This week, something happened. It wasn’t a monumental change like in the opening scene of Mary Poppins where the wind changes and Bert sings of something a ‘brewing. This thing that happened happens every year and even though the feeling doesn’t quite change, I too, know something special is about to begin. We just need to give it time.
Here in Northern California, the weather needs to play catch up with the calendar, because earlier this week was the first day of Fall! The Fall is easily my favorite time of the year! As F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” And it is so true. With the seasons changing everything seems to come alive as it prepares for winter. There is something that I can’t quite put my finger on that moves me to my core at this time of year. This is the time with all the holidays I love and most of the birthdays in my family happen to be. Being a December baby, I’ve always felt like the holidays were engrained in me and I often wonder if that’s why I love them and this time of year so much.
On account of the change in seasons, I’ve decided to start a 4 part Fall series on my blog. One post a month will be dedicated to the season and will most likely pertain to the holiday of the month. But I wanted to share my love of the season with you because I know that I am not alone!
Today, I am going to share 5 of my favorite things about fall. These are in no particular order and I won’t be able to share all my favorites, but that just means there’s more to share later!
1) Sweater Weather! I am constantly cold and so I love the opportunity to wear big cozy sweaters, flannels, scarves and boots! Like I mentioned before, California needs to catch up with the seasons because today it’s in the 90’s and I’m saying no thank you to sweaters, but I am so ready for the change in weather! I would love to spend the fall in Rhode Island or New York someday and feel the crisp cool air against my checks and I can hear the rustle of the beautifully colored leaves as they scurry across the pavement in the wind. We do get fall days like that here, but not as many as I’d like. It’s almost the opposite of California Dreaming 🙂
2) The Holidays! Like I mentioned before, I love the holidays! Even though Christmas is technically in winter, the majority of the Christmas season is in the fall so I include it. I love all the decorations from harvest to Halloween to turkeys and snowmen! There is something so cozy about decorating for all the holidays!
3) Going to Apple Hill! There is a town about an hour from where I live where there are tons of apple orchards! In our area, everyone goes to Apple Hill in the fall at least once or even multiple times! Some of the farms have pumpkin patches and Christmas trees where you can chop your own. There are so many craft venders and places to buy kettle corn, freshly pressed applejuice, and an ungodly amount of pie. And of course, there’s apple picking. My mother-in-law and her mom have a tradition where all the ladies in the family have a day trip and we bond over Caramel Apple Crunch Pie, shopping for the most amazing candles, and then lunch at a restaurant on the way home with endless soup and corn bread muffins! Eli feels left out every time we go, but this year I have a second trip planned so he can experience it too! There is something about being out in the apple orchards and being surrounded by all the apples and pumpkins that epitomizes the feeling of Fall.
4) Baking! One of my favorite pastimes all throughout the year is baking. I’ve often said if I wasn’t a photographer, maybe I’d like to have a bakeshop. But there is something about baking in the fall that puts me in a festive mood! Maybe on account of the fact that over the summer I don’t bake as much because it heats up the house so when autumn comes around its like a new start! I love baking pies and cheesecakes for Thanksgiving and cookies and goodies for Christmas. Of course everyone wants pumpkin or apple this or that, which are actually not two of my favorite flavors (a blasphemous confession of a self proclaimed Fall lover, I know, I’m sorry!), but there is something satisfying about baking a beautiful apple pie!
5) Candles! There aren’t very many candles that scream summer, so when fall comes around and the air is crisp, there isn’t anything I love more than cozying up on the couch with a warm blanket, a hot cup of cocoa, a good book, and wonderful scented candle burning in the room! I love candles that smell like there are goodies baking in the oven! There is something so relaxing and soothing about it and it makes me feel like I could be far away in a quaint little town.
As I mentioned before, this is only a short list of some of my favorite Fall things. What are some of your favorite things about the season as well as any fun Autumn plans you may have? Also, please let me know if you have any ideas or request for the rest of my Fall series. I would love to share a recipe or a project if that is something you might enjoy, so let me know! Happy Fall, y’all!!!
