It's November

Well hello! It's mid-November, apparently, and we are hosting Cora's 12th birthday party at our house in 2 hours.

It's a pool party - might as well embrace the absurdity of a high of 86 on November 16th - and so far I have heated the pool, ordered a cake that James will pick up at 10, ordered Taco Deli that Landon will pick up at 12, and ordered two giant flamingo floats that someone who isn't me will blow up. Oh and I have some cute hawaiian theme plates and napkins. So, done! They really just want to swim and eat tacos.

Her actual birthday was on Wednesday. I picked her up after school and we got pedicures and then watched Freakier Friday at home, which was very fun.

It's been a tough year of transition to a new school and we're so proud of how hard she's working and how brave she's being every day.

And with all these high schoolers in my house, and knowing in 2.5 years both of them will be in college, it really is lovely to have a third baby who will live here for a few more years and just wants to hang out with her parents and watch Disney Plus movies on the couch together.

I remain unabashadly pro third-baby.

Also cats!

Moose continues to sleep with Cora every night, which delights her, and be more social during the day. We're very proud of him for bravely risking a defenseless moment of rest near the people who have loved and doted on him since he was a kitten.

Murphy jumped in my chair while I was working and I believe this counts as a cuddle. We are touching. He is purring. He remained for many minutes. It was very exciting for everyone and I took 100 pictures.

He then decided to settle on the pile of things on my desk, so we were not touching anymore, but he was very nearby and supervising all my finger clicks on my keyboard. He is so regal.

Truly a well-dressed king.

Speaking of helping me work, the kids remain drawn to my office whenever I am typing my fastest. It's like a siren call to them.

Obviously I pretend I don't love the distraction, but it is the best. In that picture all 3 animals were also in the room. Who doesn't need a teen, a tween, a bulldog, and two cats to help them review risk factors in a Form 10-Q?

Other bits of randomness:

I strap my work into a seatbelt when I bring it home so it doesn't fly off the seat if I need to break in the crazy Dallas traffic. This has been very effective and always makes me smile. Safety first!

This is the best sparkling water flavor available right now. I will accept no alterntives.

My friend Vanessa hosted a Dia de los Muertos dinner at her home on November 1st and it was the lovliest night.

She made a great meal and even better margaritas and we all brought pictures of our loved ones who had passed and spoke about them. When you make friends as an adult you often don't know the stories that shaped them along the way and it was really special to hear about parents and grandparents, friends and family, who lived their lives before I met the person they're connected to, and to all learn about them, and laugh and cry and remember.

Sharing stories of my 3 grandparents who are gone brought them back for a night and I'm so glad.

Claire and Cora both had to make ofrendas for school (Claire for Spanish II and Cora for her World Cultures class) and Claire made one for Milo and Cora did my Grandma Mary.

I've decided next year as a family we're going to do a similar dinner. I mention my grandparents often, but there's something special about purposefully setting aside time to share stories.

I spent last night at the United Way 100 Year Gala event in Dallas. There was a giant sit-down dinner, Andra Day sang live right in front of me and was incredible, and then we walked to the Cotton Bowl for floor seats to a Blake Shelton and Janet Jackson concert.

It was a good time!

The dress code was "concert chic with comfortable shoes" so well all took that in different directions - as did every other guest we saw. I grabbed an Uber home about 9:45 pm, which was right when Janet finally came on, but I was tired and that's my bedtime. I am glad to note that at 42 my FOMO has subsided enough that I will leave an event when I'm done and sleepy and very happily go home to crawl into bed with my sleepy husband and snuggle and go to sleep. That's actually a huge step for me. What a great Saturday night.

Last topic before I go make sure the party prep is being done, clothes and accessories!

I have slowly collected a couple holiday-themed accessories in my 40's and I was wearing these spider earrings I bought for a party last year at work on Halloween when I realized halfway through a video call with a brand new client that the neck-up view from the video conference camera was really highlighting the faux-rhinestone spiders in a way that might require an explanation?

The client loved them. I also wore these adorable little ghosts to a recruiting event earlier in the week. I'm into a touch of whimsy. Now looking for a pair of Christmas earrings that will provide the same.

Which brings me to outfits! Ayron came by to do some new styling for me a couple weeks ago and I adore what she put together. She is so, so good at combining the clothes I own into outfits that look chic and professional but are also very comfortable and feel like me.

I loved every one of these:

Purple with that gold/tan skirt? Would never have thought of it. Or layering the purple sleeveless turtleneck that was bought at a different store in a different year than the purple blazer. This is why we love an expert- she makes magic.

And now it's time for some birthday party magic- Happy Sunday to everyone!