Sunday, September 18, 2011

A Road Trip in the Name of Alllll Things Good and Fallll!

I'm baaaack!! After traveling for five weeks, I am back where I belong... CHICAGO!!!! Needless to say, I was so ready, set, PUMPED to be back home. What better way to really express my renewed appreciation for the grand city of Chicago than... to peace outta Chicago and head to Milwaukee the day after my grand return? Oh, the irony.

For good reason though! A couple of friends (Emily and Jay) and I had planned a road trip this weekend to visit another couple of good friends (Scott and Missy) who live in Milwaukee... and were gracious enough to host us during only like the grandest weekend of all time... the weekend of the local FALL FESTIVAL!!!!

OMGDSfkjjdsflaksjfdlkj!!! If you know me at ALL, you KNOW that Fall is my FAVORITE FAVORITE FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR!!!! The crisp, cool air, the beautiful foliage colors, the flavors of PUMPKIN and APPLE... dude, seriously. It canNOT get any BETTER. So you better BELIEVE I basically LEAPED on this opportunity to celebrate Fallll in allll its grandeur at this Fall Festival.

And, BOY, did it SO not disappoint.

The road trip started off... well, kind of anticlimactically. Of course, there were hugs GALORE when I first reunited with Emily... I mean, who are we kidding? It was like giddiness central. We made a quick pit stop at Walgreens since Emily wanted to pick up some iced tea and chips...

Then, we picked up Jay (reunion central again!) and were all ready, set to get on our WAY...

Except that I decided that I now wanted some water and chips as well... so we stopped at our second Walgreens in the course of... well, about ten minutes.

But THEN, we were ready, set and on our WAY! Milwaukee, here we come!!

After nothing short of a FABULOUS reunion with Missy and Scott (GOD, they are some of the best people ever invented), you better believe we wasted NO time in heading STRAIGHT for that Fall Festival! (I initially was doing my best to maintain a somewhat reserved, laid-back demeanor when Missy was asking us about thoughts on the afternoon's activities but... well, that lasted about five minutes. Hello!! A Fall Festival was a'CALLING! There was no TIME for beating around the bush, here!)

As soon as we arrived, I just knew, knew, KNEW I was not going to be disappointed.



And the FLAVORS of Fall!! GOD, it's been so long since I've had anything pumpkin flavored... well, minus the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte I had last week. But whatever. I haven't experienced total and complete pumpkin OVERLOAD just yet... and BOY, was I ready for it.

From pumpkin gelato...


To pumpkin beer...


To pumpkin pancakes...


To, well, pumpkins THEMSELVES...

Sigh. Let's just have a moment here, people. Let's just have a moment to rela-

Oh, screw it. lakjroewijulfkddjsajflksjdflkjlkJ!lkjlksjdflksjdf lkjfalksjfoiewrlkj! lskdjfoieurlwkjlkj! lkjkfasdjowielrkjlkjsdlkfhoiyvidhvlwkjl!jlkjfsaoiewlkjflksjd!! The grandest season of ALL is REALLY AND TRULY UPON US ONCE AGAIN!!!!!!lkfjdslkfjasdlkj!J!lkjlkajfdlkdsj! Seriously, just LOOKING at those pictures and RELIVING THE EXPERIENCE OF ALL THINGS GOOD AND PUMPKIN is making me so squeal-worthy HAPPY, I can barely STAND IT!!!!

You would think that would be the end of it, but I mean, please. It's just plain not. Amidst all the pumpkin-y goodness, we were also graced with the delight of only the second grandest flavor of alllll the season of Fallll... APPLE!!!


What better way to doll up this fine fruit than to... well, dump it in a bunch of chocolatey/caramely/sugary GOODNESS? I mean, will you LOOK at these things?!


God, can life really get any better? Really?

Well, I guess it can. Because, quite frankly, the best part about this weekend was just hanging out with some of my favorite people.


(Unfortunately, I didn't snap a photo of Missy and Scott, but that would OBVIOUSLY have gone here as well.)

After all the (mostly self-inflicted) chaos and delightfulness of the Fall Festival, Saturday night ended up being pretty chill, with a visit to a ping-pong bar:


And eating lots (and lots and lots) of good FOOD. For heaven's sake, Missy and Scott just do things so RIGHT. It had been a while since I've had a nice, home-cooked meal (let alone any fruits or veggies, in general)...


And quite frankly, Scott is a LEGIT master chef. Homemade pizza? I will TAKE it.


(The pancakes Scott whipped up the next morning only further corroborated the aforementioned FACT that he is a legit master chef.)

Add that to the SIXTY* donuts we consumed after the ping-pong bar on Saturday night, and I can safely say our bellies left the grand state of Wisconsin MORE than satisfied.

All in all, I can safely say that this weekend road trip was nothing short of a sweet success. Missy and Scott, THANK YOU for yet another pretty darn perfect weekend in Wisconsin. :)

*Yes. That's right. Sixty donuts. This is what happens when Scott rolls through a drive-thru donut stand (Sil's) at midnight and orders... not one donut per person, not half a dozen donuts, not even a dozen donuts. No, no. This is what happens when Scott orders... an OFFICE PACK of donuts. 60 donuts... for 5 people. Oh whatever, you better be keeping your judgmental thoughts to yourselves until you actually TRY these things. Melt. In your. MOUTH. DELICIOUSNESS. (I wish I'd snapped a picture but, quite frankly, we devoured those things before my camera even had a chance.)

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