipe. My good friend Margaret Cranford introduced me to these last year and I've been waiting for fall {and a kitchen} to make them. Here is a photo to entice you:

I'm BACK!

Very exciting news here at the Thomas Adam Austin V household.

A. We have a roof over our heads that is our own! Well, we are renting it. And we love it. I will post photos as soon as I go buy real curtain rods. 

B. We own a computer! After 5 years of my Clemson computer, which died a terrible death (it fell on the floor) we finally bought our own. 

C. WE HAVE INTERNET. We haven't had the Internet at our own home for 2 years and 3 months of marriage. I can now sit in the comfort of my own home on my couch and surf the web. Which leads me to my next point....

D. WE HAVE AN AWESOME COUCH! I found it at a reliable yard sale on Cape Cod with my sister's mother-in-law, who is a yard-saling queen. The lady selling it is moving to Memphis and just didn't want it anymore. She bought it for $2,000 and I took it off of her hands for a mere $150. I morphed into another person and went into yard sale bargain mode. I was making deals like a fiend! I am thankful for Mrs. Hagopian's willingness to help me find some great stuff for our apartment. 

Here we are enjoying our new couch, which spent the weekend in the Hagopian's Shoe Repair Shop since we couldn't move in until Monday. Thomas says it is the kind of couch that "makes you smile when you sit down." 

Here are my other yard sale purchases. All of this equaled $20. I was so proud of myself. And don't worry, I spray painted that awful eagle off of the black chairs, much to Thomas' dismay. He seriously wanted me to keep the eagle....what a patriot. No pun intended. 

 My brother, brother-in-law, and nephew had planned a fishing trip months ago to Cape Cod, so we got to hang out with them too! It is only an hour and 15 minutes for us to get to South Yarmouth, which is pretty exciting for us. Here are a few hilarious photos from their fishing trip:

The master fishermen....

Daniel looked just as pregnant as his wife in his waders. 

Last but not least, the guys brought our couch over on their way to the airport. I'm glad I wasn't riding with them, I would've had a heart attack. That is the cute little downtown area outside of our apartment in the background. 

More photos to come as soon as I finish putting our apartment together! 

So long for now

This will be my last blog post for an unknown amount of time. I am heading North tomorrow and will not have access to a computer until...we buy one. And I do not know when that will happen. We've been computer-less for 2 months and counting, and I've been able to mooch off of family members until now. Thomas could care less about the computer, so he sees no immediate need to buy one. So, no blogging until I own a computer.

Hopefully that will be sooner rather than later, but I won't get my panties in a wad about it.

For now, I will leave you with three photos from my fun-filled day at the Clemson game yesterday. I got to see tons of people, and am so thankful for the folks who loved us well while we lived there.

 My sweet sister-in-law Bekah sat with me. And we had a blast! I am really thankful for her.


 The Swinney's youngest son, Clay, will always hold a special place in my heart. Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen? He wore a teeny suit to the Tiger Walk. This will be the first photo to go up on our fridge in Foxboro.

Bekah and I spotted this old couple a few rows ahead of us in the stands. I hope I am like this when I am their age. They seem faithful Clemson fans, even if she did wear pink to the game. Do you think she is listening to the game on her headset, or some classical station?

So long for now folks. See ya next time.

All of our possessions

Things have been C.R.A.Z.Y for the past 4 days as I've been in Clemson. I don't have much time but wanted to post these pictures for for the sake of the laughs it will bring.....

All of our personal belongings that are going to stay in storage^FULLY organized. 

All of the belongings that I am taking to New England. Our winter clothes, pots and pans, a bed spread and a few spoons and forks. 

And I'm on my way to Foxboro!