food!

Food is always on my mind, but there are a few things I had to share with you —

1 - Did I tell you our neighbors have chickens?! We love, love, love Brian, Sarah, and their adorable three kids. They are great neighbors (he's a vet!) and they are all about being as self-sustaining as possible. This past spring they built three really incredible and "fruitful" square-foot gardens filled with vegetables and herbs. And they also purchased some CHICKENS...baby chicks! Now that it's October, the chickens have grown and are starting to lay eggs. As a result, we've had lots of baked goods come our way (delivered by sweet Fiona, the oldest daughter). We hit jackpot two weeks ago, when this was delivered to us —

Fresh, home-grown eggs!

Aren't they beautiful?

I didn't do anything fancy, but we did scramble them and have them for breakfast. And I must say, they were the best eggs that I have ever eaten. Maybe part of it was in my head, because I could see the chickens out my window, but they were absolutely delish!

2 - On another side of the spectrum, I made a meatloaf this week. Never have I ever made one, craved one, or even thought about it. But, Pioneer Woman (if you've never seen her blog, please check it out...if only for the recipes) posted a recipe that actually intrigued me. And when I mentioned the idea to Jamie he told me meatloaf was one of his favorite meals. Who knew?!

I must admit, this might have been one of the greatest things I've ever cooked/eaten. And that's coming from a previous non-meatloaf eater. (I have to tell you that I got to use homemade bread made by Lindsay from a get together we had this weekend. So that probably helped...but) Try it yourself!

[Photo courtesy of The Pioneer Woman]

3 - And as previously mentioned, we had some neighbors over this past weekend for some football, cornhole (that I'm not sure anyone actually ever played), and food. It was quite the spread with Lindsay's bread, freshly boiled peanuts, apple pie, and homemade cheeze-its (so yum! recipe here, made by neighbor Kristin.) I also made a huge pot of one of our Allen family favorites, Chicken Tortilla soup. Recipe to come!

Don't you love the food cravings that come with the change of seasons? Here's to soup, pumpkin flavored everything, comfort food, and fall spices!

[Now if I can just find my candy corn (thank you for the suggestions, friends!).]

Where is all the candy corn and pumpkins?!?!

And I'm not talking about the Publix brand. Or the Kroger brand. I want the Brach's brand! The real candy corn + pumpkins!

Why can't I find them? Can anyone tell me where they've seen some? It's of the utmost importance! My transition into fall will not be the same without them!

Project

Tonight, I'm working on a project. And here's a snapshot below —

Pictures to come soon! I'm really excited about this one!

10 + 10 + 10 = 30

I've talked about my friend Charlsie before. She's been one of my friends since we were wee little kiddos. And since she's been old enough to do the math, she's been really looking forward to her 30th birthday. Mainly because her birthday is October the 10th. And her 30th birthday just happened to be this year, 2010. If you're still not following me, yesterday was her birthday. And yesterday's date was 10/10/10.

10 + 10 + 10 = 30.

I mean, that's pretty cool, isn't it?! And perfectly fitting for Charlsie! So, I couldn't not be there to celebrate!

Birthday girl at her party in the Aug.

Me and Chuck.

Love you long time.

southern pumpkins

As I've mentioned a million times, I LOVE decorating for all seasons and holidays. Southern Living featured some adorable pumpkin centerpieces in their latest issue, so I decided to give it a whirl to add a touch of fall to our home.

Start with a pumpkin (or two!), and a few plants. SL featured a fairytale pumpkin, but I wasn't getting that fancy for my first try. So I just picked up whatever was at the Home Depot, while I was getting the flowers. For flowers, I did a mix of pansies and violas and rosemary.

After scooping out the pumpkin interior, line it with a plastic bag or tin foil (note: this is important, so don't skip this step!). Then, fill with potting soil, and plant the arrangement you prefer.

And voila! I made a few extras to give away, but there is one sitting on my front porch.

Warning: These are only supposed to last about a week, unfortunately. Then re-pot the plants in another container. And I'm not sure you should water them much...I learned this the hard way when one of my pumpkins fell apart on my kitchen table. Oops.

1:52:38

Race day has come and gone, and I made it in under 2 hours (official time listed above)! Quick snapshot of our day —

5am: alarm going off

5:30am: bagel + peanut butter

6am: leave to meet Gavin, Lindsay, and her dad

6:30am: get dropped off by Jamie and Gavin, wait in line forever at the women's restroom, head straight to the START line

7am: horn goes off and the herd starts moving

(now we start keeping track by miles)

Miles 1 - 4: stumble and run our way through the dark early morning

Mile 4.5: sun starts coming up

Mile 5.5: pass our cheering section (amazing! led by head cheerleader, Sue)

Mile 8: hit super hilly neighborhood, but still running hard

Mile 10: Blackburn Park starts kicking my butt...wondering if I'm going to finish, unfortunately break my pace and let little sister press on

Mile 12: try my best to keep running (even at a snail's pace!)

Mile 12.8: teased by passing the Finish Line on the other side of a fence, sprinting downhill

Mile 13: realize the last trek is uphill and want to throw up, but instead just keep running

Mile 13.1: FINISH!!

Lil' sister and me

Laura, me, Robin Anne, and Lindsay

after the race with our medals!

Action shots: Linds, Robin Anne, me

Lindsay's dad also ran, and did awesome! Action shot of Jim

on the left, and daddy/daughter photo on the right.

I'll be runnin', runnin'...and runnin', runnin'

on Sunday, that is. 7am. Olgelthorpe University. The half marathon is finally here!

And because it's Friday, I'll leave you with this HILARIOUS video. Jimmy Fallon is quickly becoming one of my favorite funnymen. And of course, JT is ridiculously talented.