Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Music, Books, Miles, and Looks of October + Halloween

I knew October would fly by and it certainly did!  Between the marathon, Julia Child Night, our Miami girls trip, the trip to Boston and work travel at the end of the month, the month was certainly a blur (but was also very awesome!).  Here's my monthly recap with some bonus Halloween photos!!

Music:

 
Hello by Adele - I fell in love with this song the first time I listened to it. Adele is so incredibly talented.  I can't wait to hear the rest of her album!!

Books:

Oh boy I read A LOT in October- 9 books!  With all the time spent on airplanes and in airports, I read more than usual, and I read some really great books. It's hard to pick a favorite of the month; my top reads were The Story Hour, The Lowland and The Engagements.


The Story Hour by Thrity Umrigar - 4 stars
Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende - 3 stars
Accidents of Marriage by Randy Susan Meyers - 4 stars
The Engagements by Courtney J. Sullivan - 4 stars
When We Were Strangers by Pamela Schoenwaldt - 4 stars
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys - 3 stars
The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty - 4 stars
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri - 4 stars
I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron - 4 stars

Miles:

October featured fewer miles and fewer workouts, which is to be expected since I spent about a week healing from the marathon.  I managed to run 61 miles (26 of which were during the marathon of course), bike 15, and I did 6 strength training sessions. I didn't work out nearly as much as I would have liked in October due to marathon healing and all the travel, but I am going to push the re-start button in November and commit to fitting 30 workouts into the 30 days of the new month. I just activated a groupon for Core Power Yoga, so the month should feature a lot of yoga, but I'll also start the Holiday Shred so my strength training workouts will increase as well.  I'll still run but my mileage will decline as I enter the running off-season in Minnesota.  I'm looking forward to shifting my focus more towards cross training and strength training, though!


Looks:

I was so happy to shift to a new season for clothing in October as I was SO over my summer clothes.  The photo quality of this month's looks is awful because the bathroom at work is so dark but it was the best I could muster up.

The first look is an oldie but a goodie. I got both the skirt and the shirt at Banana Republic years ago, and the shoes are from Macy's.  I love the color of mustard so much and have gotten so much use out of this skirt!  And I think the red shoes provide another fun, contrasting pop of color.



My next outfit is all about comfort!  I go the pants at a Cabi clothing party that I attended last spring and I recently purchased a couple more things from Cabi, including the sweater in this photo.  The boots are from Macy's.  I love that the sweater is light weight and super soft/comfortable.  And I got to introduce a new color into my wardrobe as I don't own anything that is orange.


Bonus:  Halloween!
We capped off a fun month by hosting our 2nd annual pumpkin carving night. 3 other couples joined us for a night of fun!  Our pumpkins turned out so great!  Of course ours is the cat one.



And then on Saturday night we attended a party at Phil's coworkers house which was really fun!



How was your month of October?  Did you carve pumpkins or dress up?

14 comments:

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

Wow, you read a lot last month! It seems like you also gave a lot of 4 stars, which is always good; it means you didn't just read a bunch of so-so books (like I did last month). It's always nice when you can get in a good reading groove.

I did not carve pumpkins OR dress up! This year I went to a friend's 40th birthday on Halloween, as he was born on October 31! He is not a big fan of dressing up, so it wasn't a costume party, which was fine by me. It's fun to dress up but I really am not that creative/crafty.

Caroline said...

So much happened in October for you! And you still read a ton, impressive! I didn't carve pumpkins or dress up for a halloween this year, oops. But I had a fun October nonetheless :)

Charis Faith said...

Your October was like my September this year! It's wonderful to have so many opportunities and exhausting at the same time! I've been reading a little bit more lately. I go through spurts. I really got into an amazing book a few weeks ago and finished it in 24 hours, it's been a long time since I fell into a book and I remembered how much I love it!

I'm doing my best to fit workouts in whenever possible. This morning it meant getting up early for a run at the gym. You know from past experience how important it is to let yourself heal!!!

missris said...

I just read The Engagements too and I think it was my favorite book I read in October!

Amber said...

I loveeee that new Hello song by Adele soon!

I'm glad you enjoyed The Husband's Secret -- was that your first Moriarty book? Did it end up being not too chic-lity for you? I know that is one thing you thought is that her books might be too much like chic lit. I requested The Accidents of Marriage at the library the other night too!

Love the colour mustard as well and the red shoes are a fun pop of colour! We did not carve pumpkins OR dress up this year. Boo. We did hand out candy but we got so few trick or treaters. I usually really like Halloween so I'm bummed we didn't really celebrate this year but I was too burnt out from a busy month. Next year we'll make it up!

Nora said...

Love the Cabi sweater; looks great on you and it does look very comfortable. I think I read close to 9 books in October, too, which was by far my best reading month! I am with you- so very glad I can get some new clothes out now that the season is (mostly) changing. I say mostly because it is in the mid-70s this week which is a shock after our weekend which was cold and rainy.

Leigh said...

You definitely had a busy month in October! Love both of your outfits. I need to go shopping for clothes to go back to work as last year I wore maternity clothes.

Jeanie said...

Love your casual look -- and the party! How fun! I didn't dress up. I tried throwing a lace curtain over my head to be a ghost but I just looked like I threw a curtain over my head. We did better with Lizzie in her cute red cape!

LOTS of good reading with all those three and four-star books.

Loving our warm November!

Marlys said...

I love both outfits, but expecially that casual sweater! I need new clothes so bad now that I shed some weight, but haven't found time to shop!
You did read a lot of books in October. Be sure to fill me in if any would be to your Grandma's liking as she is always searching for a good read! She reads a lot so hard for me to keep books downloaded on her Kindle! Quite amazing for a 92 1/2 year old lady, don't you think?
You surely did have a full October and it went by way too fast! I am hoping for a better November in our household with Paul's ankle debacle!

Stephany said...

You had such a busy and full month! Lots of good things. :) 9 books is an impressive reading month, so way to go. Very happy you enjoyed Accidents of Marriage and The Husband's Secrets - loved those novels!

I carved a pumpkin and I dressed up for work, but that's about the extent of my Halloween-ness this year. I'm just happy it's November. Birthday month! ;)

Abby said...

I love the picture of you and Phil in your costumes! Awesome! That is quite the sailor suit! How fun!

I like that new Adelle song, too!

Love those outfits! Also loving your hair these days! Looks great!

Finally am getting to wear fall clothes over here too. Beyond "over" summer, since I've been wearing them since MARCH! Agh!

Linda said...

Loveeee Adele's comeback. Just amazing.

Your outfits are adorable. I love the comfort and coziness of the second.

suki said...

I also can't wait to hear the rest of Adele's new album! :) So much reading this month! I go through phases. :P

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

I too, love Adelle! I can't wait to hear her new album. We didn't dress up or carve pumpkins for Halloween. We stayed in, handed out candy, and ordered in Pizza Hut :-)