mixed weather.

Yesterday it was warm and sunny. Last weekend, it snowed.

Today, it rains. 

winter really has arrived.

Winter has been hesitant to arrive this year in the indicative form of snow or consistent freezing temperatures. In the past two weeks we've had a confusing roller coaster of weather patterns from warm and sunny to pouring rain to freezing nights to mild afternoons. While one given day might not accurately give you an idea of just what season is occurring, there's another more reliable way of really knowing when one season has quietly bid adieu and another has gently tiptoed in.

September 15, 2011

November 6, 2011

December 2, 2011

fall arrives.

What a glorious fall weekend! The last few days were filled with lunch and movie dates (Shake Shack and The Help), a trip down the High Line, a concoction of warm rum and cider only to be followed by a hot apple pie a la modé, brown boots and scarves, and a transition from light and pale nail colors to a deep, dark purple one. While the official equinox isn't until the end of the week, I think a lot of people would agree that fall wholeheartedly arrived in NYC in the past few days.

I couldn't be happier.

However, today marks the beginning of a very busy school year for me. On Mondays and Fridays, I'll be babysitting an adorable little baby boy named Fox who turned two-months-old on September 14th. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, I'll be student-teaching in a kindergarten class at P.S. 452 on the Upper West Side. Tuesday nights and Thursday nights I have class. Throw in some gym time, reading and TV time, weekly date nights, homework, eating, and sleep and I anticipate being one busy, busy gal.

I am so, so excited to start student-teaching tomorrow but I am also equal parts nervous. This is it. This is the beginning of it all and I have no idea how it's going to go. I did meet my cooperating teachers last week, though, and they immediately eased a lot of the tension and anxiety I was feeling with their warm demeanor and friendly smiles. I'll keep you all posted on how it goes!

hello fall.

As summer slowly comes to an end in the next few days (happy Labor Day Weekend everyone!), I am so ready to welcome the fall season with open arms. The changing leaves, crisp air, and the excuse to switch back from iced tea to hot tea are enough to make anyone giddy, but luckily for us me, fall is also a great time to explore the city. While winter keeps you holed up in your home, spring is too rainy and muddy, and summer is too unbearably hot, fall is the prime time to get outdoors and stroll the streets of the city.

Yesteray, Time Out Magazine emailed me a list of 101 things to do in NYC in the fall. Knowing that my time here in the city is limited, I couldn't help but read the entire list and get excited for the fun things we can do for cheap or even for free! I will be busy with school but I'll be darned if I don't make an effort to bask in the city's myriad of fun fall activities.

Reminder to self:

must participate in #7 (Apple Festival at the Queens County Farm Museum), #36 (Brooklyn Book Festival), and #84 (Minigolf on the Hudson). 

Enjoy the weekend, folks. It's back to the grind next week!

summer approaches.

Yesterday, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I spent the morning grumbling and fumbling over dirty dishes, a cut on my hand, unorganized clothes, overcast weather and who knows what other totally trivial problems. I was scheduled to meet a friend at noon for a lunch date and part of me secretly wanted to just stay home and bask in my mopiness, but yet, I had an obligation. And thank god.

The sun came out just as I arrived at Columbus Circle. I met Anthony and we walked up the upper west side scouring good lunch spots and finally picked a little tavern that had phenomenal BLTs. During the search though, we passed the famous Magnolia bakery, discovered that neither of us had ever been there, and vowed to stop in after lunch for dessert. We each picked out a cupcake with the intention of splitting both of them, and headed to Central Park. The sun at this point was out in full blast and I can't tell you how glorious it was to pick out a grassy knoll, kick off my shoes, and bite into a red velvet cupcake and then a "hummingbird" cupcake (some sort of carrot cake-y, buttercream, nutty magic), and lie back and let the sun hit my face.

All of the above factors, my friends, are perfect ingredients for making the morning grumps vanish away, as well as for a recipe for making me love New York just a little bit more.

shnow.

Having spent time in Vermont and New York, I'm no stranger to heavy snowfall. But somehow, when a giant chunk of it lands in one night and the next day ends up being clear and sunny, it leaves quite an impression. New York got 19 inches last night and needless to say, when I trekked to work this glorious morning, I had quite a sight before me. With a click, click, click, I tried to capture Astoria before the snowplows picked up their pace. I also got a few shots of Central Park from the warm and sheltered seat of a cab later in the day.

brrrrrrrr...

MARIN HAS SNOW! And I don't mean oh-it-snowed-for-a-few-minutes-but-now-there's-no-evidence... I mean, the snow is sticking big time. At least on the mountain tops anyway. Oddly, Mt. Tam doesn't have any but these mountains in Novato do. I took these pictures after I left a doctor's appointment right by the Vintage Oaks shopping center.

Looks like my dream of combining Vermont and California into one big happy place are finally coming true! ;)

autumn's sweet, we call it fall.

While getting dressed this morning, I put on the staple items of jeans and a T-shirt, but didn't know what more to add. Looking up the forecast on weather.com as I religiously do, I learned it was only 59 degrees outside despite the gorgeous sun shining through the window blinds. As a result, I reached into the scarf bin in my closet for the first time since I've moved home. Regardless, I still left the house in flip-flops and without a sweater of any sort, but the scarf really triggered something in me.

With September already half over, I can just picture Burlington, Vermont in all its foliage glory. I've spent the past five winters stubbornly exclaiming, "I'm from California, I don't DO cold!" yet when the fall rolls around, I push aside the notion of what the coming months of January and February will bring and bask in the magic that is the northeast autumn. Vermont autumns are the perfect mix of sunny yet crisp days, bathed in phenomenal shades of gold, burgundy, and neon oranges and yellows. There's something so cozy and fuzzy about that first time you pull out the wool socks, the fluffy scarves, the perfectly fitted knit hats, and the warm fleeces and soft cotton sweatshirts and head out to get a steaming cup of coffee to hold in your hands.

It is still warm here in Marin, and while we will get those crisp days weeks later than the northeast, it definitely won't be the same. I will soak up the long summer while I can and enjoy California for what it is, but in the back of my mind, I am secretly craving a fresh September morning in the place that I had come to call home over the past few years.