BOO! Did I scare you??

Halloween has really never been a favorite holiday of mine. Yes, it 100% fostered the incredible sweet tooth that I have, but costumes and scary movies are really not my thing. Luckily, the month of October has much more to offer than Halloween and mine was GOOD. Want to see all of my October Favorites?! Read on!

Favorite Products/Services:

Probiotics

I have been taking probiotics for a few years and they have immensely helped with my digestion, gut health, and heart burn. These have been my go-to and you and subscribe to them on Amazon so that you’ll never run out!

Packing Cubes

When packing for Prague, I was on a mission to pack light, pack efficiently, and just be smart about what I was bringing with me. I grossly over-packed for Italy last year and it was less than fun hauling around a giant bag on trains, up stairs, and through the streets.

I found these packing cubes at a great price and decided to give them a try! They helped so much with my overall organization and gave me piece of mind that I have everything with me. And I must say, they were purrrrrfect for this trip. The organization factor is top notch; all of my clothes stayed perfectly folded, and I felt like a domestic goddess using them. Totally worth the $18.

Favorite Events:

Mom visited!

For the past two years as a Christmas gift to my mom, Pat and I fly her out to Chicago to spend a weekend with us! And this year’s trip was SO FUN.

We ate BBQ from Smoque (best BBQ in Chicago), did lots of walking and shopping, ate tacos at Little Bad Wolf and steak at Tango Sur. And we visited Apple Fest in Lincoln Square – the 20 pound bag of apples I purchased might have been aggressive… and then The Kombucha Room! And we ended the weekend with a long walk through Humboldt Park. Oh and we showed her how we brunch at the O’Brien house.

Lots of eating + lots of walking = perfect Mom weekend.

Prague / Salzburg / Hallstatt

Ok ok ok you guys. I promise I will be sharing more of our European adventure soon. But for now, let’s just leave it at this. This vacation was everything. It was perfect. I was with my favorite person in the entire world, in places were we knew no one, had no agenda, slept an average of 10 hours a night, and found ourselves in some of the most stunning landscapes imaginable.

[one_half padding=”0 5px 0 28px”][/one_half][one_half_last padding=”0 28px 0 5px”][/one_half_last]

Pat and I have been going, going, going. Between our full time jobs, running this blog and my side gig, we are hustling. And this vacation was everything.

Favorite Eats:

I couldn’t pick just one recipe from the month, so you’re getting two! And I will be sharing my favorite eats from Europe in a later post (like the AH-mazing veal cheeks I ate in Prague!).

Triple Coconut Chocolate Donuts

I’ve said it before and I will say it again. Coconut butter is the nectar of the gods. On an average day, I eat a spoonful as dessert. On a better-than-average day, I use it to make frosting for paleo donuts.

And yes, you really do need to make these.

Spicy Korean Chili with Kimchi

Nothing says fall like chili. I’ve got the turkey version down, so naturally a Spicy Korean Chili was next on the list! This stuff is HOT, HOT, HAWT.

Favorite Things I…

watched:

• TV Show // Mind Hunter on Netflix. So I have this thing with true crime, and criminals, and serial killers. Kinda weird, but kinda awesome. Mind Hunter is a Netflix original that follows two FBI agents as they expand criminal science by delving into the psychology of murder and getting uneasily close to all-too-real monsters. WATCH IT.
• Movie // Battle of the Sexes This is the first movie I have seen in a theater in a long time. And it was great! Honestly, I did not know the story behind Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, but Emma Stone and Steve Carell both did an incredible job acting in this film. And I love a good underdog story.

read:

• Book // The Mutual Admiration Society: A Novel by Lesley Kagen. I haven’t finished this book yet, so this isn’t a full review… but as of now, I love it. Lesley Kagen is an incredible storyteller and her main character is an 11 year old girl, Tessie, who has recently lost her father and is the heart and soul of her family. It is a bright and inspiring novel about grief, overcoming loss, and is the perfect mixture of heartwarming humor and grief.

listened to:

• Artist // Legendary by Welshy Arms. I don’t know why, but I’m INTO this song. Just cannot stop listening. Do yourself a favor, and listen.
• Podcast // The Well and Balanced Podcast – Real Food + Real Talk with Kelsey Preciado of @littlebitsof_realfood Don’t you love it when you meet people in real life and they are total boss ladies?! I met Brooke and Mel earlier this year at a Siggi’s event and was so excited to hear about their podcast. One of the most recent episodes features Kelsey from Little Bits Of and I loved hearing about her journey to working for herself full time and how she invented sweet potato toast!

Happy end of the month friends!

Thank you to everyone who filled out my reader survey last week! If you haven’t had a chance do so, I would appreciate it if you could spend 3 minutes filling it out for me. You can get the survey HERE.

This page contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking one of my links, I may receive a small commission. The price of the item stays the same and any money I make goes to supporting this blog. I only endorse products and services that I fully believe in.