25.

These were the pictures we took on my birthday when Chris and I adventured to a pumpkin patch and state park. The weather was great, and it was warm enough for short sleeves, but still cool enough for layers. I wore things that make me happy for my special day,  so one of my favorite dresses (especially for fall), polka dots, and my new pumpkin tights that glow in the dark! They are so awesome.













We were new to this pumpkin patch, and it was HUGE. They had so many pumpkins to pick from, and so many good ones. I saw so many perfect pumpkins that were nice and round and full with giant stems. Of course, when we went back on Sunday to actually pick pumpkins, a lot of the good ones we saw this day were taken.













They also had giant crates and piles of all different types of pumpkins with really cute names. I'm a sucker for cutesy/clever names. I loved the Baby Boos because I love white pumpkins and I love the really small ones. I think they're so cute. They also had some pumpkins that they called Cinderella. :)













These pictures are making me miss the peak of fall, already. Apple and pumpkin season is the best. While it's still the season to bake apple and pumpkin things, the season is definitely over to go pick them which is sad. Apple orchards and pumpkin patches are probably the places that make me the happiest. I'm glad that I at least picked a giant, amazing pumpkin this year for the first Jack O' Lantern in my new apartment!















As I think I mentioned in a previous post, this pumpkin place had a small Harry Potter-themed barn. They had orchard-related takes on the names of the Hogwarts houses. My favorite was "Pumpkinpuff".













A lot of the leaves have fallen now, especially because of all the rain and wind we've been getting recently. But at the same time, there is still a lot of color in the trees around here. I'm itching to do some exploring to see if there are any forests around that are still colorful and pretty looking and not just all bare. Unfortunately, it rained this past weekend when I was going to try to go and now this weekend I have to work Saturday and it's supposed to rain Sunday! Hopefully the weather changes, though.













It's weird being 25. For the first time, I had to check off the next age group when they ask you in surveys and things. I'm no longer 18-24. Now I'm 25-29, and that's weird to me. I'm closer to 30. Eek. Getting further and further away from your teenage and college years is a little unsettling. I know I'm not ancient or old or anything, but it's still slightly unnerving to think about. I read today that Mean Girls is 10 years old, and that's just so strange to me. 30 isn't old, but it's definitely an age that is strange to me. There's something so "adult" about it. I kind of can't imagine being older than 30. It seems so foreign or something to me. The whole concept of growing old and not being able "to do the things I used to do" kind of freaks me out. I'm sure that all 20-somethings kind of feel this way at some point and on some level.













Sometimes I feel like when I reach some mysterious certain age that it'll be weird for me to dress a certain way or look a certain way. I just have to remember that my style is for me and it's about what makes me happy and feel good, and that's what matters no matter how old you are.













A lot of people make lists for their birthdays like "25 Before 26" and whatnot. I can never do it because I will most likely not complete it and then I will feel like a failure...lol. I can barely keep up with two jobs, schoolwork, a blog, and time for my family and friends. A lot of the things on my list would be travel stuff and would cost a lot of money, so that's just setting myself up for failure because I won't have a lot of money to be able to put towards travel. I also don't really have anyone who makes enough money to travel with, either, so that's a bummer. I really want to get to New Zealand before I'm 30. I want it to happen, but I'm not sure when it will or if it will. I just know that I want it to happen before I have kids.













When I was younger, I always said that I wanted to be married by the time I was 26. Younger me had no idea what being almost 26 is like, so sorry Younger Me. You won't be married before you're 26. I'm not saddened or disappointed by this. It was a dream that I made at an age when being 26 was a far away concept. I still would like to be married by a certain time, but now the numbers have changed. At the end of the day, it's all about when you're ready. When the time is right, when you're both financially stable, when you've both lived together. I know that I wouldn't rush into anything like marriage or kids because of a silly age deadline, but I can still hold hope that I can be a relatively young wife and then mom. With the kids part I really just worry about the risks of having children closer to 40, but that's a long time from now to even be worrying about right now.

Dress: Dear Creatures via Ruche//Tights: ASOS//Dress layered as shirt: H&M//Shoes: H&M//Belt: Forever 21//Scarf: Gift

Anyway...enough of this serious talk. For now, I am 25 and I am happy. I have an amazing boyfriend, a job I love, I almost have a master's degree, I have my own place, and I've reached a lot of the goals that I had set for myself. I had an incredible birthday, thanks to Chris and all of my awesome friends who I am so lucky to have in my life. Even when things get me down, I try to remember all of this and stay positive. Things almost always have a way of working themselves out.