October is one of my favorite months of the whole year! There is so much to love, so much do and so much to enjoy in the month of October, plus Halloween’s part of it!  The leaves have finally starting changing  here in Springfield and there is a briskness and newness in the air! The beginning of October started off a little warm, then we hit a couple days of 30 degree temps and I thought Have we skipped fall and gone straight to winter..? But the last week or so has been absolutely perfect fall weather! Isn’t it crazy that it’s already November? I feel like the last couple months have flown by. Last month I shared with you all my favorite items of September and I truly had a blast writing the post, so I figured I would keep sharing all the items I have been loving, living in and consuming. These posts are going to be really random, but that’s what makes them fun. Right?!

Ok, so I have a little story to tell you and yes, it is a little random, but it also ties into  a couple of my favorite things in this post. So Dave ( the hubby, if you’re new around here), got a new schedule for work (Tuesday- Saturday 8-5pm), but on this particular week, he had switched with another employee to work. It was Monday, October 15th, Dave had already headed to work and I was leaving for school. I had meetings at School that day and I had signed up to bring a soup for the lunch potluck, so I  placed all the items in a crock pot and headed out the door. As I was driving to work like normal, all of a sudden, my car began to make weird sounds and shake more than normal.  I had my foot on the gas, but even though my foot was heavy on the gas, my car began to slow.  My car is a pretty old car and I’ve had some issues with the oil leaking lately, so I thought that was exactly what had happened. Turns out, I had run out of gas… oops.. my bad!  Dave came to my rescue, but I sat on the side of the road for about 30-40 min. So moral of the story… if you see your gas tank getting under 1/4 a tank, you should fill up your tank and if you have an old car, like me, you may not be able to wait til a sensor lights up anymore. Ok, Erin, how does that relate to your favorite items???  Well, because since Dave worked on that Monday, he got to spend his Saturday off  with me!

Saturday Mornings with my Man!

Saturday morning, Dave and I slept in, made Biscuits and Gravy (well, he made it and I just enjoyed it) and watched one of my favorite Halloween movies Hocus Pocus!

Here’s his simple recipe in case you’re a fan of Biscuits and Gravy like us!

1 lb sausage or spicy sausage

1/4 cup flour

3 cups of milk ( you can do more or less depending upon the consistency you like)

1-2 Garlic gloves ( based on your preference)

Dave likes to cook the sausage gravy in his cast iron skillet and will cook the grease out, instead of draining. Brown up the sausage and add the garlic in while browning. Once the sausage is browned well,  add the flour, and then mix in the milk until it gets thicker. Keep mixing for the desired consistency.  Add to whatever biscuits you  enjoy and there ya go- super simple biscuit and gravy recipe!

Halloween!

I am a HUGE fan of Halloween! I love dressing up, every excuse to eat lots and lots of candy, all the fun parties and all the spooky house decorations and decor! I’m not big on haunted houses or really scary movies, but every once in a while I can do some suspense. But any chance to dress up and throw a good party… count me in! Over the last couple years, Dave and I planned and executed a couple Halloween parties and one of my favorites was last years, Stranger Things Watch Party. This year Dave and I will be staying in, carving some pumpkins, and handing out candy to the trick or treaters in the neighborhood… I’m actually super excited about a more chill Halloween.

Stitch Fix

I finally tried Stitch Fix and I had so much fun sharing all the items in my first fix. Stitch Fix had a deal going on during the month of October for educators, so I decided to give it a try.  I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to set up the account, choose my styles and sizes, order my first fix and even return items. Check out my Stitch Fix post to see all the items I received and how I styled them.

Buffalo Chicken Soup

This soup is AMAZING! My friend, Paige, shared this soup recipe with me as I was freaking out about what soup to make for the potluck at school. I didn’t get any pictures of the soup after the fact, but I thought I’d share the recipe with you, so you can try it out yourself.

Designed for Life and Merchandise

Designed for Life is a huge women’s conference that James River Church puts on every October and it’s an amazing time of worship, fellowship and incredible messages from top speakers. DFL used to one weekend at James River, but it has become so big that there are now 2 weekends of conference, one at an arena at Missouri State University (JQH)  and the other at James River. The openers are usually pretty incredible, but this years’ opening performances were exceptional! My favorite opener they performed this year was some excerpts of The Greatest Showman . It was magical! The spirit of God was present during both weeks through the incredible worship and in every speakers message.  I have performed for DFL over the last couple years and It’s always such a fun time, but this year I allowed myself to listen and be present during the messages. I needed that time for myself to allow God to speak new life into me and just rest. The last couple of years have been really rough for me and while I’ve always been busy, my schedule and routine have been taking more of a tole on my health and life. There were so many truths that I heard and have placed in my heart and my head over those two weekends, but one statement that I am continuing to tell myself : I am loved, I am a child of God, and He is pleased with me! What a great encouraging statement, right?!! 

 

2 pics above – @joshboston

And the merch… Well it’s seriously amazing and something I look forward to every year! Here’s what I bought this year! A black hoodie, sisterhood tee, and the sisterhood travel bag!

Loved this sisterhood shirt! So cute!

Nights around the Firepit

Ya’ll this has seriously been one of my all time favorite things this October! Dave and I have been enjoying the firepit throughout the weekends and even some weekdays. It has been a stress reliever and a great way to end the night for me and Dave! A glass of wine and the fire pit, I’m content!

Carving Pumpkins

I’m not gonna lie, I’m a little scared of carving pumpkins because of the possibility of cutting my fingers. I’ve seen those pumpkin carving kits and thought so many times about buying them, but they look as if they could break easily.  I loved our pumpkin designs and the end result, but taking all the pumpkin guts and seeds out is far from my favorite. I think we are getting better and better at carving our pumpkins every year!

My front Porch Sign

My friend Hannah made a welcome leaning sign for the front porch and I’m absolutely obsessed with it! She is super talented and has an incredible business… You’ll have to check back in December, because she’ll be my featured Boss Babe! Isn’t this sign the cutest?! https://www.instagram.com/olive_leaf_designs_/

The front says Welcome and the back says As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!

I hope you enjoyed hearing about my favorite items from October! Definitely try out the recipes and let me know what you think! Do you have some favorite items you’ve been loving in October??? I’d love to hear about them.

As always,

Be Kind and Be light

Erin Ruscel