Autumn Bucket List Update

It's officially the first day of winter! Can you believe it? Since that's the case, I thought I'd take a look at how I did on my Autumn Bucket List. Here's what was on it:

And here's how I did:

Overall, not too bad, right? I had a lot of fun doing the things on this list and I'm not too disappointed about not making apricot bread, playing ultimate, or going kayaking. There's always winter, right? Well, not for the kayaking, but maybe for the other two things!

Check back next week for my winter bucket list!

Fall 2012 Bucket List

'Tis the season for creating Autumn bucket lists...or so I've gathered from the handful of blogs I read! So, I decided to make one, too. I'm not putting a lot of major things on this list simply because I'm a busy grad student and I already have lots of things to do. But I figure it's a good idea to make a "to-do" list of fun things to do that will bring me joy and satisfaction. So without further ado:

Adventures:
- Take a daytrip to Apple Hill
- Go kayaking
- Go wine tasting in November (Jeremy Wine Co. is releasing a new wine in early November and I can't wait to try it!)
- Take a daytrip to the beach and have a fire to roast s'mores


Delicious Things:
- Make pumpkin bread (I'll probably use the mix from Trader Joe's)
- Make apricot bread
- Eat mashed potatoes (Thanksgiving!)
- Drink apple cider

Social Activities:
- Host a classic movie night
- Go to dinner with friends
- Go to a pick-up ultimate frisbee game
- Go to an open mic night


Miscellaneous:
- Paint toes with Essie's Head Mistress
- Wear pearls casually
- Make painted ornaments
- Decorate my apartment for Christmas

Fall is for Wine Tasting (but Wine Tasting is for Any Season)

For the month of September, the wineries in Lodi, CA offered a special deal called the Roadtrip Passport to Lodi. For $15, you purchased this booklet that gave you complimentary wine tasting at 27 wineries and access to numerous winery events, some of which are normally only open to wine club members. I took advantage of the deal and went wine tasting in Lodi three times over the past couple weeks. It was a blast! Here are some of the photos from the trips:

First stamp in the passport!

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Michael David makes my favorite red and white wines

Grapes hanging from an arbor at Borra Vineyards

Went wine tasting with some of the girls from church

Also went wine tasting with my friend Leslie

And ALSO went wine tasting with my friend Kelsey. It was a busy month!

Especially when "all" involves wine ;)

Two Days 'til Autumn!

It will officially be Fall on September 22nd, but I'm already in a very Autumnal mood. This is my very favorite season. Today I thought I'd write down a few things I'm enjoying right now. In no particular order:

1. Starbucks iced coffee with hazelnut syrup. Delicious! And perfect for the pleasantly warm NorCal transition from summer to fall.

2. Essie's Head Mistress nail polish. It looks dark pink here, but it's more of a deep, blue-red with pinkish undertones (kind of a dark cranberry). I love it! I really think it's the perfect shade of red for all year-round. But especially late summer/early fall, and I plan to wear it a lot during the holiday season.

3. Reading for fun. I recently started reading Intellectuals and Society by Thomas Sowell and so far it is excellent! I've ALSO been enjoying all the reading I've done for school so far, so I think I can count it as reading for fun.

4. Wine tasting! I went last Saturday in Lodi with some friends and it was a blast. Lodi, CA has a special Roadtrip Passport to Lodi event that runs from September 1-October 6 and it only costs $15 for the booklet which gives you access to numerous winery events and free tastings at 27 wineries (which works out to to about $0.55 per tasting!). I'm going again on the 29th with some gals from church and I'm sure it will be just as much fun as last Saturday was.

5. Foyle's War. I recently started watching this show on Netflix and it's really good (ok, the first 2 episodes are really good - I haven't watched the rest yet!). Something about Autumn just makes me want to make a cup of tea and delve into all things British.