gosh, i’m late! but i had a serious love affair with november… let’s talk about it. november is the month when everything takes on a lovely autumn radiance – type of magic that happens up north in september/october while we’re still getting straight summer weather here. and then just when i’m beginning to believe that fall doesn’t exist in texas… boom! it’s chilly weather and falling leaves and early sunsets and i could shed a tear seeing all those beautiful, colorful trees that i forgot actually do appear in tejas. we don’t skip fall – we just get it later than everywhere else. and it all goes away very quickly… it’s not long before the trees are bare and spindly… so don’t blink or you might miss it. and you better take the time to do novembery things like eat good food and spend time with family and friends and build fires in the fireplace while you can, because it’s pure goodness and you just won’t regret doing those kinds of things while you’re able. so that’s exactly what I did. :)
{i tried lyfe kitchen for the first time with some friends at the beginning of the month and now can’t seem to get enough! i love that it’s only a five minute walk from my house and that they serve fresh, healthy dishes that go beyond a wrap sandwich or a salad.}
{that ginger mint chia water is my fave… i get it every time i go to lyfe kitchen. and guys, meet the pizzanini, formerly known as the pizzadillawich. i must be dreaming because THIS IS HEALTHY?!}
{not-your-eight-year-old’s french braid… at least that’s what i like to tell myself. a.k.a. another way to postpone washing my hair for one more day…}
{looking like fall}
{because sometimes you just have to go to the park in the rain and jump in some puddles and play on the playground because there’s no one there.} :)
{sunny and 70 with a chance of good food and stories about american outlaws?? i’ll take it. my department at work couldn’t have picked a more perfect day to take a food tour of bishop arts. we spent the afternoon learning about bonnie and clyde and other tidbits of history from the area, laughing a lot, and most importantly, stuffing our faces with some really, really delicious food. there will likely be a post on this later, once i get around to it…}
{sometimes i just see something beautiful and have to take a photo. like the reflection of those clouds on that building.}
{my mom and mimi came over one weekend with the pup while my dad was out of town for a sleepover and shopping spree. we always have so much fun together!}
{i broke out the knee-highs for our shopping trip which was worth documenting… since it might be the first time ever. and lucky loves his mimi.}
{we hadn’t been antique shopping in a while so of course had to hit up some of our favorite establishments in the design district. country garden antiques always takes the cake with their displays, ESPECIALLY during the christmas season.}
{i mean…… is this eye candy or is this EYE CANDY??}
{country garden antique’s christmas room is the best part. and lula b’s is another favorite antique store.}
{and we ate well, of course. this was wine and small plates at the standard pour.}
{i brought home a cake i made in culinary school for dessert. andddd dressing room selfies with mimi!}
{oh anthropologie, you sure do know how to make me swoon.}
{it never fails… if i catch a glimpse of the sunrise through the strip of windows near the ceiling in the morning while i’m getting ready, i run to the door and open the shutters and start oohing and ahhing and snapping picture after picture because. i can’t help it. AND i can’t even handle the cuteness of that poofball who needed a haircut real bad.}
{fall at the office}
{i’ve been on a major ramen kick… on the left: instant ramen + spinach, cilantro, fresh lime juice, and chili garlic sauce added in = a yummy winter work lunch, and on the right: homemade ramen with shrimp, sugar snap peas, shiitake mushrooms, spinach, and cilantro. SO freaking good.}
{the lovely margaret hunt hill bridge}
{those leaves though…}
{being cozy, drinking tea and taking selfies by the fire} :)
{fall decorations}
{a magic shroom burger from hopdoddy and the gorgeous stained glass windows at the meddlesome moth}
{hat weather}
{i went to the etsy jingle bash at gilley’s and was kiiiiiiinda wishing i could borrow a child so i would have an excuse to check out the land of nod bus.
{i found a ridiculous amount of things that i loved at the jingle bash, including these prints from tread studios, my dear fellow co., and sushi & queso designs. can’t wait to get them framed and hang them up!}
{my sweet coworker knows i love prickly pear fruit so she brought me some one day… how pretty is this green and pink one?? they’re so delicious!}
{that same coworker is such a talented cook… she can literally make anything. here were some steamed buns and dumplings with some different sauces that she made and brought to share.}
{in the parking garage at work. this photo just makes me so happy.}
{my friend rebecca and have frequent dates to try new restaurants. this time we went to luck at trinity groves, and we ended up sharing beer ice cream for dessert. it was surprisingly SO. GOOD.}
{…after dinner, we stopped by kate weiser chocolate. the chocolate looks as though it could be glass – it’s so perfectly and beautifully made.}
{…and we peeked in the window of cake bar!}
{the margaret hunt hill bridge is stunning at night, especially with the dallas skyline in the background. this grainy picture just doesn’t do it justice.}
{a beautiful turkey cake that someone made in culinary school, and our thanksgiving potluck lunch at work, which turned out to be such a blast!}
{every now and then i have a slight sense of humor…} ;)
{you know you’re a nerd when… finding papers like this excite you. the FDA actually has an algorithm for ranking pathogenic microbial risk in fresh produce! and my favorite little buddy hayden [my coworker’s kid] came to visit me before thanksgiving! he was so busy that the only way to get him to look at the camera was for his daddy to hold his car up, and even then, this was the best we got. he’s the cutest!}
{happy thanksgiving from the kojder kids! one of us was looking a little less enthused about the day than the others… not mentioning any names…}
{this little dogs LOVES christmas. he also loves his mimi…}
{more gorgeous leaves}
{tea with my mom and grandmothers, which is an annual tradition for us. it’s literally my favorite thing ever. there will definitely be a post coming up with pictures from this year’s tea experience.}
{brunch at origin kitchen + bar… on the left is peruvian hash – blackened duroc pork tenderloin, sweet potato hash, banana, and mango chutney; and on the right, the king – vanilla french toast, rum spiced caramel, grilled banana, sea salt almond butter mousse, and bacon. DAMN is all i have to say.}
{this is what it looks like coming into work on monday mornings in november.}
{i loved seeing how this little overhanging tree changed color through the month.}
{my favorite dish from noodle wave – the spicy crabmeat noodle – and pumpkin cheesecake from maggiano’s.}
{a bunch of culinary “glamour shots” [HA! with that crazy hair!] in my chef coat because i’m done for the semester! yippee!}
{i heart my bedroom fireplace. and decorating the tree with a cup of silk holiday nog + a splash of amaretto + a sprinkle of nutmeg. and christmas movies playing in the background. i was in christmas heaven.}
{feeling festive with gold nails because i could finally paint them since culinary school’s over… and it’s tradition to end these posts with a sunset, so…} :)
happy happy christmastime! xoxo