November? What?

Seriously, is anyone else as weirded-out as I am that it's already November? Suddenly it's cold and rainy and almost holiday time (and time to make decisions that I have put off about the holidays), and I am still in summer/fall mode. Sad day. I'm wondering how Brian would feel if I took a temp job in Southern Cali or Arizona or Florida or something... Hmmmmm... ;)

Anyway, I hope you all had a happy Halloween! Sadly, we did not get a single trick-or-treater, which was unfortunate. But, understandable, because at all the shops and boutiques and cafes and stuff in our neighborhood, they had a huge event where kids could trick-or-treat at all the businesses yesterday afternoon. Brian and I went and sat outside of a coffee shop to costume-watch, and it was so fantastic. There were just crowds of parents and kids and poor dressed-up dogs. We're talking hundreds of people. It was hilarious to just sit there and people-watch. And we decided our favorite family costume was when they all dressed up as bees with the dad dressed as a bee-keeper. Cute. So that was fun, and made it more okay that we didn't have any kids come to our door. And! I almost forgot to tell you, they had a pet costume contest in our building yesterday, and it was hilarious. We stopped by on our way in from church, and thank goodness, because otherwise we would have missed the 120 pound Newfoundland wearing a XXL plaid shirt dressed as a cowboy, complete with hat and gun holster. Amazing.

In other news, with all my unemployed free-time, I have a lot of time to cook. And read books. And watch documentaries. And apply to jobs. Please note that this is not as fun as it sounds. It's kind of boring and un-fun. Moral of the story is that I have yet another recipe to share! Chicken parmigiana is one of those things I never even think to make at home. It seems like it just belongs in an Italian restaurant, but it felt like the right thing to do last week, so I made it. And then I made it again the next night because it was just so darn tasty. So thanks, Martha Stewart, for being awesome. And all of you should make this. It's surprisingly easy. Go here: Martha's Chicken Parmigiana, and let your taste buds be happy.