At October's End

October has come and gone; and, I have one month from today until I kiss my 22 years of life behind and celebrate another birthday. I thought I'd wrap up October and provide a little insight on what I've been up to at the end of the past month besides working and watching a marathon of Criminal Minds on Netflix. 

In October, I made a few batches of delicious Turkey Chili. It included a pound of ground turkey meat, cut up celery stalks and an onion, one can of dark kidney beans and one can of white kidney beans, and two cans of diced tomatoes along with a packet of mild chili flavor mix. I froze the leftovers and brought it to work on long shifts. It is healthy and very comforting. 

Zach came down to spend the weekend with me which included a shopping trip, a Frankenstein cupcake, and a poetry book that I purchased, along with carving pumpkins! I had been waiting all season to carve pumpkins. Finally, my wish was granted. Zach hadn't carved pumpkins in many years too, so it was a great experience. My grandparents, aunt, and cousins also joined in on the fun! The pumpkins at the beginning of the post belong to all of us.

Look at how cute my partner in crime is! That smile is stunning. We got our giant pumpkins as Walmart, can you believe it? They were even on sale, go figure! 

I made a Frankenstein pumpkin, Zach carved his demo derby details into his, and I carved a tiny pumpkin for Cash, the puppy, with a little dog bone! 

We just so happened to be matching on this day too in our gray. Go figure. As best friends, sometimes we start to think the same way.

Another exciting part of the end of October was finding this gem at the Target boutique. Olive green jacket with black leather sleeves. So much fall wrapped into one item of clothing. It was impossible to leave behind on the rack as I passed by and I sure got a steal of a deal with it! 

My favorite part of carving pumpkins is definitely roasting the seeds after scooping them out of all the pumpkin guts. Zach's and my pumpkins yielded an abundance of seeds. I baked them in the oven at 425 degrees for 40 minutes with seasoning salt, garlic powder, a dash of cayenne, and olive oil. I've been snacking on them all day for the past week. 

I really enjoy baking and cooking, but especially when I can share my dishes. I had the chance to visit my college roommate in her new town in the cities and she made us some delicious chicken enchiladas. I made a chocolate Frankenstein cake with vanilla frosting and above shows the limits of my cake decorating skills. It was still fun to make. I brought the leftovers to work to share too so that I wouldn't be tempted to eat all the remaining piece. 

Last, but not least... I worked Friday night (Halloween), so I dressed up as a 50's girl in a poodle skirt to be festive. So that was my October, what was yours like? What are you looking forward to in November? I'm most excited for deer hunting, the Garth Brooks concert, and the Thanksgiving holiday.