Hello, guys! It’s the first day of autumn!
In unapologetic, stereotypical white girl fashion, I adore fall. True, it will be at least another month before it actually starts to feel like autumn here in the Deep South, but just knowing that scarf weather, fall festivals, and so many more of my favorite things are around the corner is so comforting.
Since it’s Thinking Out Loud Thursday, I thought I’d share some of my favorite fall memories and things I look forward to every year.
10 Things I Love About Fall
1. Football
I’m not a huge college football fanatic, but I do love my New Orleans Saints (win or lose—mostly lose). I can’t wait till Bazooka is old enough to take to games in the Superdome. Some of my favorite memories with Mark and our families are from Saints games.
2. Apples!
Yes, I like pumpkin, but I get infinitely more excited over apple season. A few years ago, I would have told you apples were just OK (I’m looking at you, mealy and bland Red Delicious), but now that I’ve discovered Honey Crisp, Macintosh, Pink Lady, Sweetango, and so many other seasonal varieties, I look forward to picking up a different selection every trip to the grocery store—even if it gets expensive.
3. Pashmina weather
My family makes fun of me for the number of pashmina scarves I own—it’s ridiculous, but I just love them. They can dress up a plain outfit and add a little color to anything. I love ‘em.
4. Bazooka’s birthday
My little October baby! Bazooka is lucky that his birthday falls in a still-relatively warm month so he can enjoy an outdoor party. This year’s theme will be Curious George and we’re planning to set up the swimming pools for the little ones to enjoy, weather permitting.
5. Flavored coffee…and beer
I’m not a huge PSL fan, but I do love fall-flavored coffee and tea. Something about the smell of warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, cardamom, etc. is just so comforting! And I do love fall beers like Oktoberfest, Abita Fall Fest and Christmas Ale, and as many pumpkin ales I can try.
Celebrating Oktoberfest in New Orleans in 2013
6. Halloween
Truthfully, Mark and I haven’t celebrated Halloween since college, but now that Bazooka is almost old enough to trick or treat and enjoy the costumes, candy, and hoopalah, I’m so excited for this former favorite holiday. Plus, there’s candy. And scary movies.
7. Actually enjoying our back yard
…because it’s just too damn hot to spend a lot of time out there during the summer.
8. Theatre
We don’t get too many nice date nights these days, but fall always marks the opening of theatre season. We try to attend a play or musical by local community theatre each year, and back before Bazooka was born, we went to New Orleans to see Wicked and The Book of Mormon. Good times.
9. All the SQUASH and root vegetables
Mark isn’t as enamored with squash as I am (I think it’s because he’s usually the one preparing it—and those guys can be tough to slice/peel sometimes), but I love pretty much every variety I’ve encountered: kabocha, butternut, acorn, spaghetti, etc. I’ve never tried delicata, but it’s something I want to get my hands on soon. Oh, and let’s not forget other root vegetables (sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, etc.), especially my newly-discovered favorite, rutabagas! My coworker always talks about how much she loves them, so when I was able to grocery shop by myself last weekend, I picked one up to roast. They taste like a cross between a potato and a turnip to me (earthy, but not overwhelmingly so), and I foresee them making an appearance on our menu many times in the upcoming months.
10. Beginning of holiday season
I am happiest between the months of October and February because there are so many great holidays and occasions to gather as a family. There’s Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, NYE, and, here on the Gulf Coast, MARDI GRAS. It’s like the celebrations don’t end until spring, and I love it.
10 reasons why #fall is the BEST season! #TOL Share on XSo tell me…
- What do YOU love about fall?
- Is pumpkin spice overrated or do you love it?
- If you’re a football fan, who do you cheer for?
I love all the cozy clothes that come with fall. Boots, scarves, mittens etc. I also love an excuse to make more warm meals like stew and chili. I love that stuff so much I sometimes eat it cold in the summer 😛
I also like the weather for running outside. Not as much sweat!
How did I forget to list being able to make chili, stew, etc?!!! That’s one of my favorites as well -though it doesn’t shop me from enjoying them in the summer 😉 And yes to outside running – less humidity!
I love that I can justify wearing my favorite jackets and hoodies in the fall time; I also really love apple season. It’s probably a bit cheaper to get apples than pumpkin, so I usually make just as much or more apple dishes than pumpkin dishes. And all those leaves remind me how I love going back East in the fall time. 🙂
Yes – I love jackets and hoodies and have way too many considering we get so little cold weather. Oh well 😉
Fall is absolutely the best! I have to say, I’m really sad about it this year since I won’t get fall this year or for probably the next few or more depending on where we move to next. I really don’t think it cools down at all and will probably be 80 on Christmas! I still think I will decorate some just because it is my favorite time of year. Your point about the backyard is so true. I hope it cools down just some so that I actually want to go outside too!
Yeah, Hawaii will be quite different when it comes to seasons and holidays! I have had a few 80-degree Christmases and Thanksgiving here n Alabama, and it stinks, but you just kind of make due with it! Just remind yourself you’re in paradise 🙂
pumpkin spice is def not overrated!! I love it so much. pumpkin spice coffee and muffins are my fave! and so is fall 🙂
I love pumpkin spice muffins, too! Pumpkin baked goods > pumpkin spice coffee in my book!
Fall is so beautiful. I’ve never tried a pumpkin spice latte. They actually just finally came out in New Zealand this week…we haven’t had them before now. So I might wait for the crazy hype to die down a bit before I set foot in starbucks.
I say try one, but be prepared for SUGAR overload. I think they’re just too sweet, but then again, I drink my coffee black with just a splash of milk. I bet fall in New Zealand is beautiful. Definitely a place I’d love to visit one day.
It’s Spring for us but one thing I love about fall is APPLES! Even though I hate the colder weather, I loveee our yearly apple picking trip!
I wish apples grew in the South – I’ve never been apple picking before. 🙁
Enjoy spring in your part of the world!
I love fall, too! It’s my favourite season for sure. Although I think our fall is much cooler than yours 😉 Pools for an October birthday party?! I’m jealous!! I discovered Honey Crisp Apples when I was pregnant 3 years ago and they quickly became my favourite apple variety. They are so expensive up here though that I had to consider them a “treat” (like one Honey Crisp Apple costs almost $2!). I just tried fresh figs for the first time the other day and am now hooked on those! Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I’ve never eaten them before. I like pumpkin-y things, but I’m not really a huge fan of PSL’s. I’ll drink one, but I don’t go out of my way to make them a regular occurrence 🙂
Yeah – we joke about having only 2 seasons: summer and not-summer. 😉 It probably won’t get cold until November and even then, it isn’t unheard of to run the air conditioning at Christmas! I would love the experience real fall!
I can’t make myself like fresh figs but I love dried. Considering my parents have a fig tree on their property, I should probably give them another try. 🙂
“In unapologetic, stereotypical white girl fashion,”
I don’t understand this, along with the memes and comments scattered online similar to that about pumpkin spice coffee drinks in the last few years. How did that become branded a “white girl” characteristic? Things like that are tongue-in-cheek but they really emphasize a stereotyping of other people, thus leading to either a non-white girl who likes those things being called “acting white” or just assumed to have other interests. I just don’t know why everything must bring some kind of race-related comment, even from those who claim to stand for progress.
Thank you for this comment – you’re right. I guess I was poking fun of the clichés – and, thus, myself – but you’re right that race doesn’t need to be brought into it. I pride myself on looking past racial (and sexual, ethnic, age, etc) stereotypes, so I apologize for choosing to use that terminology and implying that liking such things is a “white girl” thing. I will be more careful next time!