Ladies! I think a Friday afternoon deserves a celebration. We’ve almost made it through the entire work week! Woo hoo! We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. This is always the hardest part of the giveaway because we’d love to gift all 3,911 of you, but alas, we cannot, which I guess is what makes a giveaway so fun. With that said, join me in celebrating our SIX beloved winners for this fabulous giveaway. Believe me when I say we here at the office are coveting each of the gifts and almost threw a fit when we realized we couldn’t enter the giveaway ourselves. We love fun stuff like this just as much as you do!
So, without further ado, congratulations to…
Grand Prize Winner: Cara Koski
Second Prize Winner: Ansley DuRant
Gift number 3: Victoria Gelberg
Gift number 4: Kim Tipton
Gift number 5: Anne Dailey
Gift number 6: Leslie Wood
If y’all would please email me (Lindsee) at [email protected] with your mailing address we willl get these prizes to you ASAP. We love y’all so very, very much. Thanks for playing along. Hope you each have a beautiful, fall weekend!
DEAR SIESTAS! THE MERE THOUGHT OF YOU IS MAKING ME GO ALL-CAPSY.
It has been FOREVER and then some but I have been thinking about you. I know I haven’t been in this here blog-space much recently but I can assure you that I’m still at LPM. My days are full since I’m working and going to school part-time. AGAIN. Yes, again. Somehow even when I vow to walk away for good, I end up right back in the classroom in some capacity. This time around I’m working slowly on a M.A. in Biblical Languages at Houston Baptist University. When I’m not researching something for a project at LPM, I’m taking a Greek class in the Septuagint and a Hebrew readings class in the Joseph narrative. Oh, and how could I forget to mention Winston Jeffrey Fitzpatrick?! A little over a year ago Colin brought home a baby rottweiler and our life has never been the same since (even when I desperately want it to be!). Winnie is SO, SO bad but we love him madly.
Here is W posing in my dining room. Or demanding a filet mignon cooked over medium, I’m not really sure.
Here he is again furious about having to wear his birthday hat:
But really, enough about us.
I want to talk about YOU and a fall giveaway we are doing because we love you and appreciate you.
Now, I should mention at this point that if you are one of those people who is SO OVER all the talk about pumpkin-flavored anything, then you will want to run for your life.
RUN FOR YOUR LIFE.
Do I have a faithful fall remnant?
This weekend we had our first legit “cold-front” here in Houston. It was even down in the forties one night. Glory be! The crisp cold air in my lungs got to me in the best way possible and, of all things, I wanted to cook. There’s just something about fall that always brings me back to the kitchen. Nothing better than listening to a little Norah Jones or The Civil Wars with the windows cracked open, cool breeze dancing through the house, while a chili or stew simmers on the stove. I thought just maybe fall might do the same for some of you so the grand prize winner will get a red Le Creuset signature round dutch oven (red not orange like the one on the box).
I love it passionately and do not want to let it go. I even enjoy posing with the beloved dutch oven:
The second prize to be claimed is a $100 gift card to Pottery Barn because, let’s be honest, Pottery Barn during the fall season is heaven on earth:
Gift number 3 includes an amazing decorative pillow, fall flower arrangement, and Hill Country Home candle.
Gift number 4 includes a fun little clutch from Anthro, a scarf, several pairs of boot socks, and some gorgeous MAC makeup in fallish colors.
Here is Lindsee modeling the scarf. Love her and she can work a scarf better than anyone I know:
This MAC stuff is tough to photograph but fantastic (includes three eye shadow kits and two lipsticks in shades of Russian Red and Viva Glam III).
Gift number 5 has a bunch of fun stuff: Cook’s Illustrated Fall Entertaining magazine, kitchen towels, mulling spices, Hill Country Home candle (again this is one of my faves!), autumn cupcake decorating set, beautiful engraved silver dish, Trader Joe’s Pumpkin bread mix, and more.
Gift number 6 comes with a fun autumn welcome mat, potpourri, decorative kitchen towel, and my favorite ever mulled apple cider candle. DIVINE.
Here is Mom sorting out all the gifts. Isn’t she cute?
So dear friend, for a chance to win one of the six prizes, please leave a comment with your first and last name and tell us something you love about fall.
We love you so much,
Melissa
(Lindsee not pictured here ONLY because she was out of the office when we snapped this photo)
Fall is my very favorite time of year because God’s beauty really shows out with the sun shining thru orange/golden/red trees full of leaves. Also, I know it is not long until Christmas and family and friends!
I love the change in the weather! I find the cool days and crisp nights so energizing and refreshing!
I love everything about fall! It is absolutely my favorite season. Reading and looking at all of these fall giveaways made me a little giddy! 🙂 I love the smell of the air in the fall, pumpkins, apples…especially homemade applesauce! I love fall colors and decorations. My husband is a farmer, so harvest is also a part of our fall season! I love making a hot lunch and toting it out to the guys in the field! Best.Season.Ever. 🙂
I love Fall here in Georgia! It’s my adopted home being from SoCal, where they do NOT have a Fall. The cool breezes and color changes look like a post card. Only it makes me miss all my family even more. You see, I am here alone…but not really alone as He is always with me. That’s what I am thankful for this Holiday Season. Bless you for what you do Beth! We are starting your Daniel study this Tuesday in Women’s Circle and I am very excited to begin!
I love the crispness in the air, the colors of fall in the leaves and flowers, the crunch of the fallen leaves and seeing farmers in the field gathering their crops. (You can’t take the country out the girl…)
My name is Holly Herziger. I love the relief of Fall’s cool weather after the excruciating Phoenix summer!! I really enjoy being able to do outdoor things again without worrying about heat stroke 🙂
My favorite part of fall is everything. I feel like its new beginnings, second chances, its smell reminds me of holding my oldest when he was a newborn, bleary eyed while I drank my one alotted cup of pumpkin spice creamer-ed coffee. I love chili and cornbread, scarfs, second cups of coffee, hot cocoa, smores, the smell of thanksgiving fixins and being surrounded by those I love the most. A time of year when I don’t seem quite so cheesy to the rest of the world to be as grateful as I am for all that I have.
First, I have to say this is the best give away I’ve ever seen! Every single item just screams “fall”!
Like so many in Texas I adore fall! The first sign we have survived another hot hot hot summer! Fall symbolizes so many new beginnings to me. I work at a college so it means new beginnings for hundreds of new students that I am blessed to help find thei way and get over their anxieties. My daughters are both teachers, one at the college and one at a high school. The high school teacher is a drill team director, so it is the start of football season. We love football in our house! My husband played football at Texas Tech. Any time I get a whiff of cow poo, it rushes me back to Lubbock and watching him play ball. Oh the memories 🙂 it means my group of friends is starting another bible study. There are so many memories I associate with fall, my girls starting school, going away to college , going to Salado with girlfriends to get ready for the holiday and much more. But most importantly, fall reminds me of new beginnings and to be thankful for the too many to count blessings our God has bestowed on our family. My precious husband who has been cancer free for a year and the most recent, our first grand child, four month old harper grace. Sorry to ramble on so, but once I started writing I was amazed at how meaningful the fall season truly is to me.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE FALL!!! I am a fall baby, celebrated by pheasant season, leaves turning, jumping into the piles and raking them up again. Fresh bread, homemade soup, veggies from the garden and roasted pumpkin seeds. And finally the month of thankfulness, November, where my family focuses on the gifts that God has graced up with every single day.
Happy Fall!!!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE FALL!!! I am a fall baby, celebrated by pheasant season, leaves turning, jumping into the piles and raking them up again. Fresh bread, homemade soup, veggies from the garden and roasted pumpkin seeds. And finally the month of thankfulness, November, where my family focuses on the gifts that God has graced up with every single day.
Happy Fall!!!
I confess – this is a follow-up comment to yesterday’s since I forgot to include my last name (I’m sorry I didn’t read all the directions fully as I got so excited about the giveaways!!) – so to follow up – I’m the Beth who posted about the apple theme in loving fall for apples and being an apple snob and cider and hiking…thanks for second chances!!
Thank you for the beautiful pictures and wonderful words. I love the vibrant colors and the delicous smells of fall. The creativity of our Father’s artwork is amazing in the morning sunrise that paints the sky.
I love the fall season because to me it represents new beginnings and possibilities . The student in me loves the rhythm of buying new pencils, markers, notebooks and supplies in preparations of learning something new. The artist in me wants to capture the fiery brilliance of the changing color of leaves, sunsets, and foggy mornings. There is something truly beautiful and comforting about seeing trees that have been stripped bare of their technicolor leaf coats and able to share with us how they are firmly rooted and established ! The baker in me wants to make everything pumpkin,…muffins, bread, even lasagna ! The child in me wants to rake piles of leaves and jump into them with my granddaughters then go for walk to collect chestnuts and acorns that have fallen to the ground. All of me wants to pause and celebrate the goodness and faithfulness of God and how he lavishly loves us with such abundance .
One of my favorite things about the Fall season is the change it brings. Living in Houston, it is hard to distinctly identify four seasons. Spring/Summer somewhat run together in weather patterns here. Fall is the first “change” for some time. It causes me to reflect on how the unchanging God is over all changes in my life, and that brings great comfort. 🙂 Oh, and who can neglect the holiday flavored coffee creamers!?
Hi dear friends –
Such fun!
I love so many things that are probably already mentioned but along with that – just the feeling of letting God and the cold weather take care of the leaves falling and the light changing but realizing the wisdom of a new season. I’ve just recently started appreciating beauty in bare trees against the sky on a gray day – knowing God has provided us with a warm home and food to eat and we can curl up in His goodness and wait for Him to send us warm weather again next spring and other blessings in the mean time!
I love fall with my whole heart. I want September to be my favorite month so badly, but everyone I’ve known who has ever passed away, it’s been in September. So although my heart wants to love it, it’s also a hard month. So I’ve transferred my affection to October, when it’s still pumpkin season, hoodie season, soup season, book season, and sleeping under the blanket with the window open season. All things GOOD 🙂
My favorite thing about fall has to be the beautiful, warm, crisp colors. Feels like drinking a smooth cup of hot tea through my eyes. Makes me feel like I’m home.
Gotta love the first wood fire in the great room fireplace!
I love fall because it always signifies new beginnings for me! It is time to “go back to school” so to speak: fresh stationary, fresh pencils, journals, studies….most of all, a great expectation of a fresh word from the Lord. He never fails!!
Here in Monterey, we don’t have much in the way of seasons…it’s pretty much gorgeous and slightly cool all year around (unless you talk to my mama from Phoenix who has to wear a parka when she visits despite the time of year). So, autumn is very much related to looking at the calendar and, oh…we get our warmest weather of the year!
So, even though I love love love the fall season…can you say football?, the biggest cue of the season for me is when Sbucks pulls out that ever-popular Pumpkin-Spice Latte! Bring on the soup and the autumn decor!
Lovin’ me some Autumn…despite very few leaves changing colors or dropping!
I love watching the leaves change color. I have just moved to Central Texas from the Denver area, so I am excited to once again be able to witness the beautiful colors.
I love fall because it always signifies new beginnings for me! It is time to “go back to school” so to speak: fresh stationery, fresh pencils, journals, studies….most of all, a great expectation of a fresh word from the Lord. He never fails!!
Suzy says:
Fall is my favorite season. I love the changing leaves. I live in Ohio. The beauty of the Master’s hand in all of this just blows my mind. Enjoy the great display.
What I love about Fall is that there is a distinct shedding of the old and the preparation of the new! Honestly, Fall represents a chance to start over after watching all the old stuff fall away!
From my dining room window where I often talk to JESUS – I get a chance to see a ‘storm’ of leaves falling during this season and am always reminded how God does the same with us! An obedient heart often has to ‘shed’ the old and make way for the new and although we may think that only happens once – it happens in seasons of our lives – just like the seasons of weather that we experience! I am one grateful GAL that Fall happens in the seasons of the year and also in the seasons of my heart!
I LOVE you guys and all that you have done and continue to do in the hearts of women all over the world and my heart as well!
In His GRACE,
JoAnne Timothy
I love the splendid colors of fall that demonstrate God’s artistic handiwork! I also enjoy the cooler temps so warm and comfy sweaters can be worn. Thank you and God bless you all for your ministry!
Columbia, MO
I just love everything about this time of year. The upcoming holidays, cooler weather, football games, and lots of family time with shorter days.
I love the crisp air, Thanksgiving & all the food (Cdn Thanksgiving is in Oct & Fall’s beauty gives us that much more to be thankful for), the cozy clothing and the gorgeous colours of the leaves. GOD is the BEST ARTIST!
Happy Fall 🙂
Fall really brings joy to my heart. I’ve lived all my life in Florida and we don’t have a lot of changing leaves or consistently cool weather, but our sky does look bluer and Friday Night football games are even more exciting (and it’s easier to hug my boys after the game)! The anticipation of Thanksgiving and Christmas always make this season exciting as well. Any change of season reminds me to thank our Lord for how He renews and provides. Much love to you and thank you for your ministry 🙂
What I love about Autumn? The COLORS! I read a (anonymous?) quote recently, “Fall…it’s as if God took a paintbrush to palette and painted the landscape with reckless abandon.” Lovely.
So thankful for your ministry!
-Poorna Diaz
Arlington, VA
I absolutely ADORE FALL! Fall Festivals with great smells and lots of pumpkins! Hot apple cider, pumpkin bread and treats – and lots and lots of FAMILY! Best time ever!
Dear Melissa,
This may sound strange but something I love about fall is that it reminds me of Oct. 31, 1999, the day my mother was buried. The fall colors that day were brilliant, the sun was shinning and the air was crisp. It was a sweet gift from the Lord for me…reminding me that Heaven was celebrating with the arrival of the woman who taught me to love the LORD! The Lord filled my broken heart with Joy not only through the comfort of His Sprit but with the beauty of His creation!
Thank you for everything you and your family do to encourage our walk with the LORD!
So many things to love about fall! The beautiful leaves, cooler temperatures, football, soup, chili and smores (just to name a few)!
I have always loved fall ever since I was a child, the sound of walking through the deep leaves kicking them as I go, the smell of them as they fall back to the ground. Fall also reminds me of home cooked meals on those cool nights chili, stews all the comfort of home. It also reminds me of our “Spiritual Fall” how we once were separated from our Father this realization takes us into a season of winter in our spirit where we realize our only hope is in Christ. Then “SPRING” reborn of Christ,through His blood and bursting forth in full bloom to serve Him.
I love fall, because it takes us into a lot of family get togethers . My son Nicholas was born on Reformation day(. As our Pastor declared), Thanksgiving, then My husband Michael’s birthday Dec. 4th…and Advent. I love the change in weather. For us in California the change is less drastic than other parts of our country. but the temperature goes down and more chance of rain.
There is something wonderful about cuddling up with a cup of hot mocha, my dogs and my bible.
I love fall because food just tastes so much better!
Changing leaves and hikes to view them.
When we lived in St. Louis I always loved seeing the trees change colors! But now that we live in Houston again we don’t get to see the trees change color during Fall! So I love all the smells associated with Fall…like pumpkin pies baking!
I LOVE needing to wear a fall jacket, walking on a crunchy carpet of fallen leaves,breathing a deep refreshing breath of crisp air, taking in the brilliant fall colors -especially if the backdrop is a dark gray-blue sky of a fall cool front moving in! And of course sunset/sunrise is Especially intoxicating in the fall! My FAV-FAV-FAVORITE time of year!!!
Bright gold, orange, and red carpets the ground and frames a bright azure blue sky! Reminds me to worship Him for His beautiful creativity.
Frosty mornings and warm quilts. Reminds me to worship Him for His all-encompassing, sheltering love.
Wind whipping and whistling around corners, whispering through trees and stirring the leaves. Reminds me to worship Him for the gift of the Holy Spirit, moving and working, whispering and stirring within us, always.
The process of dying and the hope of new life. Reminds me to worship Him for His dying so that I might have new life. Reminds me to daily die and embrace His abundant, over-flowing life. Reminds me that though I am outwardly wasting away, inwardly I am being renewed day by day. Reminds me that one day this aging, dying body will house me no more and I will be present with the Lord to worship Him forever.
I love Autumn! I love the creator of Autumn!
I love pumpkin spice lattes, mums and the leaves changing colors. My grandmother makes an awesome tomato soup that she so generously shares with me. It tastes so good on cool autumn nights. The other day I was driving to work and pulled over to snap a picture of the leaves by this lake I pass everyday. Psalm 90:17 came to mind…”May the beauty of the Lord our God rest upon us…” : )
I love fall because two of my children were born in fall…my Charissa in Sept. and my Kieran in Nov. Kieran’s birthday even falls on Thanksgiving day periodically! =)
I love fall because two of my children were born in fall…my Charissa in Sept. and my Kieran in Nov. Kieran’s birthday even falls on Thanksgiving day this year! =)
Ooops!! Moderator, please delete my first comment because I misspelled stationery and I HAD to correct! Please show mercy to a first-timer! 🙂 Thank you!!
It’s pretty obvious that fall is my favorite season since my hubby and I named our first-born Autumn Faith! At sweet 16, she is naturally beautiful inside and out, just like the season for which she was named!
My name is Tami Frailey and what I love about fall is the beautiful fall leaves! God’s beautiful creativity!
I love,love,love Fall!The crisp feel of the air… new apples…pumpkin spice lattes!
I am trying to love Fall again. My daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia in November-9 years ago. she then relasped, again in November. Since then she has had a Stem Cell Transplant and all is well, but the whole family is having to learn to enjoy Fall once again!! Maybe this will be the Fall that does it!!
One of my favorite things about fall is watching the leaves change colors! We have all shades of lraves right now in SC, bright yellow, orange, and red! It’s so amazing how God created the trees & how the leaves change & fall, yet the tree still stands strong! Just like trees, we may fall, but with God’s strength we get back up & blossom again!
Happy Fall!!!!
Tara Hannon
Greenville, SC
This Southern girl loves and welcomes all cool fronts that moves through Louisiana. I love going outside and playing football with my boys, even though I have absolutely no athletic ability (they still love me anyway). I also love the quiet mornings on the porch with a pumpkin spice Latte. Fall + Football with my boys + a Pumpkin Spice Latte = my little happy!!
I work at a k-12 charter school and I love the fall because it is a new beginning every year! New students, new ideas, new hopes & dreams. One more year to watch my children grow knowing the time is short and they will soon be off to start a life of their own. I love the fall not just because of the beauty of the changing seasons but because Jesus gives me new beginnings – even when I may not deserve them!
Back to school!
Katie A.
Iowa