Fall is in the Air!

Yesterday a cold front passed through New Orleans and it is glorious! I had a wonderful run last night, slept with the windows open, and I didn't get all gross and sweaty walking the dogs this morning. I'm loving the cool weather!
This weekend was a lot of fun. We went to Oktoberfest on Friday night and I feasted on 3 different kinds of cabbage (cabbage rolls, sauerkraut, and purple stewed cabbage- divine!). After Oktoberfest, we went to the Balcony Bar and I also ate part of a fried appetizer with hot wings, fried mozzarella sticks, and jalapeno poppers. So bad, but so so good. :) On Saturday, I was worried about the weather, so I postponed my run and instead tried the Piyo (Pilates + yoga) class at the Reily Center. It was better (i.e. much more challenging) than I expected, but I thought the music was kind of cheesy (it sounded like 80's aerobics music). Saturday night I went to my friend Anne's birthday party. I also bought a sweet pair of dangly silver earrings while I was supposed to be shopping for a gift for Anne. Oops!
On Sunday I finally got around to tackling my 8 mile run around 2 pm. It wasn't very humid, but I guess it was hotter than I thought outside because that run was brutal. I felt really slow and tired the entire time and couldn't snap myself out of my negative thoughts about how lousy the run was. Sometimes my head just isn't in the game. But the important thing is that I pushed through it and ran further than I have ever run before! I ran my usual 4 mile run last night and at first, I felt like I was really slow and I felt the specter of my crappy run just hanging over my head. Fortunately, after a mile or so, I got warmed up and started to just enjoy the run and the weather and ended up with a pretty fast pace overall. I was so happy to have a good run! This week is my "cut back" week and I am supposed to only run 6 miles this weekend. I am not sure that I'll get to run at all this weekend because I upcoming travel (see below) but hopefully I'll at least get in some time on a treadmill.
I am traveling this weekend because I am going to Tulsa to celebrate my dear boyfriend's grandmother's 80th birthday. Of course, I spent Monday night having my semi-annual "I hate my clothes" pity party (which seems to happen every time the seasons change) and decided to go into work early, so I could hit the mall after work and before my run. I speed shopped and picked up 2 dresses (sadly I can only find a link to one of the dresses- the other has a maroon abstract floral print, a deep V in the front and back, and cap sleeves. Super cute!) and a cute purple shirt with ruffles on the front from Macy's, and a pair of light pink chinos from Jcrew (they were on sale for $19!!). I feel better now. :) One of the dresses and the pink pants will definitely be a part of my Tulsa wardrobe this weekend. I'm also really hoping to wear my trench coat because it will actually be cool in Tulsa!!
While I was shopping I also tried on this tunic and thought it was really cute, but I just didn't see myself wearing it that often. I tend to find it difficult to translate "trendy" items into something that looks realistic on me. Maybe if I find it on sale later in the year I'll pick it up but $40 was a little steep for something I'm not sure I'd actually end up wearing.
Other than that, I finished reading The Wide Sargasso Sea (which I loved) and have started reading Anathem, and am really enjoying it so far.