Nina In New York: A Love Letter To All Things Autumn

A lighthearted look at news, events, culture and everyday life in New York.
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By Nina Pajak

It's fall! It is, right? It really, really is?

Aside from the fact that the first official day of the season is Sept. 22, can we say this now without jinxing it and winding up with a week straight of 95 degree days and staggering humidity?

Shoot. I hope I didn't just ruin it for everyone. I'm also the jerk on the road trip who says stuff like, "gee, there's no traffic at all!" Sorry. I can't help  myself sometimes.

We sort of already jumped the gun. Over Labor Day weekend, we went up to central Connecticut (basically like the countryside), and we did not hold back. We did a corn maze, we ate cider donuts, we took pictures in one of those face cutout posters they have at farms, we picked our own fruit, we even baked a pie. In short, the works. It was indulgent, sure. But oh, did it feel good.

More: The Tri-State Area's 7 Best Pumpkin Picking Spots

I know I am supposed to feel a little wistful when I see all the leaves which seem to have up and died in one collective last gasp and which are now strewn about the ground in Central Park. But I'm not. It makes me feel all warm and cozy and tingly inside. It makes me want to put on a sweater and drink red wine and buy new boots and the first five cute hats I see. Okay, fine. Three.

I get all sorts of motivated when the weather cools off. I'm a useless lazybones in the summer, really, despite my many checklists and aspirations. It's all lip service. All I'm ever going to do in the summer is sit on my butt, complain about the heat and humidity, wish I was near a swimming pool, and drink and eat and drink and eat and drink. And eat. But when the humidity dies down and there's a nip in the air, I get a spring in my step.

I want to conquer the world! I want to clean out all the old and replace with shiny new! I want to make soup! I want to keep the windows open and the air conditioning off and not worry about getting West Nile virus! I want to bake crumbles and wear lightweight scarves!

And man, does my hair look good right now.

I want to wait for the subway without feeling as though I've been locked in a sauna with a bunch of dirty, smelly people who are all watching each other slowly sweat to death.

Sure, winter is nigh and soon signs of death and barrenness will be all around us and blah blah blah. We'll deal with that when it comes. For now, I'm just excited to put the comforter back in the duvet cover. It's the little things.