Joyful moments

So much to catch up on... I'm just going to start with some joyful moments we've had lately, in no particular order.

Spinach and artichoke spaghetti squash, and the finale of The Great British Baking Show on a Friday night.  Doesn't get much better.

Enjoying a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte (my first of the season) and a moment of solitude on a weekend trip to Michael's to get felt and supplies for making Halloween costumes.

The finished product of said homemade Guardians of the Galaxy costumes (from left to right, Rocket, Nebula, Gamora, and Mantis).

Pumpkin carving and decorating!

New running shoes (they literally make me faster-- highly recommend!), and enjoying the increased daylight on my morning runs thanks to daylight savings!

Gorgeous sunrise and foliage on a morning run.

A dappled red-and-yellow maple in our front yard.

Slowly enjoying our Halloween candy, and...

Mommy occasionally invoking Mommy Tax.

This little girl, lover of all things beautiful, who insists on wearing red lipstick most days.

She enjoys hot tea by the fire with me, after a chilly walk outside, showing off her fancy nails.

She buzzes around the beautiful flower bouquets at Whole Foods, like a little honey bee, exclaiming and gushing over how beautiful they are, and really reeeeally wanting Mommy to buy the bouquet of pink peonies from Chile, and when (however tempted I am) I tell her I can't spare the $15, she selects a $2 green hydrangea and lovingly cares for it... it adds a thing of beauty to our dining room.

Constantly drawing, that one.

A fabulous date night and the discovery of an awesome new ice cream place close to our new house.  This place has the widest selection of vegan ice cream we've found so I can see many trips here in our future!

This amazingly gorgeous sunset happened the other night as temperatures began to plummet and the view from our living room window couldn't be beat!

Did I mention the gas fireplace in our new house?  It sure has been a nice feature on these dark and cold November nights.

Plenty of people have been complaining about the cold settling in and the dull dryness of November now that most of the leaves are down from the trees.  So far, however, I'm enjoying the cozyness of it all as I tend to do sometimes.  It helps, I think, that I'm still getting outside regularly for runs... this morning I did a frigid 6.5 miles with a running friend of mine.  When you wake up and check the outdoor temperature to find that it's 19, motivation can be pretty low to lace up the shoes and get out.  But after I've put on four layers and my hat and gloves and my buff, and I get outside and it's not quite as biting as I had expected, and the morning sun streaks golden through the trees and reflects off frozen ponds, and it's so so so quiet... I'm feel really thankful.  In between busy and stressful things, it's so nice to get outside and breathe that cold, clean air, and see that nature has it all in hand, and experience that gentle rhythm of life's seasons.

We'll see how I feel in a few months when I've been shoveling lots of snow and slip-sliding down the sidewalks when I try to run.  ;-}

A witch.  In the desert.  Lifting weights.

Who could be down when such joyful things exist?  :)