October Favorites

Apparently this month I loved everything. It was such a rough month in terms of school and me being an emotional  monster, that when something worked for me, I think I was unusually grateful. Also there was just a ton of delicious, pumpkin-y products this month.

Food –

Last month I bragged to you about the Tazo Pumpkin Spice tea. Dear reader, I lied to you and to myself. It is dead to me now. I have replaced it with a better, more pumpkin-y  love. Back a few months ago I purchased a Stash holiday gift pack. Somehow the pumpkin spice tea got put in the wrong drawer and I didn’t discover it until early October. It’s SOOOO good. So much more flavorful than the Tazo and not as temperamental about brewing. I can’t go back.

Image brazenly stolen from the Stash website

Acorn Squash. Don’t judge as I’m not even kidding. Every year I buy an acorn squash and then watch it go bad because, despite having the internet, I wasn’t really sure what to do with it. This year I was determined not to do that. So, I tried this Acorn Squash and Leek soup recipe and adored it. We all know that if you make one recipe with a new ingredient and it turns out awesome, then all recipes must be equally awesome. I’m pretty sure in one week I cooked 5 acorn squash. It might be a problem. A delicious, delicious problem.

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Single Serve Cups from Trader Joes. This might be my favorite pumpkin spice coffee. Pair this with the Trader Joe pumpkin spice waffles and you have a happy Anna. Plus, the price was amazing at $4.49 for a 12 count box. However, there is a problem with this product and, in all honesty, it is a big problem. The cups don’t fit properly in my Keurig brewer and I was getting really irregular pours, enough so that making a 10 oz cup resulted in getting a 6 oz pour. So, I will switching to the grounds and using it in my French press. Did anyone else have this problem? On the same pumpkin, but slightly more positive note…

Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Waffles, 8 count for $1.99. I know we should have more nutrition for breakfast, but sometimes you need a quick, happy breakfast. Perfect light pumpkin and spice flavor, pop two in the toaster, and you have the perfect fall breakfast. This pair great with maple syrup, but I usually ate these as they are.

Nom, nom, Trader Joes

Books –

Not that Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham. Very controversial among both general literary and feminist circles, I found the book to be generally amusing and a little thought provoking, although not in the usual way. Do I find her character necessarily relatable? No, not at all. But I don’t always want to read books about relatable character. Although I can relate to some of her experiences, especially the confusion of figuring out how dating and relationships work. Lena Dunham lives a vegan, sexually liberalized Gatsby-esque life compared to my own. I got to experience that world through her eyes, and it was fun.

Buy the book here

Everything else –

NYX Cosmetics ipsy Eye Shadow Trio. This came in my September Ipsy bag, but I pretty much ignored it because I assumed that the colors would be too dramatic. I love a dramatic lip, but I rarely go for a dramatic eye. When I finally got around to trying this, I immediately fell in love. It was barely dramatic, but very wearable and fall like. It was a complete look in one small trio, which I adored when rushing around in the morning. I simply placed the nude color all over my lid, the burgundy color on the outer 1/3 and up through the crease, and the black was used to line my eyes. Soft and romantic, yet befitting fall. Best yet? It went perfectly with a nude or bold lip.

Nursey Eyeroll blog. While she can spend a little too much time talking about products for my taste, the fact is she runs a great blog. I find some really great posts here and helps feed my false delusion that I am helping prepare myself for my program next year. In fact, her books is on my Christmas list.

Adele’s new song. Her audience amazes me; in my personal circle, it ranges from the fabulous gays to the UK sports obsessed fan who has no other interests. She just has such a voice you feel like her voice would have touched you in any generation or space. 

Also this response: 

I laughed way too hard for a grown-up.

Fails:

Starbuck’s Toasted Graham Latte. Each year I drink one or two pumpkin spice lattes to mark fall and then I don’t have anymore because of, well calories. A couple weeks ago Z. and I met up with my family in Paducah, KY to go to Chuckie Cheese and celebrate my niece’s birthday – the big 0-4! I was feeling happy and cold so I decided to try something new. Hello new Starbucks. Ick. I already find the Pumpkin Spice bordering on too sweet for me. This new latte was just overly sweet. It tasted like melted marshmallows and I don’t want to drink a cup on that. So that was a waste of $5 and a billion calories.

Chuckie Cheese jungle gym thing. Remember above mentioned birthday party? My beautiful niece needed help getting up in to the crawl gym thing that all children’s playgrounds have. So here goes Aunt Anna. Up the climbing stairs, through the tunnels, eventually down the slide. It was horrid. Granted I met some very polite children who informed me adults weren’t supposed to be up there, but then let me go first when they found out I was accompanying a child. Turns out, those tunnels are a lot smaller than I remember and I am slightly claustrophobic. Also, those tunnels are hard on your knees. Also, I’m old. And it was horrid.

The October Ipsy bag. It was just generally useless to me. The theme was supposed to be Halloween related and transforming yourself. I got a hand cream (sample size), a face serum (sample size), a black eyeliner, a pale pink lip gloss (sample size), and a highlighter (sample size). Congrats Ipsy, I can transform myself into a spring, lackluster version of my every day makeup. Fail. Halloween is one time when you can really go bold so give a crazy eyeshadow or funky false lashes. Or heck, a pumpkin chap stick. This month clearly lacked planning or excitement.