This morning, I woke at my usual hour to darkness instead of the sun. I pushed back the sheets, stood up, looked out the window at the silhouettes of palm trees, and grinned.

There was the suggestion of autumn in that new morning darkness.

Au revoir, August, you hateful beast. It’s Labor Day weekend, and I’m going to spend it stalking pumpkins, buying a sweater, putting polka dots all over my laundry room and celebrating with friends. Here are plans to inspire your own:

PUMPKIN WATCH: Tyson took me to the Chino Farms stand on our last day in San Diego, and there were pumpkins piled all over. I bought one and it rests on my counter now, a beacon of autumnal joy.

PROJECT: I love Joy Cho’s simple contact-paper polka dot walls. I ordered silver metallic paper to add dots to my boring white laundry closet. I’ll show you how it goes.

Oh, and I also have to clean out the garage. Who wants a coffee table? I have four.

BUY: Marni and I have a girls’ retreat planned and I want to bring home this BCBG sweater as a souvenir from our shopping trip, $148. I love all the color-blocking for fall, and I love it best in my signature shades.

SEE: Sundays are sofa days in our house, and I plan to finish watching Les Bien-Aimes — a new French indie film I snagged from On Demand, where it is listed as “Beloved,” unfortunately calling to mind the Toni Morrison-Oprahfest from a few years back. This film is set in Paris, stars Catherine Deneuve, and opens with a long montage inside the Roger Vivier shoe store. (Picture copious close-ups of pink satin pumps.)  There can’t be anything more you need to know. Oh, the wardrobe is FANTASTIC.

GO: Local legend and shop FOUND is reopening after its summer hiatus. Kristin and Dan Alber inspire and excite me every time I’m in their space. Behold, the new goodies:

What are your weekend plans? I’m also trying to decide how to torture my pumpkin this year. Glitter? Paint? Studs? Fishnet stockings? Any requests? I’ll take them.