Are we sure we’re not in the South of France? The lavender fields of @rootedfarmstead transport pickers and bouquet makers to a dreamy land full of soft, fresh smells.

“We had friends from Virginia who had moved to State College five years earlier and raved about the town and all it had to offer. We figured it was time to discover what made this area so special!”

I go on walks regularly with an 82-year-old. Retired for more than 15 years, he hasn’t slowed down a bit. He has served on several boards and committees, taken classes on local history, computer programming, wildflowers, and wetlands, and even helped scan ballots for local elections.

Just 28 people decided to name our town State College. State College was the name first given to our town around 1874 after “The Agricultural College of Pennsylvania” changed its name to “The Pennsylvania State College.”

As my wife and I enter the empty-nest stage, we are starting to reminisce about what it was like raising our two children in the State College area.

Amy originally made her way to State College as a Penn State student. After graduation, she spent 5 years working all over the country as a consultant for IT company Accenture.

If you’re thinking of making the move to State College, you probably want to stay in the loop about interesting things going on in the area. Here are a few noteworthy things we’ve been talking about lately!

My family’s favorite part of the Central Pennsylvania Festival for the Arts is the Children and Youth Sidewalk Sale (happening this year July 10).

Since 1978, Greg has been one of our town’s amazing serial entrepreneurs! Greg Woodman followed his older brother and sister to Penn State from Upper St. Clair High School in Pittsburgh.

The drool-worthy plates shared by @happyvalleyrestaurantweek are one reason we’re keeping our lunch and dinner plans open this week.

The Highlands neighborhood has a blog… and it’s awesome! Hearts in the Highlands was developed by the Highlands Civic Association to promote all the amazing facets of this quintessential State College neighborhood.

If you've ever met Brad Groznik, he probably tried to get you involved in some kind of community project. According to him, getting involved is the key to being happy in Happy Valley.