10 things that are making me ridiculously happy

it is wednesday, hump day, the most difficult day of the week to get through. but, surprisingly, i'm having a great week and i choose to focus on that instead. writing things down always makes them seem more real to me, if that makes any sense at all, and so here are my reasons for being so perky on a wednesday. 

1. face-splitting smiles, like the one above 
2. fancy fall drinks... pumpkin spice lattes, carmel apple lattes, carmel apple cider
3. badger football wins
4. wearing cardigans and scarves
5. visiting the pumpkin farm... just like when i was young
6. catching up with old friends from out-of-town
7. long conversations over red wine
8. nostalgia through old photographs
9. family flying in from all over for get-togethers 
10. leaves changing colors and drives on country roads

Fall bucket list

I was recently inspired by a friend to create a 'fall bucket list' of MUST DO activities for fall. I really like the idea as I think it will help get my butt outside instead of lounging on the couch whenever have a free moment {if at all}. I have a few ideas, but I could definitely use a few more. I want to take full advantage of everything fall has to offer. 

• Bake apple and pumpkin pies
• Carve pumpkins
• Jump in a pile of leaves
• Go on a nature walk, possibly with my camera
• Sip hot cider outside
• Go to a pumpkin farm
• Make grandma's cinnamon apple fritters
• Go on a hay ride
• Enjoy a bonfire
• Walk through a corn maize
• Eat a ton of candy corn
• Make leaf art
• Drink fancy fall coffee drinks
• Wear scarves almost daily
• Drink Oktoberfest beers

I already have plans for a few of these this week :)

{Photo via gocanada}

My weekend, according to photos

This weekend, several of my best friends from college were in town from other states.... and we actually all managed to get together! It was fantastic and definitely not something to be taken for granted since it is so difficult to get us all in the same state, let alone the same city or restaurant. I spent Saturday in my old college town wandering around the Capitol Square farmers' market, listening to street musicians, sipping a carmel apple latte and enjoying good conversation. We then ventured to a favorite college bar to face the enormous odds of getting a good viewing spot for the University of Wisconsin vs. University of Nebraska football game. We ended up in a prime spot for Nebraska's massacre. {Welcome to the Big Ten, Nebraska.} It was great to spend such quality time with friends, especially in our old stomping grounds. 

It was a sublimely lovely weekend. Hope you all had a great weekend too!

I {leaf} autumn

I really do. I love absolutely everything about it. I love waking up to the damp, crisp, dark mornings and wrapping up in a warm blanket, sipping pumpkin spice lattes or apple cider to stay a cozy warm. I love wearing jeans, sweaters and scarves every day. I love adding blankets to my bed for the chilly nights. I love the warm colors. I love the smell of burning leaves and apples that always hangs in the air. I love going for a long walk on a chilly day, crunching leaves with every step. I love waking up to football every Saturday and Sunday afternoon. I love absolutely everything about fall. 

Pet peeves

A few co-workers and I were discussing how went venting to each other helps calm our nerves and finish the day at work calmly. But on rainy, gloomy days it's difficult not to dwell on them a bit longer than necessary. It made me think of pet peeves and the completely irrational annoyance that accompanies them. It's not as easy to vent to other about personal pet peeves because someones pet peeve is another minor annoyance, or maybe even less.


Here are a few of mine:
Not using your car's turn signal
People having aloud conversation in a quiet room
Incorrect usage of your/you're or there/their/they're
People driving slowly in the far left lane
When people show up late to something
People walking slowly and blocking the sidewalk so you can't walk around them

Southern style football

At the University of Wisconsin we wear jeans, t-shirts, ball caps and face paint to football games. At the University of Mississippi they wear khakis, button-down shirts and dresses. No face paint. 

On Saturday, a few friends and I drove down to Oxford, MS to experience the ultimate Southern football experience: tailgating at the Grove followed by cheering on the Rebels of Ole Miss as they took on the Georgia Bulldogs. It was definitely a different experience. Being a Wisconsin native, I thought I knew everything there was to know about tailgating. Hell, I thought we practically invented it here. I was wrong. In the Grove, a grassy area near the football stadium, thousands of people set up tents and elaborate tailgate parties. Some of the tents I snuck a peak at even had floral arrangements as centerpieces, silver serving platters, champagne flutes for a morning mimosa and chandeliers hanging from the bars. In one shocking word: fancy. I don't think I would have appreciated the experience quite as much as an undergrad as I do now though; it felt grown-up. 

The game was also a ton of fun. I learned a new cheer that I fell in love with completely and also a few others that Mississippians sing with a little more class {and less cursing} than us Wisconsinites. It was an incredibly fun {and different} experience. 

Hotty Toddy, Gosh almighty
Who the hell are we?
Flim Flam, Bim Bam
Ole Miss, By Damn!

Badgers at Soldier Field

On September 17, my friends and I headed to Soldier Field, home of the {gross} Chicago Bears, to watch the Wisconsin Badgers take on the Northern Illinois Huskies. It was an odd experience, watching a college team play at a professional football stadium, but it was so much fun! We stopped at my favorite bar in Chicago beforehand to grab an Oktoberfest brew and headed down early before the game. I actually ran into a few old college friends outside the gates that I haven't seen in years! It was a mini-reunion of sorts. 

The game was a bit too tight for comfort in the beginning, but the Badgers ended up pulling off a win to stay undefeated. I hope I can also make it up to Madison for a game this season... Camp Randall is by far the best place to watch a college football game. 

Little sister goes to college

This week, my little sister started college. Such an easy sentence to say, such a difficult concept to handle. 


First, I can't believe how grown up she is. I remember, like it was just yesterday, chasing her down on her big wheel because she wouldn't come inside for dinner, and watching Honey, I Blew Up the Kid and Coneheads on endless cycles, and cheering her on as she ran hurdles in her elementary Olympic games. And now, she's a college student?! Wow. 


And the second reason I'm having a tough time coping with my little sister in college: it brings back so many great memories from my college years. This should be good, right? A little college nostalgia is healthy. But, I truly miss those years-- and it makes reality sink in... I am no longer near that time in my life. I have also grown up greatly. 


Now this is Ceci's turn to make memories that she will cherish for the rest of her life {and possibly a few she will shake her head and laugh at years from now also}. She's going to do great!

Another Brewers game

I think I've gone to far too many baseball games this year. I've averaged about one a week, which, according to my bank account, is too many. At least they're always fun and, thanks to the Milwaukee Brewers, always a good game. I do think today may have been my last game of the season though.


A few friends and I began tailgating bright and early this morning. Too bad it was so hot and sunny that we mostly just melted in our chairs instead of eating all of the delicious food the we prepared. {I am a bit upset that I woke up at 6 a.m. to make a pasta salad no one even took out of the cooler. At least I'll have lunch packed for tomorrow.} Despite the profuse sweating, it was an incredibly enjoyable afternoon. 

The Brewers won the game! And what a game it was. It was a bit of a nail-bitter at the end until John Axford came in to close out the game in the 9th inning.

Ten years

Ten years ago I was sitting in my teacher's office when a fellow student rushed through the door to tell us a plane crashed into the first tower of the World Trade Center.  I had the same initial reaction as my teacher: it must have been a small one-pilot plane that flew off course. We quickly saw how wrong we were.

It wasn't until I saw the Towers fall that I actually understood the gravity of the day. I spent the rest of the school day watching the news of the event, unsure of what it meant for our country and the millions of people it personally affected. It's still difficult to think about how this moment affected our country and the world.

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