hello, Fall

Some of my favorite parts of the beginning of fall are the crisp, refreshing air that kind of shocks you at first, but then feels good, and getting the house ready with pumpkin spice and apple candles and air fresheners. I have recently discovered Febreze's apple spice noticeables plug-ins which are TO.DIE.FOR. They small amazing. We've got them all over the house. As soon as I discovered how much I loved them, I began looking for more. Everywhere I went: Rite Aid, K-Mart, you name it, there were none to be found! Only Febreze's spring scents, which, of course, are now a thing of the past. Finally, I was at Giant and I saw some. The ones I saw, I grabbed and threw in my cart like a crazy person who had just found the very last chocolate bars in the world. There were like 6 of them. And I bought them all. Yum, yum, yum.
My other favorite parts of fall are going to the local pumpkin patches and farms with Sean. Every year we've been together we've always gone out together to buy pumpkins, which we later carve, and also a brown bag filled with apples. When I was younger, going to farmer's markets with my family was a fall tradition. We'd go on the hay rides, look at the displays of gords and scarecrows, and I would pose in front of the biggest pumpkin there, which, apparently at the time was scary for me. (I have a picture of me on a ledge next to a large pumpkin and I look very uncomfortable.)
Another thing I remember about fall during my childhood was that my mom would always buy apple cider when we were at the farmer's market. Sometimes she's keep the fridge stocked of it for the whole season, but she always used to buy at aleast one container, and I loved that. It showed me she was celebrating the change in season, and that she cared that my brother and I got to taste the season, if you will. Because it's not always appropriate to drink apple cider. It's more fun during the right season. Kind of like how every Valentine's Day my dad would bring home, on his way from work, a cookie cake or some kind of cake to share with the family. Sure, it doesn't seem like much, but to a young girl, it was a sweet gesture. I'd look forward to that annual Valentine's Day dessert all day at school. Sometimes it was even more entertaining than pining for hours over a Valentine I'd gotten from the boy I had a crush on that year in school. The whole class had to bring Valentine's cards for everybody, so it was nothing special that I got one from my crush. I would, however, sit there later that evening and analyze his handwriting, or stray marks on the paper, to see if there was some hidden signal that showed he liked me. Like a secret heart or smiley face. I never really came to any conclusions or found any hidden signals declaring his love for me, but it was fun to dream, and I think that was the best part.
So, back to fall ...
I love the beginning of sweater and boot season because it's refreshing after a summer of heat and humidity, as much as I love summer and as much as it's my favorite season. But fall feels good. I can't wait to get our pumpkins this year, and maybe I'll bake the seeds with olive oil. Yum.
I also love that now it's not too early to pair my leggings with sweater boots on a Saturday, or wear sweater dresses out to dinner, to put on my fake fur-lined leather bomber jacket as I head out the door. And I'll temporarily retire my hot pink nailpolish (until my wedding-related parties, of course!) for some blues, purples and silvers. (And something sparkly for New Years' Eve!). And I'll trade in my light, floral scarves for thicker knits, and my flip flops for boat shoes, moccasins and loafers.
So my home is ready with smells of apple spice. My closet is ready, as you can see from the past few paragraphs. And soon we'll have our pumpkins out front!
So let's celebrate fall with our thick socks and football Sundays. I'm ready to enjoy it!