longing for fall

please don't hate me for saying this, but i have been dreaming about fall lately. like, a lot. i'm just about ready to bid farewell to summer. soooo long shorts and skirts and air conditioning and leg shaving every day and tank tops and the endless attempt at keeping my feet "pretty" enough for the public!

helllooooo cardigans and jeans and scarves and gorgeous yellow/orange/red leaves on the sidewalk and cinnamon candles. tall boots and that crisp feeling in the air and steaming hot chai lattes and roasted butternut squash soup and homemade applesauce muffins and coziness, people, coziness!

our northern california summer has been surprisingly moderate and it actually has cooled off a bit most nights, enough for us to fling open the windows after sundown and climb into bed with all the windows in the house cracked just a bit.

and yet.

i have these images flitting through my brain...

watching the gingko trees along the esplanade change color from summery green to a sunny bright yellow, seeing the maple in our front yard slowly, slowly make its gradual way to being a brilliant, flaming red-ish orange color that positively glows through the window in our front door (signalling to us that thanksgiving is just around the corner), adorable mini pumpkins at our local pumpkin patch, roasted butternut squash and sweet potatoes drizzled with good olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt, freshly cracked pepper and dotted with thyme from our garden, a tomato based vegetable soup with a buttery and herby breadcrumb crust and homemade applesauce with vanilla and cinnamon bark which i later make into applesauce muffins.

what does fall look like to you?

please hurry, fall. i don't know how long i can wait...