Happy Halloween!

I hope you all had the best Halloween full of treats (and tricks?), pumpkins, black cats and everything else Halloween-y. As for me, I'm celebrating with popcorn for dinner, an adult beverage and a physics lab report that is refusing to write itself. hmph.

(Photos above from my weekend Halloween celebrations)!

Preppin' for Sandy

Chili is on the stove, drains are leaf free, candles are ready, nails are painted and Modern Family marathon has begun. Just waiting for the power to go out so we can begin the cribbage tournament.

I hope everyone is safe and sound out there!

A very, very, VERY, happy birthday!

 

Today I am wishing the biggest and best happy birthday to one of my best friends in the whole entire world.

This year marks the first time since I met Shipra that I haven't been able to be physically with her to celebrate (which makes me uber sad).

Instead, I've compiled all these stellar pictures of Shipra and I as a mini blogosphere celebration.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Shipra, I hope you have the best day (hurricane or not), and here's to an exciting and full 24th year!

Oh the places you will go.

With the impending doom of upcoming "Frankenstorm," I decided to head out for my #longesttraining runtodate on Saturday afternoon rather than the usual Sunday morning long run. 

Mentally I split this run up into 3 different parts.

The first part consisted of an 8 mile run to Tufts University - to watch the Wesleyan field hockey team take on the Tufts University Jumbos. Even though the Cardinals didn't come out on top, it was still great  to see all my old teammates/coaches for a quick visit! Following the game I had a few snacks from the tailgate (starbursts anyone?), and headed out for the next 1/3 of my run.

From Tufts, I headed towards the Mystic Valley Parkway, past the Oak Grove Cemetery onward to Wellington and some beautiful scenery. Fall was out in full force this weekend, making it very hard not to stop every ten steps and take pictures of the foliage and general New England awesomeness. I did get a little distracted/hungry during this section of the run, but nothing a few Gu's (chocolate and vanilla are my go-to these days) couldn't solve. 

Once I finished the "country" loop of my journey I was back in Somerville, feeling not so motivated to run the last 8 back to J.P. I remedied this by making a deal with myself - once I got to the 6 miles to go spot I put on Pandora and rocked out to "Love you like a love song radio" the rest of the way home. I'm not sure if it was the fact that I knew I was almost done with my run, the music, or a "runner's high", but the last 6 or 7 miles of this run were the most enjoyable. Yes my feet hurt, yes my legs were feeling very tired, but somehow I still felt as though I was running strong and still had some gasoline left in the tank at the end. 

The grand total for the day was 23.77 miles at an average of 9:17 min/mile. I'm feeling really good about this run overall. It was quite mentally challenging, but I just kept reminding myself that eventually I would be home and would have run 24 miles and that was going to be a great feeling. 

With my longest training run under my belt, followed by limited soreness today, I am feeling really prepared going into the final three weeks of marathon training. For the next three weeks I'm going to be focused on staying hydrated, healthy, and rested. And with that, I'm off to bed!

Stay safe out there.

Reason #87342894323974 why I love my neighborhood.

Each year Spontaneous Celebrations sponsors the Jamaica Plain Lantern Festival at Jamaica Pond. It has quickly become one of my favorite events put on in JP. Maybe it is the crisp air that has finally arrived, or possibly the Halloween costumes that all the kids had on for the event - whatever the reason, there is something very special about the candlelit walk around the pond.

A little congrats is in order.

 

 Happy 30th Anniversary to the two best parents a girl could ask for. 

Congratulations on a great first 30 years, and here's to another 30+!

You guys are an ininspiration to us all.

Spectating

Things I realized this weekend:

Fall in New England is just plain wonderful.

Being outside is the best remedy for any ailment.

I have rock stars for friends.

In which we DIY

A couple weekends ago Drew, Mary and I did-it-ourselves (DIY'ed!)

The goal was to create super trendy jewelry display picture frame chicken wire contraptions.

I think they turned out pretty neat.

Happy Hump Day.

Apples, a song, and some pretty impressive people.

Baked apples just may be my favorite fall treat, and they are super easy to make!

All it takes is a little de-coring, addition of butter, sugar, cinnamon, and a little pumpkin pie spice (only if you're feeling really adventurous). Pop em in the oven and after ~40 minutes they will be done!

See, so easy!

Sorry there are no after photos, they were just too delicious to stop and take a picture before we devoured them!

Also, I am in love with this song. I've dubbed it the "song of the week". I highly recommend listening to it on repeat. For days.

And lastly.

These are my parents. They went swimming in Lake Champlain today (that would be October 15th). I think that is pretty awesome (and daring!), don't you?