Pumpkin Bread Night or Reason #1568 Why I Love That All My Siblings Live In Chicago! - Brady

I got the fever the other day. I felt like fall was slipping away and I wasn't doing enough to enjoy it before the cold, cold winter hits this city. So I texted both my sisters, had Kevin text his, and we spur of the moment invited them over to our place to bake pumpkin bread. Amy and Roger couldn't make it, but we made up for it by having dinner with them the very next night.

I lit candles. (Heck. I was so excited I went to CVS and bought $3 apple scented candles as "party favors" for everybody. Yeesh.) Kevin made brussels sprouts (YUM - one of the fall food items I'm always most excited to eat) and pizza. We mixed up the batter. I licked the bowl. (No? No one else wants to risk salmonella poisoning? Just me?) We customized our loaves with pecans and chocolate chips. Lucy (Kelly's dog) and Elliot (Lesley and Paul's dog) circled each other and tried to steal each other's treats. We watched the storm outside.

As I type this, I'm eating the last crumbs of our pumpkin bread. It was pretty good, but not great. We made the executive decision to cut down on the oil the recipe called for (a cup per loaf...doesn't that seem like a lot?), so the bread ended up kind of dry. But whatever - it's pumpkin bread with pecans and chocolate chips on top!

It was a perfect fall night and one of the many, many reasons I feel like I'm living in exactly the right place, in exactly the right situation, here in Chicago with my sisters and sister-in-law and brothers-in-law a quick walk away.

And now you'll have to excuse me. We're headed to Lesley and Paul's for sushi theme night - we're ordering it and watching a documentary called Jiro Dreams of Sushi. 

Have a wonderful fall weekend.