I hope you're ready because it's basically #Christmaseverything from now until December 25th! It just feels weird that October is over and we only have two more months of 2020 - I'm sure a lot of you are ready for this year to be over, but I think despite everything going on *ahem election season COVID fires etc* we can still come together and find many things to be grateful for.

Today (Sunday) I'm testing out a roast recipe. I'm hoping it turns out, but I just went to shred it and it wasn't falling apart...hmmm. Not a good sign after seven hours of slow cooking!

I hope you all had a good Halloween. For the first time ever, Josh made the chili and cornbread on Halloween using two new recipes and it was amazing - definitely going to need to remake it so we can share it with you.

Here's what's cooking this week:

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It's the last week of October...that feels weird, right? I was at Target the other day and all of the Christmas stuff was out and some of the stuff was selling out! I know this because the shelves looked like they had been full and were now picked over. Part of me was completely disgusted by the fact that the Christmas stuff was out and then the other part of me had some FOMO, like I had to buy stuff now, too.

For the record, I didn't buy anything Christmas related. But I really didn't like that FOMO feeling. I don't like feeling desperate.

Onto this week's menu. Sadly, I cannot link to four of the recipes I'm "actually" making this week. So many of them we're testing out! But, I will be sharing recipes that are like what I'm making. It's almost like we'll be cooking together.

Here's what's cooking this week!

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Remember how I mentioned last week that my menu was already off track? Yeah...that totally happened for real, and for the entire week. I cooked one whole meal off the entire menu.

It was just one of those weeks. But you know what? I know you understand because I'll bet you have weeks like that, too. Where even the best laid plans seem to go up against you at every turn.

This week, I'm going to do the only thing I can do. Move forward, plan another week's menu, and try my best to execute against it!

In other news, Josh has started on that homework station for the kids and it is awesome! He's gotten so much done in the last few days. It's looking really beautiful.

Onto this week's menu:

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Well, hello, hello friends! I hope you were able to enjoy a three day weekend with your family and friends.

We finished working on Christian's room...and by "we" I really mean Josh. I didn't do much except move some furniture here and there for Josh when he needed help. Christian's room was the last room that had carpet in the house, so Josh replaced the carpet with the same wood laminate flooring that is in the rest of the house, painted the bedroom, installed beadboard, and crown molding. Not to mention, we ordered new blinds (which will be here in November, apparently) and installed a new light fixture that includes a fan. It looks fantastic, is so much brighter and bigger feeling, and Christian is so happy with it.

Now, I still need to organize it a bit and go through his toys for donation. But we're getting there.

The next DIY project Josh is going to work on is a homework station for the kids upstairs. It will involve a built-in bookcase, desk, and cupboards. I'm excited, but it will definitely be a project!

With the DIY chat out of the way, let's talk about food. I predicted to Josh that my menu is going to go out the window this week. It's just a feeling I have, but seeing that today is Tuesday and we've already strayed away (from the menu), well...last night I was supposed to make soup and we ended up trying to eat up all the leftovers in the house instead. Which is good. It saves money, but also it pushes back a meal on the menu.

Regardless, here's what we're cooking this week.

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There you have it. We're officially in October, and I haven't even decorated for fall yet. While I know we're well into the fall season now, the weather has still been blissfully warm and while the trees are turning their glorious colors, it just doesn't seem like fall much to me.

Over the weekend, Josh made these pumpkin waffles and they were so good! The kids were thrilled! Okay, I was thrilled! Ha!

Josh and Christian have been busy over the last few days doing a room makeover for Christian. Ripping out and replacing the carpet with new flooring, painting the walls, adding beadboard wainscoting, and putting up crown molding. He may even get a new light fixture and blinds when we're done. But this is proving to be a great time to go through all of the toys and donate whatever he just doesn't need anymore!

This week at our house, I'm actually recipe testing two dinners and updating the photos to the black bean burgers which I shared on the weekly menu a few weeks ago. Since I just shared the burgers, I'll sub in a recipe for that and for the two recipes I'm testing. I'm pretty excited about them.

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With our trip to California at the beginning of the month, the wildfires and corresponding evacuation, and our annual fall family vacation, I feel as though September...didn't happen? Or at least, is a total blur?

I will say, though, that our week of vacation was just what we needed. We really enjoyed the house we rented in Sunriver - we were lucky enough to find a reasonably-priced home (going in the offseason helps) right on the bank of the Deschutes River. The weather was iffy, but we played games, ate waayy too much food, had a fire every night (and every morning), and went on a number of bike rides. Did I mention we also saw hawks, trumpeter swans, deer, and even a coyote?

Even though I can't change how fast September flew by, I'm determined to just enjoy these last few days - this week's weather looks beautiful and I'm so thankful. I'm going to ease us into fall by making pumpkin bread and cooking up some warm and hearty meals.

Speaking of those warm and hearty meals, here's what we're cooking this week!

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