TWENTY-ONE | The Best of Fall

Sept 21st: Fall Favorites. What do you love most about this season?

I absolutely adore fall so I was very excited for this prompt! What don’t I love about fall?! Living in the Midwest to living in San Diego was a tough change due to the seasons not exactly changing all that much. Everything stayed at 70 rather than moving into a cooler season with crisp fall leaves, chilly days and a need for jackets. However I noticed the small things and I highlight them. When my roommate and I moved here from Minnesota 6 years ago we got super into fall. We would decorate our little apartment with all things pumpkins and cider smelling candles. We would go to Oktoberfest on our street and dress up for Halloween even when it was 80 out. We made it cozy, fallish and festive here even though it’s always sunny and appears like summer. So here is what I love about this very special fall season:

·      Leaves. Even here, the leaves fall and change color. They take on magnificent beaming color of brilliant oranges, reds and browns.

·      THE PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE. Go here to see how to properly drink one.

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  Chocolate-chip pumpkin muffins. Ever since I can remember my mom would be busy in the early mornings on a crisp fall day baking these little treats. Whenever I go home or even if I don’t mom figures out a way for me to have them. (fall care package) I know I could bake them but my mom is just better at it.

·    Fall scented candles. They are the best. Baked Apple pie. Cider Web. Pumpkin Spice. Leaves. Pumpkin Pie. Cinnamon Bun. (Ironically I don’t like pie but I love the smell)

·      The evenings become chilly! Yes, even in San Diego. Once the sun sets you need a sweater or jacket. I take full advantage of this drop and break out the boots and scarves. Of course this chill doesn’t really set in till late October since September is one of our hottest months. But one can pretend right?

·      The Pumpkin Patch. I LOVE PUMPKIN PATCHES. Need I say more.

·      Scarecrows. My mom and my aunts always made scarecrows stuffed with old clothes and vintage overalls and straw. They would put him on our porch to greet our guests. He was also pretty inappropriate.

·      Fall parties. Fall parties are the best. My aunts always decorated their house for fall and Halloween. In college, my roommates and I would travel up to their home, trick or treat with their kids and slurp on their yummy homemade soups and cherish the season. My friends and I would dress up in costumes and gallop around the neighborhood like we were kids again. 

·      Boots

·      School supplies. Even though I am not in school anymore I work at a school and even if I didn’t, pretty sure I would still get excited about seeing school supplies lining the aisles at Target.

·      MY BIRTHDAY. My birthday is in November and I celebrate it all month long. I take it all in.

·      Swimsuit Season is Over. Can I say this out loud? Yes I think I can. 

   Scarf Season Is Here! 

·      Thanksgiving. I love the food. The long tables. I love the family. I love the intentional time to focus on gratitude. Every other year, my husband and I go up to Yosemite for Thanksgiving with his family. It is all things redwoods, cabins and fireplaces. It is the best.

·      Walks around our neighborhood with my husband right before dusk are some of my favorite moments of fall. We can take in our surroundings. We notice how the tress are different. We notice the fog. We observe our neighbor’s pumpkins on their porch, we walk to the monastery and see the gardens changing shades and shapes.

  What about you? What do you love about fall?