Well kids, now that Halloween is over, you’re bound to see Christmas decorations popping up all over the place… like I did today in Walmart, at the Dollar Store and at my bank, of all places. What’s the rush? Here on the Central Coast it’s just now beginning to feel like fall. The weather has cooled to the low 70s and upper 60s which I like very much so. I was able to wear a scarf and a pair of ankle boots yesterday and it’s the simple things in life that make me happy! OMG! And did you hear? It poured RAIN here for the first time in what feels like a year. I had one trick-or-treater on Halloween so now I’m left with 60 plus pieces of candy… true story. 

I was MTV News host Kennedy for Halloween. I made that mix myself using a potato masher!

Andy and I took a drive to Cambria yesterday to see their annual Scarecrow Festival. It’s this really cool event that happens only in October and for the whole month, the town is decorated in life-size scarecrows depicting everyone from Frida Kahlo and Dale Chihuly to nuns, artists and the cast of The Wizard of Oz. It was so neat and we got out and walked around and discovered all these tiny antique and thrift shops with wine bars tucked into the back lots. Cambria is quaint, adorable and very homey. Too bad the town is literally running out of water because of the drought and the residents are already aggressively conserving water. I pray for them daily and I got a sense of how desperate the town is when we weren’t even offered water at the restaurants there.

Save Water Drink Wine! Save Water Shampoo with Chablis!

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So, I have to tell you that I am loving my new Audible app or “Books on Tape” from Amazon. I finished listening to Lena Dunham’s Not that Kind of Girl and I’ve just started Amy Poehler’s Yes Please that is equally as funny and entertaining. I’m not sure I could listen to a big novel and keep my attention since I’m usually walking when I listen to these books. I prefer something light and funny and there’s a ton of witty banter on each of these books!  That being said, I love big books. No seriously, the thicker the book, the more interested I usually am because hey, if you’ve got that much to say in one book, it’s got to be good right?!

I walked 68 miles last month! Holy Cow!

No! Not necessarily, like with Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch. That book was massive and I hated the ending. For such a messy, complicated, thought-provoking book, the ending was clean, too long and it seemed as if Donna herself got tired of writing it and just hit the period key and ended it where she could. I read that book almost eight months ago and it stills bothers me. Decide for yourself though, don’t let my thoughts dissuade you from reading it. Currently, my book club is reading Anthony Doerr’s All the Light You Cannot See at an impressive 530 pages, all of which are, so far, beautifully written.

But get this- I have to read it in seven days. Yes, seven. Seriously. Ever heard of this thing called “express loan” at your library? Me either, until last Friday that is. I went to place a hold on the book and found out that there were 108 requests before mine. It’s highly unlikely that I would get said book before November 15, our next book club meeting, so I was kind of bummed out. So I started to peruse the new releases section and low and behold there is a copy of Doerr’s book with the instructions that you can only keep it for seven days and you cannot renew it. What?

So now, I’m determined to finish this sucker by Friday when it’s due back. Quite the undertaking but we’ll see if I can do it. I’d love to know your favorite “big books” so please leave a comment below! I’m leaving you with my new favorite Brunch dish… Acorn Squash baked and then stuffed with two poached eggs. It’s super easy to make and is light, clean, and packed with protein and Vitamin C. Go get some!

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Acorn Squash with Poached Eggs- serves one 

Ingredients:

-1/2 Acorn Squash

-2 egg, poached

-handful of spinach

-cilantro

-olive oil

-salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400.

2. Cut the acorn squash in half and deseed it.

3. Drizzle some olive oil inside and place cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until soft.

4. While the squash is baking, sauté the spinach and poach the eggs.

5. Take out the squash and place the spinach and poached eggs inside. Add the cilantro on top! Easy peesy!