autumn is calling

Today was rather cool, though not quite crisp for Southern California... autumn is on its way!

1. The leaves of Pyrus calleryana (Callery pear, cultivar Bradford) always excite me when I see them scattered on sidewalks. I still remember back in high school one day when my biology teacher brought in a box of them to show us and he even let us take some home. They're so pretty, they're like the jewels of any/all of the deciduous leaves I've ever seen on the west coast.
2. Temporary little workspace... a wine box covered in a pillowcase atop another wooden box perched upon a metal toolbox. Great for letter-writing/doodling/pondering and holding mugs of tea!
3. Chrysanthemums! The tiny neon green ones are my favorite because they are so crazy yet modest. Mums are cheap and last forever too. One stem each in its own teeny glass bottle and when I roll over to face the window in the morning they're there to greet me.
4. Some thrifting finds from last week. I should be saving my money for my New York trip, but after realizing that it'll be colder there I've been searching for better layering options. I got these after watching Pierrot Le Fou one night, which features a lot of primary color-blocking so in a weird way I thought I could have been subliminally influenced by the film's color palette. But I think it was really just a fun coincidence!

So... happy fall! I helped put in a giant beam for a wall today, it was 700 pounds but we used a crank to hoist it up, and then for fun I got hoisted up on it too but was too scared to swing from the beam. My sister is home for the weekend but she got a wisdom tooth yanked today so she's a little incapacitated/groggy and eating only mushy things. I was very tired today and lost steam halfway throughout the day, which is strange because I was getting OVER my cold. To bed early now I suppose.