"Nothing's going to change, Jo."

This weekend felt long and fall-ish, despite a notable lack of brisk weather (excuse me, Wisconsin?) and absence of outdoor escapades. On Saturday night, I had the pleasure (or displeasure) of nursing my couch-ridden, common-cold-infested Boyfriend back to health. So, I attempted tomato soup from scratch for the first time in my life, paired with a grilled-granny-smith-apple-raspberry-honey-mustard-and-cheese sandwich. Boy oh boy, I will tell you, it was yummy! And for dessert? Mulled apple cider and French breakfast muffins (as seen on Food Gawker, but my new obsession with them is a whole other post entirely!).

Sunday was full of football, baseball, and Mom's slow-cooked turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, and home-made applesauce to boot. Talk about your harvest feast! The only thing missing was hot apple pie. (Oh wait — we had cranberry-apple pie for dessert, and a la mode, no less. Problem solved!) But back to the sports — it was a great day to be a Wisconsinite! Packers victory, Brewers victory — and I'm not even what you'd call an avid sports-fan. For those avids out there, cheers to you!


And to top it all off, a viewing of what is surely one of my all-time favorites: "Little Women." Not the Katherine Hepburn version, nor the Elizabeth Taylor version (though shouldn't we know it as the June Allyson version?), but the Winona Ryder/Christian Bale version. Heavy sigh. In this movie, Christian Bale has got to be the most swoon-worthy lad in the history of swoon-worthy lads. Please note that I'm not calling him hot, sexy, or even a swoon-worthy man. No, this Laurie is boyish, charming, exuberant — though I'm a fan of Peter Lawford, I'm just not sure he ever quite captured the Teddy charisma and spark. Christian on the other hand — don't get me started. And Winona? Friends, that is Jo to perfection. And the way it's filmed? Also perfect. Mix it all together, and you've got a movie that never fails to move me to tears. My post-sports Sunday night had been so empty — thanks to "Little Women" it's "not empty now."