Life by numbers.

7: days since October began. OCTOBER, the tenth month of the year. While I'm not the biggest fan of how quickly this year is coming to an end, I do love the colors that are out this month. Anne, from Anne of Green Gables (my absolute favorite books when I was younger) says that she's "happy to live in a world where there are Octobers." I think she'd still feel the same way if she saw October in WI, or MN, for that matter, and not in PEI. 

2: the potential number of sibling visitors I'll get this weekend. I really do think I lucked out in this department - my brother and sister are pretty cool dudes, and I can't wait to see them! Oh, and they take good photos, too.

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5: pairs of glasses I'll be receiving from Warby Parker in just a few days. I can't wait to get new glasses. I've had my current pair since senior year of college...and I think maybe (just maybe) trends in eye wear have changed since then. Warby Parker lets you choose up to five pairs of frames from their website, then they send them to you for free to try on at home for five days! Once you've decided, you give them your prescription and place your order, all for a very reasonable price. And, for every pair that's purchased, the company gives a pair to someone in need. Win-win.

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46: days until Turkey Day 5k. I just registered for this - now it's really time to start running. My sister and I did the race last year and loved it, although I think I was more motivated last year to run than I am at this present moment...but I'll get there. Let's hope for good weather and no snow! 

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7: hours that my mom spent traveling to get to us in MKE last week, thanks to the silly train...but we loved having her here! We went to the museum, out for walks, to dinner, and just really enjoyed spending as much time as we could with her. And we're sorry that it took even longer to get back to MPLS (again, thanks, train).

383: miles between MKE and Des Moines, where we drove this weekend to celebrate John and Kellie get married! Andrew was an usher in their wedding, and we were so, so happy to be able to share in their day. We wish them nothing but the best - congrats, newlyweds!! 

A good WI-kend.

We had a wonderful and relaxing weekend. It's finally fall, my favorite season, and it feels like it, too...yay for sweater weather and boots! It's funny to me how tired I get of wearing boots into springtime, but how exciting it is to dig them out again once it starts getting cooler.


Andrew and I both had free time this weekend...and even if we (read, Andrew) actually didn't, we made time for it. This was one of the first instances that we haven't had to go anywhere on a weekend off; during the summer, free weekends weren't actually free but were saved for wedding activities or family events back home. Of course, this isn't to say that we didn't love going home on the weekends when we could, but it was a nice change of pace to spend some time on the WI side of the border.

So what did we do with all our free time? Friday we had friends over for dinner, Saturday we made pasta (stay tuned for an In the Kitchen post in the next few days!), and Sunday we went to Madison to celebrate a friend's birthday. It was a lovely weekend.

In fact, we've got a few lovely weekends on the horizon! My mom comes to visit a week from today (WOOHOO!) then we have a wedding in Iowa, then my sister comes the following weekend! AND, the fact that wedding photos are coming in is the cherry in top of an already pretty great start to fall. Seriously. I could look at our wedding photos all day, on repeat...more of that later this week!

Minne...sconsin?

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I've been terrible at posting lately. And there's been a good amount of excitement in our apartment, too! 

This past weekend, Andrew's parents came to visit! It was so, so great to have them here, we were so glad to take them around the city. We love visitors (hint hint, family and friends), and not just because it gives us the perfect reason to go out and enjoy Milwaukee, but because we love having people stay with us! Our apartment at home in MN was always a gathering place, and we've really missed not having people stop by or stay over. Of course, I failed and didn't get any group pictures of the four of us...I always want to, but because getting everyone in it without leaving someone out to take the photo involves asking random people to step up, I forget about it. So the only picture I could come up with that best encapsulates the MN-WI love from the weekend is the one above. Don't you love it? I actually saw someone wearing it last summer on a walk we took on Stone Arch; how appropriate. 

Onto more double state news - I was sworn in today as a Wisconsin attorney, and can now officially practice in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. The ceremony was in Madison, and, I have to say, beat out the MN ceremony last October on nearly every level except for the fact that I knew no one there. It was much (much) shorter, held inside the Supreme Court Chambers at the Capitol building, and my name was pronounced correctly! Sorry, dear MN, but you lose this one. 

In other news, we'll be home in ONE MONTH for my sister's graduation from the University of Minnesota! Fight that senioritis (although I fear it may be too late for that) as hard as you can, D, and we'll be sure to celebrate lots and lots when you're done.

 Hugs, like the shirt, from the 414. 

MN Mondays: Marko visits.

This was a particularly fun MN Monday, as we had a MN visitor! My brother drove down for a short trip yesterday afternoon, and we thoroughly enjoyed having him stay with us, even if it was just for the day. It was great being able to drive around and show him the city; we also went out to a new place for dinner, called Stack'd, where Marky had a burger with foie gras and truffle butter! Burgers + beers + brat (brother in Ukrainian!) = excellent weekend! 

We have simply the BEST two weeks in store for us, which kicked off with Marko's visit. We were so glad to have him here yesterday and today...then my sister is coming this Friday and staying all weekend...and then three days after she drives back, we'll be heading home for Thanksgiving!!! It's quite exciting to have this much Minnesota love around and waiting for us! We are very thankful to be on this adventure here in Milwaukee, but are always so glad to be surrounded by friends and family, whether that's here or in the Cities. 

With that, I'm off to go running. That Turkey Run is coming up quick! 

MN Mondays: Weekend update.

What a fun fall weekend we had, and it was so, so great to be home. What did we do, you ask? Well...

I was sworn in as a licensed attorney, 

we had lovely family dinners with oh-so-delicious fall recipes, 

we cooked some, 

we celebrated some, 

and laughed a lot. 

We also carved pumpkins with these monsters: 

It really was just the best time, and we cannot wait until Thanksgiving (only a little more than three weeks to go!) until we're home again. Love to all our family and friends - thank you for everything!! 

Apartment tour.

Before my mom came to visit last week, I had to make sure our apartment was ready for its first hosting. Andrew's parents and my sister, of course, saw the apartment when they helped us move in, but my mom had only seen it through videos and spotty tours on FaceTime. Andrew and I fell in love with this unit when we first saw it (the previous owners did an amazing job decorating and painting), and we were especially happy with how bright and open it is. There's still more we want to add, but we'll get to that eventually...nothing is ever completely finished in a home, is it?

We love having people over, so it was wonderful to have my mom stay with us and share the apartment (and I'm glad to note she loved it, too!). This, then, is an open invitation to our friends and family: come over! Our place is ready and waiting for you, and so are we! 

A lovely visit.

On Tuesday, my mom came to visit us! She wasn't able to come with us when we moved, so it was wonderful to have her here for the last several days. We were happy to introduce her to Shorewood and Milwaukee, and it was great to be able to cook, chat, go for walks, and catch up together.

I'll write more over the next few days, as I was on a blogging hiatus during the visit. We had so much fun exploring our little neighborhood, cooking up different recipes, and taking photos along the way. Even though we're still new to the city, I think we did a good job of playing MKE tour-guides. 

It has been a lovely week, the perfect way to end September and usher in beautiful October. The leaves on the trees in our part of Shorewood are all turning shades of gold, bright orange, and deep red (MN Gopher colors!); I love this time of year! 

Have a wonderful start to your weekend, friends!