And just like that, summer ended in Los Angeles.

I’m not going to lie, Autumn is my favorite season, and being without it for the past few years has been tough. But Los Angeles does this great thing where out of nowhere it gets cold and a bit crisp. Today, I’m wearing leggings, a sweater dress (!), and tall brown boots. And it’s the best feeling in the world. It has also rained the past two days which I always view as a bit of a treat (compared to living in London when I was desperate for sun warm enough to sit outside in), and Monday there was an awesome rainbow.

For the past four years I’ve had Thanksgiving with Katie’s family (once when she wasn’t here). We hosted this year and her whole family, her parents, both her sisters and their partners and some aunts and uncles, came out. It was so wonderful! (I made a chocolate bourbon pecan pie and it was DELICIOUS.)

Quick update on No Spend Novem (I’ve shortened it because that way it almost rhymes): All my friends planned  a road trip to Vegas. None of us have been, as it’s not the highest on any of our lists. But it’s right there and our friend Maggie is going to support her father in a race. The plan was to road trip, get a cheap hotel for Friday and Saturday, and drive back Sunday. Originally I agreed, because I want to go everywhere and if I’m ever going to do Vegas, I want it to be with my best friends. But then I thought about the cost total, and No Spend Novem, and realized it was just not a real option. Vegas will be right there for the foreseeable future, but I only have one No Spend Novem and I want to kick its butt.

The (selfishly) happy news is that a day after I bowed out, the trip fell apart for unrelated reasons, and now we’re going to try to go in February. So I get the double happiness of making the financially correct decision while not actually missing out on Vegas with my friends.