Speakeasy.

There are some things I thought I would have to give up when I got older. One of those was playing dress up. I'm so glad I was wrong!

Good thing I kept my gold sequined elastic band thingy from jazz class. Although looking at this picture it's striking me as more 80s than 20s. Oh well.

Every party is better in a costume. And I'm really sorry I didn't get a picture of Aaron wearing knickers.

Pumpkin Spice Donuts.

I've been wanting to go on a haunted hayride for a few years now. I thought it would be quaint and autumnal. We were planning to go this weekend but I looked into it online and... I got scared. Apparently the scary-face gorillas actually climb into your hayride. Not cool. So we made donuts instead.

I found the recipe on a beautiful blog full of gluten-free, sugar-free recipes. And don't hate on the gluten-sugar-free. These things are good. Here's the recipe. I substituted one cup of sorghum flour for a cup of almond flour, since I only had Bob's Red Mill. Still good. Enjoy!

Finisher

Before I got married, there were a few things I was looking for in a future husband. Just basic things like a man of faith, smart, funny, kind. But one quality was pretty specific: he could not be an athlete. Yes, athletes are healthy and active and all that. But athletes also tend to enjoy watching sports on TV. Sometimes for long periods of time. And I do not. So when I started getting to know Aaron and realized he knew pretty much nothing about professional sports, I was smitten. What luck to have found such a wonderful, unathletic guy!

Well, folks, people change. My sweet nerdy husband has gone and run a marathon. 

He was so good at it that he even had a smile on his face while he ran. Really! Watch the video if you don't believe me! 

I'm so incredibly proud of him for deciding to do something he used to think he could never do, and for following through with it. He even beat his goal time of 4:20 by two minutes! And so far, he hasn't started watching any sports. So it's pretty much the best of both worlds. ;)

A haunting in Connecticut.

Aaron and I recently replaced some old shelves (yes, we are actually doing stuff - and the kitchen is almost done - woo hoo!) and we found this hidden behind them:

Can you say CREEEEPY?! Who are those people and where are their legs?! I feel like Nicole Kidman and her pasty children are wafting around our apartment, whispering "This house is ours..." Well too bad for you, Nicole, because I'm a slacker and don't even have curtains on all my windows! So good luck trying to keep your ghostly kids' sun allergies from acting up!

I'm so sorry if you've never seen "The Others" and have no idea what I'm talking about. It's a good movie. You should watch it.

And I will be burning that picture. Or maybe just recycling it. Depending on how dramatic I feel.

Introducing...

We have an announcement! A few days ago, Aaron and I were on a bike/run (that's when Aaron trains for a marathon and I bike behind him and cheer). And, as fate would have it, we saw this on the side of the road with a bunch of tag sale stuff and a sign that said "FREE":

Ok, so it said "FREE (except for the truck)". But we got the truck anyway! It's a 1971 Chevy C10, it's pretty beat up, and it's awesome. It's also a stick shift, which means that I need to learn how to drive again :). 

Groovy huh? Time to dig out my old cassettes...

Three years ago.

Three years later, I love that boy more than I did that day. And I loved him a LOT that day. :)

Celebrating Mom.

I used to want to be just like my mom when I grew up, which meant being a teacher, driving a van with lots of carseats, and carrying a wallet with lots of cards in it and a keychain with lots of keys. Then for a while, I wanted to be different from her, because I was a teenager and she grounded me sometimes.

These days I'm back to wanting to be like my mom, but my reasons are different. For one thing, the wallet and keys aren't as exciting as I thought they would be. But mostly it's because I've started to realize just how selfless, generous, loving, persistent, faithful, kind, hard working, and Godly my mom is. And when I'm not intimidated, I'm inspired. And hopeful that by the time I'm 50, I might be half as cool as she is. 

And yes, that cake says 60-10. Reduce, reuse and recycle. Birthday candles are no exception.