thanksgiving weekend

Adam and I had a busy weekend traveling to see family in Missouri, Illinois and Eastern Iowa. 700 miles later we're home and have eaten as much pie and turkey as possible. Friday was Adam's birthday, but since we knew we'd be out of town we started celebrating Tuesday night in the spirit of a birthday "week"



Thanksgiving day we were in rural Missouri visiting all of my mom's family. I remain a city girl at heart, but with sunsets like this (and close to 70 degrees in November) I'll take an occasional day in the country.





I love hanging out with Karen. She plays skipbo with me to my heart's content and watches endless episodes of Gilmore Girls, who could ask for anything else?

i love books

I was in a local bookstore recently, one of those small corner bookstores, with comfy couches, a coffee pot in the corner and the owner walking around talking to customers, kind of like the bookstore Meg Ryan owned in You've Got Mail. Anyway, this quote was painted on the wall and I had to copy it down I liked it so much:
"Just the knowledge that a good book is awaiting one at the end of a long day makes that day happier."
Kathleen Norris

hula dancers

Adam and I went to a Halloween party last weekend dressed in souveniers from our honeymoon in Kauai. I am convinced that adults enjoy this celebration more than kids. We don't even need the incentive of candy to dress up and do crazy things. It just seems we want an excuse to be someone other than ourselves for a night.

caffeine free

I haven't had coffee since Friday morning. This wasn't really a deliberate choice, I just wanted to see if I could get by without it. I do get a little tired and crabby mid morning, and I'm definitely not considering giving up my favorite reason for getting out of bed in the morning during the week, but I thought I'd try it for a weekend. I haven't been completely caffeine free though. Adam tries to not drink soda during the week but on the weekends he will drink it, so I've swiped a few swigs of his carbonated beverages this weekend to tide me over. It's definitely not the same as coffee though. That goes straight to my veins and perks me up anytime. And I keep reading that it has some kind of cancer fighting powers, so it can't be all bad, right?

there's something about this time of year, when it's just starting to get cold out that makes me want coffee or something warm to drink all the time. In the last week I probably stopped and bought coffee sometime during the day 3 times. Usually I'm really good about making my coffee at home, loading it up with my favorite flavored creamer and filling up my travel mug. I feel like that justifies my coffee intake because it's cheaper than $3 a cup. I can't believe how much people are willing to fork over for a good latte. I mean i like that professionally frothed milk as much as the next person, but for $3 a day I would much rather go shoe shopping :)