October Lifestyle Favorites I howsweeteats.com

The tieks. Okay people, this is a pretty huge deal for me. I absolutely loathe flats. I have never owned pair in my life and I’m 30 years old. I find them uncomfortable and they do nothing to flatter how incredibly short my legs are. But in attempts to break out of wearing strictly workout clothes/shoes, I branched out and got a pair of matte black ones a few months ago. I liked them, but it wasn’t until the first weekend in October when I was in Utah and wore them for four days straight. Serious LOVE. I adore that they are sporty enough and super flexible. They are so comfortable that I got another pair. You won’t see me wearing these with jeans anytime soon, but I’ve been living in them with leggings. Yes they are pricey but I did my fair share of research before buying a pair. From what I’ve read, they will last for years.

Pinterest. If you follow me then you know I’ve had a huge resurgence of Pinterest love after almost hating it for the last year due to it’s overwhleming nature. Now I’m drawing a lot of inspiration from it, most likely because I have a bit more time on my hands and it’s working wonders. I’m currently making my bar cart dreams come true. I still don’t do crafts though!

This smoky white bean chicken chili. This is a meal I find myself going back to time and time again. It is healthy and filling and tastes PHENOMENAL. I make a big batch, freeze half and it reheats beautifully. This is a must make if you like these types of things.

Sunday night TV. You know I’m a slave to HBO but right now I’m watching four (!!!) shows on Sunday night: Boardwalk, Eastbound and Down, Homeland and Walking Dead. The latter two are in the lead. I do find myself wishing for a fresher storyline on Homeland though – like is the entire series going to be about this one main thing? And my absolute favorite is Nashville. Gosh I love that show so much. Sometimes I feel like the editing can be a little wonky (does anyone else think they end scenes very abruptly?) but I love it. I want to be a country music star. I also want to live in Nashville. Too bad I hate the heat.

Homemade breakfast sandwiches. I buy this whole grain sourdough bread from a local Amish bakery and it rocks my socks off. My favorite version of the sandwich at the moment is fried eggs, bacon, smoked gruyere and arugula. OMG.

Comfy sweaters to wear with leggings and jeans. At the beginning of the month I got this one from Victoria’s Secret and oh my gosh – it’s a huge favorite. I want it in every color. I also got one similar to this at Target in the fabulous but putrid shade of greenish mustard.

This mint cookie chocolate from ghirardelli. Oh wow – I discovered this at my local grocery store and was eating a square at night as a treat before all of the Halloween candy appeared. It’s like a thin mint cookie inside of milk chocolate. GAH!

In terms of books, I finished 11/22/63 and REALLY enjoyed it even though it was outside of the box from my usual favorite novels. Tuesday night I downloaded Anne Lamott’s new book on my iPad (god I hate reading on that thing) because she is one of my favorite authors and I adore everything she does. So far, so good. Whatcha reading now? (<- these are amazon affiliate links.)

While we’re on the topic of sweaters, I’ve been living in my Rachel Roy chunky cardigan sweater this year. Mine is last year’s version in purple and what you saw in this instagram shot. It’s so warm and doubles as a coat when the weather is iffy.

The Trader Joe’s pumpkin ice cream. The last few years I have strayed from the path of pumpkin, but for some reason my love for it came back with a vengeance this year. I have tried a bunch of pumpkin ice creams and this is BY FAR my favorite and the best I’ve tried. So damn good.

While we’re on the pumpkin subject, I should really just say autumn in general. Gosh, I love it so much. But also, I am your stereotypical chick that lives for candles and fall is the best time of year for candles, in my opinion. I’ve done my fair share of damage burning cider lane, leaves and sweater weather.

These lace up wedge boots. This is more like what I wear everyday with jeans – I want some height since I’m so short and this color goes with everything. Not to mention that these are super comfortable and I’ve walked in them for a couple hours already.

Uh, can I tell you something funny? Spanx!! I bought my first pair last week and wore them under a skirt and cobalt blue top… holy crap!! Why has it taken me so long to try these fabulous little things? I love how they smooth everything out and are actually comfortable. The person who shall not be named that I bought mine with also really loves hers.

I know I mentioned this last month, but these sweet and tangy peppers. I’m not sure if I have ever consumed something so consistently for so long. We are absolutely obsessed and eat them plain, on sandwiches, in pasta and even on pizza. I’m buying jars by the bucketful. I might turn into a pepper soon.

[none of this is sponsored, just like to talk about things that I discover and love.]