Forcing Fall

I know it's incredibly unoriginal, but - brace yourselves - I love fall. Shocking, right? To me, it feels like even more of a fresh start than the first of the year. I am sure that goes back to school days - freshly covered books, unblemished notebooks, new classes, and all of that.

If not for the appearance of the Pumpkin Spice Latte and the racks of Halloween costumes, it would be easy to miss fall around here because it doesn't look much like those back-to-school autumns that send the leaf-peepers flocking to New England. Still, if you squint (and ignore the thermometer), it's beginning to feel downright autumnal around here.

I've been ready for fall for a while now. Despite the fact that we still needed round-the-clock air conditioning at the time, I bought these as soon as we flipped the calendar to September.

{Fear not, I removed those hideous stickers immediately after taking this picture.}

A couple of weekends ago, the temperature finally dipped below 80, and I convinced my incredibly accommodating husband that spending two hours each way in the car to go to an apple orchard was a great way to spend a Saturday. 

To be honest, the cider donuts are the real draw. These things are well worth the year-long wait...

 

Despite my how much I miss the first fire of the season, the crispness, and the actual legitimate need for boots and sweaters, there is so much that I love about Southern California in the fall. The tourists clear out, the Santa Anas swing through, and citrus returns to the farmers market, but the absolute best thing about fall in Southern California is the beach - the beautifully empty beach.

So, point is, whatever it looks like, fall is the best. Now we begin the wonderful slide into the holidays...hurrah!
  

Summer, Part II

Where was I? Oh yeah, that summer where I did stuff but totally neglected this blog. Onward.

There was a bridal shower.

There was a new band. Meet The Walcotts.

There was a traumatic amputation - my dad lost half of his left ring finger in a battle with a porch chair. Fortunately, he has quite a good sense of humor - my sister and I received this photo via text after the bandages came off.

 

There were trips to the beach and Neptune's Net.

There was a fourth anniversary followed by a trip to San Francisco to celebrate with a couple of my favorite people.

There was some exploring of downtown and the discovery of a new favorite bar.

{best drink ever}

There were also a couple of weddings, but those deserve their own post. Almost caught up...

Gratitude - Day Two

{Cabrillo National Park}

Today, I am grateful that I live in Southern California, never more than a short drive from the ocean breezes that called me back in the first place. The rumor is that my first word was beach, and my dad once said that I had salt water in my veins. I always liked that idea (blood is gross anyway).

The beach takes so many different forms here, and I love them all. There are inhospitable beaches that require long climbs down rocky cliffs; there are wide, uninterrupted stretches of sand that invite long, reflective walks; there are beaches filled with tide pools, more stone than sand, and there are touristy beaches adorned with ice cream shacks and knick knack shops.

Which beach you choose depends entirely on your mood, and a few weeks ago Tom and I were in the mood for the touristy variety so we made for Muscle Beach in Santa Monica. Muscle Beach is the kitschy kind, dotted with colorful umbrellas and complete with a carnival pier, the kind of beach that tourists are picturing when they board the plane headed for Southern California.

After sunning and splashing for a while, we decided to embrace the whole experience and went to play on the sand side swings and ropes. All of the photos were taken with my iPhone.