Autumn is in the air...

It's almost here, just around the corner. I can feel the change in the evening air, smell it in the morning sunshine. It makes me want to give someone a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils. Fall will be here in a matter of days!

Yesterday was the first of the season that we left the windows open all day. It's still a little warm, but the air is just delightful. We lit candles and grilled piles of fresh seafood and peeled hot shrimp out of their shells with sticky fingers in the evening breeze. Blissful.

Fall used to be, hands down, my absolute favorite season. As a Florida girl to-the-bone, growing up I got a real kick out of celebrating the slight change in temperature Autumn would eventually bring. It was (is) a Sandel family tradition to host a swingin' First Day of Fall party every year, complete with cinnamon delights, caramel apples, a roaring fire, fake leaves, and pumpkin everything. (My uber-party-tolerant husband has been kind enough to adopt all of my crazy family traditions himself. Be on the lookout for this year's invitation.) Don't get me wrong, I still ADORE Fall - I can't get enough of the sunset leaves, the crisp breezes, the smells of cinnamon and apples, piles of pumpkins...I could go on and on!

But I hate,

HATE I SAY

Winter.

I hate being cold. I hate having to put on a bazillion layers before going outside (and then taking them off again the instant I reach my destination.) I hate having to trap my Floridian feet in socks and boots for months at a time. I hate that I can't just wear shorts and a tank top to go get the mail. I hate ice. I hate that if I leave a bottle of water in my car overnight it will be FROZEN in the morning. And I HATE that I can't go swimming outside for at least 3 months!

Now before you make fun of me because I live in South Carolina and not, say, Ontario, cut me some slack. The me of two years ago moved to SC without having ever owned a coat, boots, or even a real pair of closed-toe shoes. I was accustomed to going to the beach on Christmas day. I had never even seen snow, and I had most certainly never scraped ice off a car windshield. My blood is as thin as it comes people. Anyway, just knowing that Fall is a predecessor to Winter makes me sad. So let's spend some time focusing on everything I'm super excited about this season!

1. "Thrill the World 2010"

Can we say, thousands of people all over the world dancing Thriller at the exact same moment? Oh yeah. Be there or be square kids.



2. The Carolina Renaissance Festival

Costumes, fairies, jousting, wandering minstrels, and elephant rides? Sign me up for that!



3. PUMPKINS!



4. Dracula: The Ballet

Best. Ballet. Ever.
Think Twilight meets Swan Lake meets Micheal Jackson.
Fabulous.


5. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" on the Congaree river

Nothing can top sitting outside in the crisp Autumn air with a thermos of Mexican hot chocolate, a cozy blanket, and the sound of galloping hoof-beats bearing a real headless horseman charging down the Gervais Street Riverwalk!


And last but most certainly not least,

6. Some much needed quality time with this hottie!

How is it possible that the last time I saw my bestie face-to-face was the day this picture was taken? Over a year ago! After growing up 5 minutes apart in our South Florida town, we now have husbands and jobs and live in different states - we still talk every single day, which helps, but nothing beats a Halloween weekend with my best girl! Can we say, costume coordination? Oh yes. Yes we can.


Bring it on Fall ;)