We made it to another weekend, folks! (And who else can hardly believe that October is nearly over? This is just insane.)
While I like the crisp fall weather once the day is underway, I’ve been reminded this past week of how much I don’t love the whole cold-and-dark-in-the-morning thing. It makes it so hard to get motivated to get moving in the morning when there’s frost on my car windows and it’s pitch black out. Ugh.
While I don’t necessarily love the weather situation this time of year, here are some things I AM loving:
- Do y’all have your Halloween costumes planned out yet? If not, check out this collection of food-themed costumes. (I especially love the pineapple.)
- I stumbled upon this article a couple of weeks ago and have left it open in my browser for the last several days, re-reading portions now and then. I’ve read tons of “how to be happy” articles, but this one was especially interesting, as it merges insights gleaned by neuroscientists to help shed light on WHY certain behaviors make humans happier. For example, I loved this quote about worry:”And you worry a lot, too. Why? In the short term, worrying makes your brain feel a little better — at least you’re doing something about your problems. In fact, worrying can help calm the limbic system by increasing activity in the medial prefrontal cortex and decreasing activity in the amygdala. That might seem counterintuitive, but it just goes to show that if you’re feeling anxiety, doing something about it — even worrying — is better than doing nothing.”Worth a read, for sure!
- As someone who loves to “ask the internet” for answers big and small, it’s hard to remember a time pre-Google. As it turns out, people used to look to libraries to help answer their queries before they had the search bar to help them out. The New York Public Library came across a collection of questions dating back as early as the 1940s, and they’ve started releasing said questions on their Instagram account, which I highly recommend following.
- I tend to be judicious about the amount of pumpkin-flavored things I want to introduce into my life this time of year, but this Pumpkin Meatloaf with Pumpkin BBQ Sauce recipe caught my fancy, and I’m planning on giving it a try this weekend. (I may try to substitute the ketchup in the BBQ sauce for a less sugary homemade version, though. Has anyone had luck with homemade ketchup? Recipes welcome!)
- Nope, I didn’t know any of these words’ opposites, Mental Floss! Thanks for the heads up. I can always count on you for some fun facts.
- I can’t wait to see Bradley Cooper’s latest film, Burnt, which comes out this time next week. Check out how he and co-star Sienna Miller were trained to look like pros in the kitchen.
Happy weekend, friends! Kevin and I are running a 10K today and are looking forward to a generally low-key weekend following the race. Hope you have something fun planned, too!