As I sit out on my balcony with the hammock swaying in the wind, bundled in an oversized sweatshirt and sweatpants, I can’t help but come to the saddening realization that summer is coming to an end. Labor Day, people’s sure-fire indicator that they should be tucking away their white pants (note: I don't believe in antiquated white pants fashion rules) and waving goodbye to summer, is already quickly fading to a distant memory.

As I sit here, staring out onto the Boulevard, I can’t say I’m happy to see summer go. Just yesterday we were tailgating NASCAR, a few days prior I was sitting happily by the pool, and a few weeks have gone by since the last concert I’ve been to. Now the next show I’ll be seeing is indoor, a real sign that autumn is upon us.

As I sit here, writing about the sadness of seeing the sun set on summertime, I find myself needing an inspiration to pull me forward into fall. 

What I do love about autumn is the crisper weather.

While I hate being cold, I also hate being hot. I really hate any weather that isn’t perfectly moderate with a light breeze. But this crisper weather means I needs some boots, scarves, sweaters and socks to keep myself warm without getting my sweat on.

I have quite a few scarves that I’m looking forward to reintroducing to the world. I own this one incredibly soft red scarf, which is one of my personal favorites. It was a steal from Wal-Mart for less than $10. While people have a lot of opinions about Wal-Mart, I encourage those of you without a pretentious hatred for cheaply made and sold gear to check out accessories at Wal-Mart. I got some gloves for $2, the scarf for less than $10 and a few pairs of boot socks for $5 or so. They’re not a quality that will keep you from frostbite in the tundra, but they will keep the autumn winds from overly chilling you.

While I am happy with the scarf collection I have, I am not happy about the boots in my closet. Mainly because I don’t really have any anymore. I had to throw out my knee-high black boots because I walked them to death last season, my tried and true brown leather combat boots have a hole in the sole and my black pair of combat books are in workable condition, but are looking like they’ve seen actual combat.

Since shopping for shoes is a circle of hell for me, I decided to do a bit of online shopping. Ordering clothes online can be an easy way to build out a wardrobe, but also a risky one since no one really know what you’ll be getting. But since Cazey is an online shopping expert, I employed his help on picking out a few new fall pieces.

I was buying my cousin some baby presents on Amazon, so I started there for my search. Within minutes I found two pairs of boots I liked. After presenting them to Cazey, I was approved to buy them both.

The first pair are the most basic pair of knee-high black boots you’ve seen. They’ll perfectly replace the pair of black boots I had to throw away. The next pair were a knee-high brown boot with quilting on the back. They were exactly the ones I’ve always wanted. So with Cazey’s blessing, I ordered them and held out for their delivery.

The quilted ones just made it to my house, and they look shockingly great! You can definitely tell they’re not real leather, and if you stare really closely you’ll notice some imperfections, but for $30, they are spot-on with what I need in my life. My one qualm would be that they are a bit baggy up top, but considering the general level of comfort, I don’t even care.

As I sit out here on the balcony, I realize that while summer may be passing, there’s a lot to look forward to this fall. And sometimes all you need to get you over a bit of seasonal depression is a new pair of kick-ass boots.