1. Roy and I were married in late September because I wanted a Fall wedding. So, each year Fall kicks off with a little anniversary-ing, which usually includes a weekend get-a-way for me and Mr. Graham (that's for you, Jennifer!!). It's getting to be that time!!
2. We spent the first month of our marriage in Boone, NC for Roy's work, so I LOVE taking trips to Boone in the Fall time! Not only does it bring back wonderful memories, but there's something magical about Boone during this time...the leaves, the cool weather, taking walks around Bass Lake in Blowing Rock, the need for a heavy coat and the necessity of dropping by Conrad's Coffee to get little pick-me-up, which brings me to number 3....
3. Each Fall, Starbucks brings back the Pumpkin Spice Latte! This drink is like Fall time in your mouth. Get the tall...this drink has lots of calories, but you have to look past that stuff when it comes to this amount of goodness. I'm hoping they introduce a "skinny" version of it this season.
4. The foods. Don't even get me started on this reason. I love to make my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, Pumpkin Pies, Apple Spice Bread, Chili, Stews....yummy, yummy, yummy!!
5. The weather. I love when you start to feel it coming. It begins with a breeze and then the morning air gets a little nip to it, which turns into crisp, cool air. It starts with the need for a lightweight jacket and then ends with a coat and gloves! I love to take walks to the pond to feed the ducks with the kids, and I love that it's just the right temperature outside to make your nose run. I love putting away the sundresses and bringing out the turtlenecks. And I love when it starts to get dark at 5:00!
6. The smells. Besides the smell of spices in the baked goods baking in the oven, I love the smell of burning leaves! I also love the smell of a roaring fire in the fireplace and a good Fall time Yankee Candle lit in the kitchen. My favorite scent? Pumpkin Pie.
7. I love Halloween! Now before you start thinking I'm a heathen who's teaching her kids to celebrate the Devil, hear me out. I love to pick out costumes for my kids and take them to Roy's office to pass out cookies. I enjoy lining my driveway in luminaries and waiting for the kids to ring to doorbell so I can pass out candy to them! I love seeing Roy walk Caroline down the sidewalk in our neighborhood to go trick-or-treating.
8. I love the decorations and colors of Fall and I enjoy decorating our house during this time. Nothing scary like skeletons or ghosts. I bring out my pumpkin topiaries for our front porch:
In our old house, I used to make them with real pumpkins, which look SO much nicer. See?
But now we have kids to buy for, so I use fake ones! And by the way, these are very easy to make. I also decorate my mantle with twinkle lights that set the mood:
and I set pumpkins all over the house. Isn't this one cute? Compliments of Julie Day!
Oh, and I love bright colored mums on porches and in planters, too!
9. I love that this year is an election year. After I drop Caroline off at school on November 4th, Roy Austin and I are hitting the polls to vote for J Mac and Palin. Then I will be praying and praying and watching the TV like a "macainiac" all day on pins and needles.
10. I love going to pick out a pumpkin to carve. There is a great pumpkin patch about 2 miles down from us. We've made it a tradition to go there each year.
11. I love Thanksgiving and all that comes with that holiday. It's a great opportunity to look at my life and thank God for what he's blessed us with. Plus, it adds a great ending to my favorite season and gives me the task of putting everything away only to take out the Christmas decorations and play the Christmas tunes!
So there are 11 reasons. I know I'm leaving more out. If I think of any others, I'll add them, or better yet, comment and tell me what you love about Fall! Come on. Don't be shy!
29 comments:
First of all I agree with all of your 11 reasons! The only one I don't really agree with is the getting dark at 5pm. I find that a little depressing. Too many hours of darkness and the kids don't get to play outside very much.
One of our "traditions" is going to the orchard, picking our own apples, drinking cider, buying apple butter, and taking a hay ride!
I prefer a piping hot Chi Tea with whipped cream and nutmeg! It's like a cup of warm Thanksgiving. Got my first one of the season this morning when it was a cool and overcast 60 degrees in the burg'. My favorite Yankee Fall scents are Banana Nut Bread, Vanilla Carmel, and I just picked up the new Frosted Pumpkin swirl...A+++! I love those pumpkin topiaries...I request a how to blog on those please!
This post is great. Can you email me or post how to make those stunning pumpkin topiaries. Can you post it? I love that idea and was looking at my house yesterday thinking it needs some fall decor.
Can you also let me know what pumpkin patch you go to. It would be great if I could go with my family and we don't know of any around here since we moved a few months ago.
Lastly, here is a link to the recipe I use for my pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. They are so good:
http://recipesoffriends.blogspot.com/2007/11/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins.html
No WAY! I was just going to post tonight about my fall decorations. And I took a picture of my mantle too. I promise I'm not a copycat, just a "kindred spirit".
The little Graham pumpkin is adorable!
Oh, and one of my favorite stews for the fall is "Friendship Stew". It's the kind that you take to a new neighbor in a cute little pot and say..."keep the pot and give it away to someone else". I don't always make it for a neighbor. My family LOVES it and it's really easy. A good hearty vegetabley stew for fall. I'll email you the recipe! Or better yet, I might blog about it. :)
I love this post! I love this time of year, too, and am so excited for the weather to cool off. I LOVE your pumpkin topiaries! I haven't ever seen those before. Very festive!
Please post a "how to" for the pumpkin topiaries.
Good post, too.
LOVE this post, Donna! And I love your decorations--I have always decorated for fall in our house and the kids still love to see the same pumpkins and fall decorations, along with candy corn and "treats." They came in the house last week and immediately went to the pumpkin that holds the candy every year and broke into smiles when they saw candy in there -- makes a mom feel good about those special memories! A couple of favorite fall "spots" that we wouldn't miss seeing is the Sky Top Orchard in Flat Rock ---www.skytoporchard.com --it won't disappoint you! A FUN day to spend with your kids and enjoy EVERYTHING fall--and on top of a mountain! And Carrigan Farms here in Mooresville is also great. I'll have to give you my recipe for Pumpkin Bars --yummy!
I thought of you when I saw the pumpkin spice latte out at starbucks!!! I know you are a die hard fan!
To be honest I am not a fan of Fall time, because that means winter is coming.
I love pumpkin spice lattes !!! A girlfriend and I are planning a night where we go get lattes and then drive with her sunroof open as we feel the chill of the cool Fall air. I can't wait =)
I agree 100% with all of your 11! I'm in LOVE with FALL. Something overcomes me and I'm in the best mood every day. Leland and I were going to make it a tradition that each fall we would hike the peaks together but this year I think we'll be passing since the baby is coming. I've already got my house decorated still have a few last minute touches to add. Good post Donna! It made me excited just reading about it. I bet Angela will have a good fall post too. She's good at descriptions too!
Oh my goodness Donna! Its like you were reading my mind and my feelings about fall. I LOVE IT. I decorate more for fall & Halloween than for Christmas or any other holiday. I love all the things you listed and it is BY FAR my favorite season. Jenny was just making fun of me because I was already pulling out some of my fall clothes and trying to incorporate them into my summer outfits. She called them my "Fummer" clothes. Part Fall - Part Summer. I was just asking someone if it was too soon to put out all my fall stuff. But now that I saw your post I am going to pull it all out. YIPEE!
Tonya took the words right out of my mouth...I was just about to write the same thing about agreeing with all but the 5 pm. I LOVE LOVE LOVE pumpkin anything...pumpkin bagels are good too...hard to find though I had them in Virginia. I agree with pumpkin spiced lattes...i am actually getting really excited right now thinking about them.
I have two more reasons for loving fall...my birthday and I always loved soccer season starting up. Practice with that great air made me so happy. I love crunchy leaves too when you walk over them. Good post...I'm so excited for fall.
By the way...I want to topiaries how to as well.
Donna, I swear I got chills reading about fall...by far, the BEST time of the year!!!
Two years ago, after Christmas, I was in Cracker Barrel and they had a ton of Pumpkin Pie candles on sale for $7.00 - the big ones!!! Let's just say that I loaded up and still have plenty to burn for several years. I also love Christmas Cookies. Why is it that those candles seem to smell so much better than the cheap ones? Hmmm...
Did you mention football? I love going to football games..Furman, Tenn Vols (don't you agree, Dayna?) Knoxville in the fall is the best!
Okay, on election day we need to designate one blog where we can discuss the election and the results. I will be a nervous wreck that day. Oh, and I love taking Max too...I want him to know that he's "voted" in every election since his birth.
You got some great fall decorating skills..how much do you charge?
And last, but not least, my birthday is in October and so is my mom's, two of my nephews and several of my good friends. I just think it's a great time to have a birthday - ya hear that, Dolly...Michael will love it!
Great post, Donna!!! Got to get decorating!!
Okay, I am sad. You see Fall is the saddest time for me in being so far from home. It is so freaking HOT here that it is hard to get into the season without crying or missing my family.
Mantle???? What Mantle. Carving a pumpkin???? Sure if you want it to stink the next day and invite all sorts of bugs to live in it. Do I need to go on? Whaaaaa.
Anyway, Donna we were thinking along the same line. I am hosting a Fall Swap on my blog. To My Life to find out all about it.
Ouch Denise! Donna's post was probably like salt on a slug!
Oh, and atleast you can still get a Pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks in FL!
Salt on a slug??? I have heard it all now.
I agree with your post but I am also with Denise. That is how it is in Texas. That was the hardest adjustment I had when I moved back to Texas was not really having a pretty Fall. I miss it so much and LOVED it in VA. Me and Mike used to always take our vacations in the fall and we would go out East. I never get enough of seeing pretty fall trees with all the leaves changing. Texas weather in the fall is all over the place. One year we might be freezing on Halloween. Last year, we were sweating to death. The same is true for Thanksgiving. You might be in shorts or you might be in a Turtleneck. Kind of ruins the cozy mood. Will you all stop what you are doing right now and have a pity party for me and Denise?
Wow...I had a lot of posts to catch up on--LOVED the yearbook pictures. HILARIOUS! And, I hear you about Fall. It's cool here this morning which makes it truly feel like Fall is in the air. I love all those things you listed and it's definitely my favorite season--chili, warm drinks, footballs games, pumpkins, hay rides--the whole thing!
Ahhh, poor Denise and Kristi! :((( Seriously, that would STINK to not have fall. Okay, that does it...we're going to have to have another blogunion next month for you guys.
I LOVE your decorations! I am so curious how you made those pumpkin topiaries with REAL pumpkins! How did you get them to stay that way??
I love raking leaves in the fall into a huge pile and letting the kids run and jump in them! I also love the really crisp morning air and leaving the windows open!
Oh Toni, that's a good one that I forgot. I love opening the windows of the house in the fall too and smelling the crispness. Speaking of crisp. You know what sounds good right now is some apple crisp! That with some vanilla ice cream melted on top!
It's a rainy cool day here in Charlotte (around 77 degrees). I went to Target this morning and went to the Starbucks at the front to ask about the skinny pumpkin latte. They don't come in skinny:( I just couldn't do it. Give me a month, though, and I'll be downing those babies like water.
Jennifer, I nominate Mighty Max to host the election day blog forum.
Seriously girls...JUST TRY to top 106 degrees YESTERDAY!(That is Redding, California for ya!) ARGH!!!Yeah..I am feeling "Fallish" all right!
Your post did give me hope..and I HAVE decorated for Fall!! Maybe I can force some cooler weather!
Is your Graham pumkin a real one? Are the letters painted on or "sharpied" on? SSSOOO CUTE!
Yes! Fall time is here! :O) Love your pumpkin topiaries. My mom and I tried a little pumpkin painting this weekend after seeing those that JDay did for some of you last year. It will be a post on my blog this evening.....
Happy Fall Y'all!
Good job, Ash! I can't wait to see them.
Mom Of Girls--yes, Julie makes them with a Sharpie. They are beautiful. My hand is too shaky! I'd rather pay her to make them then try my hand at it:)
Thanks for you blog - fall is my favorite time of the year too - growing up in the mountains of VA (Roanoke) and seeing the fall colors - eating at The Home Place in Catawba (have you been there?) Great reasons and descriptions on your blog for loving this time of of year. I actually like it to get dark early too - but I'm a homebody so to me this forces us to be inside more enjoying time at home. Also, my first choice was to have a fall wedding but it wouldn't have given me enough time to plan so an almost Christmas wedding was wonderful too!
Don't forget about the Windy Hill Orchard in York, SC - great place to visit in October!
Dave has already been hinting for me to make those pumpkin muffins . . . he LOVES them!!
Donna- this is my favorite post of yours, ever!! I love fall time too and You described it perfectly. I am going to attempt to make our mantle look half as good as yours and I am love the mums too. I have a local nursery who sells the best and I always stock up:) and Yankee Candle and baked goods in the oven! Yummy!
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