Fall has arrived and I’m embracing it fully today. We have had sunny days all week and now that the weekend has arrived it is wet and gray outside and I love it! I definitely needed it today after a real whirlwind week. After getting my hair done this morning (thanks Joanna!) a run to Target, and a lunch of leftover, I am lazin it on the couch watching the Huskies battle it out with USC and thinking again how great fall is. Here’s a rundown on how the week broke out:

• Back in town late, late, late on Monday.
• Up early on Tuesday (time changes mess with you!) Before heading out for work, I had the suitcases unpacked, mail sorted and a load of laundry in. I managed to make it to the office by 7, had a blast catching up with my work group and talking about the cruise and Pillsbury Bake-off news, checked a couple hundred emails by 9 and spent most the day in a Commission meeting. Finally left the office at 7 that night.
• Wednesday was a little calmer. After work, Glen and I headed to the grocery store. I was up late cooking and prepping.
• For what you say? Glen’s friends from high school were arriving for dinner on Thursday! I planned a dinner of appletinis (our two apple trees went crazy this year), clam chowder, shrimp louies, baguette slices with two mixed butters — honey and garlic/basil — and apple crisp for dessert (homemade by mom.) So to make it all happen with limited time, I prepped most of it the day before, including setting the table, (centerpiece pictured above) which turned out to be a very good thing since Glen who had promised to be there at 4:30 to help didn’t roll in till 6:15 — with friends in tow! Bad Glen! It all worked out though. The weather helped. It was a perfect night and we enjoyed our appletinis and light appetizers out on the deck and our view is hard to beat on a nice warm evening. I had a really nice timne getting to know them all and Glen had a wonderful day spending time with friends he had hardly seen since high school. Oh how I love old friends.
• Still, that wasn’t all I was prepping for because last night we also had a party at our place. (Yes, we are crazy people!) It was another great get-together. This time we had about 30 people over to celebrate some notable accomplishments mentioned in my earlier post. The biggest hit though was our little party noisemaker — Savanna. Oh so cute! She was awake and smiling for much of the evening. I’m on a bad trend lately though of not planning my food levels very well. It seems like I either make way too much or almost too little of late. Last night was the almost too little side of things but we slid through somehow with just enough. It was a loud, raucous, fun-filled evening with our big tribe of family and friends that we cherish.
• Which brings us to today. I’m doing not much of nothing. And that, I can tell you, I seem to be really good at!

P.S. Woo-Hoo!!! Huskies just won the game! Bow-wow