November 1st is here!! Let’s look back on the month of October …
OCTOBER’S MONTHLY LOOKBACK LIST
READING:
So I have totally slacked on my “Book A Month” challenge this month, guys. I know, I’m disappointed in myself too! It’s not that I haven’t read at ALL this month, it’s just that I haven’t made the time for it that I should! So, currently, I’m in the middle of a book called, The Disaster Artist, by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell. I don’t know if you’ve seen trailers for this movie coming out, starring James Franco, Dave Franco, and Seth Rogan, but the book is a memoir about Greg’s time working on the Cult Classic, The Room. Arguably the worst, most successful Hollywood movie ever…and a huge deal in LA and San Francisco. The movie is so bad, that it’s hilarious, and it’s built up this weird gigantic following (especially in LA) to the point where it sells out in theaters monthly. The movie coming out shows just how ridiculous the making-of the movie was. Al read this one before me and couldn’t put it down, so I thought I’d give it a read before the movie comes out as well!
PLANNING:
I had two long weekends of visitors this month! Gabby and her boyfriend, Pat, came for a couple of days, and then Lauren came for a few days too (you can read about our Hip Camp experience –> here!). So I was busy scoping out things to do and see during their trips 🙂 Gab, Pat, and I stayed in the Southbay area for the most part, and enjoyed time at the beach, Stand Up Paddleboarding, beer tasting, and Marty-cuddling 😉 We also spent a day hiking to the Hollywood sign, trying out a new restaurant on Rosecrans, and seeing a stellar sunset at The Griffith Observatory. Laur and I spent most of our time in Joshua Tree, but also enjoyed a beach sunset with the gals…and wine of course 😉 and an evening at The Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa, where we say Jay Leno do standup!
I’ve also been in the midst of changing my name since our wedding! It’s a long and complicated process that involves a lot of appointments and phone conversations…but I’m getting there! It helps that my neighbor, Lauren, is going through the process with me! She’s always on top of her game, and I’ve been so thankful for her getting my butt into gear!
WATCHING:
We’ve been all about World Series baseball over here! Our LA Dodgers are fighting for the Championship in tonight’s Game 7. It’s been so much fun to head home after work and watch the games with all of our friends. The last time the Dodgers won the World Series was 1988, so it’s an exciting time to be in LA!
Hockey season has also *officially started, so you can bet there’s been hockey on in our household…nonstop 😉
COOKING:
Tis’ the season for crockpot meals! My go-to easy recipe is –> this BBQ Pulled Chicken recipe (I always use the honey BBQ sauce), because it’s quick and doesn’t require many ingredients! One of my other favorite things to make in the crockpot this time of year is Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal…there’s nothing better than waking up to a warm breakfast that’s all ready for you! Other than that, we’ve been obsessed with Costco’s stuffed peppers, as well as their Asian Salad Mix. We always find some really cool and different things there…
EATING:
With guests in town, we have a couple of spots where we always like to take them. Of course, everyone asks to go to In N Out Burger, where I tell them they must order either their burger or their fries “animal style.” We like to take them to either Uncle Bill’s Pancake House in Manhattan Beach, or Martha’s in Hermosa Beach for delicious breakfast by the beach. And having a cocktail with a sunset view at Nelson’s at Terranea is never a bad idea 😉
DRINKING:
This month – finally! – our whole Redondo Condo crew has working hours that allow us to all hang out after the workday ends…Al had always wanted to go to Trivia Thursdays at Dude’s Brewery in Torrance, so we finally went this month! It was awesome. I’m now a fan of trivia nights. We’ll be back 😉
CRAFTING:
This month has been alllllll about the macramé! I made these plant hangers for a friend’s dad, and these pieces for another gal’s wedding happening this month! She plans to hang them on her Sweetheart Table chairs, and I cannot wait to see how the whole thing comes together! The holiday season is really picking up, and I have a lot of requests for Christmas gifts…which is so cool that people are on top of their game already. They mayyyy be giving me the push I need to start thinking about gifts!
GOING:
I wrote about our experience with HipCamp in my last post, and I’ll be posting some more photos of our time spent inside Joshua Tree National Park! Other than that, we’ve stayed primarily in The Southbay this month, after lots of time spent travelling this year. Something that I loved was spending the 1st of October hiking with my gals and our pups in the Santa Monica Mountains (and then grabbing In N Out afterwards, because “balance”). I think it was a great way to set the tone for the rest of the month.
LOVING:
The skies this month have been UNREAL. Seriously. The sunsets, AND the sunrises. I’ve been snapping photos left and right and driving with my mouth wide open as I gape at how beautiful our home is.
And speaking of sunrises, I have been loving my early mornings more than anything lately. I posted a little bit about this on my Instagram page a few days ago, but my oldest brother, Mike, has totally inspired me to become one of those crazy people that gets up at 5am every day to seize every hour we’re given. I love waking up and hitting the gym and then getting home just as the sun is starting to rise. It’s amazing how much I’ve been able to accomplish with just a few extra hours in the mornings, but it’s also nice to just take some mornings slow, put on some coffeetable jazz, drink my coffee, and watch the pups play in the backyard. I’ve found that by working out in the early mornings, I’m less likely to skip my workout because “something else comes up after work,” I’m more energized throughout the day, and I have more time to hang out with my husband, pup, and friends after the workday is over. It’s an all-around win for me! Thanks for the inspiration, Mike!
PS. If anyone has recommendations on cycling shoes, please send them my way!
FEELING:
This month, above anything, I’m thankful for a healthy pup (fingers crossed) and the veterinarians at both our own Vet’s Office and the Emergency Vet’s office. Late this month, Marty gave us a pretty big scare when he wouldn’t stop throwing up liquids and was super lethargic. After many trips in and out of our vets office, and lots of fluids and x-rays later, they discovered that he’s actually been eating his cloth toys over the last however many months. 3 and-a-half feet of toys to be exact. Luckily our vet got the bulk of it out of him, and they believe he’ll pass the rest naturally, but until then, we have our little guy on a bland diet, some meds, and on a strict “6 hours of cuddles a day” routine 😉 He’s on the mend and seems a little more like himself each day, but we’re still keeping a watchful eye on him to ensure that nothing is left in there. I’m so in awe of vets, because their patients can’t tell them what’s going on, and I’m super thankful for how great ours have been – especially since I’m a total Helicopter Mom who wants to know every detail. In the meantime, we’re totally nixing all cloth dog toys from our Marty’s life, and sticking solely with bones and rubber toys. So if anyone has any advice – toys that your pup absolutely can’t live without – I’d love some recommendations! Not only that, but we also found out that he has a sort of “sun allergy” (yes, I’m serious), so any awesome dog clothing recommendations would also be appreciated! I think a Pens, Steelers, and Pirates jersey are definitely in his future 😉
LISTENING:
My morning mantra this month has been Unstoppable by The Score. It gets me pumped up every morning for my workouts.
Macklemore’s Gemini album is still on repeat for me. There’s not a single song on there that I can’t jam to! Also a great gym album…
CELEBRATING:
Besides celebrating the arrival of cooler weather (finally) and the excitement of the fall season being upon us, Alex and I celebrated 6 Months of Marriage on the 28 !! Although we spent much of the weekend at the vet’s office, we still managed to spend a morning walking down at the beach with coffee and muffins and reflecting on our first six months of marriage together. One of our goals for the month of November is to finally put together our Wedding Album! In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to share some photos on here with all of you guys! So, I’m planning a couple of wedding posts this month, detailing some of the vendors we used, things we did, etc…
And of course, you can’t forget about celebrating Halloween!…one of my favorite holidays of the year! It’s become a tradition since I moved here to spend Halloween out with the gals, so this year we dressed up as The Pink Ladies from Grease…zombiefied (!!) and went out in downtown Hermosa. We got our jackets on Amazon for $20, and bought a pack of face paint and called it a day! On the actual Halloween Day, itself, our work hosted a costume contest over pizza for all of the employees! Since Marty missed his own Halloween Party at camp, due to his ER visit, we decided to include him in on the contest 😉 We went as a Target Family!!! We couldn’t just let Halloween pass by without dressing him up as the Target Dog! Amazingly, he didn’t even budge as we put the makeup on him, and we ended up winning 2nd place! I’d say we made out pretty well 😉
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And now the craziness of November is officially upon us! These two months are going to fly by, but I think it’s important for all of us to keep in mind what the season is really about – being thankful for the things we have, the experiences we are given, and the love we are shown. It’s easy to get caught up in the craziness of holiday shopping and stress, but it’s so important to take in the little things and remember what is most important to us.
Every night before we go to bed, Alex and I like to ask each other what the best part of our day was. It’s a great way for us to think back on the day’s events and really focus on the positive parts amidst all of the stressful or less-than-ideal moments that we may encounter from time to time. For the month of November, I think we’ll rephrase our question to, “What were you most thankful for today?”
xox!
Laur
LAUREN LIVES 