When August Feels like Autumn… |

…you brush off your favorite (new) pastel blazer and straddle the seasons: mint-green for a summer’s hue, yet warm enough to ward off the bizarre chill in the beautiful mid-August air…

and you tuck yourself (and your date, girlfriend style) into the corner of a quaint little UWS patio with a glass of dry rosé and some delicious tapas to share.

We stumbled across the rustic and sweet little Italian spot Barcibo Enoteca for some quality girltalk catch-up time (read: boys, travel, prospective tattoos and boys again) and both really enjoyed the food (excellent crostinis and salads) and wine. One of the absolute best things about NYC in the summertime is the patio scene, and I will sorely miss it when I’m forced back indoors and subjected to limited people-watching.

We then rushed down the block to see The Spectacular Now, which we’d already pre-determined to thoroughly enjoy simply based upon its writers, trailor and overall indie-feel and adorable plot. Such girls.

It totally did not disappoint. Boasting far more than just the flippancy of a boy-meets-girl, it was a multi-layered coming-of-age story marked by a bittersweet quality from beginning to end. It was completely character-driven and awkwardly-endearing, this teenage story about love & fears & dreams & family issues & all the rawness of life that can hit you at 17, or 32. We laughed and almost cried and said “Awww” about 743 times. I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as I did 500 Days of Summer (maybe because I have a weird kinship with Zoey D’s character in that movie…but that’s a story for another time, or never), but I found it to be a touching, genuine movie, and one of the best depictions of teenage reality I’ve seen. The two main kids were superb, and you can’t help but love the girl.

Totally successful evening…

…followed by an amazing run this morning. I was pretty darn sore from my strength workouts this week so wasn’t anticipating a stellar run, but the morning was incredibly beautiful and ideal running weather: 60 degrees, crisp and cloudless — a little slice of Heaven. I loved my 6-miler up the WSH and have been really happy to see that my average pace is continuing to improve on my shorter runs:

Felt good and strong and managed to run through the leg soreness, although it’s lingering a bit today. Thank goodness for these puppies:

I try to sleep in them every night. I’d wear them to work every day, too, if I thought I could get away with summer dresses and compression sleeves in a financial institution. Seriously. They rock my running world.

So Thursday flew happily by and I’ll leave you with some motivation to find your own way to get a little bit healthier every day: