Day 272 is here already?

I was walking down a quiet little street today, not really noticing anything around me until I looked up and saw pumpkins. And the next house... pumpkins. And then suddenly I notice I'm on a pumpkin lined street. It's some kind of Fall pumpkin conspiracy. Or there was a pumpkin festival that I just missed. But whoa. Whoa. I know it's been mid 50ºs and autumn-ish here for about two weeks, but whoa. Saying goodbye to summer never really gets easy, I guess. In the meantime, bring on the pumpkins?

Day 271 is addicted

No, not to this flower, silly. This is  soy sauce and a flower on the tables at the sushi restaurant I've been frequenting lately. Addicted to Sushi. We've heard this story before, right? I know, I know. But you guys. It's so good. I've had it 3 times this week. That's kind of crazy I guess. I think my record was 5 days in one week when I was in Seattle. See, I'm controlling myself. Except, I can't promise I wont be having it tomorrow as well. I AM SO WEAK.

Day 271 dresses accordingly

This is my favorite new autumn-colored shirt. Isn't it a great print? I bought it about two weeks ago at Forever 21 and have already been overwearing it. Plus, it's perfect for the indian summer (is that politically incorrect??) weather we've been having recently!

Day 270 wishes you a happy birthday!

Have you all already met Irving? He's a star. A traveling mouse that has found his way into much of Europe, most of the US, bridal showers, weddings, road-trips - you name it! Today is his birthday. At least it is according to facebook. We made a birthday hat for him at breakfast. Adorbs, right?

Day 269 sitting on the Lake

One half of my visiting party left on Monday morning. Twas quite sad. The rest of the day was spent down in the city, walking along the lake, talking to seagulls and watching the sailboats. Pretty splendid. The blue clouds even came out for a minute or two here and there. We managed to avoid the predicted rain for the entire day, which was perfect since umbrellas were forgotten at home. Oops! Worked out well for us though!

Day 270, are you looking at me?

Today I was quite literally stopped in my tracks while running an errand. I was walking down the sidewalk, minding my own business when I saw this little guy in my path. I fumbled for my camera in my purse, then slowly creeped in to take a picture. It wasn't until I got very close that I realized my praying mantis friend had turned its head, staring at me. Yikes! After I got this shot I backed off and we went our separate ways. Whew!

Day 269 is tasty

Mondays are so much more manageable with Tastykakes. The only thing making their Juniors Halloweenie is putting the word "Jack-o-Lantern" in front. Whatever - I'll take it.

Day 268 was the BEST day ever.

This is officially the second (maybe 3rd???) pic of myself in this blog. Rare, but worth it, right? My beauties and I had what we are still calling "the best day ever" in Chicago on Sunday. I mean.... spectacular. What did we do? What didn't we do? We just had one of this marvelous day where nothing was planned, but everything happened perfectly. Somehow we ended up on Lake Michigan, on a rooftop, eating insanely delicious food for all meals, and just being together. Sigh. Best day ever.

Day 267 is so FREAKING excited!

MY FRIENDS ARE HERE!!!!!!!!!!!! Aaahhh! I almost knocked them over with excitement as soon as they got out of the cab. Saturday we had a chillaxin and wonderful day. That included lots of wine and food and movies and talking and general happiness. 7 hours sitting around a table talking to some of your best girlfriends? Yup, I want that everyday.

Day 266 doesn't think dirty thoughts.

I touch a lot of money at my lovely little salon day job. Money is kind of gross when you think about all the hands and germs it passes through, but I try not to think about that. Cause, ya know... eww. Anyway - this is a shot of my cash bank at work. If you don't think of germs while looking at this, it's quite a lovely shot.

Day 268 likes her kicks

Every few months I realize I own an obscene amount of clothes and attempt to do a donation overhaul. Today was one of those days. I got rid of a bunch of stuff, plus I found some things I forgot I owned. Like these shoes! While I'm typically not an animal print type of gal, these shoes are just subtle enough for my style. Fun new (old) kicks!

Day 267 is adorable

Once again, my mom has done something adorable. She loves autumn as much as I do, and has begun setting up cute displays like this one in the backyard. Stay tuned for some exciting Halloween pictures in the coming weeks!

Day 266 wants candy

I love candy corn. It is my absolute favorite seasonal candy. Candy canes? Peeps? Whatever. This is where it's at.

Day 265 tastes the avenue

I don't think I've ever eaten so much food in my entire life. My wonderful friend Sarah invited me on a food tour. We went to seven different restaurants on E. Passyunk in South Philly. So much food, so much alcohol, so much fun. This right here was my absolute favorite dish of the night - gnocchi with truffle cream sauce. The late post is totally attributed to the overeating. I woke up the next morning with a food hangover, but it was worth it!

Day 265 loves the details

I made my sister bring this mirror to me from Seattle when she was here visiting. It was technically mine before I gave it to her. I knew it was sitting hidden away in her room and so I asked if I could have it back. And being the remarkable sister that she is, she packed this vanity mirror in her suitcase just to bring to me. I'm so spoiled. And now here it sits, perfectly on my dresser. Maybe in a few years we'll continue the cycle and I'll give it back to her once I don't have a place for it anymore.

Day 264 on the train tracks

Snapped this pic out the window of the train downtown. I can't tell if these guys are bored or on a lunch break. Or bored while on a lunch break. Their proximity to the tracks terrifies me every single time I look at this. Yes, my paralyzing fear of dying via oncoming train is still alive and well. These guys though... brave.

Day 263 does it Chicago style

While my sis was here, one of the things she really wanted to try was some deep dish pizza. Ask and you shall receive, I said. We went to what I've been told is the place for Chicago deep dish and made the very touristy mistake of ordering a medium pizza for 2 people. We managed 1.5 slices each. Then were completely full for the rest of the day (ate at 3pm). Crazy pizza! But it was absolutely crazy delicious and if there was room in my stomach, I would have gladly ate that entire pie.

Day 264 hints at Halloween

Here's a sneak peek at my costume for a Halloween birthday party I'm attending in a couple weeks. Hint #1: it's a two part costume and my friend is the other half. Hint #2: it's an outdated pop culture reference. Hint #3: I still need to buy a wig.

Day 263 is an autumn treat

Peanut-covered caramel apple - perfection. Not much else can be said about one of my favorite autumnal treats. Especially because it disappeared in mere minutes.

Day 262 at the ballpark

It was all kinds of dreary in Chicago this morning, but thankfully we got some lovely sunshine by late afternoon. This is a pic from the nice little morning stroll my sis and I took through Wrigleyville today. Seems so gloomy and vintagey, huh? Weird. Oh well, grateful to have the sunshine back!

Day 261 heads to ikea

Sunday was "trip to Ikea" day! My sis is in town from Seattle visiting, so I took advantage of it by coaxing her into running some much needed apartment errands with me. Cause hey, what are sisters for if not to spend hours building ikea furniture with you? :)

Day 262 is for the Cap'n

I'm a big fan of cereal. I'm an even bigger fan of cereal at meals other than breakfast. Froot Loops for dinner? Absolutely. Cap'n Crunch for a late night snack? Yes please! But it has to be Cap'n Crunch Berries. Because I like when food isn't a color that's found in nature but calls itself "berries."

Day 261 is making chips

Today I attempted (almost successfully) to make "chips" from kale. I did so without a recipe, hence the almost part. Brush them with olive oil and salt then bake - simple! I put a bit too much oil and salt on, and I probably could have baked them longer. Regardless, I was happy enough with the outcome to try again! This is a before picture, as the finished product looks less tasty.

Day 260 hops along

Bunny!! This is my second spotting of this fellow this week. He/she's another resident in our building I think. He/she's just chillin here in the yard, enjoying the late afternoon sun on this fine Saturday in Chicago. Of course I took another step closer and he/she jetted into some bushes faster than I could blink. Sorry for scaring you little buddy. Also now I can't stop thinking.... what do rabbits do in the winter??! Is he/she gonna be okay?? I'm crazy. While we're pondering that, I've decided to name this little guy Jack. The end.

Day 259 is rocking this

This has been my go-to ring for the past two weeks. It's way heavy, and a bit gawdy, but because of that I don't need to fuss with finding earrings or other jewelry, because this baby covers all bases, ya know? This feeds directly into my low-key laziness, so of course I love it even more. Thanks, forever21!

Day 260 will have another round

There was a flea market today at a local Quaker meetinghouse. It happens twice a year and is my absolute favorite flea market. As you've probably gathered from previous posts, I like weird and old things. When I saw this quirky little item I could barely contain my excitement. The handle on the upper right corner rings the "bar bell" "for another round." After looking closer, I noticed the wooden bottle on the upper left corner can be removed and used as a bottle opener. It's one of my more recent favorite finds. Now I feel inspired to set up an adorable bar area. Or at least have a beer.

Day 259 is gourd-geous

Autumn has arrived in Bucks County and I couldn't be happier! I actually wore boots today. It was very exciting. Further getting me into the spirit of the season? These gourds!

Day 258 is stunning

Today Chicago stuck firmly in the 55º range for the day. I took this as an opportunity to flex my new Fall/Winter boots (pic coming soon perhaps!). Nothing makes me quite as happy as a sensible boot on a chilly Fall day. I snapped this pic while out on an errand south of the city this morning. Mostly it's the big, fluffy clouds that make me smile most. So lovely.

Day 258, eat fresh!

The last thing I felt like doing after going to the gym today was making dinner. So out of convenience I went to Subway. There were these two chunky dudes there who were loving life. Katy Perry was on the radio and one of the guys was dancing up a storm. It was great. Plus they paid me a compliment, which I needed after a weird few days. All in all, an unusual but enjoyable Subway experience!

Day 257 tries to stay warm

A cold front done busted on through the midwest you guys! Brrr. Boots and sweaters and my pajama fleece have been my wardrobe and I'm shockingly not mad about it. All good things must come to an end, right? As long as that starbucks across the street is still serving me those yummy chai teas, I'm more than ready for Fall. Bring it.

Day 257 takes out the trash...

... literally and figuratively. That's all for tonight, friends!

Day 256 watches the train go by

This is the lovely alley behind my street. It's a nice buffer to keep us safe from the noise of Southport, which can get rowdy on weekends and game nights. It also showcases my most favorite thing - the train that goes right by us. I caught it mid-transit tonight as I was walking home and liked it quite  a lot.

Day 256 can't wait for autumn

September 13th. Mark this day down in your Katie Calendar. My first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season! I made time to stop at Starbucks before work this morning with the intention of ordering one of these bad boys. It did not disappoint. Well, other than the fact that it was gone too quickly.

Day 255 was shattered

Life lesson #255 - partying too hard may lead to broken iphones. I'm a self-declared iphone freak. My phone is always with me. I won't even go into the details of that italicized always. Just know it's truth. So spending all of Sunday staring at this shattered screen was horrible. So horrible that I took my chances today and went to the Apple store to see what could be done. What could be done, you ask?? Oh... nothing major... they just replaced my phone for free. Dear Apple, I love you. Broken glass is not covered under apple care phone insurance. But they were still nice enough to replace it. I almost hugged that genius bar worker who helped me. I should have hugged him. But I'll hug my new, un-broken iphone instead.

Day 255 makes its own rules

I had a busy evening. If tonight is any indication for how the rest of the week will go (and I think it is), then the weekend will be much needed. I went to the gym for the first time in a week to blow off some steam - amazing choice. When I left I saw this RV, taking up eight parking spots. Talk about coloring outside of the lines. The parking lot isn't very busy at this time of night, but it's still kind of a badass move. I think I'm going to make this a "take up eight parking spots" kind of week. Watch out world!

Day 254 pauses.

Today was spent recovering from yesterday. 24 hours later and I'm still not doing any better. Yikes. I was out running an errand tonight and noticed the sunset light was simply gorgeous on Southport, so I stopped and took this pic. This church is so beautiful and fits so well with the somber mood of this day. I'm sorry for all the gushing, but my goodness I simply can't get enough of this town.

Day 253 sees beauty everywhere

Saturday was a better day, in that I actually got out of the house and took a much deserved break from working. I took this pic as I went around the neighborhood exploring, a fave activity of mine that I'm sure I've talked about before. Still loving Chicago so much and especially love finding new beautiful spots everyday.

Day 252 is so full

I had a marathon day of designing on Friday. Marathon. 7am - 3am. It's a miracle I remembered to eat amidst all that madness, but I remembered and thanks to delivery.com, didn't even have to leave the apartment and stop designing to get some lunchies. Mmmm.

Day 254 was the icing on the cake

Today was the graduation show for my improv class. It was a lot of fun! And the icing on the cake, my friend Emily came from New York to see the show! This makes two shows in a row that I had visitors from New York - I'm lucky to have such wonderful friends! After grabbing some celebratory drinks with people in my class Emily and I went to Dos Segundos for an early dinner. We went a little overboard, food-wise. For instance, we started with one dessert (Death by Chocolate cake) and knew it wouldn't be enough to share so we ordered another. When our waiter brought out our Chocolate Mint Cake he said, "Here's round two." My momentary embarrassment was eased by the amazingly delicious desserts. Such a fun day!

Day 253, meet Mayor McCheese

Well ladies and gentlemen, it's flea market time again! I've begun to acquire lots of weird glassware, primarily cups. I was thrilled to find this wonderful Mayor McCheese one for $1. It goes well with the ones I have from McVote '86 and The Great Muppet Caper. The stranger the better!

Day 252 is resilient

While putting some envelopes in the mailbox after work, I saw this sad old book on top of the UPS drop off box. I actually noticed this book a few weeks back, when it was in better condition. Apparently no one wanted to take it home. This resilient little book has weathered a hurricane and massive flooding. I want to track it's progress to see if it makes it to and through the winter. You can do it, old book!

Day 251 got the blues

I bought these turquoise earrings a few years back in New Mexico. I temporarily lost one amongst the mess of my other jewelry. Obviously, I found it and decided to celebrate by wearing them today!

Day 250's Phirst Phillies game!

I Phinally went to my Phirst Phillies game! (Overkill?) It was a very last minute decision to go to the 7 p.m. game, as my friend texted me shortly before I left the office. Free tickets to a suite for my first Phillies game? Yes please! Peanuts in the shell, beer, hotdog, Phanatic, seventh inning stretch, high fiving strangers, proposal in the stands, exciting win in the ninth. I think I just became a baseball fan! Go Phils!

Day 251, Hey Mambo!

I'm not the only person who picks out wine based on label design, right? I mean - besides knowing whether I want a red, white or rose - everything else is determined solely by labels. This bottle is currently sitting in our booze cabinet waiting to be enjoyed. But I don't know if I can because I just love this packaging design so much! Hey Mambo!

Day 250 is getting fancy

Woot!! Looky what I got! I'm not sure why, but I've always dreamed of having an apartment where we drank out of mason jars. Today, I made that dream come true. Thanks to amazon.com and some super fast shipping, these babies have arrived. Aren't they simply lovely? I might have some sweet tea tonight just to celebrate the occasion.

Day 249 is weirded out

Saw this on the street during some evening wanderings. I'm gonna go ahead and give this a big WTF. Giraffe... what are you doing here??

Day 249 got the first slice

While it might not look like much, this banana bread is one of the most delicious things my mom bakes. The recipe doesn't call for chocolate chips, but she adds them! It also has walnuts. It's basically the most perfect treat ever. And I got to have the first slice while it was still warm. The perfect end to a long rainy day!

Day 248 got coooold.

I got a little blindsided by the cold that blew in to Chicago today. Certainly not uncomfortable, but just this past week we were suffering through 94 and it suddenly being 30ºs cooler threw me off a bit. I scrambled to find some jeans and a hoodie as I lamented the end of summer really happening!

Day 248 gets an unexpected pep talk

I'm seriously hoping my scratchy throat is a leftover effect yesterday's hangover. Just in case, I've been taking cough syrup and cough drops. For whatever reason, Halls decided to include these weird inspirational lines on the wrappers. "A pep talk in every drop," apparently. I could use unexpected pep talks like these throughout my day. What's the likelihood that I'll find encouragement underneath the stapler on my desk at work tomorrow?

Day 247 recovers

Remember that party I mentioned in Day 246? Well I was still recovering a day later. I'm talking lots of sleeping, ibuprofen, and no food. I struggled through toast early in the day and finally in the evening I wanted a normal meal. I've been going through a greek yogurt phase lately. While this isn't your typical hangover food, it worked for me!