Before I moved to LA, Der Ubermensch always told me LA was
temperate. It didn’t get hot enough to
need AC and didn’t get cold enough to need heat. Bad weather always follows me, so of course
that would change as soon as I arrive as a permanent resident.
Whenever autumn rolls around, I always feel an intense urge
to bake. Magazines in the check-out lanes
in the grocery store exhibit beautiful fall cakes and pies and I start to crave
baked goods that showcase the flavors of the season. This year, my urge started
in early September, as soon as those magazines hit the shelves. Unfortunately, since I now live in Los
Angeles, early September doesn’t necessarily look anything like autumn. It looks (and feels) like a 100+° desert, and
in addition to the fact that the only air conditioning Der Ubermensch and I
have is the dinky window AC that I wouldn’t really call efficient, you would
think I would be deterred until the heat backed off. Oh no, not me! I decided to start baking on what I think was
the hottest day of the year. It got
above 100° in Hollywood and heat advisories were out all over the Valley. I made a beautiful apple carrot bread recipe
two times that week. It’s now been
almost 2 months, and temperatures in Lalaland remain in the upper 80’s most
days. I know I’ll regret it when the
time comes, but I almost wish it was winter again where I have to turn on the
oven to warm the little apartment (because we don’t have heat either)!
I’m in a similar predicament when it comes to fashion as
well. When it’s the first few weeks of
school, does anyone else feel like reinventing yourself, even if you’ve long
been graduated? Now, I know the new year
starts in January according to the Gregorian calendar, but to me I feel like
autumn is the time for real beginnings, probably because I’m still young enough
to associate it with the school year...or maybe it’s just that it’s my
birthday! The temperature gets crisp and
cool, your makeup gets a few shades darker, and you get to wear cozy jeans,
boots, sweaters, blazers, scarves…all of my favorites! But alas, this is LA, and it’s been in the 80’s
on a good day. It’s still sundress and
sandal weather! You can’t wear boots and
jeans and scarves! Do you want to die from heat stroke?
So, instead I’ll just like vicariously through my friends
and family who live in places with autumns and look at pictures of leaves
changing as I sweat in my apartment while I bake apple crisp.
But you know what? I
won’t be shoveling snow in January!
Bye, Lovelies
