Autumn Adventures

It has been entirely too long since I've shared what's been going on in my life with you guys, and I miss it. Sure, I mention what's been happening over the last two weeks in The Sunday Mix, and yes, I also tell you all about the month in my recaps. But I haven't gotten the chance to actually write a whole post detailing some of my adventures since September, and I thought it was high time to remedy that! Signings, friends (bookish or otherwise), road trips, bookstores and food - this post has a little bit of everything. Get ready for a whirlwind tour of my life!

• Way back at the end of September, Rachel & I caught a Jana Kramer concert at Gramercy Theatre. (We featured it as part of Books in Real Life!) I'm still not over it. It was definitely one of the best performances I've ever seen. Jana has a great stage presence, and easily charmed me and the rest of the crowd with her stunning voice and friendly personality. (I'm also still obsessed with her albums. You should check them both out!)
• Also at the end of September, Rachel & I trekked up to the Barnes and Noble in the Upper East Side for a chance to meet Jojo Moyes. In my personal opinion, she's one of the best adult contemporary fiction writers in the business. It was really fun to hear her speak about her books, and the upcoming movie adaptation of Me Before You, and I was so glad I was able to tell her how much I loved her stories in person.
• My sister Mel has been on a baking kick recently. Initially, she did all the work herself, creating brownies (yum!) and cookies (these were especially delicious!). But when she started making cupcakes, she recruited me to be her right hand girl. My most important task was to frost the cupcakes, which is apparently something I actually can do. It's probably my steady hands that make it so easy!

• It's been a whirlwind of secondhand bookstores for me over the last month, and I've soaked up every single minute of my visits. I honestly love a good bargain, and when it happens to be for books I love or want to read, it's even better! I got some great deals (which you'll see in Sunday's post), and got to hang out with some awesome people in the process. This particular photo is from a visit to The Strand with my friend Danica. 
• In October, Rachel & I went apple picking. (We also featured this for Books in Real Life!) I hadn't been to an apple orchard since I was a little girl and still lived in the US, so it was a bit of novelty to me. Even though we went late in the season, there was plenty of fruit for the picking (or gathering) and we were quite pleased with our apple haul by the end. Plus, we got to have apple cider donuts, and I love apple cider donuts.
• It's a hobbit home! While we weren't able to visit in time for second breakfast, nor did we encounter any hobbits, it was enough just to see this adorable structure in person. It can be found at the Book Barn up in Connecticut, a place I've been longing to go to for ages. Finally, after making concrete plans with Gaby, Alyssa & Amy, I spent one Sunday on the road, meeting up with the girls at the bookstore and just hanging out. It was so much fun!

• I finally got a chance to reunite with some of my friends! We had a pre-birthday dinner for my cousin Clarissa at Taqueria, where the tacos are delicious and the margaritas are a little too strong. It was fun to just spend the night catching up with the girls on what's been going on in our lives, what the future holds for us and making plans too. We were enjoying ourselves so much that we ended up grabbing a bottle of wine and hanging out at Jaymee's apartment!
• Speaking of Jaymee's apartment, Mel & I slept over the next day. In the tradition of sleepovers past, we had cute pajamas on, lots of snacks on hand and we watched a few movies (Rumor Has It, Love Actually and Listen To Your Heart). It was a really fun way to unwind, and Clarissa even joined us for a portion of it.
• Rachel drove us all the way down to West Chester so we could meet up with Betty and Kelly at Second Reading II, a secondhand bookstore I had heard about from Kim. Saturday is actually bag sale day, and that basically means you fill an entire bag with as many books as you possibly can and it's going to cost you only $15! You can bet I took full advantage of that, and I brought home some new books for my collection.

• I love that I was able to hang out with some of my closest bookish friends in person! It's so rare for me to get to see Betty, and even rarer to get to see Kelly (I see Rachel all the time, but I always love hanging out with her and never take that for granted), so I treasured every second. It's definitely different (in the best way) to see people in the flesh, and to really have conversations about anything and everything. Love these girls loads!
• We had a late lunch at the Market Street Grill, a cute spot that had a diner feel. I had to indulge in a vanilla milkshake and the classic Benny. Both were really yummy, and I was definitely just the right amount of full when we finished. Plus, doesn't it just look like such a happy meal?
• I did my first ever #SockSunday post last week on Instagram, and I'm excited to do more in the future! I do love a pair of cute socks, and these are a recent addition to my collection. I was reading The Impostor Queen then, though I finished later that day. (It was really, really good, in case you were wondering, and I'm hoping there's a sequel to come. Pretty please?)