a letter to fall / guest post

you are many things;
smells, sights, emotions,
colors, feelings.
a myriad of colors;
a rainbow of deep reds,
dusky browns and bright yellows.
you are dotted, layered,
crinkled, dried, patterned.
dusky, at twilight;
soft, scattering shadows in
the misty morning haze.
vibrant;
the color of your leaves when the
weather turns and the sky turns dusky
with clouds of ashy grey.
you never seem to notice
the changing weather;
you only accept it for what it is,
like the sand welcomes the
rolling tide that comes and goes.
predictable, free.
every hour at the appointed time,
washing up reeds and shells,
indenting the shore with
the quiet ripple of the last rolling
wave that kisses the shore before
pulling away, leaving only
residue behind.
you don't notice change,
you are change.
the very essence of it,
reminding us that nothing
lasts forever.
nothing is predictable, or
untouched by the fingers of
alteration that the whole
earth is swept with.
clinging with rigid fingers,
turning white at the knuckles
as we hold on tightly to what
is inevitably leaving.
you sweep in, and fade away,
never resisting what is to come,
but refusing to be forgotten as soon as
winter's snow covers the traces of
your crumbling leaves and dried
grasses, raising the sweet
aroma of memories forgotten since
last year.
like a lost friend, you remember
your place among us,
nudging summer away when
the air begins to cool, and
enveloping the earth in your
embrace that shifts and
changes all that we grow
accustom to in the short months
between the fluctuating patterns
of life that are, although familiar,
never the same.

///////////////////////////////////////

hey there! i'm Mikailah. i'm a 17 year old, Christ following young lady with a free spirit, a passion for life, beauty, and a fondness for the unexpected. my home is in Arizona, but my heart is in the East. i drink tea like water, laugh at the strangest things, write at midnight, take pictures, gather memories like flowers, and am always ready for an adventure. you can find me writing and sharing bits and pieces of my crazy life here. nice to meetcha, friend! let's chat sometime, eh? 

pinterest / tumblr / blog / ask /

falling into fall / blog party linkup

Sweet Bethany is having a FALLing  into FALL blog party and I'm linking up with her party questions.

What's your favorite season?: winter. i love the cold weather and the snow.   

What's your favorite part of autumn?:  pumpkin flavored everything.

What's your favorite memory of autumns past?: i remember one autumn in particular, my siblings and i made large piles of leaves and then made tons of videos of us jumping and hiding in them.

What's some of your favorite autumn foods?: pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin bars, chai tea, coffee, pumpkin pie...basically pumpkin. ;)

What's some of your favorite things to do in the autumn days? : drink endless amounts of tea, wrap in my favorite blanket, and reread some old favorite books.  

What's your favorite autumn wardrobe additions?:  scarves, scarves, scarves. 

Does your family have any autumn traditions?: honestly, I don't think we have any. other than processing a bunch of pumpkin and putting it in the freezer every year. 

Hot cocoa or apple cider? Do you like to add anything to it such as marshmallows or ice cream?: oh, I love apple cider. but I think herbal tea is my very favorite. 

Pecan pie or pumpkin pie? Why?: pumpkin pie. because it's pumpkin :)

Which is your favorite month, September, October or November? Why?: October. It's the middle month and fall is usually in full swing. 

*i'm not sure how much i will be able to post in the next two weeks as i am out of town, but i will try to pop in here and there. hopefully i'll have a few guestposts as well. *

10 things to be happy about

(just a photo from camping this summer + one of my favorite worship songs)

i: buying plane tickets (tennessee, here i come)
ii: chilly nights and the smell of fall in the air
iii. fresh brewed coffee
iv. new designs (a huge shout-out to sophie who whipped up this beauty while I was stuck in an inspiration rut. she's the bombdotcom, y'all.)
v. finding new favorite fonts.
vi. reading winnie the pooh books
vii. did i mention adventures?
viii. the chilly nights and the smell of autumn in the hair
ix. listmaking for the previously said adventures
x. good new music

what's been happy about your life lately?
xx. marcia

of rainy days + happy lists

listening to:

never let you go - jakaranda (from the parent trap ii soundtrack)

gone, gone, gone - phillip phillips

hello seattle (remix) - owl city

joy unspeakable - mandisa

start of time - gabrielle aplin

i love you, love you - johnny cash

take it all away - owl city

Lord, i need you - matt maher

fly me to the moon - frank sinatra 

hazy - rosi golan

reading:

a tree grows in brooklyn - betty smith

wives and daughters - elizabeth gaskell 

my old journals

the new setapartgirl magazine

loving:

the beginning of fall

the fact that I can drink hot tea without having to sit by the air conditioner

knowing that someone misses you

a clean room

hot cups of peppermint tea in my favorite mug

listening to the oldies

a journal piece / by gabby

a white pillow case / by mary

if not, He is still God

quoting:

"And now, leave me in peace for a bit! I don't want to answer a string of questions while I'm eating. I want to think!"

"Good heavens!" said Pippin, "at breakfast?" - j.r.r. tolkien

"Would you like an adventure now, or would you like to have your tea first?" - j.m. barrie (peter pan)

"Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them." - a.a. milne. 

"But for my part, if a book is well written, I always find it too short." - jane austen

"Maybe our favorite quotations say more about us than the people we are quoting." - john green

"I like people and I like them to like me. But I wear my heart where God put it, on the inside." - f. scott fitzgerald

what have you been quoting, reading, loving, or listening to? please tell me, I do so want to know. 

xx. marcia

p.s. it's rained a lot in the last week, almost to the point of a- well, you know- f l o o d. ;) in all seriousness though, we were completely untouched #benifitsofnotlivingnearariver, but a huge amount of the surrounding area was severely damaged. prayers would be so appreciated. 

trinidad | HELLO CALIFORNIA (part 3)

my favorite stop on our California trip was a little tourist town on the coast- Trinidad. the little white lighthouse stood on top of the cliff at the edge of town overlooking the bay where dozens of fishing boats lay. and the distant sound of the waves collided with the cries of the gulls.

we stopped for breakfast at a little restaurant on the pier. while we were waiting on our food, the little restaurant was constantly filled with people going in and out. everybody seemed to know each other... the lady who worked at the little fishing hut came in and ordered the "regular". people dropped into chat with the waitress and talk about "Megan who just got engaged". An older couple sat in the back booth talking quietly while the man drank his black coffee and the lady sipped her strawberry malt with "extra whipped cream, please".

the main street cut along the little beach cottages with their faces pointed towards the sea. each one representing the ocean vibe by the array of hanging mobiles with starfish and seashells in the window, a metal anchor nailed above the garage door, and the nautical striped blue curtains that hung in the window, and the surfboard shaped sign that read "welcome" swaying on the porch.

along the tourist part of town, there were a handful of little shops- each declaring that it had the world's best ice cream or burger. three shops especially caught my eye because of the puns in the names. Windan Sea, Sea Around Us, and the third shop was the Trinidad Trading Company. Each shop was filled to the brim (not joking there, they were stuffed) with various trinkets. Windan Sea was completely beach themed, loads of seashells, mini pirate ships, paintings of the ocean, hanging mobiles, and other souvenirs. The Trinidad Trading Company was filled with darling scarves, books, adorable mugs, and mini figurines. Bunting hung across the entry way, and the entire shop smelled of candles.

it seemed like one those towns, that the kids always dream of getting out of; but when they do leave they come back and realize how important it was.

   trinidad, you were quite lovely.

   xx. marcia