Saturday, October 31, 2009

happy halloween!

After days of cold, rainy weather it is finally dry and sunny today for the trick or treaters. We have a lot to do today before it gets dark. We've held off carving our pumpkins because the squirrels have declared war on us and we didn't want to put them out too soon.

I'll be dressing up as a witch again and Ben's putting together a ghost costume. Can't wait to see how many kids come by...

Friday, October 16, 2009

spread the red

It's ISU Homecoming weekend! Too bad it's cold and rainy, but that will not stop us from hitting the parade and football game tomorrow.

I wish all of my alumni pals could be here so I didn't have to feel so darn old all alone! At least Ben is a graduate (and official alum!) this year. Now he needs to learn the alma mater so I can sing quietly nearby.

Let's hope the band is up to snuff and makes me proud. I'll report back...

Sunday, October 11, 2009

you know it's fall when...

  • The yard and sidewalk are covered in big, fat, wet leaves. It rained tons last week -- including two straight days.
  • I have the constant urge to shop at Michael's for random Halloween goodies.
  • Can't stop browsing the Target candy aisle -- candy corn and M&M's are already in the house.
  • It's harder than usual to get out of bed being that it's pitch black in the morning when the alarm goes off. Blah.
  • Pumpkin everything: Starbuck's scone and latte, risotto, candles, lotion. I can't get enough!
  • I had my first bowl of chili last night (and a s'more --- delish!)
  • New TV. We're liking Cougartown as far as new shows go.
  • All of my tights are in full rotation, as well as my crop of warmer scarves.
Hope you're all enjoying fall...it'll be brief so seize the moment!

Monday, October 5, 2009

iron

We celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary this weekend with a trip to Ann Arbor. It was great to reminisce and visit our favorite shops, restaurants and wander down the streets we walked when first dating.

Last night was our much anticipated gift exchange. This year was a tough one: iron! What to get, I fretted!? I finally settled on a cast iron skillet for Ben, along with a spoon rest. He has a large cast iron skillet that we've used twice maybe so I got a smaller, grill pan that will hopefully cook some fabulous stuff in the future. Ben got me a super cute bistro chair. As you can imagine, it's not very comfortable to sit in but it'll be a great addition to our front porch in the warmer months (with a chair pad). During the winter I'll keep it inside and use it as a plant stand.

Our other anniversary tradition is opening the cards everyone wrote us at our wedding (if you were there you probably remember the notes we had out in lieu of a guest book). We re-read the cards opened in years past and then opened six in honor of 2009. The cards are thoughtful, funny, sweet and something we truly treasure from our special day. I always get teary reading them, and can't wait to open more over the next few years.

Thank you, friends and family, for all of your support then and now.