finally fall

Y'all. It's FINALLY fall in Florida. Holy moly, who's a happy camper? This girl. Okay, I love the whole no snow, no sub-zero temperature thing about Florida, but what I don't love is how nonexistent the fall season seems to be. All throughout September and October, it's like Florida thinks really hard about turning to fall - really contemplates making the jump. A crisp morning here, a chilled evening there... Florida dips its toasty toe into the water that is fall and then decides Nope, no ma'am, not gonna do it. 

But this week? This is different. Fall has officially fallen. (You know, like Spring has sprung? Oh whatever.) And you know what that means? For a few glorious weeks I will get to enjoy the unbeatable feeling of the hot Florida sun on my face and the cool fall breeze at my back. It is truly a happy, happy time for me.

It also means I can stop being jealous of my friends up north that have been able to take in things like billowy scarves and pumpkin spice lattes for weeks now. (Curse you all with your cute coats and colorful leaves!) 

The bad news? Now that it's cold it will be all too easy to convince myself to buy new fall staples (which all just happen to be high-price items: boots, coats, new jeans... they're all on the list.) The way I see it, I don't really have a choice, ya know? Blame it on the weather, pocketbook. (I'm aware no one uses the term "pocketbook" anymore, but it just seemed to fit there.)

This weather also had me in the mood to change things up around here. Have you guys noticed how that keeps happening more frequently? A glaring reminder of my lack of patience and/or satisfaction with anything I do. Isn't it funny how when you have a vision for how you want things to be, suddenly whatever you're working with in the present becomes... lackluster. Ever since I finished designing my new site, all I can think about when I visit my blog is how it's not as pretty as the new one. So anyway, this is how things will be for now. Cleaner, simpler, more modern. Which is what I'm hoping to bring to the new site. Hopefully the images and posts will get to shine more that way. (Oh no! Looks like I'm going to have to step up my photography game. This is probably a good thing.)

This past weekend we also engaged in one of my favorite fall activities of all - pumpkin carving. I have been very open about my general ambivalence toward Halloween, but pumpkin carving is the one activity from the holiday that I love. I went a little overboard on the ol' pumkin this year, but I'll let you guys be the judge of it was worth it. Look for that tomorrow! 

As for now... enjoy these gorgeous, warm photos that remind me of fall. It won't stay for long, so I'm enjoying it while it lasts!

Remember when I called myself a "happy camper." That was actually a bit misleading. I'm not a very good camper. And by not very good at it, I mean I hate bugs and food that is seasoned with dirt and sleeping on surfaces that aren't my bed. I realize that makes me a bit high-maintenance, but I'll take it. Camping challenged or not though, these photos remind me of hot bonfires and the glow of fall twilight. I'll happily place myself in these photos (just as long as I don't have to spend the night.)

The root of my fall fashion bug. Scarves and stripes and boots and comfort. Ignore the fact that there is snow in both of these photos. This is how people in Florida dress in fall not winter because anything below 65 is FREEZING.

That truck. Those pumpkins. Those cookies. Yes, please.

I've never seen leaves that color in Florida. Are we sure they aren't dyed? (Behind-the-blog secret: At first I wrote "died," which is also kind of appropriate and true but grammatically incorrect.)

On a different note, I also want to take a second in this post and say just how much my heart goes out to those families and people that have been affected by Sandy. Being from Florida, I've seen the destruction some of these storms can cause and I remember even the fear of such a powerful storm being enough to shake me. I'm hoping for safety and recovery for those that were badly impacted.

Happy fall, y'all, and let me know how you feel about the changes around here. Thanks for reading!

[image credit: cozy camp, bonfire, fall oatmeal outfit, stripes and blazer outfit, pumpkin truck, pumpkin spice thumbprints, fall bench]