After our trip up north to the shore of Lake Superior, we tested positive for COVID. We weren't surprised, since we were both feeling sick with flu-like symptoms, and since my sister-in-law Jillian had already tested positive. We spent a few days a bit zonked out, and a couple more weeks just a bit more tired than usual. It wasn't even as bad as the last flu I had (though Greg almost never gets sick - it's been 15 years since he was this sick).
One of the days, we got our first snow of the winter!
The cats have already been enjoying the fire.
There wasn't much, and it melted the same day.
It is gorgeous!
I knew there was a chance of snow overnight, and when I woke up early in the morning, I couldn't go back to sleep because I was too excited to look. And there was SNOW!
We've had a bit of rain, but not the crazy fall weather I expect. The Twin Cities are still in a drought.
The autumn views out the front of our house are very pretty with all the colorful leaves. I keep finding new views and perspectives that make me love our new house even more.
Rain on the pond:
And then my birthday arrived!
The Sunday before, I worked as usual with the kids at church. My nametag had a little cupcake on it because my birthday was coming!
Here's what I wore that day.
top: Charter Club (Macy's)
jacket: Levi's (Amazon)
skirt: Rekucci (Amazon)
The evening before my birthday, my family met at my parents' house for dinner.
Love these people!
Here's what I decided to wear on my birthday this year.
top: Maison Jules (EBay)
jacket: Levi's (Amazon)
jeans: Style & Co (Macy's)
bag: Target
I felt cute.
I went shopping with my Mom. She got COVID, too, and we were both recovering, but we did well and had quite a bit of stamina. My Dad met us for lunch.
We found some boots for my Mom at DSW!
We also went to TJ Maxx, where I found some wonderful pants, just the style I've been looking for! It was a great day of shopping (and FINDING).
Then my Mom and Dad came over for dinner. They brought Chipotle, though I ate my own home-cooked tacos. We then chatted and brainstormed a bit about some of the artwork we have and different places we could install it. And then we had some apple cobbler (I made it)!
Allistair helped me get ready.
My parents took Cora and Esme to Dollar Tree to choose gifts for me (SWEET!) Cora chose this cute hanging scarecrow (she claims it is a girl).
I got another gift a couple of evenings later: THREE RACOONS trying to break into our nutty fruit bar (that's out for the woodpeckers). They were CHUNKY and extra adorable.
Greg and I went for a walk on a misty chilly day before ALL the leaves had fallen.
Look at how there's a yellow area by the yellow tree and a red area by the red tree!
We had a weird dusty rain after many leaves had fallen, and the leaves left ghostly imprints behind on the sidewalk.
I also tried a FOURTH type of fruit in my cobbler recipe: peaches! And they were delicious, too!
We've had some nice warm days, so we could have the windows open.
On one of those warm days, Greg raked (I did a little bit, but I was feeling pretty draggy that day) and we took the leaves to the city compost center. It wasn't as hard as we expected!
I adapted a recipe my Mom made every Christmastime because it was such a favorite. It's a chocolate brownie type of cookie. When they're fresh out of the oven and still very hot, you press chocolate into the top and in a couple minutes, spread it out with a knife. Then you sprinkle coconut onto the hot chocolate!
They turned out great! Just a little less flour next time.
More walking!
Leaf ghosts!
My coat matches the fallen leaves!
Drooping Stephen:
On the evening of October 30th, we went over to Mark and Jillian's to carve our pumpkins!
Mark was hardcore:
Greg was very creative and industrious!
Jillian is always inventive, too!
Cora's first pumpkin was Hermione from Harry Potter! Then she made Crookshanks, Hermione's cat.
Esme also made a cat! Then she had a sandwich.
Everyone was working hard!
Here's my first pumpkin! It's 2-sided. one side has these big stripes.
The other side has a cute happy face with eyelashes.
I also made a second, surprised, pumpkin with glasses.
Greg's pumpkin was super cute with skinny eyebrows and an (Esme-requested) lightning bolt on its forehead.
We lit them all up and they looked great!
When I got home, I put up this ghost in the library window, made out of leftover packing paper.
My Mom's birthday is on Halloween, so we had an opportunity to do some more shopping and errands together! We had coffee/lunch and browsed a couple of stores.
We tried on these Halloween hats and they made us laugh.
I was happy to find some little toys and activities for kids who might have food allergies or whose parents might not wish them to eat junk.
Even our regular stuff wasn't terrible.
Before the kids came to trick-or-treat, I put up some more ghosties!
Allistair helped me made the ghosts.
Greg put scary orange lights in the rooms!
I also put pumpkin guts in lots of little containers, thinking that the creatures might like to eat it during the long cold winter. We'll see!
We had a turquoise pumpkin to signal that we have allergy-friendly treats. I guess TEAL is the right color (I got one of those on clearance after the big day).
OOOo, spooky!
This is how the effect was created.
We didn't have many trick-or-treaters, but we had a lot of fun!
Sunrises and sunsets are very pretty with the clouds we've had.
The past couple of days, there's been misty rain.
I found this mustard yellow beanie and plaid scarf duo and snapped it up! It's one of my favorite colors!
Wore it to church on Sunday!
God approved! HA!
When I got home, we had TWO couches in the basement, because Mark and Jillian had come by! They were getting rid of these, and we needed some seating for our basement, so we happily agreed to adopt them. We love them and already our basement feels homier and cozier. Still working on getting boxes emptied and things organized, and will be for some time, but it's coming along a little bit more all the time.
I've done a bit of thrifting lately, too.
This bowl was the best find lately at only $2.99 for a Kate Spade for Lennox wooden bowl.
WITH POLKA DOTS!
It's currently selling on Amazon with salad servers for $100!
I got some low baskets for organizing my desk drawers.
I found this cool crumpled glass vase!
And a pretty and sturdy glass tea pitcher. It's already filled up with tea, being put to good use.
Last night, Greg put up the big clock (we also got this from Mark & Jillian because they weren't going to use it anymore).
Enjoy your autumn evening! We certainly are!
