We had the most gorgeous fall weekend here! It was mild out, but the leaves are absolutely beautiful right now – fiery red and orange and vibrant yellow.
Riese has been really into fall and watching the leaves change color and fall off the trees – it has been fun to experience this season through her eyes!
Colorful fall leaves + a bright blue sky = the perfect combo.
Matt, Riese, our friend Shane, and I took advantage of the weather and met up for a hike on Sunday morning at Potomac Overlook in Arlington. It’s one of our favorite spots – lots of trail options so even if others are around it’s not crowded!
We were also excited to be celebrating our soon to be new President, and especially our first ever female Vice President. As our future VP said: “While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last – because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.”
I had chills when I heard that, especially after telling Riese that we were going to have a woman, for the first time, as one of our two main leaders of our country.
Since it’s been so nice out recently, I’ve been taking advantage as much as possible! I took Riese on a hike on Friday morning, too, this time over at Long Branch Nature Center.
Trying to juggle work with very limited childcare (just Mondays right now) has not been easy, but not missing out on fun fall morning adventures like this with her is definitely a huge perk that I feel grateful for!
I love that she always finds a little walking stick just like daddy. 🙂
She also really loves finding leaves bigger than her head.
As for food this weekend, we did a lot of eating out since the weather was so nice – we are only comfortable eating outside at restaurants right now and we know this amazing weather won’t last, so we wanted to take advantage!
Post-hike on Sunday we went to Cava in Ballston for lunch – I love their bowls and how you get to customize everything. Mine had basically a bit of everything – chicken, veggies, hummus, tzatziki, feta, brown rice, greens, and a little Greek vinaigrette to top it off! Delicious.
We also went out to Evening Star in Del Ray for brunch as usual after Riese’s last soccer class of the season on Saturday morning. Toddler soccer is pretty hilarious – they alternate between running around like crazy and staring into space and ignoring the instructor, but she had fun out there. 🙂
We walked around a bit after soccer and while Matt and Riese were walking I ran for a bit – it was such a perfect morning for it, cool but sunny, and I was glad I took advantage!
Egg sandwich + potato + salad refuel:
The other food highlight from the weekend was rediscovering the deliciousness that is a salmon melt – it doesn’t look amazing I know because this isn’t the best photo, but it was really good. Riese loved it too!
It was canned salmon + mayo + dijon mustard + diced pickles, all on bread with some melted cheese. Major yum. It would be good with plain Greek yogurt instead of mayo, too, or avocado like my healthy tuna salad recipe (there’s a tuna melt option in there, too, if you want more of a legit recipe to follow).
As for this week’s food plan, we’ll be enjoying our Blue Apron dinners as usual, and I’m also thinking of whipping up a soup recipe – one of my old faves, like maybe my Creamy Mexican Chicken Chili Soup or my Chicken White Bean Chili Soup.
It’s going to be a bit rainy and cooler later in the week and I feel like that always screams for soup!
I’m off to continue to tackle my to do list – I’m currently sitting on our front porch to enjoy the weather, have to soak it up while we can!
Have a nice day, friends, and I’ll see you back here on Wednesday!
p.s. (sponsored) For those of you starting to plan out your Thanksgiving dinners, I wanted to share that Blue Apron is an option to consider! In addition to their usual weeknight meal offerings for Thanksgiving week, you can also select Thanksgiving-specific dishes! They are offering a full turkey dinner option with 5 sides and dessert that serves 8, or you can mix and match with a la carte sides and desserts (and a pork roast option, if you aren’t feeling the turkey or want some extra alternative protein in the mix). For all the details on Blue Apron’s Thanksgiving, click here (<- also includes a deal for those new to Blue Apron – you can get $60 off over your first 3 boxes, and that includes that Thanksgiving options) – and enjoy!
