My 10 Favorite Things in November

Did everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving? Are your Christmas decorations up? We have Christmas trees decorated, lights hung outside (a fun first for us), and I have the NSync Christmas album on in my car. The Christmas season is upon us, but before I get too swept up into the most wonderful time of the year, here are some highlights from the past month!

1) Decorating our first big Christmas tree!

 Our little Christmas tree served us well over the years in our cozy Boston apartment, and it will continue to bring festive cheer in our library, but this year, we graduated to a full-sized tree in our living room. I'm pretty excited about it! 

2) Thanksgiving with the family

As I mentioned, this was our first year to spend Thanksgiving with family since moving away from Texas. We drove to Austin to spend the day with my husband's wonderfully large and boisterous family. We ate well, we chatted and laughed, we watched football, and we played with puppies and little children.  Later at my in-laws' home, Charlie had the best time playing in the lake bed of Lake Travis, intrepidly jumping in and out of the chilly water (a little stream through the lake bed is all that's left on their part of the lake)!

3) Our first fire in our first fireplace

 November brought unseasonably cold weather (and even a little snow!!) to the Dallas area, so we enjoyed the excuse to put our new fireplace to use. Curled up on the couch in pj's, dog curled up on the rug, and Apple-Ginger Hot Toddies in hand, it was pretty great.

4) Pie Night!

 Do you know what else I was thankful for this Thanksgiving season? Living within driving distance of our friends Liz and Peter, who hosted their annual Pie Night celebration on Thanksgiving Eve. This year, Liz baked 17 pies from scratch, and we happily helped her eat them. My favorite (besides her classic French Silk Pie) was a Lemon Sour Cream Pie. Delicious!

5) Wurstfest

Wurstfest is one of my favorite places on earth, and we had the best time this year with my husband's family. Beer, bratwurst, and polka music -- what's not to like?

6) Breakfast Date at the Allen Café

Both my husband and I have work schedules such that every other Friday, we have the day off. On one of our off Fridays this month, we went out for a "Breakfast Date" as an excuse to try the Allen Cafe. It's the cutest little local spot serving up classic diner fare...and one of my personal favorites, Chicken Fried Steak and eggs!

7) Catching an Allen Americans game

Why are minor league sports so much fun? I love minor league baseball and hockey games, so we jumped at the chance to go see the Allen Americans take the ice. They won the game, and there were a couple good fights, so it was quite a success!

8) Wine and Star Wars Mad Libs

I can't say this is one of the fanciest date nights we've ever had, but gosh did I enjoy sipping on a glass of wine and laughing over silly Mad Libs stories about lightsabers and the Force. (Speaking of Star Wars, everyone saw the Episode VII trailer right? I went from cautiously excited to very excited).

9)Paying a visit to perennial Longhorn Band favorite, Posse East 

My husband and I went to the Texas-TCU game on Thanksgiving, and beforehand, we grabbed a beer at this wonderfully dive-y bar, a much-frequented haunt of Longhorn Band kids (and plenty of other UT folks), and it was great to be back! We also ran into friends at the Unofficial Official Longhorn Alumni Band tailgate on our way to the stadium! Despite the score, it was great to be back at Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium (our first time back since graduation).

10) A good bowl of Pho!

Last but not least, we found good pho in Fairview at Pho Crystal! It seems to be a little family-run place, and the food is wonderful. I've been hooked on pho ever since trying the (admittedly unorthodox) vegetarian pho at Happy Veggie in Redondo Beach, and I've been missing Pho #1 in Woburn, so finding this little gem was pretty exciting news. 

My 10 Favorite Things in October

Happy November, friends! Halloween has come and gone, but before I start thinking about Thanksgiving, I want to take a moment to reminisce on the month behind us. October is busy for us thanks to our anniversary and my husband's birthday, but we also squeezed in some time with friends, some time with family, a date night, and a trip to New York!

1) Ewan!

How can I lead with anything other than getting to see Ewan McGregor on Broadway in The Real Thing, a fantastically funny and thought-provoking play. This isn't just a highlight of the month...it's a highlight of the year!

2) Celebrating a 30th Birthday

These days, I'm married to a man in his 30's (I'm still a cute young thing in my 20s for another nine months)! To celebrate such a momentous occasion, I cooked his favorite meal, beef with snow peas, I baked a pumpkin spice cake topped with cream cheese frosting, presents were opened, and Charlie, our dog, squirmed his way out of wearing a party hat! 

3) This Barley Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Shrimp

I love barley salads, and this one is no exception thanks to the tomatoes that become almost candy-like when roasted. 

4) Hanging string lights on our patio

 Our patio is beginning to come together, thanks to a new rug and a couple strands of string lights. They have totally transformed our little square of concrete into a cozy, magical spot.

5)These Stuffed Baked Potatoes with Roasted Broccoli, Cheddar, and Roasted Garlic Butter

 Now that chilly, drizzly weather is here, I'm craving warm, hearty dinners. These stuffed baked potatoes are definitely a favorite!

6) Celebrating a 2nd Birthday

 We loved helping our friends Liz and Peter celebrate their sweet little boy's 2nd birthday. It was the cutest Cars-themed party featuring Liz's homemade baked goods and kiddie treats (who doesn't love an excuse to snack on string cheese?), and we had a blast catching up with fellow Dallas-area LGO's.

7) Local Neapolitan pizza
For a low key "dinner and a movie" date night, we shared the Cassie with hot sopressata and mushrooms at Cane Rosso, a local chain dishing up Neapolitan pizza from a wood-fired oven. It may not have been quite as life changing as the Neapolitan pies at New York's Motorino, but gosh was it good. We also really enjoyed the fried homemade mozzarella.

8) Celebrating our 4 Year Anniversary

Obviously, these lists are in no particular order, because I do not rank the importance of my marriage somewhere below pizza, no matter how good that pizza may be. To celebrate our 4th Anniversary (the flower anniversary), my husband brought home a stunning bouquet and cooked us his specialty, Pasta Bolognese. Later that week we went out on the town for dinner at FT33 (so far, the best meal we've had in Dallas). Boy do I love this man!

9) New York bagels and smoked salmon
While we ate and drank many wonderful things during our most recent trip to the city (e.g., dinner at Gramercy Tavern and drinks at the Library at the NoMad), I think my favorite food memory of the trip was a simple board at Russ and Daughters Café featuring one of their toasted bagels, cream cheese, beautifully ripe tomatoes, capers, and thinly shaved smoked salmon. I finally understand why this dish is so famous.



10) A Mother-Daughter Slumber Party

 Last but not least, I invited my Mom over for a slumber party this month, and we had the best time. We spent the evening chatting over tea, doing at-home mani-pedi's, and watching a girly movie, and the next morning we let the nice ladies at the Salon at Eaton Court pamper us with facials and a make-over.