Welcome to the Rainy Season!

When I was a kid, we had the BEST neighbors.  They lived on the next street, but their house was right behind ours and we didn't have a fence, so we were always running back and forth to play games, ride bicycles, dress up, and generally have a wonderful time. 

One of the best traditions they shared with us was their annual "Welcome to the Rainy Season" party - once the good old Northwest kicked off its nine month deluge, they'd have us over and celebrate with cider and popcorn and other fall treats.  It made the rain something fun to look forward to, rather than a sign that all our fun was coming to a gloomy end.

I realized that as I have become a grown up, I have stopped loving fall, which used to be my favorite season as a kid.  I've now spent 20 years of my life in the Seattle area, and I've gotten jealous of people who live in places like Hawaii and California,or heck, even Bend, Oregon, where you get to see the sun 300 days a year!

But, as is usually the case, being grouchy and bitter about the weather has only served to make me...well, grouchy and bitter.  So I decided to take back the fun and plan some good things for fall and really enjoy each season as much as possible this year.

And what better way to start than with my own Welcome to the Rainy Season party?

We'd actually had quite a dry spell around here...basically summer in this area lasts from the 5th of July till the beginning of October.  We had weeks of sun until the rain finally hit on Friday the 12th.  It rained on Saturday and when it was still raining on Sunday, it seemed the perfect day for the "party."

I went to Trader Joe's and bought a bunch of autumnal food for this week...sausages, tomato & red pepper soup, squash, pears, and even a pumpkin since I won't likely make it to a patch this week.  (Side note - I figured since I was buying up a storm I should be prepared for sticker shock...but once again, the only sticker shock I get at TJs is wondering how the heck it's so cheap and why on earth I ever shopped anywhere else!  Seriously, I almost cried at the register.)

I also stopped by Half Price books for a $1 copy of Real Simple (a good rainy day part requires reading material) and then the French Bakery for treats!

Chocolate almond croissant and guava pocket
which Jared starting eating before I could even take the photo

We had started the morning by doing a ton of chores so that we could spend the rest of the day relaxing.  I cleaned the kitchen and did all the laundry before going to the store, and by the time I returned, Jared had vaccuumed, cleaned the bathroom (bless this man's soul - I LOATHE bathroom cleaning and he almost always takes this one on), AND fixed our kitchen faucet that had been dripping for months.

We spent the afternoon "partying" away.  Jared did some mobility while I read my magazine...and then I realized he'd been holding one "stretch" so long because he'd actually fallen asleep.  We lit a ton of candles all over and used the lights as little as possible - saving money AND making it fun!  (Psst...here are some of my new faves.  I've tried all except the Buddha's Fig scent.)

For lunch, we made smoothies from The Petite Athleat - adding some protein powder for extra staying power!

I ended up skipping the chia seeds...they're a pain to clean

These smoothies are the ONLY ones
that mask the taste of this powder

Armed with smoothies, we crashed on the couch and finished up season two of Castle.

Later for dinner, Jared made broccolini and burgers.  We each used a portobello mushroom and half an English muffin as the bun for the burger...but I could only eat half my mushroom.  Not a big mushroom eater (as a kid I found them slimy and gross) but I chowed half since I know it's good for me.

As we listened to the rain that evening, we decided the next fitting activity was to bake cookies!  Chocolate chunk oatmeal blueberry?  Yes, please.

For snacks, we had cheese and crackers, and then took a cookie each to watch a little of Castle Season 3.  Thankfully we only had two episodes downloaded or we might've stayed up snacking all night!

We went to bed really early to be set for a Monday of work, but it was honestly the perfect way to end our relaxing day.  I told Jared, "Anytime we're getting whiny about the weather, we have to throw another party."  He thought it was a good idea.

You tell me:  Do you like fall?  Does it rain where you live?  What fun traditions do you have this time of year?