Wine and Meeko (a.k.a. My First Raccoon)

Last week my friend, Elspeth, and I decided to FINALLY use the Living Social deal for The Winery at Bull Run that we had purchased way back in July (read: it was about to expire).

So, we made plans to meet at the winery after work on Friday. . . . We left our respective locations at exactly the same time. I made it there on time, she got there an hour and a half later. . . . That's the difference between going to Centreville from Sterling and going there from Arlington. Gotta love that Northern VA traffic.

Anyway, while I was waiting, I decided to walk around the property a little bit and just enjoy nature. It was a beautiful night and it had been a little too long since I had spent more than a few minutes outside, especially outside in a deliciously cool, woodsy/field smelling spot.

A view from the winery

The Winery at Bull Run

The cool hearth/stone space where I sat for a little
while just enjoying the November evening.

Once Elspeth finally got there we did a wine tasting and enjoyed the yummy bread and cheese basket that the Living Social deal got us. The wines were all really good. I probably would have bought a bottle or two if I were feeling rich enough, but since I (1) barely ever drink and (2) am very happy with wine that costs under $10, I decided that a $29 splurge was above my price grade for the moment.

When I got home, I had another exciting event. I saw my first raccoon (I think). 

It was huge, sort of adorable, and digging through my dumpster. I acted like a huge city girl and sat in my car taking pictures with my phone . . . I felt like my college roommates who got excited when they saw cows or ducks or most "wildlife" in general.

I may or may not have even waited for him (her?) to climb back out so that I could get a better shot.

It was so big!

I was super surprised at how much he looked
like Meeko from Pocahontas!

I See Lots of Soup in My Future

If I wasn't feeling the fall fever yet, this picture has definitely done the trick.

It's like squash heaven.

Dad just sent me this (rather blurry) picture of the squash he and mom just picked from their garden. Those are twenty glorious butternut squashes, which can only mean one thing. . . my freezer had better be filled with delicious butternut squash soup pronto.

So. Excited. For. Fall.

Sunsets

Last weekend I joined my parents, several professors, and about 20 college students on the college's trip down to the Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort, NC. It's a trip the ecology class takes every other year and one that I've been going on since I was 1. The pictures below are looking at the Beaufort Harbor at sunset on our last night on the island. So pretty.

 This one is looking back at the lab from across the water.

Way Better Than Twilight.

I hate to admit it but after seeing the trailer for the final installment of the Harry Potter saga (below), I'm more than a little excited for November 19.

In book form, I've been a fan of Harry Potter from page 1. The same, however, can not be said for the movies. In fact, I pretty much hated the first two and the fourth one. My favorite movie by far is the third one, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, although that could also be because it was my least favorite book.

Anyway, this one (well two actually, since they are splitting the last book into two movies) looks pretty spectacular. Below you'll find the trailer that was featured on the MTV movie awards, which is slightly different than the one they've been showing on TV recently. Enjoy!

In Honor of Fall

This year's fall was basically one of the most brilliantly colored, beautiful falls in recent history... here are just a few pictures to remember it by.

Yesterday while I was at work I saw someone using a leaf blower to blow the pretty yellow leaves off the trees... what a shame.