November Favorites

It’s the last day of November! Whaaa? Since we live in San Diego, and it’s pretty warm here year-round, I often get confused about what season we’re currently in. Apparently winter’s coming up?

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I figured it was time to dive into the Christmas spirit. My husband’s rule is we can’t decorate the house until December 1st, but I may or may not have busted out my colorful lights at work a couple days ago…

#SorryNotSorry

December will, like always, be a hectic month for us—what with visiting family and spending time at random social events. Despite the craziness, though, I kind of love it.

November was a pretty chill month for me, so I have a weird mixture of favorites that…now that I look at them all…kind of make me feel like a suburban housewife. (I can’t help that active wear is so comfortable.)

So, for a sneak peek at my month and what I’ve been loving lately, check out the following list of randomness!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Thanksgiving – First things first—let’s talk turkey. I shared a little bit about our Thanksgiving last Friday in my Give Thanks workout post, which included a picture of the glorious food we cooked up. We participated in a Friendsgiving the weekend before, and we don’t have family in SoCal, so we spent the actual holiday chillaxin’ in our house with food and football. It was a nice day to just hang out.

Steps Challenges – I’ve kind of participated in a steps challenge before with a couple friends through the FitBit app, but I have a newfound appreciation for steps challenges after joining one with my group of active friends here. I’ve been using my FitBit Zip that I got ages ago, which I’ve learned doesn’t quite count as many steps as the wrist ones (which I’m not going to lie…sucks if you’re competing for money), but I’ve never realized how motivating being in a challenge like this can be!

Heated Blankets –  It’s drafty AF in our house, so we don’t like to use the heat unless we’re almost at popsicle status. As a result, I tend to be quite cold often during these “winter” months. I finally gave in and purchased a heated blanket, and there’s no looking back. It’s the best thing in the entire world. I highly recommend getting one if you’re always cold like I am!

Walking Shoes – As mentioned above as I professed my love for steps challenges, I’ve been walking more than normal lately. I’ve been meaning to buy a pair of walking shoes for awhile now because I hate when I go somewhere and walk all day and have to choose between uncomfortable-yet-cute sandals or running shoes. I needed some sort of middle ground for my style and also some support made for my walking. I found these Skechers “Flex Appeal Pretty City” on sale at JCPenny’s recently, and they’ve been working out great! They’re memory foam, which gets a bit warm for my feet, but besides that, I haven’t had any issues with my feet hurting or anything. Plus, I think they’re cute, so that’s cool.

Drive Thru Oil Change – This is such a boring adult thing to share, but I don’t care—it needs to be said. Drive thru oil changes are the best. I really hate getting my car’s oil changed because I don’t want to waste an hour of my day sitting in a shop. I can take my car on my lunch break at work to get my oil changed at the nearby Valvoline, and it takes me no longer than 10 or 15 minutes to complete it. I think it costs a little bit more, but thanks to the magic of coupons, I still don’t spend that much more. Worth it for suuuuure.

Animals by Miike Snow – I must have heard this song on the radio or something—I really have no idea. It’s such a bubbly upbeat song. Me gusta.

Gilmore Girls – I binge watched the crap out of this four-part series on Friday because I had the day off work. It honestly made me more sad than anything, though, because it reminded me of how much I loved Gilmore Girls and how it’s all over…but again…for good this time. I highly recommend the “A Year in the Life” episodes, but you won’t truly appreciate them if you haven’t watched the series beforehand. Just FYI. And the ending. Ugh. My heart.

Wedding Photo Book – So I guess our wedding was like six months ago—whatever. But we got the photo book we ordered through our photographer within the past month, and it makes me happy.

Updated Recipe Pics – It amazes me how important a picture of food can be haha. I shared my Cranberry Pistachio Goat Cheese Log recipe FOUR whole years ago, aaaand the picture was absolutely awful. I had to share the before-and-after of this recipe because it’s ridiculous. I’ve been trying to update the pictures for my old recipes to actually do them a little justice. This is my latest one, and I think they’re like night and day. This is the same exact recipe/process, but the original picture is just horribly setup and poor quality. I think the right actually shows how pretty this appetizer is!

Starbucks Iced Coffee – Well hello there, source of caffeine that isn’t packed with crap. I’m all about the Frappuccinos you can buy at the store, but I appreciate how this version is more pure and not as unhealthy. Girlfriend needs an energy boost without a crapton of sugar and fat (which makes me sad to say because omggg fatty coffee drinks ).