Gratitude Post: October 2017

Saturday, November 25, 2017

Hello, October. Hello, Fall.



I know. It is already the end of November and I am late again! But hey, October brought me pumpkins, leaves of golden colors, cozy fall reads and Halloween. And yeah, it was a hot one! It was chilly for a week, then got super-hot a week before Halloween. The weather finally cooperated and brought us the cold fall feels we (me) have been waiting for all year! Here are the highlights of my favorite month:


BFF MOMENTS 

1)  Coffee date with Heather at the Metreon

We call it coffee date but we hardly end up getting coffee because we are so busy chatting and exchanging treats. We met up at the Metreon during our lunch break, caught up and as always she spoiled me with snacks and treats. We sat at Yerba Buena Gardens but it got too hot that we  moved indoors at  the Metreon. It was a warm but beautiful fall day. 



2) Twinning as kitty cats for Halloween

She came to my work to drop off more lunch boxes (yes, lucky me!)  It was a treat to spend a little time with her during Halloween which made my Halloween this year more awesome! We were both kitty cats for Halloween without planning it!

FAMILY LOVE

1) Brother in law's birthday celeb 

A Filipino food feast for my brother in law's birthday. It was a fun day that started at church, a phone call from my sister regarding the last minute birthday party, and doing a bunch of stuff to kill time while waiting for the food to finish cooking and for the party to get started at 3 pm. I ate lunch at church first (dinuguan or blood stew with rice brought by one of the members) then fall home decor shopping at Ross and Marshalls until I got the phone call from my sister that food was ready. I got to see my sister, nephews and rest of my family. A Filipino food coma as always!



2) Musubi-making with my nephew during Sunday family lunch

Sunday lunch at my sister's house after church. While waiting for the nilaga (boiled beef soup) to cook, my 14 year old nephew wanted to make musubi for the first time. Good thing I have been to a sushi making party in the past and it paid off. Gabriel and I  made spam musubi and spam sushi. Fun auntie-nephew bonding moment success! 



DATE NIGHTS WITH MR SWEETIE
 
1)  Dinner at Noodle Theory

It started with a fun Halloween stroll followed by pumpkin cupcakes and delicious dinner at Noodle Theory.

2) Delicious gourmet sandwiches at Southie

We grabbed amazing sandwiches at Southie after Mr Sweetie  fixed our roof. No more leaky roof, yay!

3) Sunday brunch and fun at the pumpkin patch

Brunch date followed by a fun trip to the pumpkin patch.

4) More yummy date nights .....

A just okay  Mexican takeout at Dulce Antojito in Pittsburg, CA and delicious homemade fried tacos at in-law's house. And this one was not necessarily date night but Mr Sweetie brought me a box of fried chicken from Popeye's Chicken as after I told him about this funny fried chicken controversy at a Long Beach, CA restaurant. 



 BOOKS AND MOVIES I ENJOYED

1) COZY MYSTERY 7 BOOK SET: CATS, CUPCAKES AND KILLERS

I finished all 7 Cozy Mysteries which is a variety of stories about cats, cupcakes and killers. Hey, don't judge. They might have been all fluff and mindless reads but I enjoyed them! I like all the stories but I enjoyed Haunt Flashes which is  love story between a ghost actor from the 30s and a girl's grandma. So fun for Halloween.

2) Autumn Hearts

I am not sure what genre Autumn Hearts belongs to -- love story or literary fiction but this is a great book to get you into the fall mood. Download this on your Kindle for  next fall or any season you want to feel cozy. Here is a review by Amanda, a TDC Book Reviews blogger.

3) Movie Nights with Mr Sweetie

I just love hanging out on our couch with Mr Sweetie and the kitty while watching movies on our big flat screen. (I always tell him -- why go to the movies if we can park ourselves on the couch in front of our giant TV and eat whatever we want in our pj's?!) We saw Disney's Moana, the latest Pirates of the Caribbean, and Twitches. He always records a Disney Halloween movie for me every year. Twitches, starring the Mowry sisters, were cute but just okay. Hollow's Eve, which I watched by myself while he was on a business call, was a meh Disney kids' movie.
 

 HOLIDAYS

1) Indigenous People's Day

Which officially is Columbus Day but I refuse to call it as such along with millions of enlightened Americans was a free day for me. No work on this weird holiday. I enjoyed staying home while stuffing myself with Filipino food and dim sum that my sister packed for me the day before including pansit, menudo, dim sum, prawns, etc. I am so blessed to have a family who always feed me!
2) Halloween

My most awaited holiday that marks the beginning of the cozy season. Here is my full post on this super-fun Halloween this year. 

 AND MORE BLESSINGS

1)  Safety from harm

I will not  go into details but the Lord has protected me and Mr Sweetie from what could have been a potentially tragic situation. My family and I are thankful that we have been protected from harm.

2) Leaky roof

What could have been an expensive roof repair because of stormy season last winter was fixed by Mr Sweetie. I told him that we could just get a professional but he insisted to take care of it himself after getting consultation and seeing how simple the repair was. We saved $1400!


MORE YUMMY EATS

1) Delicious fall eats

Let us end on a delicious note, shall we?  Here are some of the delicious fall eats that I enjoyed:  Persimmon Tart and Maple Bacon Morning Bun from Hayes Valley Bakeworks in San Francisco, and Pumpkin Spice Cookie Batter on Pumpkin Bagel.




Hello, November and December!

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