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! 

book review - in memory of bread

From amazon.com - "When Paul Graham was suddenly diagnosed with celiac disease at the age of thirty-six, he was forced to say goodbye to traditional pasta, pizza, sandwiches, and more. Gone, too, were some of his favorite hobbies, including brewing beer with a buddy and gorging on his wife’s homemade breads. Struggling to understand why he and so many others had become allergic to wheat, barley, rye, oats, and other dietary staples, Graham researched the production of modern wheat and learned that not only has the grain been altered from ancestral varieties but it’s also commonly added to thousands of processed foods. "

Even though I don't have celiac disease, I found this book an intriguing read due to the sudden popularity in the US of gluten being our enemy. And although I'm not truly gluten-intolerant either, I do find myself bloated after I eat gluten, so it was interesting to find out why so many people like myself are experiencing "wheat belly". The author, Paul Graham not only writes about his physical and mental journey of foregoing gluten, but a couple of the chapters got into the history and science of gluten. Those chapters were a bit too detailed for me, but if I or a loved one had celiac disease, I'd definitely pay more attention to those chapters.

I received "In Memory of Bread" from Blogging for Books for my honest, personal opinion review.

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

such a pretty house

I've always had a thing for beautiful houses. And by beautiful, I don't necessarily mean big. I actually prefer smaller, charming houses. Houses with character. A bonus for me is getting to see the inside of the house, too: the architectural and decorating details. I've been this way since I was a little girl. Sometimes my parents would take me and my sister with them to look at a model home. Do you remember when you were a kid and your parents would drag you somewhere with them (garage sales, the grocery store, the bank...model homes?!) and you'd moan and groan because those places were just so darn boring? Well, I actually enjoyed going to model homes. 

This weekend I went to an Open House where the owners were selling their homemade candles. They have a business making natural soy based candles crafted out of wine and beer bottles. There were other vendors there, too selling things such as handmade jewelry and pillow covers, framed art, and knitted scarves. The neighborhood itself was peaceful and lined with beautiful trees.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of the outside of the house, but I did take a few of the inside. My disclaimer is that these pictures aren't the best because 1) there was a party going on and 2) I probably looked like a weirdo snapping all kinds of pictures inside their house, so I took the pictures in a hurry.

When you walk in the front door, you're in a separate entryway that's about 8x8'. There was a long coat hook rack on the left wall. What a great space to be able to take off all your winter gear and hang it up before you even enter the house! Or to welcome guests and have enough space for their coats, as well.

To the right of the entryway is a cool chest. This would be a perfect place to store mittens, hats and scarves. So easy to find and grab when you're going out the door. I'm sure the owners re-purposed this pieces themselves because they're both very creative.

When you step inside the house, the living room and dining room are one big open room. The hardwood floors and moldings were all gorgeous.

An iron chandelier hangs over the dining room table. One of the owners of the house was telling me her brother found this piece for her. I love how she put wine bottles in it.

Off the main living areas were several rooms, all flanked by french doors. One of the owners is a massage therapist so this room is used for her business.

Another room off the main living area...love the beadboard ceiling and the windows.

A cozy nook for reading.

I wish there was a way I could get a good photo of the fireplace, but it was impossible with the vendors there. It's double-sided: this side was facing a small room off the dining room and the other side faces the kitchen.

The custom cabinetry in the kitchen uses lighter colored cabinets on top and darker cabinets on bottom. Love the built-in range and stovetop ~ and the deep red walls.

Details...original glass knobs on all the doors.

I didn't get a chance to see any of the bedrooms or bathrooms, but they're having another Open House right before Christmas. Maybe I can be more voyeuristic then, ha ha.

Some pretty details outside...an old iron gate and chair turned planter.

I did take a photo of the house next door because I particularly favored this one: cottage meets Craftsman.

Lest you think I only went to this Open House to take pictures...I did buy a few things. :-)

Framed art...

and one of the homeowner's "famous" candles. The scent is currant, which is one of my favorite candle scents. I'm very particular about scents and strong odors because of my allergies. I also won't use any kind of artificial, toxic scents in my home, so this candle is perfect. I also bought one other little thing, but it's a Christmas gift, so I can't show it. ;-)

Speaking of homes and lovely details, our contractor was here last week to give us a quote on doing some some work in the kitchen and finally getting a mantle for our fireplace. Details later! Have a beautiful week.

PS: Thanks for all your good thoughts and wishes about my knee surgery...but, I'm not having the surgery after all! At least, not just yet. The pain has greatly diminished for now and I'm also seeking a second opinion.