What’s it like living in a small country town like Nolensville Tennessee?

We’ve said it a million times, but it’s worth repeating over and over.

Moving to Tennessee has been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made!

As summer comes to a close and we enter this first weekend of October, we’re soaking in all of the changing season vibes with a hike in Nolensville, Tennessee.

As someone who grew up in California and never experienced true seasons, it is so magical!

It’s like we live in a new environment every few months and is such a great reminder that everything is alive and that we’re not the only living things on this planet.

This place wasn’t made for us, we’re just lucky enough to be living in it.

That’s what Tennessee has taught me.

Appreciate the little things in life

Having a pup helps with this. Lucia makes us really slow down and appreciate more.

At first she was testing our relationship but we’ve since adapted to caring for a pup.

She makes us go outdoors and enjoy just living in the moment. That’s a perk of having an active dog that we never imagined before we got her.

One of my favorite expressions of love that she has is when we wake her up in the morning. It seems like most dogs stand up and get excited to get out of their crates.

Lucia doesn’t do that.

She rolls onto her back and opens up her belly. We get to crawl into her crate and start every morning with cuddles.

Nothing better than being greeted with unconditional love first thing in the morning. 

At least a split second of calm unconditional love.

After her morning stretch, she gallops down the hallway to greet one of us in bed and the energy starts to flow.

Melissa prefers the cat type energy. So it’s a bit of an adjustment for her.

She loves the puppy cuddles (and actually gets more than me), but the hyperness sometimes gets to her.

Melissa still loves morning coffees on the patio with Lucia while I water the lawn and all of our other plants.

Gardening is another thing that has helped us appreciate the little things in life.

Our Golden Pothos have become some of our favorite plants!

 When we put them on the banister, they’ve started to grow like crazy. It’s so fun to see them grow and just learn how to care for them.

A morning in Nolensville Tennessee

After a (mostly) calm morning, we went into Nolensville Tennessee to enjoy some Itty Bitty donuts and explore a trail that I’ve been running on.

We’re really working on getting Lucia leash trained too so that we can bring her to events around town.

Itty Bitty has their fall donut lineup on fleek and is definitely in the fall spirit!

Melissa tried those and the traditional glazed donuts first. As she was tasting them, I asked her which ones she thought were better.

After I asked, I started pondering why something always has to be better than another thing.

It made me think about how our culture emphasizes growth and bigger, better things. Why can’t they just be great in different ways?

The growth culture seems to create unhappiness, too.

It creates an always striving nature within us which creates anxiety, unhappiness, and an inability to appreciate the little things right in front of us.

Weird thoughts from just eating donuts, huh?

After enjoying our good in different ways donuts, we took the sugar high to the trails.

Generating more ideas when in nature

Being in nature makes us feel like we have so many more ideas.

We often find ourselves either walking in silence, daydreaming, or talking about dreams.

It always seems like the perfect place to zoom out on life and get out of the day-to-day routines. 

When we visit my hometown in California, we have a beach walk that we love! And we think this trail can become our local idea walk!

DIY projects always seem harder than anticipated

After our walk in the woods, we got home and kept the party going.

We explored our garden and noticed that some of our peas started flowering, which means they’re going to produce vegetables soon!

It’s so exciting how these things just sprout out of nowhere!

We have about 2 weeks of the growing season left before the first frost, so we’re trying to get our plants producing as much as possible.

We kept our DIY night stand project going, too. 

I don’t know if any of you are into DIY projects, but honestly hats off to you if you are!

They always seem so easy and fun before starting, but then once you get into it, they’re tough!!

Like really tough!

For refinishing our night stands, the electric sander was the fun and easy part.

We didn’t consider getting all of the detailed pieces of the furniture. That part sucks!!

Needless to say, the project is taking way longer than expected and we’ve waived the white flag many times.

What’s helpful is that Melissa waives the white flag and I’m not ready to quit, then I waive the white flag and she keeps us going.

Teamwork makes the dream work. 

I am so appreciative that I have a partner who keeps me going when I want to quit and vice versa!

We’ll keep you posted on the project, the garden and first frost, and the beautiful fall colors!

Join us on our trip to Itty Bitty donuts and on a beautiful trail in Nolensville Tennessee!