First Friday Five {November}

Once a month, I’m taking time to tell you five things I’ve been loving in the past 30 days or so. You can catch October’s list here.

And now, November!

1. Soup. Chilly temperatures, finally, mean that soup is on the menu at least once a week, but usually more. I love all kinds of soups and making all kinds of soups. There’s something satisfying about stirring together a bunch of ingredients and slurping the warmth straight out of the bowl. Pair with crackers and bread. Heaven. Do you have any favorite soup recipes? I have a hard time choosing just one!
2. Fall foliage. In the last week or so the colors have really popped around here. I love the burst of colors as I round a bend in the road. Or the way the sun illuminates the leaves first thing in the morning. Fall temperatures took their time getting here this year, so to see the trees change colors was confirmation that the season had officially arrived. I know it’s just leading up to winter, but I mostly welcome the changes each season brings. 
3. Cubs baseball. We are unashamedly Cubs fans, and October gave us more baseball to watch than we’ve had in past years. We donned our favorite shirts every day they played and watched highlights with the kids when they couldn’t stay up for games on school nights. We put together a Wrigley Field puzzle and kept it on the table throughout the playoffs. And sure enough, they won the whole darn thing! Go Cubbies!
4. The ’80s. I was born just prior to the ’80s so there is a special place in my heart for certain aspects of this decade which seems like an eternity ago. Especially the music and movies. I stream the All 80s station on Amazon frequently, and I’ve found myself taking comfort in movies like Adventures in Babysitting, Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off lately. Thank you, Netflix. (A side note: Amazon Prime includes a streaming music service, which is one of the major benefits of Prime, in my opinion. Also this is an affiliate link, which costs you nothing but offers a small amount of compensation for me.)
5. My kids. I’m not super-sentimental most of the time, but lately, I’ve really been enjoying my kids. They are 8 1/2 and almost 7 and they are so much fun. Whether it’s hanging out with them on weekends, seeing what they make and do in school, or watching the Cubs with them, we just laugh and smile so much with them right now. (There is also some yelling and frustration and lots of drama, so please don’t interpret this as some kind of perfection. It’s far from it.) I’m glad when they go to school, but I look forward to their company, too.