life + a look back at October

For the first time in a couple weeks, I am perched at my favorite coffee shop tackling my digital to-do list. I'm determined to make this the week where I finish my resume, return long overdue emails, and submit my two weekly essay assignments early, as opposed to two hours before the Thursday night deadline (as has been the case for the past 6 weeks).

I'm a creature of habit. Any disruption to the norm throws me off and I quickly lose footing. Gosh I wish that weren't true.

In the past two weeks: Kiddo finished up his first cross-country season (and suffered a concussion), my in-laws came for a visit, then a week later so did a good friend.  Kiddo had his first school dance, which was a whoa! moment for us as parents. Husband has been working from home, but his schedule is non-stop... so he's around but also not if that makes sense.

Yesterday afternoon Kiddo called to tell me he was done with his after school activity and needed a ride. In the five minutes it took for me to get to the school, he slipped on wet leaves + mud and smacked his head on the sidewalk. The nurse at his doctor's office suggested I just ice it and watch him, but I followed my gut and took him to urgent care. Four stitches and a few gut-wrenching tears later, he's on the mend. (Husband and I are still recovering emotionally, however. We would have taken those stitches on his behalf in a hot second if given the choice.) We are contemplating the purchase of a bubble suit for him.

Needless to say, I want nothing more than to be curled up on the couch binge-watching Pretty Little Liars while wearing elastic-waist pants. Instead, here I sit, freshly caffeinated, feeling cautiously optimistic that I possess the mental fortitude to get something accomplished already. I'm on my third drink and the precipice of productivity. I can feel it.

My blogging has been spotty at best the last couple weeks. And so comes the obligatory "Life Lately" photo dump. It must be done. Because it's now November (whaaat?!) and I have a file full of October photos feeling ignored on my computer.

Where have ankle booties been all my life? Why must I always be so behind trend? Why did I pass on the brown suede ones (which are now nowhere to be found)? These are the pressing questions, folks. (P.S. I want to wear the grey ones all day every day. For reals.) // What are these new pants you're wearing? said Husband one afternoon. My styling of joggers clearly still needs some work. //

a gypsy chair (We asked my mother-in-law, a fantastic seamstress, to re-cover the cushions on my favorite chair. Somehow she talked us into taking them with her until we see her at Christmas. [We are currently practicing using the word "no".] It's integral to our TV area, so we've had to cobble together a series of cushions so we can use it. It's rather eclectic if I do say so myself.) // our plate wall is (finally) complete (Dapper Animal Plates-West Elm) // a mission to find decent Chinese food in the greater Portland area (it's notoriously bad) //

a better-late-than-never finished workspace // so that's where hazelnuts come from // the discovery of vegan ice cream that tastes like the real thing // a fancy dinner with one of Husband's colleagues (wearing grey ankle boots, of course) // 

a boy and his cat (in a gypsy chair) // a man and his cat (whom he [poorly] pretends to be indifferent to) // a man and his dog // we learned Vista is a Norwegian Forest Cat, and now have an answer to all those What kind of cat is he? inquiries) //

Kiddo's inaugural cross-country season has come to an end. I loved going to his meets: the scenery, the culture... all of it. He is something to behold, that kid of mine. Come rain, shine and sore muscles, he ran; shaving over two minutes off his 5k in the course of just a few weeks. I could stand to take a page from his book.

homemade door decor // a Halloween gift for Kiddo, who was a little bummed that he's too old to go door-to-door anymore (crystal skull-West Elm) // Pacific Northwesterners appreciate October as much as I do (our neighbors did it up right + the store displays were lovely) //

This was our first authentic Halloween in years, as living in a rural area didn't lend itself to trick-or-treaters. I have fond memories of our friend Angy's annual Halloween party, and we had a favorite neighborhood where we took Kiddo. I loved the ritual of walking from house to house with Mario, warm drink in hand, our dog in his glow-in-the-dark skeleton t-shirt. But we decided a long time ago that the cutoff for trick-or-treating is high school, so it is nice to be in a neighborhood and back to the tradition of handing out candy.

And also there was this, one of those mom moments that trumps all the difficult ones:

(Yeah, I have the kiddo that wears a bow tie to the school dance and pulls it off.)