A Chili Run

Happy Sunday friends! How has your weekend been so far? Did you do anything fun yesterday? We’re keeping warm over here, yesterday was cold! Have a great day 🙂

I woke up to go to the bathroom around 6:05am and figured I may as well just stay in bed for a few extra minutes before heading out on my run. I’m glad I stayed up because apparently I forgot to set my normal Saturday morning alarm. I layered up and headed out for 5 miles. When I got home a little before 8am, I looked at the weather and saw it was 24 degrees but felt like 17. I was so glad I hadn’t looked before my run! 2 were at a moderate pace and the last 3 had sprints and recoveries throughout them.

When I got home, I was so happy to have the heat on in our apartment. I stretched and put my tea kettle on before taking a shower. Not sure if anyone has picked up, but I don’t drink coffee but am an avid tea drinker! While I got ready, I sipped on a mug of tea that I got in Paris when I was there earlier this year. It helped to warm me up.

Alex had some schoolwork and am exam to take so I figured that plus the fact that it was cold meant I could totally relax on the couch for a bit. I grabbed the fall issue of The Magnolia Journal by Chip and Joanna Gaines. My parents gave me a subscription for my birthday which was so sweet of them. I’m a tad ashamed to admit that I haven’t read the summer issue yet though… Anyways, the fall had some soup and apple recipes in it. Needless to say I am going to make all three soups at some point this fall and winter. They looked so good!

Once Alex finished his exam, we popped leftovers from dinner on Wednesday night into the oven to warm up. I was pretty hungry then (even though I split a pb sandwich with Alex earlier) and no prep for lunch was awesome. The cheesesteak really hit the spot, even if the bread was a little crispy. Sometimes it happens with leftovers but oh well!

Alex had to go to Nordstrom to exchange a dress shirt and I decided to take the ride so I could look at potential Christmas gifts for a few people. Since we’re celebrating in Chicago, I’m going to send all of my family gifts home before then but wanted to see some things before buying them. On our way back, we drove by a nursery that was selling fire wood and picked up a trunk full. We have a full rack inside and a good size stack outside. Hopefully it lasts us a while but at the rate we’re using the fireplace, we’ll probably need more in a few weeks.

When we got home, Alex turned on some college football while I started on dinner. I have been wanting to make chili and it seemed like the perfect night since it would be so cold out. I had never made chili before so I kind of threw it together and used my dad’s recipe for inspiration. Once the meat was cooked and everything was simmering, I plopped on the couch to read more of my book. It’s good so far and told from four different character’s perspectives which I enjoy. While I read, Alex put on a little concert for me and played the guitar.

Finally it was time for dinner. I was excited to try the chili out. I didn’t find the chili to be that spicy so I’ll need to work on that next time. Otherwise, it was tasty and so filling.  This is a Midwest thing apparently but I put chili on pasta. I topped it all with sour cream, cheese, and oyster crackers. Chili is the perfect meal for a cold night.

Once dinner was cleaned up, we added another log to the fire and watched Stranger Things. We finished the first season finally! After the episode, we had a piece of pumpkin pie. Alex’s mom’s office had a Thanksgiving lunch and there were so many leftovers so the boss told his mom to take a bunch of it home for the kids. We ended up with a whole pie lol. It was good but after I was stuff from so many filling foods.

Question of the blog: What’s your favorite food to have on a cold day?