I am so excited that it is finally November. It’s funny because November used to be one my least favorite months. It was cold and blustery and we don’t have any fun fall color out here in California. Everything is just kinda brownish. The skies are big and blue but our leaves are kind of sad. Plus, the month seemed to drag on forever. But now? I think it might be one of my favorite months. Of course there is Thanksgiving to look forward to and the best part of all: PUMPKIN PIE!!  Pumpkin pie has snuck into my life in a funny way.

This morning I was working on this month’s banner (mobile readers click here) and Bug woke up, wandered into my office and said, “Mmmmmmm….pumpkin pie! Let’s have some for breakfast!”  I hemmed and hawed for a while and thought of all kinds of excuses but then gave in because I did happen to have some pre-made pie shells in the fridge that I needed to use up.

I guess my refrigerator is really really cold because when I unrolled the pie crusts they came out in pieces and chunks instead of a nice soft circle. So we squished the pieces into a baking dish and made a rectangle pumpkin pie! Pie bars, if you will.  Then there was too much pumpkin pie filling left over so I scanned my fridge for something else to use and I had some of those pop-out-of-the-can crescent rolls leftover from our little Halloween party (pigs in a blanket, yo.) and we squished those into a pie dish and made:

Pumpkin Glop pie!  As you probably know, crescent rolls bake a lot faster than pie filling so we rigged up a tinfoil doughnut for the edges but when that didn’t keep the crescent rolls from burning, we took the half-baked pie out of the oven, nuked it for a minute in the microwave (to kill any eggs that weren’t cooked) and ate it as is. Glop! With some whipped cream it was a totally nutritious and delicious breakfast. Maybe more delicious than nutritious but I’m counting pumpkin as a vegetable so whatever. It was breakfast with no complaints from the peanut gallery.

Speaking of peanut gallery, how do you like my new GIANT ottoman?  My downstairs neighbor moved out and gifted it to me. It’s huge. It dwarfs my apartment. I have officially left behind my status as a minimalist (who am I kidding, I left that behind years ago) and moved into cozy.  It is so very cozy. You can push it up against my small couch and make a giant bed. It makes me want to cuddle up with blankets and watch movies all day.

I haven’t decided if it’s really “my style” or not. It’s a little more refined than my usual mish-mash of thrift store antiques but it just fits our life. The kids love it.

In the meantime, I’m naming her Elly. Short for Elephant in the room.  What do you think?  Do you think she fits? I have a friend who will gladly take her off my hands if I decide my living room is just too small for such a monstrosity.  Maybe I just need to get rid of all the other clutter! Ha.  Anybody want a giant ampersand?

You know what else is exciting about November?  Secret Agent Josephine in Paris is coming out!!! As in this Friday! I’m so excited.  I’m getting ready for the launch party. I was hoping to have more to show you but I’m running a little behind. The picture above is my bar. To keep costs down I’ve been collecting a couple of bottles of wine a week and I’ve got some little tiny French flags for my cheese plate and some gold tinsel for a photo wall. I’m hoping to make some art prints to hand out to the first 25 guests that arrive.  I’ll show you those a little later this week if my week doesn’t run away from me.  If you are local, please say you are coming! It’s going to be fun!!