my heart is full

Is it too early to be posting photos of Christmas decor?

 I think yes, but the local nursery had a wine tasting event on Friday night and the entire place was decorated for Christmas already. I'm not at all in the mood for anything Christmas yet, but I have to admit, the decor was lovely. 

We were gone from early in the morning 'til late at night on Saturday. We met my cousin and a mutual friend at the last farmer's market of the season. Under blue and sunny skies, we walked around talking and laughing, drinking coffee; shared a handmade red mole tamale; sampled cheese, salsas, vinegars and honey; talked to vendors; and admired the bounty of beautiful produce. We came home with leeks, fennel, purple carrots, daikon radishes, fingerling potatoes, fresh parsley, aged balsamic vinegar and a block of gouda cheese. I somehow forgot to pick up some of those gorgeous peppers. We then hit up a couple of antique stores, a few artsy stores, then sat and had tea at Starbucks to rest our tired feet. 

On to fabulous Thai food in Chicago, then walked up and down Broadway taking in the sights and sounds of the city on a beautiful autumn evening. While walking, I spied a Stan's Donuts. I had heard of the place, so curiosity got the best of me. Stepping into the store, I was actually more enamored by the display of KitchenAid mixers than the donuts. ;-) We picked up a few donuts to bring home...and let's put it this way: It's a good thing we don't live close to a Stan's Donuts. That was the most delicious donut I've ever had. And this is coming from someone who's normally not a donut person.

Last stop of the day: Wrigley Field. To say that Brian is still riding a high from the Cubs World Series win is an understatement. It was the day after the Cubs rally (which drew a record five million people!), and the city was still unbelievably crowded. Throngs of people were still gathered at intersections surrounding Wrigley. I didn't dare get out of the car. I took photos out the passenger side window. We drove up and down streets for what seemed liked ages, looking for a parking spot. We finally found a spot on a side street and I stayed in the car while Brian went and took his photos.

Sunday was another sunny, warm day...we have been so lucky! All the neighbors were outside raking, leaf blowing and gutter cleaning; pausing once in awhile to talk to one another. Brian and I ended the evening by taking a walk in the dark, walking hand in hand around the neighborhood until we finally came full circle back at home.

cautiously optimistic

I was sad to see October go. It's one of my favorite months.

Just seemed weird to turn the calendar to November yesterday.

Already? How can that be?

Though the weather did grace us with a 70F degree day and tons of sunshine. Who could ask for better than that on November 1st?

I'm glad I photographed The Maple Tree just a couple of days ago. 

I knew in a matter of days, all those red leaves would be on the ground.

Sure enough, here's The Tree today. It's been raining all day, which really accelerates the leaf-dropping process. 

You all know that I don't frequent Goodwill too much anymore. Instead, I'm working more on decluttering and donating my stuff to resale shops instead of buying. However, I still run in once in awhile when dropping off a donation. I found that Target is still donating brand-new items to Goodwill. A woman walking out of the store had a gorgeous lamp that I commented on. She said it was new from Target and that she really got a deal. I didn't find anymore lamps, but I did find these two brand-new pillows. If you're familiar with the prices of new decorative pillows ~ usually $25 - $30 each ~ then you know I scored a deal for $5 each!

I also found these like-new suede loafers from The Walking Company. You can barely tell that these are worn. (The only way I will buy used shoes.)

Speaking of good deals, have you been to an Aldi lately? I haven't shopped there regularly in years, due to eating a clean diet and buying mostly organic foods. Well, Aldi is jumping on the organic bandwagon and now carries an amazing variety of organic and healthy foods. I got organic carrots, tomatoes, salad greens, ground beef, bread, olive oil, and canned pumpkin all for much less than at traditional grocery stores. I also found a healthy frozen spelt and veggie mix, spaghetti squash, jarred pasta sauce (for when I don't have my own on-hand...I got a regular marinara sauce and a specialty tomato butternut squash sauce, both with clean ingredients...always read the labels on food; a lot of pasta sauces have nasty ingredients in them, including soybean oil), pecans and even Kerrygold cheese! If you're not familiar with Kerrygold butter or cheese, they're from Ireland and are made from hormone-free, grass-fed cows. We don't eat much butter, but when we do, we use Kerrygold. There is nothing like it! The taste is so much better than the conventional butter we have here in the States.

Today's headline in the Chicago Tribune. We are nervously excited for this last game tonight! As I mentioned in a previous post, Brian's been a Cubs fan since he was a little boy. The Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908. I can't even fathom the excitement for Cubs fans and the city of Chicago tonight if when the Cubs win! Too bad my maternal grandpa isn't still around to be watching these games. He was a huge Cubs fan, too. He passed away three years ago at the age of 97. My mom posted on Facebook today, "I think if the Cubs win tonight, my Dad will rise from the grave." ha ha

I've got a vegetable lasagna in the oven, beers chilling for the guys, and wine for me. Bring on the game! 

hodgepodge

Hard to believe we're nearing the end of October already. I've actually seen a couple of bloggers mentioning Christmas. That stopped me in my tracks. I still feel like we've barely gotten into fall. Christmas is the furthest thing from my mind right now. I know it's only two months away, but I hate the rush into the commercialism. I also prefer celebrating one holiday at a time. Thanksgiving seems to get pushed to the side.

This weekend we went to a friend's Halloween party. These are her two granddaughters. Aren't they just precious?

Brian held the little one for a few minutes. He looks pretty comfortable in his role as "grandpa". ;-)

The wonderful evening was topped off by our beloved Cubs winning the National League Championship! Brian's been a Cub's fan since he was a little boy. To see the Cubs now heading to the World Series is a dream come true for him.

I love October in Illinois. The weather is all over the place: it can be rainy and gloomy for several days in a row; warm and sunny with endless blue skies; or just downright cold. Most mornings I have to turn the heat on to get the chill out of the house, but a couple of hours later, the house will be warm from the sun, so the heat goes off and the windows get opened. We relish the warm, sunny days because we know they're fleeting. Sunday was one of those perfect days, so we took advantage of it and went for a walk in the State Park.

I love the way the gentle autumn light filters through the trees and casts a golden glow everywhere.

There's a lot of milkweed in the park and the pods have burst open and are scattering their feathery seeds.

 Our walk led us to a lake, where we sat on a bench for a little while, enjoying the peacefulness while we closed our eyes and turned our faces to the sun.

 The maple tree across the street is at its brilliant peak of color right now. Rain is moving in later this week, so I know by the end of the week, this beautiful tree will be bare. 

Walking around my yard today, I was surprised to see all the plants and flowers that are still hanging in there, despite some frosty mornings. Mums are still blooming...

and so is the mexican tarragon in the herb garden. Chives and mint to the left in the photo are still thriving, too. Though mint is practically indestructible. 

 Russian Sage still has its pretty purple flowers...

The clematis surprised us by giving us one last bloom a few days ago! 

Zinnias are hanging in there, too.

I did a big grocery shopping today and came home to make October Soup. Are you familiar with Alicia Paulsen's blog, Posie Gets Cozy? If not, prepare to be delighted with her blog if you go over there and take a look. Alicia made up this recipe and it looked and sounded good, so I gave it a try. Oh. My. Goodness! This is a must-make. My house tonight still smells like that wonderful, warm, heady concoction of simmering soup on the stove. The three of us loved this hearty soup. Brian and Tim raved about it and went for seconds. Enough said. You can find the recipe in this blog post. The only changes I made were to add a few stalks of celery in with the other sauteed vegetables, and I also cut the quantity of red lentils down to one cup. (The recipe called for two cups, but I didn't want the soup to be that thick. As you can tell by my photo, one cup was plenty. It's up to you!) Oh - and I also used nitrate-free kielbasa. 

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

~ L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

one of those perfect sunny, warm fall weekends

 On Saturday, we traveled a couple of hours south to my cousin's house for an extended family get-together. I always enjoy driving up to my cousin's beautiful house ~ it has such lovely curb appeal. I admire the tall windows on the front and side of the house, as well as the beautiful landscaping.

Another feature of her house I have a soft spot for is on the other side where you walk under a leafy arbor to enter the house through the side door.

 

 We really lucked out with a warm, sunny October day, so we all sat around a bonfire in the middle of the extended driveway and talked and visited with one another. Although I don't think there was too much talking going on when I took this photo because everyone was busy stuffing their faces from the food buffet. Most of the menfolk disappeared indoors shortly after dinner to watch the Cubs baseball game. (And hooray, they won! Just for them to be in the playoffs is amazing. Ahem. And my Cubs-loving hubby is thrilled.)

 When the sun started going down though, boy, did it get cold quickly! Another cousin showed us the proper way to keep warm. ;-)

Speaking of the sun going down, my cousin's house is surrounded by farmland and we were graced with the most beautiful sunset.

 As the evening grew darker, the sky became more vivid...

 to the point where it looked like the sky was on fire.

And then it went back to pinkish tones before going completely dark. 

 Sunday was another one of those perfect warm, sunny fall days where it makes you wish fall would never end. I took a little drive to a farm called Ginger Blossom. The owner travels the world and brings back all kinds of goods...rugs, bedding, sweaters, blouses, scarves, antiques and home decor.

There's several little cottages on the property, each one filled with ethnic goods and materials.

 

 The barn is filled to the rafters with antiques, glassware, decor and furniture from all over the world.

Not sure if this outdoor elephant sculpture was for sale, but I thought the grasses behind it were so beautiful. Don't you just love that white plumage - it looks like bird feathers!

There was a wonderful variety of pumpkins and gourds for sale, too though I didn't bring any home with me. I did bring home locally-made cheese and raw honey.

 

Hope you had a good weekend, too!