Monthly Favorites - October

Linking up with the lovely Mia and Kelli for another installment of my monthly faves!

Ugh! I can’t believe this month is over already!  The winter is coming so fast and I am not ready for it at all.  Although October through December are my favorite months holiday wise, I hate the weather that comes at the end!   October was an absolutely beautiful month here in Illinois, but I fear it will soon take a turn for the worse!  Last year our first day of snow was on 10/22 and it didn't seem to quit after that.  So, onto the favorites:

One.  Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies—or pumpkin anything…

Let’s be honest, we are all a #basicwhitegirl deep down inside.  We love pumpkin spice ANYTHING, we love our scarves and Uggs and leggings and Northface jackets.  It’s ok, I’m proud to be a basic bitch.  One thing I found this year that I’ve never tried before, these Pumpkin Cheesecake cookies and they are fabulous!  I ate the entire bag in 2 days. Ooops!

Two.  Panera Hazelnut Crème K-Cups

I love hazelnut coffee with hazelnut creamer and 1 Truvia, that is my ideal cup of coffee.  I’ve tried many a hazelnut K-Cup in my life too, but these Panera ones are extra yummy!  I’ve been trying to avoid artificially flavored things, but my coffee and my creamer I don’t think I’ll ever be able to give up!

Three.  Scarves

Of course the Zara scarf seems to be the most coveted of the plaid blanket scarves, but I was at Old Navy a couple weeks ago and found something sort of similar.  I love the cream, red, and grey plaid and I can’t wait til it gets cold enough to warm up with it!  I'm also totally obsessed with this crocheted infinity scarf I found it a my favorite local boutique, CNJ Style! I love the wine color too, perfect!

here's the Zara scarf, so cute!

Here's mine... sorry I'm not a fashion blogger, this is the best you're gunna get!  I couldn't find the exact one online, but here are some similar. These actually say mens, but I bought mine in the women's section.

here's the crocheted! so cute and warm!

Four. Weather

October weather is just to die for.  I mentioned it up top, but it definitely deserves a spot on my list.  It was a little all over the place in terms of temperature, but we've had some really beautiful days in the 60’s and 70’s with the sun shining, it’s those last few nice days before winter rears its ugly head.  Unfortunately, the nicest weekend of the month we were working on the house rather than being out on the bike enjoying a last cruise.  It’s been stunningly beautiful down at our new house.  We live right on the Vermillion River, and I definitely cannot complain about the scenery.

Five. LP SmartSide 

I have to say, I'm really happy and impressed with my choices of colors for our house.  They are turning out beautifully together & and I cannot wait to see the outside completely finished.  I'm so in love with our siding and so happy that we decided to go with the wood rather than the vinyl.

I'm so happy with the way the garage & front door pops with the color of the siding.

These 3 gables will be done in a sand colored shake! So excited!

This is probably the truest picture as far as color goes, it's called Montana Suede.

I apologize for the short list!  Happy hump-day everyone!

Right On Track: 1 Week Until FET #3

I had my ultrasound yesterday and my lining is right where it needs to be, at a perfect 12.75!  We are right on track for our transfer to happen on lucky 11/11 at 10:30.  I have high hopes for this transfer.  If this transfer doesn't work then we will be taking that infamous break, at least until next year if not until the house is done.  I feel differently about this cycle than I have any other, but when I look back on it, I've felt a little different with every cycle.  This one in particular though, I've been completely focused on so many other things like our house that I haven't had much time to let my mind wander into that abyss of negativity & doubt.  

One of my fellow Instgrammers (@ivfshannond) posted this about how our minds change & we get a little more lax with each cycle.  I couldn't agree more!  I actually forgot to take my Doxy for an entire day, I've slept through my Lupron alarm twice this round, my mind is just in other places and whole process becomes the norm, I don't have to think twice about an injection (maybe I should so I would remember!) I can't help but wonder if my mind being off of this cycle might help just a bit. It's funny how things change. 

 I have to give a special thanks to my dear friend, fellow blogger, and infertility conqueror, Jessah @ Dreaming of Dimples, I came home after my doctors appointment to a thoughtful care package from her.  She's been a wealth of knowledge and a total inspiration to me and to many others in the world of TTC, thank you so much Jessah, you are a beautiful and thoughtful person!  I can't stress enough how much the TTC community & my TTC sisters have done for me.  The love and support I've been shown from women I've never met, from different countries, & different backgrounds is just surreal.

A week from today I'll be making my 3rd and hopefully final trip down to Rockford to have our frosty transferred back home.  I'm banking a lot on the saying "3rd times a charm" and that "11/11" might have some magical powers to it and praying that I finally have some good news to announce on Thanksgiving!

Friday Faves -- Happy Halloween!

How awesome is it to all of us bloggers that Halloween happened to fall on a Friday!?  Hello themed post!  You'll find lots of Halloween strewn about this post...Happy Halloween to all of you lovely ladies (and men??) out there in blogland, hope everyone is feeling frightening and festive!  Linking up with Amanda!

Favorite Moment:

If you noticed that I was MIA this week it’s because we are so busy right now with the house and life in general.  Joe is busting his ass to get the siding up and it’s looking amazing!  I’ve been painting my life away on windows and trim and running errands practically every day after work including a hair much needed hair appointment on Thursday.  Life, please slow down!

 Halloween Plans:

I’m kinda bummed and out of the Halloween spirit this year since I didn’t have my own house to decorate.  I decided not to carve a pumpkin & I probably won’t be passing out candy.  I also realized I’ll probably never pass out candy again once we live at the new house since we only have 1 neighbor, kind of sad.  We will have to drive our kids into some town so that they can trick-or-treat.  But tonight I'm planning to watch Hocus Pocus before we go to a local bar to watch a couple bands play.  I’m excited to be wearing my “I put a spell on you” sweatshirt from Jessica & SaSeaDecor. 

FET Progress:

Monday is my next ultrasound to check my lining and make sure the Lupron is doing its job.  Weird side note, I’ve got a mouth full of canker sores and I ended up with a cold sore, luckily I took my anti-viral in time to kick it before it got too bad.  I’m prone to both of these things but not all at once like that, maybe a nasty side effect of the hormones?

Favorite Pin:

how cool are these candied apples?! whose having a Halloween party I can make these for?

Favorite Funnies: