My Favorite Things

It's been a hectic November for me. I don't even have a TV and I still feel like I don't have time to do anything. Seriously, what am I doing? Where does the time go? I have a million things to write about (outside of writing here, I dear-diary it in an actual journal) and I don't ever get a chance to actually sit down and write. I have more "notes" on my phone than I can count! Primarily about my above-average level of awkward. In my head, I'm the perfect combination of smooth, sexy, and adorable. In real life, I stumble over words, blush fiercely, and manage to get myself into the most unbelievable situations that you can imagine. No, really. Just in November, there have been three events (that may or may not be related to boys) that are so unbelievable that I promise you Lifetime and/or Hallmark has probably made a movie about them. Not kidding. I called my bestie to tell her about situation #2 and she was speechless for a few minutes, and then laughed so hard that she cried. She agreed, it is, in fact, unbelievable (in the literal sense of the word). Then we talked about how many cats I should adopt. Because cat fur is lonely people glitter.

Moving on. Here are some of my favorite things at the moment.

At the end of October I went to Chicago with my girlfriend, Alie. She and I have worked together for several years now, but she lives quite a ways away, so we generally only get to see each other at annual work events. We decided to take a long weekend for a girl's trip back in the summer, but then I started the interview process for this job and as soon as I got it everything else in life went on hold. As it turns out, moving cross country takes a little time and organization. Once I got more settled, we picked it up again, and decided to go my birthday weekend. We had an absolute blast, and my only complaint was that it ended way too soon!

 

 

I'm LOVING the snow. I literally don't have words to express my level of excitement. Y'all, it's magical. I get that it's inconvenient, and slippery, but OMGITSSNOW. And what better excuse for snuggling and hot chocolate than a blizzard?

P.S. If you find yourself with an imaginary boyfriend, I would recommend enjoying a cookie with that hot chocolate.

(I obviously wouldn't know what that's like. I had to add a dead bolt to my door because there were so many boys pushing on it. #populargirlproblems)

This red belt.

My scale. I am 15 pounds away from my original goal. I'm down a grand total of 65 pounds (12ish of those lost since I've been in Minnesota). I have been taking undie pics to document my progress, and while those will never be posted here (because, hello boobs) I am extraordinarily happy with shrinking me.

PUMPKIN! Pumpkin everything is making me so intensely happy at the moment. So I'll leave you with this recipe for pumpkin bread that I whipped up today, and am enjoying as I type. It's perfectly moist, dense, and not too terribly sweet.

 

Ingredients
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup spelt flour
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
3/4 T pumpkin pie spice
1/2 t cinnamon
1/8 cup coconut oil, melted
1 t vanilla
1/4 c almond milk
1 t baking soda
1 T apple cider vinegar
5 T honey (although molasses or maple syrup would be lovely here)
2 T pumpkin seeds

Preheat your oven to 350 and line a loaf pan with parchment paper, then spritz it with a non-stick spray. This isn't a must, but it's so much easier to remove the bread from the loaf pan! It won't fit, so you'll have to do a bit of folding to mold it. Mix together your dry ingredients in one bowl, and then mix together your wet ingredients minus the apple cider vinegar in another. Fold the two together. Lastly, add in your apple cider vinegar and smile a little as it bubbles your mixture. Pour the batter into your loaf pan, sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds, and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before you serve.