The last few weeks of summer are upon us, and if you follow along with me you know I'm pretty excited for what's in store. Theres a crisp chill in the early morning air, orange + black goodies grace the market aisles, and the days are ending just a tad bit sooner; meaning the leaves will soon turn into that magical burnt color that makes my heart melt. That being said, I don't think I've ever quite enjoyed a summer the way I've enjoyed this one- and while I'm excited for fall, there's a small part of me that is sad to say goodbye. I guess a little one will do that to you.

Because I'm the person that cozies up in a poncho + wants to bake as soon as there's the slightest hint of a chill in the air, I took advantage of the crisp sixty-degree morning yesterday and baked a batch of cookies.  

Sure, it was only in the sixties until roughly 8am, but those few hours of autumnal feels were bliss all the same. I'm not much of a baker during the summer- leaning more towards ice cream and rosé as my warm weather treat. But there's something about the last few months of the year that get my baking clock-a-ticking.

A week back from vacation and boy does it feel good to be home. Yes, I miss the breezy perfection that was the nor-cal air; but nothing beats mornings waking up in our cozy home with my two loves. And since our trip out west kicked Maddie into a routine of 12 hour sleeps, I've had a little extra energy to spruce up the house, organize MM's wardrobe (this girl's a-growing) and spend some extra time in the kitchen during these last few dog days of summer.

I was born in California- just like my mother and father, and my maternal grandfather and great-grandparents before them. Being the oldest of four, I was the only one of us to be born there- the rest of us calling Connecticut home since the day they were born. But while my parents moved east before my second birthday, the rest of our extended family remained in California- grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles cousins and friends that have always felt that family. So my parents would take us back every summer- to explore the mountains, vineyards, beaches and cities with our family.

This past week my husband and I took our Maddie to meet her great-great grandmother in Napa. We made a vacation out of it- celebrating summer with family and close friends in one of my favorite places. My memories of summers out west are some of my very dearest- the smell giving me all the feels still thirty years later. And after just one week, it warms my heart to know our girl will grow up with the same feeling...

They say that as a mom, there are some days that you'll  feel like you can barely get out of your pjs and brush your teeth; while other days you feel like you can rule the world.

For me, most days are somewhere in between- Maddie will always be fed, she has a daily bath, and most of the time (thanks to Nana) she'll be  dressed to the nines; whereas you can usually find me in sweats, rarely getting half way through a cup of coffee before it turns ice cold.

But somehow yesterday was one of my more productive days...