October ambitions

Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves, we have had our summer evenings, now for October eves! ~ Humbert Wolfe

gorgeous photo via the lovely blog
rinse.repeat (go check it out, it's absolutely charming)

Oh, October! How I love it. Once October arrives, there is no doubt that fall is really here. That it's time for an autumn wreath on the door, a fire in the woodstove and an extra blanket on the couch to wrap up in. We have big plans this month (in addition to stacking the wood in the shed, so we can have that fire I just mentioned...). They include:

• The Run for the Cure! I have been planning and preparing for it for months and now, all of a sudden, it is this weekend. Wish me luck, and stay tuned for plenty of pink photos
• The second annual Byrne family outdoor (yep, you read that right) Thanksgiving dinner, for which I plan to bake something delicious like an apple-cinnamon crumble
• Decorating the house for Halloween, with plenty of paper pumpkins
• Planting bulbs for the spring
• Christmas shopping (that European surface-mail deadline is looming already!)
• Sewing new curtains for the bathroom, kitchen and Sawyer's room (with a lot of help from my friend Jess, who gives Martha Stewart a run for her money)
• Project Pretty-Up the House is on, with the curtains I just mentioned and maybe a bit of painting and hanging of some art work
• A preschool field trip to the pumpkin patch, complete with hayride, hot apple cider and a pumpkin (or two) to bring home
• And, of course... pumpkin-carving, costume-wearing, full-on trick-or-treating fun!

What are your plans?