It's December in Austin, which means...

A high today of 87 degrees! It was 55 when I woke up this morning. After four years (end of this month) in Austin, I don't think I'll ever get used to the temperature fluctuations. My windshield keeps cracking. It's something about the laws of physics and sciencey things that happen when hot things get cold and vice versa.

Anyhoochie. I'm not going to apologize for taking a break from posting because it makes me hate myself (the apologizing, not the taking of the break), but I wanted to tell you about the weather. I went for a walk outside this afternoon in the boots I wore to work because it was 55 degrees this morning and now I feel sweaty. When winter comes to Austin though, it doesn't f*ck around. This weekend? Highs of 39 degrees, lows 29-31 degrees, plus 50-60 % chance of rain. Happy we had a cold snap a few weeks ago that motivated me to dig out my winter gear because I'm going to need it.

Speaking of winter gear, here is a photo of my dog in a Snuggie™. She has one. I don't. Because I figured out how to use a remote control and a telephone while being warm and simultaneously covered by a blanket a long time ago. (Snuggie lovers, I do not judge...unless I see you in one at the grocery store because my mother raised me right.)

The cutest EVER, right?

Stay warm wherever you are!

Waiting for winter...

We get a few cold days in Austin here and there, just teasers really, when we oh-so-hopefully drag out our boots and sweaters, throw an extra blanket on the bed, and wonder if we should go ahead and buy firewood. Rationally, we know that it's going to be 85 and humid tomorrow afternoon, that it will probably be warm on Thanksgiving, that the weather is going to be schizophrenic until at least January (and then we'll have two months of cold weather and it might even snow).

snow weather by kellylovej

In Texas, I've learned to wait it out. I put the holiday lights on my fireplace mantel on Saturday. I had the air conditioning on because the high on Saturday was 90 degrees. I persist, and affix a red bow to the outside door.

I have an active imagination. I squint and see leaves turning gold and brown with the season (and not dying trees because we're in a 10-month drought).

I buy sweaters online from the comfort of my chilly, air-conditioned office. And scarves. Because there will be at least two days this year that I can wear both. I briefly considered these boots...for the one day of snow we might get.

I surf Flickr for images of covered bridges, autumn in New England (I was born in Massachusetts, spent time in Newport and rural New Jersey before moving down South).

I dream of wintery, blustery nights in front of my fireplace, wrapped in a cashmere throw (the heart wants what the heart wants). This wallpaper could give me winter wonderful all year.

I love my winter clothes so much more than the others for their forgiveness, for their layered cozy comfort, for the 10 lbs. of Thanksgiving overeating they're going to hide. I have three perfectly good (and lovely) winter coats, but I think I need this one. I'll wear things in layers in the wintertime that I'd never wear alone, like this dress. The only hat I wear in the summer is an ugly wide-brimmed thing I wear to walk the dog. In the winter, I wear hats and feel very stylish (and they also cover up "day two" unwashed hair).

One or two more humid days of 80-something degrees before the next cold front comes in. Today I am wearing a cable-knit sweater in my air-conditioned office, drove here in my air-conditioned car, and will sleep tonight under an extra blanket in my air-conditioned house, dreaming of winter winds, warming my hands around a pumpkin latte, knocking the snow off of my boots on the front porch and warming my feet by the fire. Brrrr.

Today I am happy because...

Despite having lowered the bar quite a bit when it comes to the heat of summer (Austin Summer 2011 = 76 consecutive days of 100+ degree temperatures and makes summer in Charleston seem like a breeze), I am happy that the highs are just 95 or 96 now and the lows at night are dipping into the 60s. I get stupid happy when the sun goes down, just thinking that fall is around the corner (two months or more around, but around all the same).

After being in Austin for nearly two years, I finally visited a local farmer's market (something I used to do regularly in Charleston because I lived within bicycle-riding distance of Marion Square). I went with my friend Lisa on Saturday and it was wonderful. Besides fresh arugula, onions, artisan fig balsamic vinegar, rustic bread and lavender, I also bought lovely ginger lemongrass soy candles and handmade "dope" soap that smells a but like pot and patchouli.

Also on Saturday? Almost 30 minutes of rain. Enough to stand in it and get wet. It's been eight months since any significant rainfall in Central Texas. I'd forgotten how magical rain can be and how great it smells when it rains, what thunder sounds like, and what it feels like to be rained upon. Adored every minute.

I hate labels and the tendency to refer to myself in the third person, but having a name for what I thought was something I'd have to live with and accept forever is a blessing. I get to choose whether or not I do something about it or keep it. Sometimes having the power is just enough and sitting on the sidelines instead of participating is a choice, not a punishment.

I woke up this morning, got out of bed, and went to work at my day job. I thought I'd add this to the list because I have had some days over the past several months for which "got out of bed" was the first and only item on my gratitude list. Happy to add more to that sentence.

I don't have to apologize for anything today. I am happy that fall television has begun and am not ashamed that I plan to spend most of the week watching new shows just for fun. I am also in the middle of a book ( The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta) and an entire season of "Doctor Who" that I borrowed from a friend (the Christopher Eccleston, or 9th doctor, season). I didn't watch the roast of Charlie Sheen. I didn't watch Ashton Kutcher on "Two and a Half Men." I've never liked the show and I'm not sorry.

What are you happy about or not sorry for? I know there's something. Share!

Cooler weather brings out the love...

And because I haven't done one of these lists since the spring (not that I didn't love anything during the summer, but it was HOT, y'all, and I never did find a sunscreen that didn't taste like shit). Since I recently dug the sweaters out of the back of the closet and threw an extra blanket on the bed, j'adore:

Sleeping with the windows open (see extra blanket on the bed); boot weather - the UGGS are back, plus I found two new great pairs super cheap...one at Marshall's ($20 for slouchy black leather boots when the only pair left was in my size? The Universe wanted me to have them) and these grey suede lovelies from DSW (way less than retail); I haven't caved in to the jeggings trend yet but I do live in leggings, boots, and tunics/sweaters/mini-dresses in the winter; now that it's cooler at night, Miss Kitty loves being warm more than she hates the dog, so get to curl up at night with both of my furbabies; this is what the skyline in Austin looks like at night (and I don't mind that it gets dark earlier); post-summer in Austin, people emerge like they do up north after being snowed in and it's fun and free to people-watch (which can be really interesting here...check out one of my favorite Austin photography sites); I finally watched Whip It, which was filmed in Austin, and it was not only cool to see local landmarks like this one:

But it also (sort of) made me want to sign up for one of the teams here (yes, in Charleston we had one, flat track, in Austin there are many and leagues and bank tracks and teams and really tough chicks); one of my favorite fashion web sites (no, it isn't Prada) inspired me to add "thrifting" to my "things to do" list and I'm planning on browsing some of the great thrift stores in Austin this weekend, including Buffalo Exchange; taking the dog for long walks in the morning and coming back to a house that smells like strong coffee (and then having a cup on the back deck); that I'm brave enough to cut my own hair (bangs!); having free time to write; creative inspiration; and just living, living, living.

October in Austin...

Isn't much different from October in Charleston...cool mornings, warm days, cool evenings, humidity hanging out for its last hurrah. But it feels like fall, one of my favorite times of the year. I love being able to open the windows at night, walking the dog without having to bring a bottle of water (for the dog), sitting on the back deck in the breeze with coffee and working on my laptop. I'm more social this time of year, when I know I can go out without worrying about my hair getting soaked from sweat or getting dehydrated.

Yesterday I had a lovely brunch with my neighbor at one of my favorite brunch places in Austin, Chez Zee (I will eat anything with hollandaise on it). Afterwards, we went to one of my other favorite places, Central Market, for "Cheese Fest." It's exactly what it sounds like: Cheese. I bought a lovely gourmandise with walnuts that has a maple flavor and some goat cheese with cranberries. And some grapes and crackers to go with it.

My other favorite thing about October: Halloween parties. Last night, my friends Charlie and Bryan had a pumpkin carving party and it was terrific (all of their parties are terrific). Pumpkin guts and knives and champagne and snacks. And lots of photos! My pumpkin looked slightly lobotomized because I was trying to even out its cap, but I was happy with it. And I got to take a photo home as a party favor!

Happy October!