I think we can all agree that back-to-school clothing (and I will always think of fall clothing as “back-to-school” clothing, regardless of my age) is pretty obviously the best. Tank tops and shorts are nice and all, but cozy hats and chunky sweaters and and BOOTS?

Better.

And a nice thing about Northern California is that we actually get to experience a little taste of that whole school’s-back-in-session vibe. Sure, we don't have the amazing foliage that everyone gets all atwitter about on the East Coast, but we have, you know...a slight chill in the air. (Or at least we do when you leave the immediate vicinity of our house, which is located in the baking-hot South Bay, and head thirty minutes in any direction, where temperatures drop twenty degrees and the fog rolls in. Which is really all the excuse I need to do a little autumn shopping.)

Los Gatos, CA | Photo by Mom

Here's something I never expected to happen when I started blogging all those years ago: I love taking photos. Not "having photos taken" - I mean, I love that occasionally, but other times it's something that I do because I have a post I'm excited to write and, well, I'm right there, making the most convenient model to illustrate said post...me. It's fun sometimes, and embarrassing sometimes (okay, a lot), but I always love shooting other people. LOVE. Like these photos of our trip to the LACMA? And these? So much fun to take (I'm referring, of course, to the shots in those posts that I'm not in).

I didn't really used to love photographing friends, because it made me nervous: I felt pressure to give the person I was taking a photo of the image that they "wanted," and didn't feel like I was an especially good photographer...but I don't know what happened. Either I feel better about my ability level now, or I've gotten better at making people feel comfortable in front of my camera, or maybe it's a bit of both - because taking photos is without question one of my favorite things to do.