What I'm Into: September Edition

I say this every month but really, that flew by. Between my 10 year reunion, a whirlwind trip to Dallas, and our busy season gearing up at work, it was a crazy month. Yet here we are. October.

On My Bookshelf: For full details on some of these books, check out my September Twitterature post. The rest will be featured in October's Twitterature post, But overall in September I read Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, the Red Queen, the White Queen, Heart of the Matter, and The One & Only. I may need to force myself to take a break from the Outlander series for a bit so I can get through my library stack which includes The Dinner, My Life in France, Where We Belong, and The Astronaut Wives Club. Then again, I just ordered the first 7 books in the Outlander series...I've been borrowing them from the library, but I know I will be rereading them so I went ahead and picked them up on Amazon! You can buy the 7-book Kindle bundle for $49.99 but I bought the paper back versions. Actually, I bought all 7 paperback books for less than the cost of that e-book bundle, so you might want to think about that before you buy ;)

On My TV: I'm so excited the fall TV has finally arrived! I am a couple of episodes behind in Outlander but I have planned a full on marathon for this weekend. (It's opening weekend for deer hunting here in Oklahoma, so I'll have the house all to myself.) I am also excited to get back into Scandal, the Big Bang Theory, and a few other favorites. James and I did watch the premiere of Chicago Fire together, but that's about all the new TV I've seen so far. The only other shows we really watch together are Criminal Minds, Big Bang Theory, Buying Alaska (a "reality" tv show about buying property in Alaska) and Rehab Addict (Nicole Curtis restores old house and we love it). Other than that our DVR is pretty divided. And I didn't watch many movies in September, but I am so ready to see Gone Girl!

On Me: At the beginning of last month I ordered some new items from Old Navy during a Labor Day Sale. I ended up keeping three wrap dresses that I can wear to work, along with some work out gear. I wore the dress below yesterday and received tons of compliments - it might be my new favorite.

In My Ears: Podcasts. Oh so many podcasts. Plus an epic high school reunion playlist. It's over on Spotify if you want to check it out. Lots of memories brought back by some of those songs!

And Blake Shelton's album came out yesterday! Loving it, especially Bringing Back the Sunshine. Maybe because the video is just a drive around my hometown. Literally. Seeing all those familiar streets and buildings...I might have teared up when I saw the video for the first time. Maybe.

In My Belly: This past weekend I was in Dallas and got to eat at Pappadeaux, Breadwinner's Café, and Café Brazil so it was a banner weekend for me! Café Brazil might be the restaurant I miss most, the hashbrown casserole is amazing. Breadwinner's is always a good bet for brunch, I had the Farmer's scramble and it was delicious. Pappadeaux was wonderful as well; I had jumbo sea scallops that were great, but the lobster bisque was really the best thing I ate that night! The weekend before I was in my hometown for my high school reunion and got to eat the always awesome fried zucchini at the Quart House. I used to dream about that fried zucchini (really, I did) because it was nearly a staple of my diet as a kid. There used to be a restaurant called Bandanas, and my family would go there often. I think we went after every single dance recital, and I associate those fried zucchini sticks with happiness and tutus. That restaurant closed years ago, but the Quart House opened last year and brought back those zucchini sticks of happiness.!

Other Important Stuff:

Survived my high school reunion. It turned out great! Loved seeing some wonderful old friends. Went to the Aziz Ansari show. It was hilarious. Plotted some upcoming girls' trips (DC and Vegas!). Can't wait. Went to Cabela's for the first time. My husband loved it (wasn't his first time). I smiled and nodded. Attended the Stair Climb for the third time. It was moving. I got bangs. Two weeks later they might be driving me a little crazy. Hoping a trim will get me back to loving them. Killed a house plant. Here's hoping the rest live to see November. 

And now I'll leave you with some pictures from September. It was a good month, but I'm excited to see what October has to offer!  

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Sunday Social #15

Hello Sunday! This morning James and I are leading Children's Chapel at church, so it's a crazy day. But I'm here to answer 5 questions for the Sunday Social. Have a great day friends!

1. Favorite scent - Lavender. I'm obsessed. I use lavender lotion, lavender laundry soap, lavender everything! Though pumpkin is a pretty close second, and it's about that time of year.

2. Favorite food - Can I just say potatoes? I love potatoes in pretty much any form. If I had to say a meal, then I'd say steak and potatoes. With a side of lobster or crab legs ;)

3. Favorite sound - A crackling fire. There's something so calming about it to me. And luckily this cold weather snap was enough to have a fire on Friday night!

4. Favorite picture currently on your phone - It is a silly picture, but this one I took of James at our first meal in Key West on our honeymoon. He was so far out of his comfort zone, but it was such a fun trip! 

5. Best memory of the year so far - My wedding day, of course! I'm not sure what moment of that day. It was a day full of highs and lows, but I've already started letting go of the bad memories from the day.

Hello Monday!

Well hello Monday! My apologies if you usually read these early in the morning, the post I'd scheduled for today seems to have vanished. Weird how that happens sometimes, isn't it? Though not as weird as those socks that seem to disappear with every load of laundry. Where do they go?

I do hope you are having a good start to your week. It was a busy weekend for me, but definitely a productive one. Yesterday I actually got my act together and cooked for this week. I made chicken fried rice in the afternoon and put it in individual containers to bring for lunch a couple days this week. In the evening I prepped a roast that I'll cook later this week as well as one I put in the freezer for a future day, and I made lasagna rolls! I made a double batch so I froze half for a future date and cooked the rest. They were delicious, plus we had enough leftover for at least another couple meals. I'll have to make it again soon and share the recipe, because yum! I'm hoping to start planning meals more often, mostly so I will be able to bring the leftovers for lunch during the week. I'm still struggling with the office lunch, but I'm working on it.

And I'll definitely be sharing pictures from the Stair Climb soon. I'm anxious to see how all the pictures I took turned out, I haven't had a chance to look at them much yet. In the previous years all the ceremony and lead up activities took place outside, but it was pouring down rain on Saturday. So all 343 firefighters were crammed into the lobby of the building, along with all the volunteers, emergency crews, and those of us there supporting someone. It was definitely a different feel; I liked the previous years better, but you can't control Oklahoma weather.

And now, in honor of Monday, I'll leave you with this:

Stay awesome, friends!