The Perfect Fall Weekend

Contrary to weather reports calling for rain and snow all weekend (and a wet Saturday morning), we were blessed with two perfectly beautiful Fall days. The temperatures were in the high 40's / low 50's and the sun was out. Weather like this reminds me of why I could never live somewhere that didn't have all four seasons.

This weekend was also one in which we had absolutely NOTHING planned. It was just the two of us with no plans, no obligations. Two whole days stretched in front of us, full of possibility. Love it.

I had been wanting to go to a farm to pick apples and pumpkins for some time now. Unfortunately, we've been so busy every weekend that we didn't have time. And then with the less than stellar weather lately, I was afraid I'd missed my chance. So, when the sun came out on Saturday, I was ecstatic. We jumped in the car and drove up to Mequon toward the farm. We took our time getting there, checking out neighborhoods as we went along.

We got to the farm, ran through a quick "orientation" of which apples were which and where they were in the orchard (all of which I immediately forgot) and got to picking. It was a lot of fun! Matt also informed me that he used to pick apples and pumpkins at this same farm when he was a kid.

We had a bag to fill with apples. And let me tell you did we ever fill it with apples! We ended up with about 30 gazillion of them. We also ended up with almost that many pictures to document how much fun we had.

Some examples:

 

I was worried that the farm would be muddy with all of the rain we'd seen in the past week. So I wore my rain boots. Aren't they totally awesome?

After we were done picking apples, we trudged out into the pumpkin field to find some pumpkins and found one for each of us.

In addition to the plethora of apples and the pumpkins, we picked up a gallon of apple cider. Matt LOVES this stuff.

Look at all of these apples!

Because we're up to our eyeballs in apples now, I used a few to make a pie. The five apples that went into it barely made a dent, but it sure is tasty! I used a store-bought crust though and it wasn't nearly as good as a homemade crust would have been. I'll have to buck up and put in the effort next time.

Sunday, we took Indy on a walk through the park by our house. It was such a gorgeous day and I walked along snapping pictures of all of the pretty trees. It's amazing to me that some trees have already turned and shed their leaves, some are at their peak colors and some are still green. But, that's how it is, I guess. The sky was so blue today!



This afternoon, we watched some football and carved our pumpkins. Our pumpkins this year are totally awesome, aren't they? Mine is a witch and Matt's is called "Igor's Brew".

 

 

Weekends that are as perfect as this one make me wish they would last forever and makes it really hard to want to go back to work tomorrow. The gorgeous weather rekindled my love affair with Fall and I wouldn't mind it at all if it stuck around for at least a few more weeks!

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Ever read this book as a kid? I loved it. Poor Alexander. He woke up with gum in his hair and it was all downhill from there. Guy just couldn't catch a break.

This was the story of my day yesterday. It was just one thing after another. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed (luckily, there was no gum!) and it was all downhill from there. I just couldn't catch a break.

I woke up late. I didn't have a lunch. It was raining. The drive to work was horrible. Parking was a disaster. I was ambushed with questions coming out of the elevator and never really got a chance to get settled for the day. I had to deal with ridiculousness. I care too much about being great at my job and anything less is disappointing. It was still raining.

I was thinking I'd move to Australia.

I had to order Jimmy John's for lunch. I had no time to eat my lunch and vaguely remember chewing and swallowing while working along. There was still ridiculousness. I still cared too much.

It was still raining. Leaving the parking garage was a disaster. I had to wait in line at the Post Office after work. Indy was with grandma and grandpa when I got home and couldn't snuggle me.

It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. But I hear some days are like that. Even in Australia.

In all reality, some days ARE like that. It's a total drag, but it's life. I'll totally admit that all day yesterday, my being bummed out about my bad day only bummed me out more. I came home, had a good cry (sometimes, a good cry really does make everything better) and then put on my big girl pants and moved on. I still have a husband who is totally awesome and who loves me, puppy that will always love me, regardless of my faults and everything else in life is just a bonus. So, life is pretty good. But, today, it is still raining.

Wait a Second...

What?

My sister-in-law has been talking about doing another half marathon for some time now. Somehow, I told her I would do one with her. Crazy, I know.

But THEN, she said she wanted to do a triathlon with me. I know I want to do more next year and I'm excited about it. But when she said we should do one together, I found myself saying "yeah, I really want to try an Olympic distance tri next year!"

WHAT?!?

She makes me say and want to do crazy things.

black bean soup

I really like to cook and I only wish that I had more time to devote to it. I am always looking for new ideas for quick and easy and YUMMY meals. I don't really follow recipes very closely--I don't measure but instead eyeball amounts and I tend to use my own creative flair when it comes to using seasoning and spices. This is much like Rachael Ray, but I assure you that this is where the similarities end. I am not annoying and you will not (I hope!) want to punch me in the face.

During the week, our dinners consist mostly of a big mess of whatever we have in the house and that I can throw together. My standard practice is to come up with an idea, check allrecipes.com to make sure that how I'm thinking this through will actually work and then go to town. It can get interesting and some meals certainly work out better than others.

So anyway. On my drive home today, I was running through what we had on hand and what I could throw together. With the cooler weather settling in for the long haul, I've been craving soups and comfort foods.We always, always, always have black beans around (like, 10 cans at any given time), so black bean soup seemed like a good idea.

I got started with chopping onions, garlic and green peppers and it wasn't until I went to get the few cans of black beans from the pantry that the problem with the black bean soup developed. We had NO black beans. None. The family that usually has 10 cans at any given time was totally and completely black bean-less. You can't have much of a black bean soup without the black beans.

Luckily for me (and our dinner), Matt works late on Mondays and was able to stop at the store and pick up a few cans of beans. I threw them in the pot, let it simmer and the end result was delicious!

We topped it with sour cream and ate it with quesadillas and we totally ate in the living room in front of the TV. Hey, it's Monday Night Football and the Broncos are playing.

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The fast and loose version of what became our dinner (and lunch tomorrow):
1 green pepper
1/2 onion
Fresh garlic (is a clove the whole thing or one piece? I used a few pieces)
Black beans (I used 3 15oz cans. As luck would have it we were also out of cumin. So was the grocery store. So Matt bought the Cumin Black Beans. He's a thinker!)
Vegetable stock (you could use chicken if you were an omnivore) (I don't know how much I used. Less is more, you can always add to it.)
Jar of salsa
Sour cream for garnish (optional)

Chop green pepper, onion and garlic. Get out your big soup pot and pour a little bit of olive oil in the bottom. Throw in your veggies and cook for a few minutes at medium heat or until soft. Throw in two cans of black beans. Put the third can in the blender with the vegetable stock and puree to desired consistency. Pour this into the soup pot. Toss in the jar of salsa. Simmer until hot and delicious. Serve.

We easily could have used two cans of beans and still had plenty of soup. I like to have leftovers so that we can have it for lunch.

Matt really liked this. Any meal that I make that gets the Matt seal of approval is considered a success. I believe his exact words were "I like this. Please make it again.". And, for a family such as ours that ALWAYS has black beans around, this was super duper easy and quick.

Matt's Birthday

I mentioned in my last post that Matt's birthday was on Saturday. Unfortunately, the celebration for it sort of got lost in the mix of wedding events all weekend. But, I did my best to do something for him.

Saturday morning, I got out of bed early. I had plans to go to City Market and pick up a treat for him. {Seriously, if you live in the area and haven't been, you need to check it out. I love it!} I settled on a fruit tart, as I knew we'd be having plenty of cake at the wedding.

I also made a quick stop at Starbucks to get Matty a Chai Latte. I came back home and presented him with treats. Matt opened his presents (a new North Face fleece and a bike computer) and we were able to relax together for about an hour before we had to start getting ready for the rest of the day.

Even though it was short and sweet, I needed to be able to celebrate my husband's birthday. I still felt a little bad because we I always make SUCH a big deal out of my birthday and turn it into a week long celebration. And here Matt only got about an hour. We still have a few more things planned throughout the week with family and friends, so there's that.

Happy birthday again, honey!

Mandy & Charley

We're just coming off the wedding circuit and the last wedding of the season was a good one. Matt's best childhood friend was (finally!) married this past Saturday

A few years ago, Charley found himself a nice girl. They dated for quite some time and last year, he proposed in the CUTEST way imaginable! She had just come home from work and was getting out of her car. He came walking out of the back gate with a leash. She immediately assumed they were dogsitting for someone but before she could ask, Charley handed her a note. It read something along the lines of "Hi, my name is Willis. I really like my new friend Charley, but I want to live in a stable home. Please say yes!" When Mandy looked up, Charley was down on his knee with beautiful sapphire ring.

On Saturday, they became husband and wife in an absolutely beautiful wedding ceremony.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I was somewhat hesitant about this wedding. You see, their wedding was in October. Outside. In their backyard, which is on Lake Michigan. And there was snow in the forecast. I tore apart my wardrobe trying to find something to wear that would look nice and still keep me warm. It didn't much matter because I ended up doing a last minute wardrobe change right before we walked out the door (and a few more times in the car on the way there).

Even though it was absolutely freezing, it was beautiful. It didn't snow. In fact, the sun came out and acted as a spotlight on the couple. Their ceremony was very personal and very "them". I can't imagine it being any other way.

Mandy looked BEAUTIFUL!

 

 

 

 

Matt was the Best Man.

The reception was a lot of fun. Our friend Larry (who had moved away in June) came into town. While we missed his wife, Renee, it was great to see him.

Saturday was also Matt's birthday. Charley and Mandy surprised him with a birthday cake after he toasted them.

They had Saz's cater and it was just about the best wedding food I've had. It was awesome and, like everything that day, very "them". We spent the evening eating, drinking and dancing. It was a lot of fun!

This is our friend Brad. He was complaining on Saturday that he never gets mentioned on the blog. So, here he is. Maybe now he'll think twice about my mentioning him?

 

If Brad had a "thing" someone may say that it is dancing with his tie around his head at weddings. It all started at our wedding.

Enter Exhibit A:

He did it again a year later at Larry and Renee's Wedding:

Strangely enough, until Saturday, it was never his own tie that ended up around his head. Huh. Anyway. I guess you can say he has fun.

Again, we had a great time at the wedding. We were so happy for the two of them. There is a part of me that just can't believe Charley is married now, but I guess it's all part of growing up and we all do it eventually.

To the beautiful couple: Matt and I are so happy to know you. Thank you so much for including us in your lives. We hope to make many more happy memories with you.

txt ovrld

Like any other young couple living in the 21st century, my husband and I enjoy our technology. We have also been known to text back and forth throughout the day. The usual How are you?, What are you doing?, Is Indy behaving?, My arm hurts!, I'm tired!, Indy ate what?, I just saw someone fall down and it was funny... And, now that AT&T finally offers picture messaging for the iPhone, pictures and video go back and forth. Mostly of Indy, but don't judge, ok? I'm not in your relationship, but I don't really see anything out of the ordinary here. It's much quicker and easier for me to fire off a text than an email* while I'm at work and talking on the phone that much is obviously out. But anyway.


A recent once over of our recent AT&T mobile bill confirmed the fact that Matt and I text. A LOT. So much that we went over our included messages by quite a bit. If you had asked me yesterday what our text messaging plan was, I wouldn't have had the slightest clue. I probably would have assumed it was unlimited. But, now I know that we were each paying $5.00 for 200 text messages (sent and received) each. I went so far over this it's unreal. I'm an adult. I expect this behavior out of an 18 year old who just got her own cell phone for the first time. This doesn't happen to me. If it's any consolation (it isn't), Matt went over too, but not nearly as much.

I immediately went online to increase our texting package because $.10/message over 200 can really add up. But, here's the thing. The next plan up is 1,500 messages and $15/person. There is nothing between 200 and 1,500. Seems a little odd, yes?

Our overage cost was almost exactly $20. Add that to the $5 we're each paying for our included messages and you have $30. So, do we spend $30 to be guaranteed we won't go over (if we do, we have a SERIOUS problem) or do we float and spend the guaranteed $10 plus any overage?

While it may seem logical to just bump up our plan and be guaranteed to never go over our messages, I decided not to do it. I figure I'll try to cut back a little on the texting and see how it goes this month. I would rather pay a slight overage for the messages that I actually use than pay more overall and end up not using the messages I'm paying for. So, when our next bill comes, if it is more than $30 for texting, I'll go ahead and bump it up, but I don't think that it will be. Sigh.

Are we the only ones with this problem? I suspect yes. How do you communicate with your other half during the day? Are we weird for even doing that?

______________________________________
*The iPhone actually does make it much easier to fire off an email. Unfortunately, while Matt is on the go, texting is easier for him. This will change once he gets his iPhone.

Arizona-bound

When my grandmother did not make the trip up to Telluride for the 4th of July this year, I started to think about going to Phoenix for Thanksgiving to visit her. My family usually makes the drive down to Phoenix for Thanksgiving and it's been several years since I've been there for it.

I had an extra vacation day that I hadn't decided what to do yet and several airlines have rolled out some great flights and prices servicing Milwaukee. I did some research, found a pretty good deal on airfare and an awesome deal on a fabulous hotel.

And so, for five glorious days, we will be soaking up the sun and fun in Phoenix. Visiting my grandma and family and just relaxing. Yes, I am very excited.

Check out where we're staying:

The last time I spent Thanksgiving in Phoenix, my family stayed at this same resort. For those of you who have not been to Phoenix, it is actually quite mountainous. This resort is set on the side of a mountain and is built into the cliffs. From the top of the resort, the views of the city are pretty sweet. It also offers eight swimming pools (including a water slide at one of them) that are hidden throughout the grounds, hiking trails, waterfalls, gardens and huge suites. When we were there previously, we had such a fun time exploring the grounds--there was just so much to do! The fact that we got such an INCREDIBLE deal only makes it better (seriously, I can't even believe it's so cheap). This resort really is awesome and to say that we're just a little bit excited would be about accurate.

I am also very excited to see all of my family, eat a bunch of good food and soak up some sun before the long winter sets in.

Less than two months and counting!

Best News of the Week

iPhone now has picture messaging!

My life is now complete. Because, really, the only thing lacking on my iPhone was the ability to send and receive pictures via MMS.

Yesssssss!

...Fall

Fall is officially here. I even put up a new blog header to celebrate. Check it out.

Another summer is over and if you had asked me a few weeks ago, or last week, or even yesterday, I would have cried and whined and possibly thrown a teensy tiny temper tantrum over the fact that summer is gone. But, ask me today and I would say that I am kind of looking forward to the new season. This comes as a surprise to no one more than myself. I may or may not have been found throwing said temper tantrum in the recent past. Like the one I had over Labor Day weekend when I went out to the lake only to find that there were trees that had already turned red and I probably embarrassed my husband with my whining.

It's just that I feel that there were so many things that I wanted to do this summer that just didn't happen. Did you know that Matt and I did not once spend an evening in our backyard having a firepit? Not one! That, my friends, is a travesty. We love our little backyard. We love our firepit. Sure, I can make excuses such as having a real life adult job getting in the way of all of my fun, but those are just excuses. I'm trying to drop that bad habit.

So. Fall. And, it seems like it came overnight. Suddenly, there is a chill in the air, trees are turning, leaves are blustering [because, in my poetic world, leaves bluster. Just run with it.] and it's very much fall-like. I went on a run this weekend and it was enjoyable weather-wise [unenjoyable moving right on in to horrific in every other way possible, but the weather was nice].

My favorite parts of Autumn? Let's take a look, shall we?

Sweaters! Warm, cozy sweaters!

 

[from left to right: Banana Republic, JCrew, GAP]

Boots!

[The Dansko Nevada boot. Cute, comfortable, pretty expensive.]

Corduroy!

 [from left to right: JCrew, Kohls, LOFT]

The Return of Fall TV! No more bad summer reality shows!

[Fringe, Heroes, Survivor, the Office and the Biggest Loser are some of my favorites. Yes, I watch a lot of TV. So? I need a separate post to dedicate to my TV watching.]

Football!

Matt's Birhday! Summer is birthday season in both sides of our family. Matt's birthday is coming right up and I'm looking forward to it. Probably more than he is, but whatever. What should I get him this year?

Thanksgiving! There is no denying the fact that I love food. Like, I LOVE food. So, what better than a holiday dedicated to eating? That's what I thought!

And, finally, pretty fall colors!

  [I can't wait until the leaves really start to turn. Especially out at the lake - it's so pretty out there when the trees are all ablaze with red and orange! And, I swear this last tree {found on Google Images} is from my college campus. I swear it.]

As much as I complain about the weather and the horrid, wretched, disgusting winters here and often threaten to move somewhere warmer, I don't think I could leave four seasons for good. Yes, summer in Wisconsin TOTALLY SUCKED and it was over before it began. [I'll be fair and say that there were many days this summer in which I proclaimed the weather "Perfect!" because it was not too hot but not too cold.] But, I do love the change of seasons and I think I would really miss that change if I lived somewhere else.

What are your favorite parts of Fall?