my life lately ...

lots and lots of tea.

and lots and lots of reading.

it's the little things, right?

like successful high altitude baking.

before we moved to colorado i used to bake all the time.

i mean i was no martha, but i made things, from scratch, and they were good!

then i moved and denver taunted me.

but last weekend, for the first time since moving out to colorado, i baked something from scratch and instead of ending in tears (because, yes, it had gotten that bad), it was successful!

meet mr. pumpkin cake.

he was delicious.

and now we don't have to relocate back to sea level.

you know your house is dirty when ...

you can write love notes to your husband in the dust that's accumulated on the stove.

(probably also a sign you don't use the stove enough)

please use this as an opportunity to feel better about your house cleaning abilities.

clearly mine need work.

it's the little things ...

... wine season is back.

... cool(er) fall days.

... leaves changing.

... pumpkin cake.

... apple pie.

... soup in the crock pot.

... hot toddies.

... the semester being half over.

... the mall on a thursday night. much less crowded than it would be on a saturday morning.

... successful baking at 5280+ feet.

... my research paper outline getting approved w/o any changes.

... popcorn and a movie on a friday night.

... candy corn.

... laundry day.

... cornfields.

... pumpkin patches.

home.

not mine. my parents'.

i didn't grow up in this house but every time i'm back it feels like home.

probably due to the combination of amazing food, good wine, fires in the fireplace ('cause back east we can have real fires), good company, and now a pup.

i mean really, there's nothing that makes a place feel more like home than a dog.

i bet you didn't know that ...

... i am obsessed with doing laundry. there may not always be home cooked meals in my house, the shower might not get scrubbed every week (or two), we may run out of milk and bananas every now and then, but dammit, we will always have clean clothes.

... charlie and i watch couples retreat about every other month. and i realize that it's supposed to just be some funny movie. but for some reason it makes me love him just a little bit more.

... i love jeans, and boots, and scarves.

... i grew up thinking i wanted to be a career girl. now, well, not as much.

... the more classes i take the less i think i know about the world. however, i do love me some school. usually.

... the past few pottery barn catalogs have had some seriously over-the-top halloween decorations in them. i had no idea pottery barn sold things i could buy at party city.

... i like watching the broncos on sundays.

... i love the fact that we are renters for so many reasons. we don't have to mow the lawn, we can pick up at move anywhere at any time, i can entertain the idea of living in the mountains and the city simultaneously, when things break i don't have to fix them, but mostly it's the flexibility thing.

... i love to read. really, really love it.

... and i love books.

... although he can drive me crazy, i love my husband more than anyone else on the planet and i miss him like crazy when he travels.

... i've always wanted to be one of those families that has really weird traditions. one of those slightly nutty families that look a little crazy from the outside but secretly you wish you were a part of.

... i am a procrastinator at heart. as much as i try to fight it, it's still there.

... i have conflicting thoughts about many things such as kids, homes, cars, lifestyles, etc.

... i always go for a walk during the first snowstorm of the year.

... i watch when harry met sally and love actually every holiday season.

i'm trying to get better at blogging and taking pictures.

i swear.

i do it for me, really, so that when i look back i can remember what the heck was going on in my life, as in, the every day stuff. i mean we all remember to bring the camera when we go on vacation or celebrate the holidays, but sometimes the regular stuff doesn't get quite the same attention. and although life has been busy lately, i don't want it to fly by too quickly.

especially since it's fall now. at least it's trying to be fall now.

last weekend charlie ran the boulder sunset triathlon.

it was 90 freaking degrees and it was his first race.

i was pretty proud of him.

here he is before the swim, super nervous.

i didn't get a lot of pictures and i will say that i should have brought the zoom lens.

in other news, i cut my hours back at work which has allowed me to have a bit of a life, be a good student, and occasionally grocery shop and vacuum the floor.

it's also given me enough time to actually walk the dogs again, which is good for my thighs, my sanity, and the dogs of course.

we also said goodbye to some of our friends this weekend. :(

they moved out to colorado around the same time we did but decided to move back to be closer to friends and family.

as much as i totally understand the friends and family part, we're going to miss them.

there was lots of pumpkin beer and jack daniel's involved in their sendoff.

i also bought henry a halloween costume.

he's a rabid squirrel.

he's not that crazy about dressing up as an animal he usually is in pursuit of.

(i realize this may throw me into the category of "crazy dog lady", however i still believe that "crazy dog lady" is better than "crazy cat lady")

for some reason this picture reminds me of the wolf in little red riding hood.

"my grandma, what big teeth you have".

except henry doesn't eat kids. i promise.