Best of October

It's November! Wow. How did that even happen?

How was your month? Your week? Your day? I'd love to know.

We just returned from Europe and are thankful to be back home. See what we got up to on Instagram if you'd like! Traveling is amazing and wonderful and awesome and…exhausting. I'm so thankful for the experience, but am glad to be back to our bed and our food and our routine.

Well, it's time for our end-of-month post where we recap everything we did, made, and ate in October, starting with eats! Let's get to it, because, yum.

Recipes //

1. Chickpea Bolognese  //  2. 20-Minute Pumpkin Butter  //  3. Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake  //  4. Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Bake  //  5. Butternut Squash Hummus  // 6. White Bean Kale Salad w/ Tahini Dressing  // 7. Vegan Singapore Noodles  //  8. Pumpkin Pie Oats  //  9. Spaghetti Squash Pasta w/ Basil Pesto  //  10. Curried Butternut Squash Soup  //  11. Butternut Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole  //  12. Smoky Harissa Eggplant Dip  //  13. 7-ingredient Quinoa Granola

Oh my, this was a delicious month. My favorites were definitely the Chickpea Bolognese, White Bean Kale Salad, and Quinoa Granola. How about you?

What We Did //

• We went to Europe! My top highlights included Santorini, Greece (pictured above); Rome, Italy; and Warsaw, Poland. Oh, and we got to meet Vivianna Does Makeup during a stopover in London and she is the best! I kind of fan-girled and geeked out, as you might imagine. See more pictures of our time away over on Instagram.

• We moved! Well, not far. We moved to a different apartment within our building. But it was still exhausting! Raise your hand if you love moving. (Who are you? Also, why?)

What We're Into //

• I read "Skin Cleanse" by S.W. Basics founder, Adina Grigore, and loved it. It inspired me to reexamine my beauty products (pesky chemicals), reassess my skin care habits, and add natural products into my everyday routine. My skin is thanking me. If you're at all interested in beauty + skin care, I highly recommend this book.

• I also read blogger Andie Mitchell's memoir, "It Was Me All Along" and found it captivating. Andie shares her raw account of struggling with an eating disorder growing up, how she lost 135 pounds, and later restored her relationship with food. Such a good read.

• My final (and perhaps favorite) book of the month was Anne Lamott's "Small Victories."  Anne has been one of my favorite authors ever since I fell in love with her book "Bird by Bird." But "Small Victories" takes my love for her to a whole new level. I literally laughed and cried and experienced every other emotion you can imagine while reading it. If you're dealing with a hard situation in your life, or just looking for some wisdom, I cannot recommend this book enough.

• Confession time: I'm super into beauty vloggers on YouTube! It's my favorite thing to watch on the side while editing photos. My latest favorite is HelloOctoberxo. She's adorable, funny, and shares the most simple, stunning makeup looks (that I would actually wear). Start here, and check out this look for fall/holidays!

• Lastly, if you're blogger, business owner, or creative artist who often faces self doubt (who doesn't?), check out this inspiring podcast from Fizzle called "How We Deal with the CessPool of Self Doubt." It hit on so many things that I personally struggle with, and I found it extremely encouraging.

What We're Craving //

In November, we're craving lots of things. But one of them is definitely apples! Stay tuned for the BEST apple crisp of your life (no, but really) just in time for Thanksgiving, and tons of other holiday-appropriate and everyday fall eats. It's gonna be so much fun (and so delicious).

See you back Tuesday for a new recipe!

xo, Dana + John

Original Content: Best of October