October musings

October is my favorite month. Fall is always truly here; the last vestiges of Indian summer that dog September have faded, and that unmistakable nip in the air feels refreshing after long months of sweltering heat. The bitter cold of winter is fast approaching, but it's easy to push it away in the brilliant sunshine.



October is pumpkins: soups and breads, and huge displays of fat orange gourds everywhere. Sweaters and coats getting worn again. Soups and oatmeal replacing salads and cereal. Leaves turning brilliant shades of yellow, orange and red, crunching under our feet.



Even though I don't follow the sport much, every Saturday in October feels like football weather.



October is also my wedding anniversary; this Friday will be our sixteenth. 16!! That doesn't seem possible.



October starts the whole holiday season; we start to nail down our plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas, deciding whose family we are visiting for each. Discussing how many vacation days we need, booking flights and hotel rooms. Lately I have been hosting Thanksgiving at home for my in-laws, so October is the month when I get to menu-plan. One of my favorite chores. :)



October, of course, is Halloween. I still remember as a kid, bundling up in long underwear under my hobo costume, or trying to figure out how to wear a coat and gloves and still look like a scary witch.  I loved walking through our neighborhood with my sisters and my dad, trick or treating from house to house. (Mom stayed home to pass out candy. This was always Dad's holiday.) As I grew up, Halloween celebrations turned into adult parties with drinking and sometimes skimpy costumes, then giving up costumes (and parties) entirely, then just eating way too much candy at work. Now with Babyfriend around, trick-or-treating is coming full circle back to my Octobers, and it feels right.



The only thing I don't like about October is that it goes by much too fast.

Vacation Postcard: New Buffalo August 2012

I don't want this to be over.






Not where we stayed.


A puppy and a little toddler. You try to resist.






The first day we tried to go to the beach.


Inside the Sawyer Garden Center.


Ditto.


Finally, the garden part!


A minifig Pirate. Perfect.


God, I wish this had come out better.


Deer!


The deer wisely chose not to come closer.


Ambling down the street.


Also not where we stayed.



Aptly named! (If you like liverwurst, which I do.)


When it was finally hot enough and sunny enough to go to the beach.


Everyone's favorite salad of the trip. The cherry tomatoes were so sweet and flavorful all they needed was some salt and olive oil to be finished.


The last supper at home.


The last dessert


In St. Joseph, another town we will be visiting again soon. So lovely and fun!




Hahahaha.


Jessie's first (and last) Big Boy!


We especially liked the bird's nest in the sign.


My first dune. Impressive!






Playing in the water pad in St. Joseph.


Hubby decides to get in on the action, LOL.




LOL



Where we stayed. I will miss this gorgeous house so much!













It was a great vacation. Do I really have to go home? Do I?

Sugar High

This is the "candy bowl" at work. It's a freaking table of junk food, people. And I often spend an hour or two in meetings sitting in the tiny open space in front.

So you can imagine how well I am eating, right? I can't even eat the one healthy thing on the table, as I am allergic to raw apples.

Anyway, I am swooping in to answer some questions that came up in comments, and to generally kvetch about things. That's why you guys are here, right? Not for the fashion? :)

1. San asked about my wedding dress: it was a vintage dress from the late 50s/early 60s. I know now it's all the rage to wear vintage, but back in 1996, it was pretty rare. Truth be told, we went vintage because it was all we could afford at the time. When we renew our vows (an idle threat I hang over Hubby's head every couple of years) I'm going for broke in a new, modern, expensive dress. :)

The funniest part about the dress I wore is that there was a tear in the sleeve when I bought it, so my soon-to-be-mother-in-law offered to redo the sleeves for me. We brought it to Detroit for her to repair, and as soon as she saw it, she went running into her bedroom. She came out with HER wedding picture...in pretty much the same dress! LOL!!

It was made out of, um, I don't know, pretty thick and sturdy material, and it did have embroidered flowers on the front skirt. The front was also embroidered and had scalloped edging right at my neck. My mother-in-law did an amazing job finding fabric that matched the color and weight of the dress exactly for the sleeves, and she replaced the originals with something a little wider on the upper arms that came down to a point in the middle of my hand. I kvetch about the dress sometimes because it wasn't my dream dress, it just fit into our slim budget, but it was really pretty and it's stood up in the test of time. 

I had it preserved and boxed up, so if anyone wants a dress from 50 years ago, I got one for ya!

2. Anne asked if we were married at St. Ben's. Nope, it was Our Lady of Mount Carmel on Belmont. We lived in Lakeview back then.

3. Several people commented from my weekend posts that they would love to visit Chicago. I would love to show you around...but you better get here within a couple of weeks. As soon as it hits winter, it's a whole other ballgame, and winter here lasts until almost May. But our summers and falls make up for it.

4. Speaking of fall, I think the Indian summer is over, but we still have our windows open. Open! I am guessing we will start closing them this weekend. But the cool breeze and fresh air in the house is kind of nice for now.

5. I gave myself the week off from taking blog photos, but you haven't missed much. Remixes of dress combos you've seen, and me lamenting that all my pants are in the laundry. I am definitely heading into a pants revival this fall. A few more are on order from Gap; they had a big sale last week.

6. I have been vocal about my disdain for the furry vest trend, but the fur may have the last laugh in the end. I have also become completely obsessed about getting a faux-fur jacket this winter! I have a zillion tabs open that I need to pin up on Pinterest, but I am torn between getting something with a fur collar versus going all-fur. I really don't spend a ton of time outside in the winter, since I am a suburban commuter, so technically I could get a trendy type jacket like that and be a-okay.

Crazy, right? Someone talk me out of this!