Happy Harvest

I had a fabulous childhood.  Most of my early years were spent in beautiful, sunny, Orange County, California.  So that means that I went most of my life without having all four seasons.  Now that doesn't mean I was sheltered in a perpetual summertime because the other benefit of my fabulous childhood was that I was able to travel a lot.  While I didn't live in "four seasons" weather for the majority of my life, I was fortunate enough to travel to snowy ski towns, and crisp east coast cities in the autumn.  But one thing I didn't do since my early, EARLY years of living in Chicago was have that yearly experience that every kid loves...jumping in a big pile of crispy leaves!!!! Since moving to New York, and since we've experienced a full year (almost two) of the crazy, sometimes unpredictable, and often extreme weather conditions, I've become much more appreciative and nostalgic about the harvest season.

In some of our previous blog posts, I've been repetitive in declaring fall my favorite time of the year.  But I feel it warrants a bit more thought.  Also, most of my other entries have been Mobley entries about what we're doing since marriage, but I'm taking some selfish time to share with you some of our favorite things about fall in Manhattan.

The changing of the leaves  - We don't live in the suburbs, but that doesn't mean that the city doesn't put on an amazing show of welcoming autumn through the most vibrant shades of yellow, red and orange that you've ever seen.  Just yesterday, after running errands, we stopped to look at a tree that looked as if it were on fire.  And even though I'm usually in a hurry in the morning, I can't help but be distracted by the colors in Madison Square Park during my walk to work. 

Union Square Farmer's Market - The Farmer's Market is wonderful most of the year.  But harvest-time makes those  errands a lot more festive.  The vendors are soliciting their home made cider, fresh apple pies, barrels and barrels of warty/odd-shaped gourds (my favorite autumn decoration), seasonal flowers, and pumpkins the size of Winston.  We try never to miss a weekend at the Farmer's Market because despite the crowds of people doing their shopping for the week, it's a Saturday tradition that we enjoy so much more in the fall.

The scents of autumn - for some people that means rotten leaves.  But for me, the air just smells a little bit different in the fall.  It smells crisp, and clean, and if there was a scent for festive...it smells festive in the fall.  In our home, it smells like spiced pumpkin or Farmer's Market, thanks to Yankee Candle's seasonal scents. 

Some hearty beef stew I made
using our shiny new crock pot!

Food! - Fall is a time for some of our favorite food.  Meals that include spicy chili, hearty stews, butternut squash & pumpkin flavored desserts.  The delicious feasts, paired with a harvest ale make my heart happy and my belly warm. 

The Weather - I thought that I'd get robbed of my autumn last week when we had the first snow of the season before Halloween even happened.  But immediately following the winter storm that ravaged the East Coast, the weather returned to to the chilly, crisp season that I've grown to appreciate.  While I prefer my bikini's and sundresses to bulky sweaters, there is something about getting bundled up in colorful scarves, silly hats and fun boots that has to make you smile.  The sun is still shining, and somehow the sky is a more vibrant shade of blue.  I cherish these crisp days of gorgeous weather as it is only a matter of weeks before I have to wear fur lined parkas & snow boots.

Football - Need I say more?  My husband grew up an avid Niners fan, and I am just thankful that he puts up with (and participates in) my annoying and mostly heartbreaking support of the Chicago Bears.  To which I'd just like to say BEAR DOWN (Beat the Eagles!)

Family & Friends - With autumn comes two of my favorite days of the year...Halloween & Thanksgiving.  Two days that are focused entirely on spending time with others.  It irks me slightly when people choose to start their countdowns to Christmas immediately after Halloween.   And while I love few things more than a nice cup of egg nog whilst listening to Christmas carols by a fire...let us not forget about the joy that is Thanksgiving.  We'll have a blog entry devoted entirely to Thanksgiving, but the Mobley home is decorated (of course) to celebrate the harvest holiday.  

And none of this would be as fun without an equally festive husband who doesn't go one day without enjoying the harvest season.  We've spent hundreds of dollars on harvest ale over the years that neither of us particularly liked only because it's all part of the harvest experience (or because the beer bottle had pumpkins on it).  He has dug through piles of gourds to find the ugliest ones so that we can have the perfect decorations for the Mobley household.  And he's the first person at Pottery Barn as soon as the harvest/Thanksgiving catalog comes out...one day we WILL have plates with turkeys on them, as soon as we have a bit more room!  

Living other cities has made me more appreciative about the great things in each of the places I've lived.  I could write novels about how breath-taking it is when you reach the highest point of Golden Lantern in Dana Point and you see the ocean for as far as the eye can see.  It would take me days to tell you why moving to LA after I graduated was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life.  And there are no words to describe how amazing it is to drive along the roads through Texas and see miles and mile of blue bonnets in the spring. But one place that beats all of my many homes is New York in the fall.  It doesn't get much better than this!