What I’m Into (October/November 2015)

What’s Been Happening

Oh gosh. It’s been so long for October I kind of forget. I do know it’s been a great fall though! 🙂 In October we went back to Bloomington for the Ohio State/Indiana football game. IU lost so I was sad but OSU won so Ben was happy. We got to eat at all our favorite spots and see a few good friends [but not enough friends] so that was fun! You can’t go wrong with the giant almond sweet rolls at the farmer’s market in Bloomington! At first I thought this shop didn’t sell there anymore, but I was glad to be proved wrong! 🙂

https://www.instagram.com/p/8YPcT7sCKO/?taken-by=thepajamachef

Other than that trip, we honestly spent a lot of time outside or at home.

My favorites ❤

https://www.instagram.com/p/89DZMrMCAz/?taken-by=thepajamachef

On Halloween [first Halloween in our new house…first trick or treaters on a rainy night… we loved it!] I ran half of a half marathon with a friend [it was a relay]… and we WON! Woohoo, so fun! 🙂 That night Ben and I got Pizza Hut for dinner. I hadn’t had it in forever and it was wayyyy too good. But maybe it was all that running I did.

https://www.instagram.com/p/9gomDnsCHC/?taken-by=thepajamachef

One nice thing we’ve discovered about Nashville is that the fall leaf season lasts much longer down here. This was a couple weeks into November! Lovely leaves!

https://www.instagram.com/p/9q7wsnsCIB/?taken-by=thepajamachef

Since we are now in a new area of Nashville, we’ve been slowly trying all the local restaurants with pretty much weekly Friday night dinner dates. It’s nice to eat out after a long work week, huh? One Saturday afternoon I got to catch up with a friend at a local cafe. This maple latte was awesome!

https://www.instagram.com/p/9zQbUWsCDp/?taken-by=thepajamachef

Ben and I have also started a tradition of Sunday morning breakfasts. Mostly before church, but a few have been more like brunches after church. I’ve made cinnamon rolls [the fabulous recipe to come!], these yummy egg crescent rolls [see below], a breakfast pizza that was actually a flop, pancakes, and more. I think cranberry orange pancakes with cranberry maple syrup are on the agenda for this Sunday!

https://www.instagram.com/p/903zKBsCI1/?taken-by=thepajamachef

Thanksgiving with my family was obviously a highlight of the month too. We were in Midland, Michigan where my grandpa lives. It was so fun seeing my parents, sister, brother-in-law, cousin, and of course, my nephew! I’m trying to turn him into an IU fan. His Purdue parents aren’t thrilled about it, but I don’t care. 🙂 #auntieprivileges This photo alone made our horrible drive back to Nashville [13 1/2 hours instead of 9] worth it. 🙂

https://www.instagram.com/p/-ofKpoMCGr/?taken-by=thepajamachef

What I’m Reading

Over these two months I read/listened to twenty books. This brings me to 110 books in 2015…only 10 more to go for my reading goal! 🙂 And I’ve already read one in December [spoiler alert] so I’m at 111. I think I’ll get there. For sure! You can, as always, find my reviews on Goodreads. 🙂

My favorite book was The Lake House. If you like layered stories, WWII, historical/contemporary stories, or Kate Morton you will LOVE this one. My fave! A great audiobook was Secrets of a Charmed Life. Equally awesome for pretty much the same reasons. You can find short reviews of all my reads on Goodreads, but I also reviewed Called for Life and The Photograph on my blog!

Some great articles I’ve read online include:

• On hospitality and community – good stuff!
• On the kingdom of God… and a hampster – also good stuff!
• Simplicity and stuff [things] –> didn’t plan that, lol
• Did you read about how this bride with a cancelled wedding gave back to the community? I love this.
• Have you found the blog Literary Starbucks yet? It’s basically what our favorite characters/authors would order at Starbucks… equal parts charm, hilarity, and smartness. Love! Some faves have been Madeline, Harriet the Spy, and Eloise. Love <3! OH and Babar too!
• Teeheehee! This video is SOOO funny, and I’m not even one to watch videos very often.
• First born children are more intelligent. Well, duh! Older sister here!
• On creativity, budgets, and not having unlimited funds at your disposal.
• When fighting fear = waiting it out… good perspective on life/academia
• About librarian stereotypes. Liked this… and didn’t like this.
• Wow! An inspiring piece on Latino immigrant runners in NYC.
• I go back and forth about what I think about Jesus Calling, but this piece pretty much sums up my feelings about the flaws and dangers with Jesus Calling. I know alot of people love it but I can’t endorse it.
• Running her last marathon… oh man. So sad, yet so hopeful.
• Dog vs. cat diary… LOL!
• What Americans thought about Jewish refugees right before WWII. I know that the current refuge crisis is different, but still. Thought provoking!
• What will libraries be like in 2100?
• Lots of flaws in this running shoe study but still interesting! For me, I’ll keep my Brooks. 🙂
• Two more articles on refugees – what they need from us and how we can love our Syrian neighbors according to the Betsy Tacy books.
• Introverts unite! 17 graphs…yes 🙂 And in the season of a zillion Christmas parties… so TRUE. I have at least five that I know of now… oh man.

What I’ve Been Cooking

Hmmm, what have I been cooking? I made a killer beef stroganoff to break in our new to us dining room table.

https://www.instagram.com/p/8zDcCqMCJu/?taken-by=thepajamachef

It’s fall, so countless batches of pumpkin chocolate chip mini muffins, pumpkin cranberry bread, and applesauce have been on tap too. I know sometimes bloggers say things like “countless batches” to make people think they make the same recipe over and over and over again, but for me it is totally true! We can’t get enough of these fall favorites. 🙂

What’s on the Blog

My most popular recipe in October was Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies.

For November, it was Simple Teriyaki Chicken. MMM!

Most popular recipes from the archive for October included: Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake, Buffalo Pretzels, and Funfetti Cookies, as usual. 🙂 For November, it was the same except this wonderful Sausage, Apple, and Egg Casserole snuck in there ahead of those cookies. Yum!

What were you into in October/November?

Linking up with Leigh Kramer to share what I’ve been into lately.