“It’s fall, y’all!” That is what my boss said when I walked into work on Thursday morning with a cloudy, overcast sky outside. Here in California, we are at the awkward time of year where we can be so excited to wear our sweaters in the mornings but come to regret that decision by noon and have to pull out our short sleeves and shorts again. Or as I usually say, it’s time to start checking my weather app when I get up in the mornings to make sure I dress appropriately for the majority of the day.
Fall seemed to come really early this year. I feel like most people were ready for fall halfway through August and trying to rush the end of summer. That is such a weird concept for me because I am so used to everyone holding on to the last bits of summer and only starting to be ready for fall at the end of August or beginning of September. It feels like I am the only one, or one of very few people, still enjoying the summer weather.
This is also the time of year when everyone is going back to school and it makes me thankful and also a bit sad to be done with that part of my life. I am thankful to not have to be figuring out a new routine and getting in the habit of being more productive again after having the summer off, but it makes me sad to not be going back to school and getting to see the friends I made who I would only get to see during the school year, or in my younger years, starting to learn all my Christmas dances with the dance studio I was involved at.
Even though I have a full time job now, I am so thankful to have some flexibility to go on trips pretty much whenever I want. I had the opportunity this summer to go on two trips, one to Denver, Colorado and one to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The trip to Denver was such a fun experience because it was a bit of a walk down memory lane, but also a completely different experience. I got to go and meet Katelyn for a book signing event that Stephanie May Wilson was doing for her most recent book. It was a whirlwind of a trip as we were basically only there for the day of the book signing, but we were able to explore a whole other part of town than I knew. I had gone to school in Denver, so when Katelyn and I decided to go, I thought I would be going back to my old stomping grounds. However, the event was on the complete opposite side of town than where I had lived. So that was really fun getting to explore areas I had never been to! Because we were flying from opposite sides of the country and our flights were at different times, I was also able to go visit with one of my sweet friends that I had made when I was living there and that was such a blessing and an added bonus on that trip!
The trip to Pittsburgh was a bit longer, and that was a meetup that I invited myself to. Both Elizabeth and Katelyn had commitments that brought them to Pittsburgh and when they discovered that they would be there at the same time, they decided that they wanted to meet up. I knew that I could get some time off work if needed and I said that I would love to crash their get together. That was the first time that we were all together in person, what a special time. We had already started the blog at that point and we were so glad to be able to finally talk and spend time together as a group in person. Who would have thought that these three girls from different states, different parts of the country, different time zones would start a blog together?
As the seasons are changing, I honestly do not know what I am looking forward to most this fall. I would like to do more baking and do the typical fun fall activities like apple picking or going to a pumpkin patch. I have some big projects that I would like to get done this fall as well, so I am hoping to have some weekends where I can get a lot done and complete those projects. I generally enjoy each season as it comes, so I love getting to wear tank tops, shorts, and flip flops in the summer, but I also love bundling up with blankets and wearing sweatshirts when the weather gets colder. Overall, I am excited to see what happens this fall and know that it is going to be a wonderful time of the year.
Abbi