(I haven’t done one of these posts since April!)

I bought jeans for the first time in 5 years. Yes, this is quite newsworthy. For all of my life, I’ve hated buying jeans (buying a bathing suit is a close second), mostly because I have trouble finding sizes that fit me in the hip area and I need the “short” or “petite” option—and sometimes those are still too long for my 5’2″ frame. In the past, I’ve done okay at Old Navy, so I dragged Josh with me one Sunday morning for moral support as I tried on jeans in the store. Keep in mind I’m a millennial who has worn skinny jeans since they first became popular 15 years ago and haven’t strayed from that style. Until now. After three separate trips to the changing rooms with two different sizes and multiple styles, I ended up with two pairs of boot-cut jeans in the petite length that fit pretty well. I tried on a pair of flares, too, but they weren’t the right length and felt like the cut would be too much on me. So I opted for the boot cut, and I’m very happy with what I got. And I didn’t cry! I still have a pair of skinny jeans that I’m keeping (since that style works well tucked into boots), and the other old pairs that don’t fit me anymore will be donated to Goodwill.

I’ve been trying a new running method. I’ve been running fairly regularly since 2018, and now that I’m trying a new method, I feel like my entire world has changed. I’ve used some sort of run/walk interval before, usually trying to run as far as I can before walking for a bit (or running a half mile, walking a tenth of a mile), but as I’ve been training for the Hartford Marathon 5K, it’s felt a bit defeating that I can’t run like I used to. So I started using a strict run/walk interval during my runs: run two minutes, walk 40 seconds. I found an app called RunIntervals that you can custom set and it’ll play through my headphones as I run. Surprisingly, it actually works really well for me—and my average mile time for the runs I’ve used it on are better than my times earlier this year. I’m signed up for a local 5K race this Saturday where I’ll try it in a race setting before I have Hartford in three weeks.

This time of year might be my favorite. I forget how it came up in conversation, but I had a friend recently tell me that her husband thought fall would be my favorite season. And the more I thought about it, the more I was like, “Yeah, he might actually be right.” But more specifically, I like mid-August to Halloween for many reasons:

• Cooler weather: It’s great for running after work and sitting outside on the balcony to read after dinner as the sun goes down.
• Pumpkin-flavored everything: My favorites are coffees (iced and hot) and beers.
• Football Sundays: Josh and I have a tradition where we make something in the crockpot for dinner while we watch all of the NFL games.
• Sweatshirts: I have so many from over the years (and I usually steal one of Josh’s) and there’s nothing I love more than pulling on a hoodie with bike shorts or leggings as it gets a bit cooler, especially at night.
• Fall activities: Every year, Josh and I spend our weekends doing fun fall activities, and I’m going to start putting together a list of ideas for us soon. Our standard activities include apple and pumpkin picking; going to The Big E; a beer fest; and a spooky night consisting of homemade pizzas, drinks, and Halloween movies (typically ones made for kids as I can’t watch anything too scary).
• The start of the school year: Since I work at a university (and spent so many years in school), my mind is more set toward the academic year (September–May) vs. the calendar year (January–December). Summers are typically slower for us, which is nice and a good time to take vacations, but things always pick up in the fall and it’s nice to have students back on campus (although I may not necessarily be on campus anymore).
• New weekly shows: Although I don’t watch weekly shows during their actual time anymore (thanks YouTube TV library), I always love when my shows come back in the fall for their new seasons. Bring on season 28 of Law & Order: SVU.