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!
  

Merry Christmas!

My computer suffered a tragic fall, and as a result, it is running incredibly slow, so I must be brief or this will take an hour. Our Christmas season in photos.

We bought a tree, and we named him Giuseppe Martini.

{Let's pause and notice how three of my favorite things are captured in this photo: Les Mis, NPR, and Christmas trees}

We decorated Giuseppe in a style befitting his name.

We went ice skating and to a Batman exhibit, as one does.

Merry Christmas!!

Gratitude - Day Five

I'm thankful that it's so, so easy to eat local here. I promised no rants for a while, so I will not go on and on about the value of eating locally. If you are interested, check out Mark Bittman's recent column in the New York Times.

Annnnyway, I am pretty happy about the fact that I am now managing to get just about all of our produce, eggs, and poultry from local sources. I would feel all virtuous about this, but it's really requires so little sacrifice that I don't feel like it even counts. Plus,  I really do enjoy my weekly trips to the farmers' market.  Even in November, the market is overflowing with colorful produce.

 

I started trying to eat locally out of a concern for the environment, but the added bonus is I feel like I have a much greater appreciation of the seasons. I took full advantage of summer's tomatoes and cucumbers, and those light, salad-ready foods were perfect for late night dinners after a long day at the beach. Now that the temperatures are dropping and the days are getting shorter, I'm excited for heartier fare like butternut squash risotto followed by apple crisp. When asparagus shows up at the market again, I'll know that it's time to dig out the tank tops and start preparing for bikini season again.

There's actually a great app for keeping track of what's in season. Locavore is a free app that uses your current location to pull up a list of what's in season in your area, how much longer it will be in season, and what's coming in season next. According to Locavore, I have two more months to enjoy dates, but will only be able to enjoy local okra for another two weeks (I've never actually had okra, but - good to know). It can also tell you where to find a farmers' market nearby. Good times.

 Added seasonal bonus - I got to break out my rain boots today, and with actual golden leaves on the ground, it felt like the perfect fall day.

Fall Colors - So Cal Style

I took a little walk around the neighborhood the other day and realized that even though we don't have much in the way of deciduous trees, Southern California is certainly not wanting for color this time of year.

Sunshine, blue skies, please go away...

Every since moving to Los Angeles, I have been struck by how aggressively sunny it is here. All. Of. The. Time.

{Those little suns are starting to look positively hostile to me.}

I realize how ridiculous it is to complain about the near perfect weather, but bear with me for a minute. San Diego and Los Angeles have identical climates, but in San Diego, I always lived within a few miles of the ocean, and that, apparently, changes everything. The marine layer rarely extends far enough inland to have an impact in my new hood, and most mornings I wake up to a cloudless sky. I know, such a burden. It's just...sometimes, I wish it would rain. This is never more true than in October when I'm longing for autumn.

The vast majority of the time, I adore the mild, predictable weather of Southern California, but every October (ok, a few weeks in December too) I long for New England's dramatic and erratic weather. I miss the unmistakable chill in the air that signals the shift from backyard cookouts and lakeside fun to chili cook-offs and touch football. I miss the way that the fiery hillsides could take my breath away with their beauty, no matter how many times I had watched their yearly journey from the near fluorescent greens of early spring to the deep russet of late October.  I miss actually needing wool sweaters and boots. I miss living some place that looks like all of the beautiful spreads in the fall issues of my favorite magazines.

{fall inspiration}

Now that you have a sense of my (unbalanced?) state of mind, you will understand why waking to pouring rain and (potentially imagined) claps of thunder the other day thrilled me to my very core. I went about my errands cheerfully, giggling like an idiot when I stepped in a giant puddle and attempting to share conspiratorial smiles with the other soggy patrons of Pavillions.  The fall-like weather resulted in a few off-list purchases at the grocery store in the form of decorative baby pumpkins (so cute!) and a can of pumpkin puree in anticipation of afternoon baking (so yummy!). Once I got home, the pumpkin spice candle was lit, the fall playlist (what? you don't make seasonal playlists?) was fired up on the stereo, and made myself a cup of tea.

After the tea, the fall decorating began. I even attempted painting my favorite fall quote. Sadly, this was the best of roughly 15 attempts. I will probably give it another go at some point; that branch is out of control.

{Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.}

Just as I was settling the last pumpkin on the mantle and contemplating crafting some sort of autumnal leaf garland, the rain stopped, and the sun started working its way out again. I briefly considered pouting, but then I remembered that I can't begrudge the New Englanders their glorious autumn. Soon they will be buried in snow while I will still be burying my toes in the sand. So for now, I will just sweat a little in my tall boots and cableknits.