How I'm Novembering this Year
Thursdays, a box of chocolates, and then some.
Rain and fog. Inspiration and a little boredom. In my life the month weighs equal parts celebration and grief. And frankly it’s the scorpio, forty-degrees Fahrenheit, Sunday scaries of the calendar year… at least to me it is.
I don’t particularly love November, but it’s growing on me. There are so many beautiful things to outweigh the grey. Here are the rays of light (concerts, company, occurrences, etc.) that have kept me Novembering well so far.
And now, a moment for my Thursdays
Thursdays are the safe haven of my week. I get to spend the evening at my best friends’ house, cuddled up with their three dogs, and slurping up a splendid bowl of Jade’s homemade “soup of the week” and a glass of wine.
Sometimes it’s Always Sunny, sometimes the Bachelor, and soon it’ll be cringey Netflix holiday movies. Most often it’s yapping over whatever we do end up putting on.
And of course by yapping I mean the full spectrum of a good yap. You know— the kind where you and your friends can go from Good Morning America hosts to the greatest philosophical minds this world has ever seen without skipping a beat. And then realizing you’ve yapped to the point of sheer exhaustion.
So then I curl up in a down comforter in the Harry-Potter-closet-guest room to wake up early and go write at Sidekick Coffee.
I love it.
Lately, a box of chocolates
Kirk flew into town just before Halloween for a fall-time visit. From his northeastern travels, he brought me concert merch from New York (to appease my FOMO), stickers from Maine, a tote bag from Vermont, and a box of chocolates from New Hampshire (and let me just say, L.A. Burdick did not disappoint and we have been savoring every last bite of ganache in slow motion— I will surely be devastated when it’s all gone).
It’s been a hectic month of work, but we’ve gotten up to some of our favorite activities like concerts, going to the movies, and of course, eating very well.
Music
One of the best and most underrated parts of fall in the PNW is the concert scene. There’s nothing cozier to me than getting dressed up, going to dinner, and catching an evening concert on a rainy day in the city. And it always seems that fall is when the best artists are in town. This month we’ve gotten to see Kings Kaleidoscope, Porter Robinson, Caribou, and Leif Vollebeck (all very different vibes, and all of which I highly recommend). I’m happy to report these have been some of my favorite shows.
Movies
There were a couple stand-out movies we went to see this month. We made a visit to the little Edmonds Theater to see Saturday Night. I loved the pace and casting of this film— it was completely entertaining. Honestly, if you could handle the first episode of The Bear, you would likely love this film. I highly recommend watching clips of the original first SNL sketches afterwards.
I also was really excited to go see We Live in Time. This was a cinematically stunning, beautifully written, and thoroughly gut-wrenching story. I recommend only if you’re okay with feeling existential, highly emotional, and wearing waterproof mascara if you must.
And Then Some
The Weather
I’m sorry— did you say Bomb Cyclone?! Yeah, I’ll let ya’ll look that one up. It was basically hurricane-force winds and rain that was quite devastating for some and resulted in a full-blown power outage for a number of days across the Seattle area.
I found myself creeping around the bakery at 5am the next morning in the dark with my phone flashlight and a thermometer. That was one of the quickest and smelliest trips to work I’ve ever made. I may never eat a croissant again.
I probably will.
Food
Speaking of food, we tried a couple very delicious and new (to us) places this month. I’ll rapid fire them here:
A variation of this salad
Westman’s Bagel & Coffee (okay I actually go here all the time)
My most recent trip to the farmer’s market had me feeling a little twinge of excitement for the holidays. As I strolled up and down the street, I noticed how much more vibrant the warm tones of autumn produce and fashion appeared against the drizzly sky. Evergreen wreaths, butternut squashes, ciders— it all smelled so good. And then it hit me: Doth I sense the Christmas spirit?!
I suppose only time will tell.
