a full belly, a birthday, and a new dress!

Oh Friday, sweet Friday :) I'm so delighted that the weekend has come at last! K and I are having a low-key Halloweekend with pumpkin carving, pie-baking, scary movie-watching and probably some candy-eating (if I have anything to say about it)! I'm really excited. It's been so nice spending all of this time with K lately--now that cold weather has hit VT, I'm perfectly content to hibernate in our cozy little abode (and maybe start working on some of those goals).

(dress: Secondi; tights: Ralph Lauren; shoes: Payless)

I bought this dress in DC at an upscale consignment shop, Secondi. At $35, this was one of the cheapest items in the store, and I just couldn't let it slip away. At first I was iffy about the big geometric buttons and the shiny belt, but the sweet sixties-style cut and the perfect plaid pattern sold me in the end. I've been looking for a dress in this exact print for I-don't-know-how-long, and now I have it! The fabric is a really soft felt-like material, and it was actually marked as a "sweater" in the store--but you know me! As long as it covers my bum, it's a dress :) I also didn't notice until this morning that the top button (by the collar) was actually completely different, and worn to white in the middle (!) Being the sly trickster that I am, I colored the blank space with my eyeliner pencil, and Voila! Catastrophe averted.

I was actually realllllly not feeling well yesterday (there should be a law against sickness on birthdays), so we decided to skip the movie (I wanted to see You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, even though the reviews are pretty terrible--I'll be loyal to Woody until the day I die!) and enjoy the delicious dinner that K prepared for me. I woke from my relatively rejuvenating nap to the sweet smell of baked butternut squash, drizzled with butter and maple syrup:

As I watched Project Runway and flipped through my November Vogue (it takes forever for this magazine to get to my door--I guess they figure we're about 20 years behind the times anyway out here), K cooked mushrooms and zucchini in garlic and olive oil. He drained some of the juices into a bowl and brought me chunks of chewy local bread to dip in the deliciousness (for a bread hound like me, this is about as close to heaven as it gets...), then tossed the vegetables with vodka sauce over pasta:

Seriously, this man can cook. By the end of the night, I was miraculously feeling 100% better--and now I'm good as new! That's how a wonderful boyfriend and a bellyful of incredible, yummy comfort food turned my birthday all the way around :)

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! I can't wait to see all of your creative costumes!