eating - If you are able to glean anything from my sporadic and often late blog posts, it's probably that I hate rushing into things. When all things pumpkin start appearing in August, I can't help but say "Hold on! There are still a few weeks of summer left!" I think fall is a wonderful season, and I am a big fan of pumpkin (and squash), but fall also means short days and the beginning of having cold feet for six months, so I see no reason to rush. But now that it's October, pumpkin is perfectly acceptable, and I decided to mark the occasion with the batch of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies above.
exploring - Two weekends ago, I celebrated my one year anniversary in DC and my 30th birthday with friends on a 'bikes-n-beer' tour of local breweries. We did a similar ride last year and revisited two of the same places (Atlas, and Bardo) while also adding a new one, Hellbender. Then yesterday, we biked north and west on the Rock Creek Trail to White Flint. It's not always obvious how to get to the trails around here, but once you find them, you can go pretty far!
wearing - Unseasonably cold weather last week, and working in an office where the air conditioning is still set at summer levels means more layers and scarves that actually provide some warmth. I even wore a pair of tights to a baby shower last weekend, so I guess it's time to store some of the summer clothes and get the sweaters out!
admiring - Anyone who has ever planned a wedding. Keizo arrived in the US on his fiance visa early last month, and we're having our civil ceremony on October 23. My parents and brother are flying in, and we recently learned that Keizo's sister will also be joining us all the way from Japan! While basic accommodations have been arranged, trying to figure out everything else, even for a very small, informal gathering is completely overwhelming. We're making some progress, but after taking last Thursday night off from planning and really enjoying it, Keizo said, "let's avoid it," and there's certainly a part of me that really wishes we could.
collecting - Now that Keizo and I are sharing a one-bedroom apartment, we're trying to get better at not collecting things. In fact, I need to do the exact opposite and really pare some things down, starting with my closet. It took over a week, but I now have about 4 bags of clothes to take Goodwill!
