Wrapping Things Up

It's that time of the year again. A time that I loathe. It's the putting away of all things summer, which makes the yard look so bare and lonely. Here is our hammock, ready to be put away in the garage for its winter hibernation. I took these pictures on a sunny fall day, one that made me miss summer already. And to think this is only the beginning of the cold.

I'm not the only one who is clinging to the idea of summer. Here are our last tomatoes of the year:

Fried Rice

Last week I found myself wandering around Trader Joe's wondering what to have for dinner that night. I saw shrimp and chorizo quesadillas on the menu at a restaurant up north, and wanted to try making that. But after only seeing soy chorizo at TJ's, I walked out of the store with only shrimp.

On the way home, I thought of shrimp stir fry. But stir fry is a go-to recipe in our house. We have it for dinner almost every week. Then I thought of fried rice. I used this recipe. We had all the ingredients we needed, so that was great. I doctored it up with the following: I used brown rice instead of white rice, added a bit of fresh ginger and added peas. It turned out great.

Some More Fall Foliage

This is the tree that is outside of Linda's classroom at school. When school first started, it blended in with all of the other green colors outside. But in the last few weeks it screamed out with its beautiful color.

Seeing it in its glory reminds me of where I was last year when I first saw this tree. A student teacher, just getting my feet wet in this teaching thing. Although I'm far from being a master teacher, I feel like I've come a really long way in just the past year.

The Psychology of Buying Jeans

I went to the store the other day to buy a new pair of jeans. I'm normally a Levi's gal, and have been buying Levi's since college. The style I wear has changed, but regardless they always seem to fit me just right, and wear out in just the right way. The last 2 pairs I actually bought at Sam's Club, and I love them. I bought the first pair, and then a few months later, I went in, picked up the same size, and I was on my way. It was the closest thing to buying clothes for a man. I am always jealous of Stein when he can go into a store, pick up a pair of size whatever pants or shirt and know that they will fit when he gets home. I was so happy when this happened with my Levi's.

The other day I went into another store that sells Levi's and tried to do the same. No dice. I knew that I would have to go up a size, due to my previous pairs being stretched over the years and the gluttonous year that I've had. But I didn't think that I would have to go up 2 sizes! Especially since they are supposed to be the same jeans. So not only was I subjected to seeing myself in the awful fluorescent lighting that they have in dressing rooms, but I also had to come to grips with the idea of wearing 2 sizes bigger than my current jeans.

After trying on various styles of Levi's in various lengths and styles, I ended up buying another brand. I think I'm happy with them. Maybe I should take this as a sign to get a grip on this gluttonous year.

Maybe after Thanksgiving.

Armed and Dangerous

I think we have enough magazines with recipes and ideas for about 20 Thanksgivings. But it's better to be safe than sorry, I always say.

Last Day Up North

Just in case you didn't get enough of the pictures that I posted before, here are some more from our last day. We went to Charlevoix for breakfast at our favorite place Juilerette's. I had their pumpkin french toast (can't get enough of the pumpkin stuff!) and Stein had their delicious cinnamon french toast.

After breakfast, we drove around a bit to look at some of our favorite houses there. They were all designed by the same architect, and we call them "Hobbit Houses". They amaze us every time we see them, looking at all of the stones that were carried and placed just right to achieve the final product.

We also walked around the downtown a bit, and it was a gorgeous day to be by the water. Here are a few pictures of the harbor.

I love this sign on a restaurant there. Ernest Hemingway did spend some time up north and a lot of the places there have signs that say things like, "Hemingway sat in this chair" or "Hemingway wrote a draft of one of his novels here". But I like this one the best:

A Surprise and Other Family Gatherings

Stein surprised me this morning with an early birthday present. I'm going to join my Mom, Mickey, and my niece Breanne in North Carolina this coming weekend to visit my sister Andy and her family. I was thinking about going, but the prices of airfares prevented me from booking a flight. I figured I would have to wait until the spring or summer to see my Mom and wait until summer to see my sister Andy. But now I'm going, and I'm really excited.

We are also having my family (the Chicago and NW Indiana family) for Thanksgiving this year. Everyone is making the trek over to see us. Because we are the out-of-towners, we have never hosted a holiday. We thought we would ask if people were interested, and it turns out everyone is! I'm glad that I'm off the day before Thanksgiving. I plan on getting a lot of the food cooked that day so all we will have to do is reheat things on the day.

Have a great weekend everyone!