You know how sometimes you don’t know just how much you miss something until you don’t have it? That’s how I’ve felt the last couple of months while I have been unable to blog. Pretty dorky, huh?

To be honest though, I knew I was going to miss it, I missed it each week I looked at my blog and saw the same post over and over again.

My excuse is nothing creative, I just got crazy busy. More so than even over the holidays (and that says something) to the point that the few hours a week I had to myself were typically me falling asleep on my couch (ugh, pathetic).

I don’t have more time now, but I am rearranging my priorities to make time for my blog simply because it makes me happy. So, I’ll update you on what you’ve missed since it has been a packed with some fun events and trips as well as lots of work, but I’m getting right back into it with a Sunday post on my eventful weekend.

Now, I’m not the kind of person who has to get 10 hours of sleep a night and sleep late on the weekends. Actually, I do best on 6-7 hours of sleep and even though it’s hard, I like getting up between 7-8 in the morning on the weekends. It makes the weekend feel longer somehow.

I did not even get to touch my pillow after 6am this weekend though.

If you live anywhere around Tampa, FL you know that this past weekend was the Gasparilla Distance Classic. I didn’t run it though, I worked. One of my clients was exhibiting at the Health Convention and it was insane.

(Can you guess which client is mine in this picture?)

Thousands of people stopping by to pick up their free swag for hours on Friday and Saturday. I’m not even going to talk about what happened when we ran out of freebies on Friday – people get angry.

Yesterday, the convention opened earlier than ever for runners, kicking off just before the start of the first race at 5:30am. I can’t even tell you how displeased I was to see crowds of people at 5:30am yesterday. Trying to get through them to get to the Convention Center was even more… fun.

Needless to say after waking up early and working all morning, I was pretty useless. I think the biggest movement I made yesterday afternoon/evening was to walk from my couch to the kitchen and back (it was rough).

Oh, and did I mention we had a mandatory water boil go into effect Friday night through early this (Sunday) morning? Yes sir, we did. I think knowing I couldn’t do dishes, take a relaxing bath or even get an easy drink of water just added to my total lack of motivation yesterday.

Oh well, I thankfully had Sunday, today to be productive. And boy was I productive…

Nick was running in the half marathon race this morning at 6am. Thankfully the wonderful guy did not expect me to see him off, but I did want to be there at the finish line when he was done. So, my alarm went off just before 6am so I could wake-up, clean-up and get ready.

I toyed around with the concept of biking the 4-5 miles to the where the race finish line was on Bayshore Blvd., but at 7am, I opted for the much easier driving option (so much smarter).

I got to the finish line area around 7:30am (parking and walking took almost as long as just walking there!) and quickly planted myself beside the metal barricades right next to where the hospital volunteers and medical staff were waiting to catch runners as they collapsed crossed over the finish line. (It was such a good spot to see all the fainters and injured runners – which I found entertaining; don’t judge me.)

After about 20 minutes I saw a bright yellow shirt and glistening face of an exhausted, but happily standing Nick after he crossed the finish line. He made it!

And I didn’t even have to wait that long… or see too many people fall into the arms of the medical staff (darn it).

Getting out of bed early wasn’t necessarily fun, but seeing Nick finish his race and walking through all the racers and their support teams was pretty cool. Lots of energy and smiling faces.

After we had a quick spot of breakfast at one of our usual stops, Daily Eats, we went our separate ways and I left Nick at the convenience store ice-freezer so he could stock up for a post-race ice-bath (woo-hoo good times!).

I meanwhile went home to tackle my ultimate chore nemesis… laundry.

Give me bathrooms to scrub any day over laundry! I had the back-and-forth, waiting, hanging of wet delicates, folding of tangles of sheets and just general tediousness of laundry. The fact I don’t have machines in my apartment and have to share a community laundry room, just makes it all the more fun.

I usual stockpile my laundry for two weeks, but since Nick and I went camping last weekend and half of the laundry machines were broken before we left, I had a MOUNTAIN of things to wash.

The fact that I have to walk through the pool courtyard, lined with inviting loungers that are warmed by the sun, is slightly difficult.

I have to stop myself from tossing my bag of laundry in the pool and plopping down on a chair to stretch out and relax every time.

I managed to get through all five loads though, using the time in between switching loads to clean my apartment, do dishes (hooray, no more water boil!), workout and put together my meal plan for the week. See, I was very productive.

Meal planning is a re-found passion for me.

Not only does it help me to put a more effective grocery list together for shopping, but it allows me to get myself organized for the week so that no matter how busy I get, I know I’ll have good food to eat.

In fact, I’m hoping to share more of my meal creations and such on my blog!

People at work are always exclaiming how surprisingly “fancy” my lunches are, when really they’re regular food that I prepare ahead of time to have a good meal to enjoy for lunch. Being a non-meat eater (with the exception of seafood), means sandwiches aren’t really a good meal most of the time, so I’ve had to come up with other ideas.

This is why my meal plans are so important. I wouldn’t have the time to put everything together during the work week. So I use the weekend to plan and prep key things for my week.

This is my Meal Plan for this week:

• Sunday – Pesto Shrimp on Baby Spinach
• Monday – Orange “Chicken” & Broccoli
• Tuesday – Pesto Veggies & Tuna
• Wednesday – Veggie Omelet
• Thursday – Grilled Fish & Asparagus
• Friday – “Leftover” Quesadilla

You can tell I made a big batch of homemade pesto recently, right?

I also plan my breakfasts, lunches and snacks, but the breakfasts are only a few different things (one of which I’ll be sharing a recipe for this week) and my lunches are frequently leftovers or salads. I create my dinners so that I have leftovers that I can then layer onto a salad or just warm up for lunch the next day to be sure I’m eating all my food.

I’ll use the rest of my day/evening to prep some of the food items for the week to make things easier for myself – baking some sweet potatoes, boiling eggs, making pancakes and roasting up some vegetables.

Needless to say, I’m hoping to be in bed at a reasonable hour tonight. The early mornings continue on now for the work week!

It snowed again while I was home in MA today, and though I once ran (well drove) as fast as I could to Florida in part to get away from the snow, there was something pretty magical about seeing the crisp white precipitation blanket everything outside.

Luckily I was not nominated to shovel the pretty stuff off the driveway and porch, so I just pulled on my fuzziest boots and heavy winter coat to make my way to the car on my way to the airport. The rest of the day I just admired the neighbors as they blasted their snow blowers down long drives and cursed at the plow trucks as they piled small mountains of heavy snow at the base of each.

I certainly appreciate how pretty the snow is, but am simultaneously happy to not have to move it anymore. Just watching the neighbors was sort of exhausting.

Another plus to this most recent storm was that it hasn’t yet impacted my flight today. Boston experienced more rain than snow, unlike my family’s house in central MA, so the airport wasn’t jaw itching up flight times. Thank goodness.

I think I’ve gotten my snow fix for the year though. Loved to see it for the holiday, but it was just enough. My family is already plotting their escape from the cold and snow and promised they’d be visiting soon.

Works for me!

Do you like the snow or do you happily do without?

Merry Christmas all!

My warm holiday wishes come from my fireplace-adjacent seat as I type away on my new iPad, which was my BIG gift this year.

A fresh French Martini was just delivered to my cozy nook, and I’m looking out the window as this morning’s fresh dusting of snow begins to melt. Aahhhh to be home again for the holidays…

I hope you’ve had a wonderful holiday and get to spend time with your family and friends.

For all you iPad experts – what apps do you recommend? Leave a comment below.

My coworker’s first question to me when I walked into work today: “Did you die?”

Now, that may seem like an odd question to hear, but odder yet was likely my response: “Yes, I became one of the undead.”

Neither of us were being sarcastic at all, nor was I being overly dramatic. Instead I was referring to the outcome of my 5k obstacle race that Nick and I took part in this past Saturday – Run For Your Lives.

Held in Claremont, Florida (near Orlando), this race turned out to be one B-I-T-C-H of a run.

(Image Source – Run For Your Lives Facebook page)

I first heard about the race on the radio up in Massachusetts earlier this year and thought it would be a great gift idea to give Nick a race entry. Being a huge fan of Walking Dead he was psyched. Since I would have regretted not getting in on this off-the-wall idea, I also signed up.

I’m not sure what my expectations were exactly, but I figured it would be 5k run, dappled with a few clusters of zombies and some challenging obstacles meant to slow you down and wear you out. I am by no means in top fitness condition right now, but I felt pretty confident this would be pretty easy.

Holy Zombie Motha, was I wrong.

When they say “Zombie Infested” race, they mean infested with flag grabbing, sometimes jeering, and downright sneaky zombie volunteers who are there to just rain on your little running parade.

Let me back up though. You may be wondering who on earth would sign up for something like this, but you’d be shocked to know that in one day, Nick and I saw thousands of participants. We had to park a mile away from the course because there were so many people already there by 11am (we were signed up for the 12:30 wave of runners).

You get there and immediately see all the earlier racers meandering around in various states of filth (some are covered in head-to-toe mud, while others look like they merely jumped in and out of a mucky pond), and immediately start wondering what types of obstacles await you. A band was also performing a variety of rock and pop songs to entertain the crowds of people that were waiting to race or celebrating their race completion.

It’s up to you where you want to drop your things in the big open field and get ready for your race. I opted for a central location so I could keep an eye on everything.

Nick has been through a few of these themed obstacle races before, but I was a total newbie. Therefore he came prepared with a witty, zombie-teasing, outfit complete with squeaky pork chop toys pinned to his top and the words “Zombie Bait” and “I Taste Delicious” inked on his shirt. He was quite a hit.

Lots of other people got in on the quirky outfits too. We saw teams of racers dressed like Ninja Turtles, Golden Girls (one had a grenade belt on), Scottish clansmen (matching kilts), and even a crash dummy.

You couldn’t see much of the course from the field with the exception of a few obstacles including a giant sand hill that people were crawling up and the final pre-finish line obstacles including a a muddy slide into a pool of dark brown water…

And rows of mud trenches you crawled through before diving under the electrified fence, which you had to crawl beneath to reach the finish line. (Yes, that baby was really electrified too.)

We watched racers finish the race until it was about our start-time and then lined up with a couple hundred other victims racers into tunnels marked “Appetizers,” “Entrees,” or “Dessert.” The announcers outline the rules of not kicking, spitting or otherwise aggravating the zombies and then wished out goodbye good luck.

Nick and I were in the front of the “Entree” racers so we were among the first to round a corner just seconds after running out of the gates, and running into a zombie ambush. Scattered just a few yards from each other, 10 zombies stood and lunged, ran and leaped after us to rip off the health flags that we wore around our waists.

Now, I haven’t had the opportunity to sprint and dodge my way through crowds recently so I was surprised by just how much it took out of me! I, along with most of the other racers, had to slow down to a walk to catch our breath after making it through the first attack. Many people were gasping in surprise saying things like, “That bugger got one of my flags!” or “Man they’re fast for dead things!”

Nick was ready to keep jogging on, but my slower pace forced him to hang back a bit as I caught my breath and geared up for the next corner, which we could hear held some more moaning zombies and screaming racers. He opted that we approach the race as a team, versus a every-man-for-themselves tactic, which I knew would end worse for him than me since I was under no illusion that I’d make it through with health belts still on.

We ran on for about a mile before we reached any kind of actual obstacle, but were both shocked at just how many clusters of zombies were ambling about waiting to rip and tear any red plastic strips off our waists. It was a series of sprints that had some sprinters losing their lunch/brunch on the sidelines (some conveniently being patted on the back by a sympathetic zombie), gasping for breath beneath the shade of a tree, or clustering in slow walking groups eying every bush as a possible threat.

My big losses were the tight spaces combined with a challenging terrain: like when we had to race through a muddy pit that had a zombie smack dab in the middle (whom I got shoved into as another zombie tore off one of my flags); or the loose sand pits where zombies stood like mines in the ditches that we had to run through pulling off flags as I lost momentum; and the steep hill and thin path literally crawling with zombies that grabbed at exhausted runners and picked off our flags as easy as anything.

I’m proud to say that I kept my flags longer than Nick did, who served as a human shield to prevent my last couple flags from getting snatched for a while, but was almost relieved when my last solitary flag was parted from belt. At that point I had just dove into a mud pool and swam under rows of barbed wire, and had water logged shoes that squished with each step, so I wasn’t feeling quite as nimble.

It was okay at that point, I excepted my demise into becoming one of “the undead.” I had already jumped walls and made it through field of zombies jumping out of haystacks, a darkened house filled with hanging live wires and fog, and outlasted a number of other fellow “Entrees” and “Appetizers” in my race wave.

Once my flags were gone, it made the whole thing much easier and I ran up the sand hill, leaped down the mud slide, crawled through the mud trenches and slid under the electric fence with relative ease. The zombies weren’t a threat so I even gave one a nod and a “wa’sup,” blocking zombies for runners who still had flags.

Nick and I were both covered in mud, grass and who-knows-what-else at the end, but we were both happy to have finished. Nick probably wished he’d left me in the dust after the second mile so he could have finished faster, but I was glad he stuck around.

Our final finish time was 50:57 minutes according to the final results. Out of the 415 people in our wave, we finished 47th and 48th place. And can we just say WOW for the crazy monster that finished first in our wave with the time of 31 minutes? That man must have been a total blue blowing past those zombies.

Talk about a survivor.

Meanwhile there was me, just so happy to have crossed the finish line at all and not to have thrown up or passed out.

(Can we just talk about the little mustache Nick is sporting? Can’t wait for Movember to be over – which I’ve told him every day for the last week.)

We got our official medals, took our “We Died” pictures, showered off, and picked up our complimentary cups of light beer which we enjoyed as we toweled off and watched the on-stage DJ cheer on someone named Flo-Joe (a girl) who was busting out some moves to “Teach Me How to Dougie.”

People were still arriving to the race grounds as we were walking back to the truck. It was funny listening to people stories as we hauled our gear back though, some making plans to go to the next Florida race in February, while others pledged they wouldn’t brave one of these ever again.

Nick and I both agreed we’d do it again, especially now that we knew what to expect and knowing how to prepare, but we also agreed it would be more fun with a group of crazy people. Hopefully I’ll be in a bit better shape for the next one too, since I’m still feeling a bit sore from this race.

Would I do it again for real though?

You bet your zombie bottom I would.
Have you completed a themed obstacle course race recently? What did you think?

It happens to the best of us.

Despite our best intentions and grand hopes, we can find ourselves in a rut. You wiggle around in bursts of energy to attempt to break out of it, but at the end of the day find yourself in the same old rut.

After my recent experience with vertigo, what was once a energized schedule, became a fear-filled RUT. I tried some new DVDs, changed the time of day I worked out a few times, tried to get excited about designing my own workouts… but it didn’t workout.

I felt my energy crashing, which was even more inconvenient since I’ve been so busy at work and really need the energy. Fitting in workouts fell down my priority list and I was adding them into my days only when I found a two hour window of nothing, which happened like… maybe once or twice a week during my usual TV/reading time.

Have you ever faced this?

Well if you have, you probably have your own experience with busing out of said rut. For me, I knew I had to add back something I really loved and go for broke by dedicating myself to my exercise routine 110%.

Forget the busy schedule. Forget that the holidays are approaching, which will mean an even busier schedule.

You have to make time for your health. You have to invest in YOU.

So, after a year of absence from the gym (the one you pay for, not the free one in your basement or apartment complex), I made an appointment and joined my local LA Fitness.

(They haven’t switched the sign yet, but this is actually LA Fitness – Lifestyle Family Fitness was acquired by LAF like a year ago.)

I knew I loved biking because of my recent 22 mile bike ride down the Pinellas Trail (despite the fact I now have a bitter relationship with the straps on my bike pedals that caused me to fall twice), so I new that spinning would my treat to myself to get me back on track. Ever since I discovered spinning classes in 2008, I’ve loved them.

A couple weekends ago though, I took it a step further and took advantage of my free personal training appointment (if you’ve joined a big gym, you know the one I’m talking about – they don’t give you much of a choice and just sign you up for the “freebie”). Having been through several of these before, my expectations weren’t the high. Most of the time they measure your basic fitness levels and walk you around showing you how to use some of the equipment. (FAIL.)

This trainer was on her game though. She listened to me, my frustrations, my past experiences and kicked my butt with a HIIT workout that had me gasping for air after just 20 minutes. After some negotiating, I did something I wasn’t really expecting. I signed up for a personal trainer. (Gasp!)

I opted for a once-a-week program, so that I could do my spinning and yoga (yes, they have yoga classes!) and still take advantage of the strength focused sessions they will create for me.

Now, I’ve read the NASM materials for personal training certifications, but just never took the test, so the concepts of personal training are not foreign to me and I’ve worked out with friends who wanted some free training before. But I’ve never actually had someone who I was accountable to, so I’m pretty excited. Knowing my background, the trainer even offered to share her knowledge in training with me, a sort of application of the lessons I’ve read about.

I’m confident that I’ve kicked myself free of that rut now, or am at least well on my way to leaving it behind soon.

I’ve never been so happy to wake up 5 a.m. to get to the gym. I’d say that’s a step in the right direction.

Have you broken out of a rut recently? Are you trying to now? What do you do to shake things up?

I’ve always loved fall for the wonderful little delights this transitional season inspires.

Even though I live in Florida now, my New England roots still alert me to any changes in foliage (granted it’s hard to beat the colorful fall New England foliage), the urge to harvest pumpkins and apples, cravings for hot cider donuts and fall festivals, and the desire for special seasonal treats.

I crave more than pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks, though they are pure joy in a cup.

As soon as the first cool breeze passes through my open window in fall, causing me to wrap up in the fluffiest blanket I can find, I crave another kind of bliss-in-a-cup…

Hot chocolate.

Granted I do love the chocolatey goodness, tempered with hot milk that Starbucks provides, but a cup of hot chocolate at home is unbeatable and even more delicious somehow.

The Tampa mornings and nights have been progressively cooler these last few weeks and I’ve relished in the habit of leaving my windows open, air conditioner off and blanket nearby for cozying up in. Not everyone has enjoyed having to bundle up though…

I think the only reason my little fluff-ball doesn’t enjoy the cooler temps is that she can’t get access to this…

I made the discovery of Trader Joe’s Sipping Chocolate about a week ago when I was in Naples. Of course, I couldn’t resist the urge to stop at my favorite grocer when I was so close, and my shelf perusing rewarded me when I landed on this interesting tin of Sipping Chocolate, so clearly not your average hot chocolate mix.

The back of the tin describes the perfect drink of rich chocolate reminiscent of European corner cafes. I was instantly intrigued, so I picked up a tin to try. Now I wish I had grabbed about ten of them.

I didn’t actually try it until Monday night, and I did so somewhat skeptically when they called for a mere 1/3 cup of hot milk (I used almond milk). My eyebrows raised slightly further when the instructions read to add three tablespoons of the chocolate powder to the bit of milk (I didn’t want it to be paste).

Trying new things doesn’t always pay off, but when it does, it can mean the beginning of new things. This petite cup of steaming chocolate, with the final texture of a sauce or glaze, is one of those wonderful new things.

Despite it’s much smaller serving size, it’s hard not to feel satisfied when you lick the last drop of this chocolate from the cup. It’s almost like drinking a creamier version of a melted dark chocolate bar. This should warn the sugar-lovers that while this cup of deliciousness has some sweet to it, it’s not as sweet as your average hot chocolate.

I had Nick try some one night and it was just too intense for him, which I had suspected knowing he doesn’t really like dark chocolate as I do.

If you enjoy in savoring the deep flavors of dark chocolate, however, then this is a drink you have to try. I challenge your chocolate craving not to be satisfied after you sip this down.

And on a cool day or night, wrapped in blankets, reading a good book, this cup of chocolate is an absolute perfect celebration of fall and the cooler winter weather to come.

What things do you love in fall? Are there certain things you crave more when it gets cold?

This past weekend was one of those rare times where I got to sit back and relax.

I didn’t just sit around and read though. Nick and I took my godmother, Jane, up on an invitation to visit her in Naples, FL… at the Ritz Carlton Beach Resort!

After a few minutes of deliberation on splurging for a hotel room (not that tough considering the hotel wasn’t overbooked and hasn’t launched into their “in-season” rates), Nick and I shelved our original plans to go camping and packed our overnight bags for Naples.

The view from our seventh floor, beach-side hotel room was not to shabby either…

Since my godmother and I are so close (I frequently call her my “other mother”), it’s always a nice treat just to visit with her, even though she’s usually running around working. She had the weekend off too though, so the three of opted for some low key activities:

• Beach lounging under an umbrella
• Lunch at the Spa restaurant
• Dinner at Campiello with friends (in the back courtyard, which is much quieter)
• Walk on the beach
• Brunch at Jane’s Cafe (on the back patio, which again is much more peaceful)

Jane and I took the beach walk early on Sunday morning, just the two of us, so we had some quality time to catch up. Then we took our sand-covered selves to one of the lovely shops at the Ritz and she treated me to a belated birthday/early Christmas present – new Tiffany & Co. sunglasses!

I honestly didn’t even know that Tiffany & Co. made sunglasses… go figure!

I love the classic shape and little solitary gem detail on the sides, plus the signature Tiffany blue (which ironically matches my new iPhone cover).

Nick and I bid Jane farewell on Sunday feeling rejuvenated and relaxed. It was a real treat of a weekend and I was so grateful to have had the chance to kick back and relax with a couple of my favorite people.
Do you treasure the relaxing weekends or do you prefer to be busy?

Happy Election Day all! Have you gone out to vote yet?

I got out early this morning and voted at 7:30 a.m., receiving my oh-so-fashionable “I Voted” sticker after only a half hour in line.

Many people I’ve spoken to have already voted early, bypassing the anticipated chaos at the polls today, but I think everyone can celebrate today. Yes, we elect our president, but it’s also the last day of the ridiculous political ads.

Working at a marketing agency who has been working like mad to keep ads on air through this crazy political period may have slightly jaded me, but I think everyone will be celebrating tomorrow where all the communication channels are void of the mud slinging.

If you do vote today, be sure to check your local newspapers for the “I Voted” freebies that you can get by simply showing you sticker or voter registration card. Here in Tampa, the lovely bloggers at TBO pulled together a nice little a roundup of offers that range from coffee, to bracelets and even donuts!

Did you vote early or today?

Instead of attempting a series of posts on all the things I’ve yet to post from the last couple of weeks, I’m going to do one, big, update with highlights.

Biking the Pinellas Trail

A couple of weeks ago, Nick and I tackled 22 miles of the Pinellas Trail, riding from Dunedin to Tarpon Springs. If you love rail-trails, like to bike, run, walk, roller blade or skateboard, you’ll probably like this trail. The smooth, relatively flat surface makes any manual travel very enjoyable, and even though you do cross some intersections, they’re well marked and most include easy pedestrian crossing.

We chose the northern section of the route after reading about each part online, since the sections farther south had more intersections.

I didn’t have lots of time to take photos during the ride, but once we got back to Dunedin (legs shaking, butt aching and stomach rumbling) we explored the downtown a bit in a search for rest and sustenance. Here are some highlights in photos…

They were having a street market and art/craft fair that day, so the streets were jam packed with small vendor stalls and shoppers.

People brought their antique cars down to show off on one side-street (and were blasting some Beach Boys tunes to really set the mood).

Nick and I selected Sea Sea Riders across from the water (Dunedin is a coastal town) for a fuel-up stop.

Since Nick is an avid craft-brewery-fan, we had to stop at Dunedin Brewery, as the oldest brewery in Florida.

Thought the outside was not all that impressive…

The inside was super fun with walls bedecked with everything beer (signs, bottles, barrels, photos, etc) and the actual vats some of the beers get fermented in…

Nick opted for a sampler and I sniffed each to get a “flavor” of what they were like.

Food Truck Wars at Channelside in Tampa

I love food trucks, but I have one issue with their frequent and almost crazy use of bacon and meat in their dishes. After our bike ride, Nick and I went to Channelside in Tampa for the Food Truck Wars where more than 40 food trucks were set up in a vacant field/lot.

While there were some interesting and even promising looking food trucks, I was frequently disappointed with primarily meat-eater-friendly options and slim pickings on the vegetarian and pescatarian dishes.

I finally found one food truck called Uber Good (which traveled from Orlando for the event) that had several options I could get behind, including one very appealing item called the Lobster Grilled Cheese…

So worth the calories – it was bliss.

Halloween

I didn’t do much at home for Halloween beyond buying a pumpkin that I didn’t end up carving, putting up some decorations, and buying some candy for trick-or-treaters that never came, but I made up for my lack of regular plans with a LOT of Halloween festivities I helped organized at work.

You probably remember my bedazzled “mask” that won me an award early in October, but my costume for Halloween was totally different.

I abandoned my usually blonde locks for a raven black bob wig and black dress to play the part of Mrs. White from the movie/game Clue.

A few people didn’t recognize me straight off the bat.

The costume was better when my entire team was together and in character though…

It was fun playing a dramatic widow for a day, but I was so happy to take the wig off at the end of the day. Alas, I think one day was long enough for me with black hair.

You can see it’s been a busy, but fun couple of weeks!

What types of activities have you been up to?

It’s like the editors at Popsugar have ears in my apartment and new exactly what I wanted in this month’s Must Have Box, which arrived on my doorstep this past Friday.

Not knowing what you’re going to get each month is part of the thrill, but the greatest part is still what you do get.

Must Have Box editors must have known I finished last month’s book, The Perks of Being a Wall Flower and been listening in on my inner hopes of reading J.K. Rowling’s new adult book The Casual Vacancy.

They must also have known that I was finally getting around to trying August’s Pop Physique workout DVD and got me grip socks perfect for yoga and barre workouts.

And how could they have known I wanted some more sparkly nail polish? Well, let’s be honest, who doesn’t want more sparkly nail polish. (I quickly worked up a mani-pedi with the new glittery pink polish.)

The hair products, designer gummy bears, scented candle and Pirate’s Booty (cheese and popcorn were made for each other) were just wonderful cherries on an already delicious box of goodies.

My weekend plans quickly reorganized around starting my new book, but I still got out of the house to enjoy some of the seasonal happenings in my neighborhood.

Hyde Park had the Howard Alan Art Festival that turned out to be far more extensive than I could have imagined. In fact, Nick and I walked around from booth to booth examining the art, neither one of us had the money to buy, in awe that so many artists existed in the area.

We also wandered down the side alleys in Hyde Park Village and found the coolest soap shop! (Yes, I said soap shop and cool in the same sentence.) It’s called Milagros and it’s located in Snow Circle (that back alley/side street off the main road in the Village).

Now, I’m not normally the type to buy handmade soaps for myself, but these were way to fun to pass up. They took handmade soaps to new levels with delicious smells and amazing designs.

They make these huge blocks and you can purchase a “slice” for about $8. One slice, however, can easily be cut into two normal-sized soap bars. That is what I did with my Honey & Cream bar and it’s sweet, wholesome scent is not wafting through my entire bathroom.

Apparently you can also design your own soaps and with different scent combinations if you’re feeling especially crafty. Then whole place smells amazing though and is definitely worth a stop if you’re in Hyde Park Village.

Though I didn’t walk away from the festival with any traditional art pieces, I was happy to consider my soap purchase as art. Plus, I made a stop at the Pumpkin Patch in the Village center to get a big ‘ol pumpkin to carve this week.

Not sure what it will be, but I’ll post pics when it’s done. No stencils for this lady!

Have you visited any Fall Festivals this year yet?