Who said weekends are for relaxing?

I know I talked about this in my last post, but I can't even begin to explain how crazy things have gotten...I feel I don't have any downtime but have absolutely no idea what to cut out. And it's not even like it's a FOMO thing or me saying 'Yes' to every invitation - it's more that I just jump in head-first and go. At any rate, at least I have some amazing photos to share with you because of all of it!

I got a few last shots of fall before the frigid winter set in...I went on a morning jog a few weeks ago and found this awesome little running trail! Looks like something from a book cover to me...

The tree outside of my office - looks like a flame.

For #tbt I found these awesome 'vintage photos' of yours truly that my mom had emailed me awhile back. I'm a forever foodie - this was taken when I was...11? 12? I got to shadow the chef's at Asheville's Grove Park Inn.

Baby Emily did cooking presentations with 4-H.

On one of my walks home - the lights on this bridge are so pretty

:) 

I love walking into the dining room and seeing a new drawing on the chalkboard!

*FINALLY* - back at the gym! I discovered a gym right at the end of my street and have gotten back into the routine of doing morning workouts before work. 

#selfie

Working out is more fun when you have colorful gear...

Leaving the gym - I get to see the sunrise on my walk home

Christie recently celebrated her birthday and got a watch from her husband - now we're watch twins!

I feel like I'm ready for the tundra in this photo

See? I have such artistic roommates!

We had a lovely little 'Friendsgiving' the week before Turkey Day. Even though I couldn't be home to cook, I helped by brining the turkey/providing instruction to those at home throughout the day. Our 18-pound bird, Bertha, was a success!

Abigail and I were super excited about it

And Nas got to use his knife skills to carve it up!

~like a kid in a candy shop~ 

I've really loved seeing Gloria blossom over the past year - she's really starting to open up and feel comfortable with me. As soon as she hops in my car she'll start telling me about what's going on in her life. The past few weeks she's been really outspoken about how she wants to spend our time together, which I am *loving* - this time she wanted to recreate the fruit salsa we did earlier in the year. Fine by me!

Enjoying some R&R - Scandal, Oprah, pumpkin cheesecake, and coffee all in the comfort of my warm snuggly bed.

Kid's church - never a dull moment. Especially when Theo gets ahold of the snack. 

For kids church, we all took a CPR class. I'm certified to save lives! ;-) 

Latest book obsession - Lessons from Madame Chic. The French girl inside of me is happy :)

First snow! Love the fall leaves and the white snow...

This Thanksgiving, I got to go to not one, but two different celebrations! The first was a potluck at John and Jenny's

(John playing the fiddle while biking)

The second was a Friendsgiving hosted by Melissa - she's an excellent cook and an even better baker. I was absolutely stuffed by the end of it!

Cheers!

Soooooooooooo thankful that even though I was full, I couldn't refuse the plate of leftovers Mel sent home with me.

J-Ho lucked out and got tickets to see the Revolution play the Red Bulls and invited a few of us

My first time at Gillette Stadium

Goooooooooooooooooal

It was loud!

We won!!!!

On another walk home from the office...3 years later and I still love this city

Dinner of champions (and thanks Mom for the nail polish!)

Hitting the gym again - leg day. I'm so lucky to have my friend Jihye living so close by - she's been getting up with me to do 6 am workouts!!! 

I was craving smoked salmon so I made myself some mini 'bagels and lox' (but with pumpernickel slices instead of bagels)

Over this weekend Gloria and I got to go to the Big Sister Christmas Celebration at the Prudential. We ate chowder and calamari at Legal Seafood and got to hang out with other matches...

...then we headed into the mall center...

...for a flash mob of carolers! 

Then we 'flipped the switch' to light up the Prudential in Big Sister purple

I had an insanely awesome turn of events on Saturday night when my friend Aidan asked if I'd like to come see one of my favorite bands, The 1975, perform live at the House of Blues in Boston. I'd been trying to go for ages but tickets were crazy expensive, so this was PERFECT! (And you can see the Big Sister purple Pru in the background!)

Waiting in line...

Cruisr, a band from Philly, opened the show

Get ready...

Matty Healy from The 1975!

My second favorite song, Menswear.

Bright lights, big city

In true rock star fashion, he had a bottle of wine and a cigarette in hand the whole show... 

...but was still able to play piano, guitar, and sing beautifully

My *favorite* song - Chocolate

View from the back

Absolutely *amazing* show!!! 

The next day after church I got to head over to Christie's for a Kids Team Appreciation Brunch

As always, the table was impeccably set

And the food was soooooooooo delicious!!! Christie is such a lovely hostess!

And to wrap it all up, practicing my knife skills when prepping for lunch this week and got to use a Kikuichi Hammered Slicing Knife.

It's an eclectic mix of things that I've done - from volunteering to church brunches to concerts - but I'm having an absolute blast!!! Next up - a trip home for the holidays! I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!!