Well, it's here. Yesterday I broke out a cozy knit sweater, which basically is my wardrobes way of signifying a season change. Let's just say I'm ready for all the things that fulfill my definition of cozy; i.e.: chunky sweaters, textured scarves, worn leather riding boots, and decadent almond milk lattes. Oh fall, how I love you so.
In hopes of actually switching out my summer clothes for fall ones (ok, Charlotte - it's time to drop oh-say, another 15 degrees), this past weekend actually had me feeling all the 'fall feels' (I love a good alliteration). I was in Buffalo. An extended weekend in Buffalo, complete with my family, a Buffalo Bills game, and bouncing around the city (aka: creating our own little bar crawl) with my brother and sister-in-law made for one heck of a vacay. Although the temps were in the 70s-80s, it still managed to hint at the fact that fall was on the horizon...errrr...at least coming soon.
It's funny, when I go back to Buff I always have a little twinge in my heart to actually move back. I know, I know it's 'freezing' and 'Arctic' there, but it will always be my home - even if I did spend the latter years in the south and pretty much lost my northern accent. Every time I go back, I always jokingly mention how it'd be great to move back, land a job in marketing, and snag a quaint apartment on Elmwood (the cutest historic district that basically calls my name every visit).
As a kid, when I found out I was moving to Virginia, nonetheless Roanoke, I was devastated. The kind of devastated a strong-willed 10-year-old illustrated by putting up a serious fight to move back north. AKA: crying myself to sleep every night. I hated Virginia, I missed my family, and Loganberry pop (don't even think about correcting me) wasn't a thing in the south, which just wasn't going to work.
Although the south has continued to be my new home (despite the year of crying myself to sleep and telling my family back home that I basically lived in the boondocks), I still do miss New York. This past weekend just reinforced the fact that I'll always have a special place in my heart for that city. Between bar hopping, spending time in my childhood house (my bro + his wife live there now. craziness.), dancing to 'Shout' on repeat, and spending time with my family, it's easy to see that I'm still just at home in Buffalo as I used to be - even if it's not exactly my home anymore. Buffalo will remain on my 'oh maybe in the future I'll move there' list.
For now, I'll just have to amp up my trips up north to my favorite snow belt city.