in real life

Hurricane Hermine is rearing her swirly head above us right now, which I am absolutely okay with. I love an occasional string of stormy gray days, days that allow you to guiltlessly hole up inside the warmth and comfort of home.

Today, I allowed myself to believe in Autumn. It's been far too oppressively hot to even fathom the change of season, but as it poured on and on, I lit my Leaves candle, put on some comfy pants, and threw myself into making a beef and butternut squash stew.

And I thought, as I allowed myself to fall deeper and deeper (get it? Fall? Bahahaha!), that I would finish up tonight with a last hoorah to summer, and ventured into my first and final raspberry and blackberry cobbler of the season.

Now I know that next week, the temperatures in Austin will soar, and I'll be sweating profusely on my way from the car to the apartment, but for the next few days, I will allow myself to believe that leaves will turn and pumpkins will be carved and football will be played and we will huddle around mugs of cider as the wind and rain howl outside.