If I had to pick a favorite season, it would be fall. Although I try to find things to love and appreciate during each season of the year and of life. This year, fall feels a little different. Both due to the pandemic and some unseasonably hot weather in our area. I can’t remember there ever being so many days in the 90s during October!
On the plus side of the warmer weather, I’ve been able to spend more time with friends since it’s been warm enough to enjoy outdoor seating areas at some restaurants or coffee shops. Some nights it turns pleasantly to sweater weather when the sun goes down.
Luckily this week, the weather is finally cooling down. The mornings are crisp and clean with that fresh fall scent in the air. Halfway through the season it’s getting cold enough to enjoy traditional fall activities like cuddling up with a blanket, wearing sweaters and boots, and enjoying warm beverages!
Here are five things I’m loving this fall:
1. The Library is Open Again!
I’m lucky to belong to two different library systems since I live close to a county line. I love our local tiny library and it has been able to remain open through most of the pandemic. The larger library has been shut down for months though.
Now it’s open once more! They’re even allowing browsing so long as you wear a mask and sanitize your hands. Among my usual books and reading, I have been enjoying browsing their DVD collection to find new selections for movie nights. I also picked up a few new cookbooks the other day. Right now I need the inspiration of new simple recipes!
2. Enjoying Hot Beverages
As soon as the weather turns cooler, I start drinking hot tea again all day long. It just isn’t the same during the summer. Lately I’m on an earl grey kick. Bergamot is the newest addition to my essential oil collection and I never realized earl grey tea is infused with it as well.
Having hot coffee in the mornings when it’s cold makes it taste even better to me. We have taken to sprinkling cardamom on our coffee grounds before we brew. When I was reading about Ayurveda, I learned that this cuts down on the acid in the coffee.
3. Going Back to School with a New Blog Course
Since I’ve started blogging again, I’ve wanted to take a blogging course. I’m excited to share that I signed up for the Create Your Blog Dream course through Farmhouse on Boone. For me this was an important next step for continued learning, staying motivated, and possibly working on a home business.
On Lisa’s blog, Farmhouse on Boone, she shares from scratch recipes, tips for natural living, and handmade home projects. She has a YouTube channel (how I originally found her) and most recently a podcast. I enjoy her down to earth approach and honesty. She’s optimistic and encouraging but doesn’t hide that hard work and consistency are key.
4. Pumpkin Everything
Pumpkin is one of my favorite fall flavors, along with everyone else’s. The other night, I even got to try some pumpkin frozen yogurt! This year I came up with a homemade pumpkin spice coffee creamer. I love making pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin bread.
So often a recipe doesn’t need a whole can of pumpkin so we’ve started adding it to our oatmeal in the mornings to use it up. We tried pumpkin french toast the other morning. It was both delicious and so easy to make.
5. Regular Weekly Family Dinners
Part of the reason my husband and I settled back down in this area was to be close to our friends and family. My side of the family is usually pretty good about doing regular get-togethers. It’s always someone’s birthday or holiday. That’s been difficult to navigate this year though.
Recently we started regular weekly family dinners with my grandpa. We keep it small, just 3 households getting together, and each group takes a turn cooking so the burden doesn’t fall on just one person. It’s been nice to have that time to look forward to. The warm start to fall let us continue barbecuing when it’s our turn to cook dinner.
More Ways to Embrace Fall:
Looking for more ways to enjoy the fall season? Check out my book lists featuring reads with a fall atmosphere and also perfect paranormal series.
Do you have a favorite season? What are you loving about fall?
