weekend in rewind

I've been a bad, bad blogger! It's been over week and I haven't updated my blog or checked my favorite blogs. I can't wait to get caught up on what's been happening with everyone! Here's a quick recap of our weekend.

Friday: We bought a giant pumpkin to carve a fancy, giant 'T' and opened up a bottle of wine for the job. We were both excited for our first pumpkin carving experience together. It made us really feel like a little family. Here's the end result:

My scary "carver" husband

Digging for seeds and guts

The "T"

Sadly, with the horrible heat, wind, and ash, our first family carved pumpkin now looks like this:

On Monday...

Today...Yuck!

Saturday: Rob's Aunt Sarah turned 75 and we celebrated her big day with a birthday lunch at Claim Jumper. It was great to catch up with everyone and enjoy some good comfort food.

Happy 75th Sarah! Everyone

Saturday evening we met Rob's former boss at Tracht's, a delicious new restaurant in the downtown Long Beach Renaissance Hotel. The food was superb and the service was great too, contrary to some reviews we read. I loved the filet mignon and Rob loved the purple yams. The cocktails were refreshing too. Overall, we highly recommend for a special occasion. With Pink Berry located just around the corner, our evening concluded with the perfect dessert.

Sunday: After church, I made my way to Huntington Beach for Julie's baby shower while Rob braved the Anaheim winds to attend a festive Oktoberfest event. I've know Julie for nearly 17 years. She and my brother used to date a long time ago and we remained friends after they parted ways. Julie has seen me as a bratty middle schooler, a dorky high schooler, and a spastic college student. It's definitely absurd to think about how long we've known each other. I have one incredibly embarrassing memory and she was there to witness that moment and happily reminds me about it to this day - it's actually really funny (though I can't dare to write about it on my blog, but I'll share in person). Julie is expecting baby Nathan to arrive early November. I'm so excited for Julie and Rick! They are going to be wonderfully loving parents.

Julie with the baby shower party planners, Alexis and Kelly

Custom onesies were hung everywhere, this was my favorite

Rob had a great time at Oktoberfest too! He ate lots of German-type food and beverages. With the unruly wind and devastating fires, Rob came home with ashes on his face.

I hope everyone is safe during this crazy fire storm that California is experiencing.

Praying for firefighters, volunteers, and families affected by the tragic fires...