Despite visions of myself as a sleek, cool, hip, modern, professional, urbane, independent woman, I will always be a Midwestern girl who loves nothing more than hoodie sweatshirts and funky colored argyle socks. This is never more apparent than in the fall. I love LA weather 90% of the time, but I have dreams of rainy days locked inside with a good book, trips to the cider mill and the smell of fallen leaves. We've turned the clocks back for the winter and the sun is now setting before I leave the office in the evening. It's strangely hard for me to digest this time change along with 85 degree weather. I have boxes upon boxes of sweaters (and I keep buying more because they really do make me so happy) and I just want to bust them out in all their colorful glory. I want to bundle up in cordoroys and super soft scarves and I actually have a little ache somewhere inside of me everytime I see the seasonal specials on display at the store.
Going back to school is a decidedly "fall" activity: buying books, sharpening pencils, anticipating new friends and new schedules. Unfortunately for me, it also means final exams right around Thanksgiving. In the next two weeks I have a final exam, two papers and a presentation due so I hardly have time to plan, prepare and execute a multi-course meal for over a dozen. And then there's all the cleaning...
But despite my hectic schedule and the decidedly un-fall weather, the holiday season is fast approaching. I can't wait to spend a few hours meandering down Canon Drive wandering around Williams & Sonoma and checking out the window displays. All I want to do is burn the pumpkin spice candle and write Christmas cards.
My first Thanksgiving in LA was hilarious. I was so amazed that I could swim all morning and feast all afternoon - I always just associated Turkey Day with the typical frostiness of the Midwest and Northeast. My second Thanksgiving in LA my oldest brother flew in from Michigan to celebrate it with me, and I was too stressed out, cooking for thirteen in my itty bitty apartment, to even realize what was going on. As the years progressed and all of my friends begged me to cook them their annual turkey, I was just grateful to have so many loving and supportive people around me, even if I was thousands of miles away from my family. This year, I will definitely miss how crazy the farmer's market is the Sunday before Thanksgiving and the "need" to buy some new fancy utensil/pot/ingredient/cookbook for this year's feast. I am no chef, but I feel like I'm losing some of the few fall activities I have left in this crazy town.
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