When I was just a wee baby blogger, I wrote a Love Letter to autumn. To quote: “I want to curl up with a strong cup of coffee and write and write and write. I want to put on moody music and map my future on scented stationary. Today I want to pen my manifesto, find myself a bullhorn, and sing my dream to the world.”
Gosh I was young, back in 2010.
But of course, autumn still does that to me. Not that I’m curling up and penning manifestos these days . . . But at work every day after lunch, I take a long walk at Campus Point. Out along the bluffs, dusty and dotted with ice plant, and the occasional twisted evergreen stretching itself so far out over the ocean, just daring the cliffside to crumble. I love walking high above the beach. Watching the waves toss pebbles onto the sand. Autumn oceans are turbulent; brilliant cobalt blue but capped with heaving whitewater. It’s not the still sea of summer. And I love it. I may not be unholstering my bullhorn these days, but autumn still fills me with fire. I’m reflecting. Reflecting on everything.
It’s a good way to go into winter. I’m ready to set some new intentions. Ready to hibernate for a spell, cocoon myself up and grow some pretty new wings for spring.
And I hope that you are too! Are you still out there in Internet land? I mean, of course you are. And whether you’ll find this blog post, or whether you never do, I hope you’ve had a really wonderful autumn. ♥
Okay, here are a few of my favorite moments:
And that brings us to now. November. Deep autumn, readying for winter. Dreaming of solstices and holidays, long dark nights and lots of cozy time. I’m really looking forward to it.
Okay, now it’s time for the one, the only, Le Love List! I’ve been saving it up on my phone again, a little list of happy that travels with me wherever I go . . .
Being naked. // Not getting sick. My strong-as-hell immune system. // Waits helping me cook, and his enthusiasm for it. // BABIES! (still) // Feeling genuinely impressed with myself. // Doing guided meditations for Waits at bedtime (early autumn). // Waits reading himself to sleep every night, wrapped up in his blankies with his little headlamp to light the pages (late autumn). // Intentional parenting. Working on that — getting better at that. // An old friend called me up, while he was driving back from his young daughter’s back-to-school night. He had met all the other parents there — all these good, smart, nice, normal people. And he couldn’t connect with anyone. He said “Everything that came out of my mouth seemed to just hang in the air. I felt like everything I said was weird and everything I did was wrong. I’m an alien. I don’t fit in with normal people . . . So I just wanted to call and talk to someone who really knows me, and loves me.” I know the feeling, my friend. And I do love you. So much. ♥ // My sleep mask, which allows me to sleep in late, no matter what. Preeeeeecious. // My home apothecary, which makes me so proud. // The way that Jeremy laughs over, and over, and over again while watching this gif. // The last few months at work have been so intense. I joined the team less than a year ago, and now I’m leading the whole team while my boss is on maternity leave. It’s a huge endeavor with a million balls in the air at all times, with ~1,000 students depending on me, with so much pressure and very little room for error. Three months ago I imagined that at this point I wold pretty much be holed up in my office, hiding under my desk weeping and eating my feelings. Or something equally disastrous. But instead, it’s just . . . worked. I’ve worked it. It’s all gone so smoothly, and I’m in charge, and I’m doing it, and it’s all working out. It feels pretty freaking awesome, man.
So alright, that’s it for now. I’m hoping to be back here soon with a holiday DIY tutorial (is it too late for “homemade holidays” tutorials? Did I already miss the boat on that one?)
As always, thank you so much for reading. Thank you for being out there, and for checking in here. I’d love to hear from you in a comment below! And I hope you have a really wonderful winter.
If you ever want to see what I’m up to, check out my Instagram. I’ve recently discovered Instagram stories and I’m preeeeeeetty obsessed.
Lots of love!
-
Judith
-
Sarah C.
-
Kate
-
http://myblissfuljourney.com Jennifer
-
Tammy
-
http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal
-
http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal
-
http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal
-
http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal
-
http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal
-
Morgan
-
http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/ Sayward Rebhal
-
Betty Spaghetti
-
Kristin
-
Nicole
-
Mary
-
Olgui
-
Sonja