We have had the most beautiful October with the longest stretch of sunny and warm weather; it’s been the kind of weather that evokes that Anne Shirley quote – I’m glad I live in a world where there are Octobers – which, believe me, is not a normal state of affairs in Calgary. Our first snowfall came fully 2/3 into the month, which is late for us. Here are our Halloween decorations before the snow:
And here is the after:
This is fall in Calgary! You just never know what the day might bring. All of this means that it’s time to pull out the thigh high wool socks, the bumwarmers, and the winter boots. It’s also time for a Favourite Things!
Nicole’s Favourite Things: The It’s Fall, Y’all Edition
It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers
Well, you didn’t think that I would get through an October Favourite Things post without talking about decorative gourds, did you, motherfuckers?
After last year’s fiasco with local wildlife stealing my little gourds and eating them, I decided to keep my miniature gourds inside. Those soft crafted pumpkins were gifted to me by a friend (HI TARYN) and regularly get wagged off the piano stool by SOMEONE. The piano stool was my great-grandmother’s, and I only recently incorporated it into my main-floor décor.
The Girls
Sometimes I can really visualize my future self, and one of those iterations of my future self is Crazy Plant Lady. I mean, I can really see it; me, at an advanced age, lipstick on, wearing flowing black old-lady tops, talking to houseplants, and referring to them all as her babies. It’s already happening, to be truthful.
It all started when my friend Denise (HI DENISE) relocated to Houston, and gave me her 17-year-old Christmas cactus. This Christmas cactus is as old as my youngest child, people. I am a Garden Person but I haven’t had indoor plants for years, other than my almost-zero-maintenance jade plant; still, I promised to care for it tenderly. I immediately named it Noelle and started researching How To Care For A Christmas Cactus.
The first order of business was to re-pot it, and for that I needed some more soil. Too long, didn’t read; I should never be left in the garden centre alone. I decided that along with a new pot and some soil, Noelle needed a friend, and this decorative pepper plant was just the ticket. I named her Pippa. If I had more space Noelle would have had a whole clique of friends, alas, I do not have space.
I had this cute little plant vignette for a week or so, but when we found out that Rex was coming to our home I moved them to the top of the hutch. I wasn’t sure if Rex was a plant-eater – he decidedly is NOT – but I thought his gigantic wagging tail might easily knock over The Girls. This turned out to be prescient, as the aforementioned soft gourds are often flying across the kitchen.
Scrub-a-Dub-Dub
I have loved the Rocky Mountain Soap company for years, but I have always ordered their products online. This generally worked great, but sometimes I ended up with a scent that I disliked. A few months ago I was at the mall which is five minutes from my house, and discovered that they had a new, REAL LIFE store! How exciting! I was able to sniff to my heart’s content, and I bought this lovely Blood Orange Body Scrub:
It’s orange, so I feel like it suits a Fall Favourites. It smells like a creamsicle, or The Body Shop Satsuma line. It’s the perfect blend of scrub and oil, so that it really moisturizes while exfoliating. It’s great for those of us who – pardon me for being indelicate – tend to get ingrown hairs in the bikini area.
Hair
I saw this gorgeous photolog of a woman’s journey to grow out her grey hair, and I was kind of inspired, but not inspired enough, if you know what I mean. One day I shall stop dying my hair, but that day is not today. However. My hair seems to grow fairly fast, if my roots are any indication, which means that in the days leading up to Colour Day, they are fairly dramatic. My roots are almost totally white, which means I am always playing the game of is that my roots or is my scalp showing, am I losing my hair or is it just white. It’s not the most fun game.
I wear my hair up in a bun fairly often, particularly on teaching days, or on days that I don’t wash my hair. I found this hair band, which has trailing ends to make it look like a scarf, and I love it. It makes me feel like a fashionable hippie, or a fortune-teller, but in the best possible way.
I love it because it’s quite wide, so it covers up my roots nicely. I have many hair bands, but this is my new favourite because of the long scarf detailing.
Rex, Enthusiastic Subscriber to Friluftsliv
It’s been over two years since I decided to embrace my Norwegian heritage and the concept of friluftsliv; winters in Calgary are long indeed and I was tired of dreading them. I mean, what can you do about weather? There are two options: you can be miserable, or you can adapt. Well, I guess there are three options: you could move, but I didn’t foresee myself packing up and moving to Maui, the only place that I know of that has perfect weather year-round, so really, there are only two feasible options.
So here we are with quite a bit of heavy, wet snow on the ground, and the stunningly beautiful warmth of this fall in the rearview mirror. In years past, I may have felt a bit disheartened at the prospect of cold, cold, and more cold for the next six or seven months, but NOT TODAY, SATAN. I have layers and I shall wear them, I have many pairs of winter boots, I have bum warmers and thick coats, and I have Rex.
It’s impossible not to be moved by his pure joy at the first snowfall. What a dog! In the ayurvedic world, I believe Rex would be pitta. Bernese mountain dogs are built for winter conditions, so I have a lot of vicarious joy coming my way, as we come into the season. And hey, there’s nothing like winter to soothe those hot flashes, am I right?
Hot Stuff; Heart Stuff
Speaking of hot flashes, Kari (HI KARI) had written this post about menopause, from a Gen X woman’s standpoint, and it is tremendous. All 34 menopause symptoms, each with a song from the 80s. This post was from 5 years ago, but I like to reference it from time to time because High and Dry.
Specific to that point, this How To Apply “No-Makeup” Makeup: A Guide For Mature Women is absolutely worth a read.
This month, Suzanne (HI SUZANNE) wrote a post about measuring with your heart, and I felt seen. I never use the amount of vanilla that a recipe calls for; I at least double it or I just glug glug glug it in. Other things I measure with my heart: to-be-read book lists, grated ginger in any stir-fry recipe, chocolate chips in desserts and cookies, and nut butters in my smoothies.
Speaking of nut butters, has anyone else noticed how tiny the Reece peanut butter cup “fun size” treats are? What the what? When did this happen?
Peanut butter chocolate is still one of my favourite things, but as of next week we will be entering my favourite flavour season: MINT CHOCOLATE! But that is a topic for another post. What are your Favourite Things this month? Tell me everything. xo
Rex’s joy is so contagious… I’m not even slightly scared by the halloween decorations or the early snow! 🤗
Well, we are big into Halloween at the Lovelady-Allen house, as you already know. It won’t be as big a production with North not able to be in the costume contest/parade, but they are still trick-or-treating and we carved pumpkins and are trying to get the yard decorated. It’s a big job and I’m honestly not sure if we’ll finish this year.
p.s. I can see how that dog could nudge you into October snow positivity.
Thank you for sharing your Halloween decorations! They are amazing!! We have really enjoyed looking at everyone’s decorations this fall. Paul used to be terrified of them but has turned the corner and LOVES them. So that is a favorite for me this month!
I also am not ready to give into the gray. I have such young children, though. I do not want to be mistaken for my children’s grandma. Ha. That happened to my coworker’s wife. She had their son/adopted in her early 40s and their kids went to a daycare where there were a lot of very young moms and someone thought she was a grandma! Eeks. I would like to avoid that happening!
Rex’s enthusiasm is contagious! I don’t have quite as rosy of an outlook on winter as you do but I’m trying. We try to get outside with the boys as much as possible and have done a ton of sledding in the last several years but when it’s super cold, it’s hard to take them out so we end up spending way more time than I’d like inside. But as they get older, they will get heartier (hopefully!) and won’t like take their mittens off when it’s dangerously cold outside as toddlers are prone to do.
I’m glad Paul is enjoying decorations! How fun! A few years ago a little girl marched through our scary, dark yard that had animatronic what-have-you’s and lights, spiders dropping down from the trees, and she was fine. I opened the door and when she saw Barkley sitting there, wagging, she screamed. AHHHHH A DOG! It was too funny.
I have many friends who are grey and silver and they look fabulous BUT I’m not quite there yet!!
‘Pardon me for being indelicate’ made me chuckle, as did your head band giving you fortune-teller vibes. That head band is so cute. I can see why it is your fav. That was a very funny post Kari did, tying song titles to menopause symptoms. I love the Halloween display. I always concentrated my Halloween efforts on costume creating, so we were never big on decorating the house. Now, with no one dressing up – at least not with the excitment of young children, I should/could get more into decorating the house . . . but I only got out one tin pumpkin thing for the mantle. Oh, and I LOVE the piano stool. I have my grandmother’s sewing maching stand on display in my living room. I also love the story behind the girls.
My fav fall activity is tailgating. I make pumpkin bread throughout the year, but it is celebrated by my people the most in October. I love basketball season, but I really enjoy the calm in the fall that takes place BEFORE the intensity of basketball season.
I have book club tonight, and that is one of my favorite things too – although it is not limited to the fall. This is our last meeting of the year, and we bring titles of books we want to suggest for next year. I rarely have time to read books outside of those we read for book club, but I did read Bomb Shelter. I’m going to suggest that. I might look back at some of your recommendations and share those with the group. What was the name of the book that you felt was the best novel you’ve read this year? I think it was mentioned in a recent post, so I can look back.
The book that I recently read and loved was Consent – but this is a warning! I don’t know what your group is like. It is quite dark and very upsetting at times, but also, so well done and so many layers. There are a few big triggers – suicide being the biggest one – and it’s not an uplifting book. But so well done!
I hate winter but…I makes me happy that it makes my dog happy.
Fun fact I’ve never ever dyed my hair. I always assumed that I would start once the grays came, but I’m a late bloomer in that department. I only have a few rando grays here and there and it hardly seems worth the trouble. At some point I realized that if I start dyeing I’ll have to maintain it and then grow it out at some point and it’s just like I ain’t got time for that. If I’d started going gray in my 20s then I think it would have been a totally different story. I would have been more than happy to put all the hours into hiding it back then.
Boo to the tiny Reeses:-( When you need a microscope to see it, things have gone too far.
See, if that was my situation I’d just let it go silver, strand by strand. Alas. I started greying in my late 20s and now it’s a big THING to grow it out. I’d either have to bleach it out to match, or live with half-and half hair. Or cut it really short. So I guess I’m going to keep on keeping on I guess!
Oh I love these posts!
I am SO glad we don’t have snow yet, but I think it makes your Halloween decorations even cooler, to be honest. But, I repeat, I am SO glad we don’t have snow yet.
Sigh, I need to embrace winter. I live cold and hate winter and almost everything about it. But there ARE things I enjoy like cozy evenings at home around the fire. I need to stop focusing on the cold and the ice and the inconvenience and just find contentment where I live which happens to be incredibly beautiful, but also cold/icy/snowy in the winter.
I love chocolate and PB. Someone gifted me the dark chocolate thin Reese’s the other day and they are the perfect ratio of PB to chocolate for me. I like mint chocolate but everyone else in my household despises it, so I don’t get much even at the holidays. They’re pretty great people who live me with though, so I try not to get too grumpy about it and I sneak chocolate mints when we’re at parties over the holidays.
And Rex just looks like pure delight <3
Oh Elisabeth, this is the perfect opportunity for you to get ALL the mint chocolate! “I bought this box of mint chocolate…oh, no one else wants it? Guess it’s mine then.”
I do love a decorative pepper plant, inside or outside. And a jade plant can be a no-brainer except when I try to grow them. I think the snow enhances the macabre-ness of the Halloween decorations. It’s cool, no pun intended.
I like photo projects that show someone going from dyed hair to gray. It’s fascinating. I never thought to do that, of course. As for candy, peanut butter is fine, but I prefer anything that features a bit of caramel. That’s my downfall when it comes to sweets.
Oh, you’re a caramel girl! My younger son loves caramel so much too. I could take it or leave it, which is perfect, I think, because when we get mixed boxes we share nicely!
I used the pandemic lockdown as an excuse to let my hair go silver and I am sooooo happy about it. No more roots peeking through at 3.5 weeks and so far, no grandma remarks. In fact I find it hilarious that I get more compliments now than ever before! In other words, don’t be scared! I’ll offer this tip for when you take the plunge, the best thing I did do once I returned to the salon was have her strip out the dark ends and highlight to blend it. Then after a good cut, it made it ten times more bearable to go the rest of the way!
Rex is living it up, love a dog in the snow! So cute😀
I’ve thought about that, Liz! Maybe one day. It’s just too much of a contrast right now, so I think I’d have to get the colour stripped out, like you say. One day! One day I’m going to do this!
Your Halloween decorations are so fabulous! I’ll bet kids love to Trick-Or-Treat at your house! I sure enjoyed the Menopause playlist – thanks for showing me another great blog to enjoy!
Thanks Michelle – I give out FULL SIZE CHOCOLATE BARS because I want us to be the best house in the neighbourhood! Lol!
Aww, I love this post.
I also have a low-maintenance jade plant. I love plants that require little attention.
I also also love using a body scrub in the shower. I became addicted to them in the last few years. It’s like having a spa at home.
Thank you so much for sharing my post! In regards to menopause, I got my period a few weeks ago. This is apparently what happens when you hang out with females who are still menstruating (this is a fact, I swear). So that’s another 34 symptom to add to the list. 🤣
Dammmmmmn. Welp. Good thing the youngsters still have all the necessary accoutrements? Bummer though!!! I love that post, it makes me smile every time I look at it.
I need Christmas cactus advice. I got one from my MIL years ago and it held on as long as it could, but I eventually killed it. MIL has died, but my FIL just gave me and my husband the matching Christmas cactus to the one I killed and now I’m so nervous because this is the Last Chance Christmas Cactus and if I kill this one, my heart will be broken. What should I be doing for it that won’t kill it?!
So what I’ve ascertained so far – and I’ve only had the cactus for six weeks – is that they need to really dry out between waterings, they need to have space for their roots to not rot, and I also bought special “cactus” potting soil. I think you’re only supposed to water them every 2-3 weeks, and only if you dig down and the dirt is completely dry 1/3 of the way down. Also they need to be in a bright but not directly sunny place. I hope this works, I’m a bit nervous too!
The snow makes your Halloween decorations look even more creepy somehow.
I was just contemplating my hair today (yes, deep thoughts, I know), and marveling at the fact that I think I just dyed it two weekends ago and yet, I am already seeing roots. I’m not quite ready to throw in the towel on dying it yet but, holy cow. Am I going to have to start dying it every two weeks or so?!
I know exactly what you mean, I try to hold out for 4 weeks but honestly, I could probably go every 2 1/2. That seems ridiculous. At some point I have got to just succumb to nature.
I read every single word of that growing-out-the-hair-dye thing, but absolutely did think I would probably either (1) chop it off or (2) dye it silver to help the process.
Remember when all the girls were going “granny grey” a few years back? Maybe I should do that and then just let things go.
So many goodies here – Love your little pepper plant; I just may get one. I’ve never been good with houseplants (well…any plants) but I got a hibiscus for Mothers Day 2020 and it’s still flourishing and gorgeous with 2 or 3 massive blooms daily! It goes outside in the summer and in a sunny east facing window all winter. Many I can handle a pepper plant?
I stopped colouring my hair 2 years ago. I have what you’d call ‘salt & pepper’ as I only started getting gray hairs at 50. A young hairstylist friend of the family gave me what she called baby highlights. It took 5 hours which almost killed me but allowed me to grow my natural without obvious roots. I only needed one touch up during the transition. Just this week a young 20 something girl told me “I love your hair, it’s so beautiful!”. So that was validating. Other friends are totally silver and get compliments all the time on their gorgeous hair. You could just get bigger headbands until it’s all grown in!
Oh, I bet it looks great! I wish that was the case with me, but I started going grey in my late 20s and have been colouring regularly ever since. I wish I could just let silver in, you know?
I love everything about this!!! Maybe especially the line when you called us motherfuckers (it brought me real joy, Nicole – you know you have a true gift when you can achieve that kind of loving tenderness with that specific word 😂) and the Rex pictures. Talk about reveling in wintertime joy!
I cannot believe I forgot ginger in my list of heart measurements! Yes! Recipes never call for enough! (Thank you for the shout out!!!)
Lolololol IT’S FALL, BITCHES!!! I love that a good use of motherfuckers can spark joy!
Ginger! It’s such a good ingredient!
Your Halloween decorations are OVER THE TOP as they should be.
I love that you are going to be a plant lady. We should start a club. Or a gang. Whatever. That 17 year old Christmas Cactus is everything…as is you having your Great Grandmother’s Piano stool. WHAT!
Rex is so happy and that makes all of us so happy.
I laughed at your roots/gray/scalp game. Sorry, it was funny, but I understand it’s not a fun game for you.
The No Makeup look for mature women is the funniest thing I’ve read in a while! Thanks for that.
OMG we should start a gang! First it’s Puzzle Club, now it’s The Plant Ladies. We could have jackets and everything!!
OMG Rex frolicking in the snow… those paws… I can see how that would make it all worth it.
i’m impressed with your Halloween decorations! I think the snow actually adds a spooky, desolate touch..
Someone gave me a small papaya tree (in a pot) this week. I planted it in the backyard and have been out there talking to it and watering it, hoping the neighbors aren’t around. You’re supposed to talk to your plants, right?
I’m looking forward to mint chocolate season too.
Oh yes, you have to talk to the plants! Otherwise, how will they know you love them?
I always enjoy “favorite things” posts so much… thanks for sharing what’s making you happy right now. First and foremost, sweet Rex, who is so excited about the first snow that you forgot to be mad about it coming so early! 😉
I also love your gourds. I feel like pumpkin/gourd season is always a little bit too short, as everyone shifts to the holiday season right after Halloween. (How long do you keep your decorations up?). I am not quite ready for the holidays, but when you say mint chocolate season.. I am here for it!!
Thanks San! The decorations will come down tomorrow – I’m pretty sure my outdoor gourds will be completely mush from being outside on freezing nights.
P.S. I just checked out Kari’s post about menopause… OMG, that was amazing LOL
Your Halloween decorations are amazing! My mom’s neighborhood has a few houses that went all out for Halloween and I love it! It’s so creepy but also perfect. The snow adds a perfect touch!
Rex in the snow is my new happy place. WHAT JOY!
Thanks so much Stephany – he brings me so much joy!
Have you considered a root spray? (For your hair, not the plants). I don’t know if you have it over there, but I use the Loreal Paris Magic ReTouch, and it means I can get the whole way to my next appointment without barely showing a grey root. Changed my life!
Hi Kate! I do have one and I think I need to find a different shade, as the one I have looks really obvious. This is a great suggestion! I’m going to search! Thank you!
I am one of the luckier ones – well, kind of? One of the outcomes of a significant – and lingering – health issue from now three years ago led to such substantial hair loss that I … lost all my greys. And they have not returned en masse. I have not-very-pretty hair but I also don’t have to do anything to it. (I am not sure I would, even if I were going grey… really, too much maintenance, sigh.)
I, too, have killed MANY a jade plant. I read your response to… someone, above, now I cannot remember who, and think I was probably overwatering. I’ve managed to get some Christmas cacti through a few years; now I am hopeful that I may be able to translate that ‘success’ to jade. We shall see!
And Rex. Oh, Rex. You make me smile. Thank you. <3
Oh wow! That is a big upside from an otherwise not-great health issue! I love how you’re looking at this!