30/30: Hot Chocolate on a Cold Night

October 9th

The temps have dropped here in NC so we thought it would be a good night to try a cup of hot chocolate from Coco Cinnamon.  It's a cool spot for a hot beverage.

30/30: Dessert Before Dinner

October 8th 

We stopped by Hummingbird Bakery for a little dessert before dinner, which I'd probably do every night if I wasn't such a responsible adult.

We split a lemon drop and pumpkin cupcake.  I love anything lemon and everyone loves anything pumpkin this time of year.  The cake and frosting on the pumpkin was delish.  I should have gotten another one for dessert after dinner.

30/30: Storms and Shipwrecks

October 7th 

The remains of Hurricane Karen filtered through North Carolina today so we had a movie night in and watched Life of Pi.

While Pi had to share his lifeboat with a feisty Bengal tiger, we had to share our couch with an equally defiant little "tiger."  Why are animals always the boss?

30/30: Suspended

October 6th 

We checked out the Eno River State Park today (I'd been to the West Point on the Eno so it was nice to see the "other side").  

We walked a trail along a quiet creek then went over to the suspension bridge.

While it's sometimes hard to tell it's fall in Durham, here in the park the leaves were falling and it seemed more like October.  Part of what we like about where we live is that we can drive 15 minutes and feel like we're in another state--maybe even pretend we're in New England for a little while.

30/30: Birthday Books

October 5th 

The day started off with a trip to the Durham Farmer's Market followed by a stop by Durham County Library's fall book sale.  

I bought a book of poems by writer's dogs, which reminds me of the time my mom wrote me a postcard in college from our cat.  I also got a book with ideas for day trip ideas from the Raleigh-Durham area.  We're still learning the area so it might help give us some good ideas for exploring.

30/30: Party Planning

October 4th 

We're officially throwing ourselves a 30th Milestone Birthday Masquerade.  For some reason, I've always wanted to have a masquerade ball and I feel like I'm getting a little old for it--this could be my last shot.  I envisioned having it in a dark hall with spiral stairs and balconies, but since we bought a house and spent all our money on that, we're having it in our living room.   

Today, I printed the invites which I created using this super easy (and free!) template from Greetings Island.  

Tonight we took advantage of this warm October weather (mid-80's which still takes some getting used to when you're from the north), and ate Chipotle on the deck with Maya.