Down to the Wire, and a Belated Tuesday Tuneday: Autumn Leaves

I know, I know. I’ve been a bad little blogger this week.

With the move on Friday (OMG!) I have been legitimately losing my mind. Also, note to self: do not schedule a long weekend trip to Atlantic City the weeks before you move (or ever, for that matter…3 days is two too long…). I haven’t slept more than 4 hours in a night since last Thursday and even as I sit “calmly” in my cubicle trying to cram a week’s worth of work into 2.5 days (dumb, Carolyn, dumb), my heart is racing and my head is nowhere else but “You forgot to pack up the shit under your bed” and “How the hell do you plan on getting that 150-bottle nail polish collection into packaging?”.

The only things pulling me through right now are:

1.      There was a decidedly autumnal chill in the air this morning, and my iPod seemed to know it. She and I have this sort of telepathy thing going – and even though she was shuffling through 25K songs (yes, I’m serious), I got to hear 3 of my go-to fall songs and I think I am officially ready to let summer go.

2.     After two more nights, I will be sleeping in a bed with my best friend in the entire world. I’ll be putting on my makeup in OUR apartment every morning. I won’t be packing up a bag 3-4 nights a week and trying to figure out how to fit in my grocery shopping and gym sessions around our nights together. I’ll be cooking with my best friend every night. I’ll be lounging with him watching How I Met Your Mother on OUR couch. I’ll be waking up every morning in OUR bed (which, sadly for my 6’ 3” bestie, is still a queen). And I’ll be doing this forever. I realize that’s something that most people say when they get married, but for us – this is decidedly it (no, really, we had a conversation to decide it). Neither of us has ever imagined living with more than one person, ever – and I can’t bear the thought of splitting furniture and pots and lamps and the age-old “album collection” (all of the vinyl is mine, thank ya very much) in addition to a heart-wrenching breakup. We knew we were ready when we knew that this was IT. For good. This should give me at least a tinge of anxiety, but the boxes barricading my kitchen and the 3 rolls of packing tape I’ve killed already aren’t allowing for it yet – only room for excitement. Check back with me at week 2 when I’m already stuck doing all of his laundry…

Both are equally keeping me afloat. If that doesn’t give you an insight into how much I love autumn, I don’t know what will.

And with that said, I know I missed Tuesday Tuneday – but how about a Wednesday Whistleday (cause there’s Andrew Bird on the playlist – get it? No? Sounds like you need to listen to more Andrew Bird)?

These are the songs that always, always, always make me feel the first chill down to my bones and bring back images of the trees turning along the roads I drove every day and the fallen ones swirling around my car. And picking apples at home and the smell of nutmeg when they’re baking. And above all else, absolutely everything pumpkin-flavored. All while wearing these comfy buggers below:

How good is that tortoise ring?!

·         Frightened Rabbit – Good Arms vs. Bad Arms

·         Andrew Bird – Fake Pallindromes

·         The Walkmen – What’s in it For Me?

·         Ray Lamontagne – Let it Be Me

·         Bon Iver – Flume

·         The Walkmen – Bows + Arrows

·         John Mayer – Stop This Train

·         OH NO OH MY – Skip the Foreplay

·         Ray Lamontagne – You Are The Best Thing

·         Frightened Rabbit – The Modern Leper

·         Ray Lamontagne  - Sarah

·         Andrew Bird – Masterfade

·         The Album Leaf – The Light

·         Ray Lamontagne – I Still Care For You

·         Sigur Ros – Hoppipolla

·         John Mayer – Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

·         John Mayer – Gravity

·         Bon Iver – re:Stacks

·         The Album Leaf – Outer Banks

(Open in Spotify)

I’ll raise a glass of Pumpkinhead (if you’ve never had it, you have not lived) to that feeling (and this playlist, really), any day.