Fall Feels

Happy Fall!  The leaves are changing and there's a chill in the air!  I love this time of year.  A few Tuesday Tidbits about life lately...

 1) The evolution of pumpkin spice cracks me up.  What started as a novelty to celebrate the flavors of fall and create a bridge between the iced lattes of summer and the peppermint mochas of winter has become the ultimate symbol of the Basic B, and even the focus of racially charged jokes (AKA that all white girls like pumpkin).  So I won't perpetuate this by going on and on about pumpkin spice like I usually do... but I did have a salted caramel mocha frappuccino at the end of a long work week and it was heaven in a cup.  :-)

 2) One of my favorite things about the weather turning cooler is diving into warm, cozy, flavorful fall foods: risotto with butternut squash, pork chops with cooked apples, wild rice, and homemade mac and cheese.  I baked a blueberry pie and peach cobbler for our friends' outdoor wedding celebration earlier this month!
Fall wedding desserts

Peach cobbler a la mode!

I'm not great at pie crust, but I tried a little heart design on this one.

3) September is such a beautiful time of year for weddings!  The colors are just starting to turn, the air is turning cool, and fall is such a perfect time for romance and closeness.  Many of our friends are celebrating anniversaries this week, and we just returned from my brother-in-law's wedding in southern MN this past weekend.
Gorgeous center pieces at an outdoor Santa Fe wedding earlier this month

Hanging with the fam on the first weekend of fall in Minnesota

 4) New season, new hair!  I went with an asymmetrical bob with some subtle highlights and lowlights.  I have learned over the years that short hair is more consistent with my personality and feels way more comfortable than long.
Post-chop selfie

5) My girlfriends' Book (and Wine) Club is one of the highlights of my month!  This month we read Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, which was a National Book Award Finalist a few years ago. Here are a few books I look forward to diving into this season:

 The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen
Into the Water, by Paula Hawkins
Exit West, by Mohsin Hamid
Love and Other Consolation Prizes, by Jamie Ford
The Leavers, by Lisa Ko
Happy Dreams, by Jia Pingwa
What Happened, by Hillary Clinton
Theft by Finding, by David Sedaris
Into the Woods, by Tana French
Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman
The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown
Goodbye, Vitamin, by Rachel Khong



6) It's funny the things adults get excited about.  We got a new dryer!  I can actually start and finish an entire load of laundry after work (oh, the little things!), and our electricity bill is more manageable now that we don't have to tumble a load for three straight hours.


Even Ady is mesmerized....
7) Ady has 6 teeth and looks so grown up!  She is so happy and giggly.  She is cruising along furniture and looks so close to taking her first steps.  This past weekend she learned to climb steps for the first time and also took her first boat ride.  She is such a strong and active kiddo, like her parents!  Motherhood is wonderful.  

       

              


In one month we'll be heading to Maui, Hawaii, and O'ahu!  We can't wait for another fun family vacation.

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