Eventful October

It's been an eventful October.  

On the 13th we headed up to Husband's parents for Oktoberfest!  This year we brought along our neighbor Erik.  On the way on Saturday we stopped by Leesburg Outlets.  See, Erik is from Oregon and is a Ph D. candidate at UVA and his style didn't quite fit what he was doing and needed a wardrobe update.  :)  It was a fun shopping trip and we also got to show Erik how busy and crazy Northern VA is.  All three of us were really happy to get to Oktoberfest to eat and relax for a bit.  I think my favorite part was seeing both of our parents and eating roasted marshmallows.   Oh!  And my sister-in-law was in town from Americorps.  I heart her. 

The next day we had house guests: Husband's brother, his girlfriend, his best friend K-May, and Margaret (sis in law).  It was so good to see everyone.  Husband's brother, Todd and his girlfriend, Chantal live in Seattle so we don't see them very often.  They're all just such good people.  There was delicious food, lots of music and singing (Chantal has an incredible, operatic voice), and of course laughing and cookies!

Next weekend was our first Oktoberfest.  This time my brother, Bubba, was in town with his girlfriend, Marie, and our family friend Patrick.  I love hanging out with my brother.  He's one of my favorite people and I really wished we lived closer together.  I hoped that he would fall in love with C-ville.  :)  Husband's good friends came down from NoVA and we had the neighbors over.  There was lots of cleaning beforehand and lots of cooking, but it was all worth it.  I think everyone enjoyed themselves which is all I cared about. 

 We went for gelato the day after Oktoberfest.  Pumpkin + Cinnamon = Best. Idea. Ever.

The next week we got to see The Boss.  In a bittersweet turn of events we inherited tickets from Husband's cousins, who are HUGE Bruce fans.  Unfortunately Husband's cousin misread his work schedule and it turned out he and his new wife couldn't attend.  Bummer for them but super awesome for us.  We had never seen Bruce before and it did not disappoint.  We went with Husband's uncle & aunt and their daughter and her husband (a little older than us) - also big big fans.  It was a really fun night and an unbelievable performance.  3+ hrs of non-stop music with a 60+ yr old entertainer.  I'll never forget it.  AND!!!  We were sitting right in front of Carter Beauford's box seats.  Yes, that's right the Dave Matthews Band drummer was sitting five feet away from us the entire time.  We got to shake his hand!!!!! EEEK!!!!  I was so excited.  If you ever wonder, "should I go to the Bruce concert?" the answer is always yes. 

The next day I got sick.  Womp womp.  But seriously, with all this happening within weeks it was only a matter of time before sickness set in.  So for the last week I've been trying to rest and get rid of this cold. 

Also this month I made a wedding photo book after 3 yrs of marriage. 

 
And I ordered one of the very popular JCrew knock-off necklaces. 

Source: etsy.com via Allison on Pinterest

And I am going to be Carmen San Diego for Halloween.  Did anyone else love that show as a kid?

Anyway, I'm hoping November is a quieter month.  

Love & Hugs.

Sandy

This weekend we prepared for hurricane Sandy.  We went grocery shopping, got gash, took out cash, paid bills just in case the power goes out, etc. 

I was under the impression that Ms. Sandy would show up sometime today around lunch time.  I think she got delayed because all day we've had rain, but not the torrential downpour along with fill-in-the-blank mph winds.  It's just a very gray rainy day. 

All I want to do is light candles, make some kettle corn to have with my chai tea, and curl up on the couch watching a movie. 

I think that's exactly what I am going to do.