waiting for October

Early Autumn is my favorite time of year. I always forget how quickly the weather turns chilly, but once I've got that first cold behind me (mine was this past weekend), I completely embrace the cooler weather, and all of the things it allows for: sweaters, hot drinks, and the smell of pumpkin pie (from a candle or otherwise.)

Last week was fairly uneventful... the highlight was finding an amazing fabric pattern at Target when I went there with Ben and Liz. The thing was, it was a shower curtain... but I knew I had to have it. I was thinking I would just fold it over and make it a tablecloth, but then I realized that the pattern would make awesome window valances. I did some measurements, and realized that I could cut them in half vertically, fold over the cut edge, and sew it against the back, making a channel for the curtain rod. I went back to Target the next day, bought four more, and with the help of Margrit and Julie (two ladies at my work) I was able to make an entire house's worth of valances. We finished them Thursday, and I hung them up as soon as I got home from work. That night, my neighbor Carey, along with other people with October birthdays, were celebrating at the Rock Lobster night at Sakana. Ben and Liz's roommate Dan joined me, and after hanging out for a few hours, we met up with Liz who was celebrating her friend's bachelorette party. We met up with them at Blackfinn, a place I'd never been to before. I'd heard a lot of things about Blackfinn, and I'm happy to say that having been there I felt totally out of place. So, after a short while I said my goodbyes to everyone and went home.

As I mentioned, I ended up catching a cold. It wasn't the best way to spend my day off, but I did get my car door fixed and had a great lunch at Toast. With nothing else to do, I drove out to my parent's early. That night I was feeling like total crap but ended up sleeping for a good eleven hours and Saturday I felt much better. Saturday night my grandparents took everyone on my mom's side of the family to dinner at Lone Star Steakhouse (kind of the ritual place.) That night was the Butthole Surfers/Built To Spill concert in Royal Oak. I knew a bunch of my friends would be out at the bar, and though I was still feeling under the weather, I figured one drink and an hour out wouldn't be too bad, so I headed up to the Loving Touch around 11:30. The concert hadn't finished yet, but there were still a lot of people there. I ran into my friends Andi and Melanie who were hanging out with their friend Sarah. They let me sit with them, and after talking with Sarah for a bit I felt like we were hitting it off. Eventually everyone moved up to the bar, and my friend Ritchie was DJing in the seating area. I sat down next to Sarah, and we talked for a while before I got the courage to ask if she was seeing anyone and if she'd like to go on a date sometime. We exchanged numbers, and made a date for the coming week. Sunday I spent the majority of the day cleaning up around the house and baking two pumpkin pies - one for myself, and another to thank Margrit and Julie. That night I went and saw Pandorum and Zombieland with Ben and Liz. Pandorum wasn't great, but Zombieland was fantastic - my favorite movie of the year so far.

Monday I worked with Mat and had my grandparents over for dinner. I cooked them a chicken stir-fry and we had some of the pumpkin pie for dessert. Tuesday I worked with Mat again, and after work met up with Sarah at the Bean and Leaf cafe in Royal Oak. We talked for a nice long time, and though she might be having some friends over this weekend, if not I invited her to the Friendly Foes/Javelins show at the Berkley Front. Wednesday I assisted Byron, and today I've been going back and forth helping Chris and Byron. It's been a busy week around the company, but at least it makes the time fly. I did wake up feeling like my cold was coming back, and the air conditioning around here doesn't help. Tomorrow after work I'm going to spend the night at my parent's and Saturday I'm meeting Nicole from Sloe Gin Fizz to pick up a specially made three-foot print.

Planning for the Eat So They Can potluck is going well. I'm expecting a nice assortment of friends, family, and co-workers. If you haven't heard about it yet... it will be on Saturday the 17th at 2:00. Around the world people are hosting dinner parties to raise money to fight child poverty in Africa. Last year my friends Julie and Laura hosted a potluck at our house on Ardmore and they won a trip to Africa to help with the effort. This year I am hosting one, and all you need to bring is a dish to pass... and a friend if you can!