Fires & Pumpkins.

What a week. As you may have heard, there were some crazy fires in Southern California earlier this week. Monday morning, my commute looked like this:




Scary, right? The fire was about 10 miles away, but the winds picked up, and by Monday evening, there was concern that the fires would burn straight down to the coast. We got a call from the City on Monday evening, telling us to prepare to evacuate. We went outside, and our neighbors were packing their cars and leaving to stay with friends and family. It was very ... apocalyptic.

In case we were evacuated, Josh and I packed up our cars with family pictures and other sentimental stuff. After a long night of tossing and turning, I woke up Tuesday and got news mid-morning that our city was no longer threatened by the fire. Such a relief.

After that scare, the rest of the week seemed like no big thing.

On a brighter note, the weekend has been great. Saturday morning, we checked out the Calabasas Pumpkin Festival.


There was a little pumpkin patch at the entrance.


We are cheap, though, and didn't buy any pumpkins. Apparently, the grocery store by our house has pumpkins for $4 each, so we decided to hold off.


We met up with my dad and his lovely girlfriend Cathy.


Since it was game day, my dad was completely decked out. Can you guess for whom he roots?


The festival was filled with food booths, disastrous news for me since I am trying to lose the 4,327 pounds I've gained since starting at the Firm. Funnel cakes, sausages, and burritos galore. Tear.


I love fall in Southern California (yes, there are seasons here, they are just subtle, ok?). The weather Saturday was sunny and cool with a slight breeze. And the sky blue flecked with clouds. This may make me sound like an office rat, but it was so nice to be outside.


After looping through the Pumpkin Festival, we headed back to our cars. I really love my dad's girlfriend, Cathy. My dad has such a big heart and is kind of a goof, and in many ways, I think they work so well together.

Exhibit A: My dad and Cathy breaking out their dance moves on the way to the car. (Embarrasing yet adorable, no?)

After we left the Pumpkin Festival, we had lunch, and then headed back to our place. Dad and Josh watched football, and Cathy keep me company on a trip to Crate and Barrel to get some bookshelves. I spent all yesterday afternoon and evening unpacking the last few boxes of books, assembling the bookshelves, and cleaning out our home office. It looks like a totally new place.

Today, well, I should be working, but as you can see, I am procrastinating. Josh wants to go see W. this afternoon, so I should probably knock some work out here so I can go play later. More soon...