Happy Autumn!

This morning I woke up early to go running; you could say I'm turning over a new leaf (pun intended and super corny). Roommate J and I are going to be running a half-marathon in November. (Crickets.) I trained for it over the summer, but when I moved back to school in August, I let myself get busier with other things. Today I was only able to run 16 minutes before I had to walk, so I have a long way to go - but I want do it, and I can. I know what you're thinking: You have 8-ish weeks to be able to run 13 miles, and you were only able to run a mile and a half today? Huh. Yes. My goal was to be able to run an entire marathon by age 25 (I'm 21 now), and when this opportunity (the half marathon in November) arose, I wasn't sure I wanted - or even could - do it. I ran a 10k in Feburary and a 5k in August. So what's another few miles? Well, a lot more pain and a lot more suffering. But running is good for me; good for my body, good for my mind. I'm going to do the half. It won't be easy. It will, though, be worth it.

Happy autumn to you all; is fall in the air where you are?

A couple of weeks ago I went to Pier 1 to find a fall wreath for our apartment door. Since I am trying to avoid Starbucks* and their oh-so-creamy, nutty pumpkin spice lattes, I stopped at my favorite local coffee shop and got a spiced chai with espresso (which is kind of clove-y and ginger-ish - like a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte - if you shut your eyes very tightly and imagine it as so). (SIDE NOTE: I can't ever get to the point. This is why I am no longer a journalism major. Picture me writing straight news for a paper. I shudder imagining it.) Anyway. So I'm walking into Pier 1 with my spiced chai + espresso, dreaming of glittery pumpkins and nutty, woodsy potpourri, and as I am greeted by a very perky Pier 1 employee, I feel nothing. I look around. Blink. Turn my head; left, right, forward. Where is the fall stuff? Where are the harvest spice cake candles with the burnt orange taffeta and miniature pine cones? Then I realize, some of the fall decor has arrived. But it's 95 degrees outside, and I'm in shorts, and the chai is making me sweat. And that means I'm in no mood to shop for fall. I thank Perky Pants for her stalkerish attentive pop-ups in every other aisle of the store asking if I'm "finding everything", and tell her I'll be back when fall is officially here.

Well, it's officially here, and it's still hot outside. Yesterday I saw a couple grilling, and as I walked past the swimming pool I saw that it was littered with sun-bathers and water volleyball players. Go away, summer. You're sticky and you cause high electric bills.

Despite the heat, I am trying to convince myself it's autumn. Last night I had chicken tortilla soup for dinner, and today for lunch I had tomato soup (okay, fine, I had Spaghettio's). And now I'm doing a little fall online shopping. (By "online shopping" I mean dreamily looking and wishfully thinking.)

Here are some things I'm falling (you had to know it was coming) for:
The Brimming Bouquet Dress from ModCloth.
A pair of cropped Always Skinny dark wash jeans.
This adorable Spanning Seasons headband from Anthropologie.
These high-priced-but-absolutely-gorgeous Slow Chill Skimmers flats.
The scarf I mentioned here.
And practically every basic fall piece from H&M. As well as every single Anthro cardigan.

*Since I was young, my mom has gone to the same coffee shop. She goes everyday. Some of the baristas joke that my mom put them through college. When my sister and I were kids, we didn't think much of the coffee shop. But now that we're older, and no longer drinking "red stuff" (strawberry Italian soda - the coffee shop had the best kind), we appreciate a really good cup of coffee. And we are coffee snobs. Read: we only buy local coffee. While I prefer local over corporate-y places, I can't get enough of Pier 1, Anthro, etc. But I will always go for the local coffee, the local ice cream, the local diner, etc., if it's available. This could actually be a seperate post, I just wanted to clarify why I am not drinking those delicious, buttery pumpkin spice lattes.

Hope everyone is enjoying the first day of fall. My favorite season is finally here!