Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone has had a day with many treats and little tricks. We stocked up on candy in anticipation of witches, pumpkins, and princesses greeting us at the door, but didn't get a single knock. More for us! =)

Here's some of the things I've done the last few things to celebrate Halloween:

One of the Halloween cards I made

Skull & Crossbones cookies

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins

Skull & GLOSSbones nail polish

I spent the weekend in Norfolk visiting my dad, Sheila, and Amanda on Friday night. Dad, Sheila and I were supposed to run the Wicked 10K on Saturday but due to a bum knee (me) and the winter like weather dumped on the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic this weekend we all opted to skip the run. On Saturday I made my way back north and stayed in Richmond with Elizabeth. We had a fun girls weekend drinking wine, watching chick flicks, and trying on bridesmaids dresses for her wedding. I was happy to come home to my guys on Sunday and enjoy a delicious meal made by P.

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is November 1st and the stores are already stocking their shelves for Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday

It's a nap on the couch kind of evening

The Weekend via iPhone

Our first stop this weekend was to Apple where P & I switched to Verizon after more than a year of dropped calls and no service. The switch meant that we got the new iPhone 4S. The decision to switch to Verizon may have been influenced by Apple's latest gadget, but we are so happy to finally be able to make and receive calls in our apartment. Thanks to the phones amazing camera, I captured Friday & Saturday's highlights....

This wasn't taken with the phone, but it is accessorizing mine :)

Lobstah Roll dinner at Feddy's in Bethesda, MD

 

Georgetown Cupcakes - yum!

Driving to Harpers Ferry, WV on Saturday

Enjoying a cold beer and crisp fall air

Which way to go?

Walking around the town of Harpers Ferry

We stopped at a pumpkin patch on the way home

The pumpkins we picked

Relaxing at home and watching Penn State beat Northwestern

Today was spent running errands (me) and on campus (P) after a delicious brunch at Birch and Barley. If you're looking for a new brunch place in the District, I highly recommend checking them out. 

Hope everyone had as great of a fall weekend as we did!

Who's walking who?

Often on my walks with Calvin I wonder who's walking who?

Calvin on his afternoon walk (picture taken with Hipstamatic)

Since the blog has been neglecting Calvin a little I thought I should share another picture of Calvin that P and I took last night.

Calvin wearing P's glasses

We have been enjoying having Calvin back home with us and are looking forward to spending a weekend at home with him!

It's the Little Things

It really is the little things that make life so special. Even though I didn't have the greatest of days at work there were lots of "little" things that made me smile today:

• A simple offer from P to run all of our errands and do the grocery shopping
• Kisses from Calvin after not seeing him for ten days
• Making plans to have dinner with my dad in DC on Wednesday while he's in town for work
• Enjoying wine, food, and laughter with Kyle and Donavan on a cool fall evening

These little things are constant reminders of how lucky and blessed I am to have wonderful friends and family in my life.

P and I at his cousins wedding in Pittsburgh this past weekend

Taylor Grace and the Turners

Last Thursday I headed to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to visit Aubrey, Brent, and of course Taylor Grace. She is such a beautiful baby girl and I'm so honored that Aubrey and Brent asked me to be her godmother. I already love her so much and am looking forward to watching her grow. Aubrey is doing amazing and is a natural as a mom. It's incredible watching her care for Taylor and instinctively know what her baby girl needs. I'm still in awe of the visit and can't wait to go up again soon.

Showing Taylor the elephant that her Uncle P sent

The glowing parents

Looking adorable in the outfit her Auntie Em bought her

After quickly packing on Thursday night, P and I headed to Los Angeles on Friday morning to see Mike and Nisha tie the knot! We stayed with Matt in Santa Monica. His place is so great and just a few blocks from the beach. He was a very gracious host and amazing tour guide. It was fun getting the Matt Paladino LA experience but we're pumped for him to move to NYC in January - it'll be great to have him back on the east coast! Mike and Nisha's wedding was on Saturday. It was a traditional Hindu ceremony and was breathtaking. I'm so glad that P and I were able to be a part of their special day. On Sunday we visited with P's cousin Don and and his wife Holly. They are the sweetest people I have ever met. It was so great catching up with them again. We also got to stop by our friend Trevor's house. It was a whirlwind weekend in California, but a great mini-vacation.

View of the valley from Griffith Park

In front of the Hollywood sign

Hollywood!

Mike on the horse during the Baraat (parade)

The gorgeous ceremony site

Walking around the fire - Nisha was stunning!

The reception was magical

Looking a little tired after dancing

This weekend we're off to Pittsburgh for P's cousin John's wedding. It is our fifth and final wedding of the year!

It's one of those days....

....where I would rather be somewhere else. Like here:

via Pinterest

But since I can't jet off to Paris tonight, I'll transport myself in a new book while sitting on my cozy couch and eating a warm home cooked meal.

In more exciting news, I had a great time meeting my GODDAUGHTER Taylor Grace last Thursday and an awesome weekend in California! Pictures and details of both to come.

PUMPKIN SPICE EGGOS!

I discovered these bad boys at Target this week and they are soooo good. They will satisfy any pumpkin/fall craving you have. They are the perfect way to start the day on a chilly fall morning.

Yummmmmy

In other pumpkin delciousness news, there are a few variations of a easy (and healthier) pumpkin recipe floating around Pinterest and other websites. All you need is a can of pumpkin puree and a package of yellow cake mix. You simply mix the two together, pour into lined (or greased) muffin pans and bake for about 25 minutes. I used a version that also called for 1 tsp of ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp of ground cloves. There are also variations that use pumpkin pie filling instead of the spices. Either way, they're easy to make and delicious!

The big news this past weekend was that Aubrey had a BEAUTIFUL baby girl, Taylor Grace, on Sunday!! Aubrey and Taylor are home and doing very very well. I'm SO excited to go Pennsylvania tomorrow to meet Taylor! Lots of pictures to come....