Autumnal Pleasures

Today is the first day of October!
I have decided that October is going to be my favorite month of the year. The weather is cooler (FINALLY) and the pleasures of autumn are ripe for enjoyment. Halloween awaits at its end, bringing cackles and candy and costumes and the promise of more holidays to come. There are things to do, but it is not as crushingly busy as May or December. October is full of special days to say the least.

I recently listened to a podcast that inspired me about ways you can make your fall more luxurious. I wanted to list my own fall luxuries. They don't cost anything (or very little) but they are, to me, the things that I look forward to all year. I usually write out a seasonal enjoyment page in my journal, but I thought I would do something a little more illustrative this time.

Blankets & Socks
My blanket and sock game is pretty weak, I admit. I usually forget about the simple pleasure of warmth these items bring, so I will be more intentional about using them if I'm cold (which is often). Like Gretchen Rubin and medicine, the instant I feel cold, I will seek out these items instead of complaining about being cold. I'm trying to shop less, but I think I may add a pretty blanket I can use for naps and watching movies and reading as well as a few pairs of lovely socks with traction I can wear around the house to my carefully curated shopping list.

Actually Enjoying Being Outside
Walks and sitting on the porch, which were once insufferable because of heat and humidity are now highlights of my day. Thanks to my allergy shots, I can actually be outside without fear of getting sick (as I did most past springs and autumns). I realize I never minded being outside. I just minded being sick for three weeks after. Morning walks are a joy in the cool air.

Hearty, Savory Cooking and Foods
I love auditioning cookbooks from the library, and here are a few that I've enjoyed lately. If any recipes are successful, I will be sure to share. I'm hopeful a few of these will make the cut and inspire me to culinary greatness!

October also brings the opening of my friend Brian's sourdough pizza restaurant A Dopo that I am so excited to try. I am going to try to give him a run for his money with that Elements of Pizza book over there. (hahah....uh..no) He tried to show me how to work the dough into balls and it's quite a bit harder than it seems. I did not have the touch (at least after ten minutes of practice).


Decorating for Fall

I accidentally decorated my oven area in my kitchen in away that brings me such joy when I see it. I love finding things I can cook in my red pot. Some of my favorite meals ever are made in it, like my dad's vegetable soup, lasagna soup, and roasting a whole chicken (something I felt like I would need adult supervision to undertake but wasn't as nearly scary as I thought it would be).



Fall Fashions and Makeup
I took the plunge Wednesday and went a little darker with my hair for fall and winter. I call it Beautiful Blended Balayage. It blended my natural hair color (which I was growing out) with my blonder highlights, so now my hair can grow out in uninterrupted loveliness. And I won't have to pay for highlights again for a long time! Balayage comes from the French word "sweeping" as in how the colorist sweeps color through your hair to make it look more natural. I love mine! I think it will go nicely with my darker lipsticks and eyeshadows I save for fall and winter. I also really love finally getting to wear jeans, sweaters, boots, vests and jackets (like every other woman in America).

Award-Winning Books and Movies

Fall is when movie studios release their Oscar contending films and publishers release their heavy-hitting literary titles. I'm not reading a lot of fiction these days, but a few titles I am eager to try are Commonwealth by Ann Patchett, Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, and Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson. I am also counting the days until Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Rouge One, The Arrival, and many many others. I got a $50 Regal gift card from my credit card points expressly for this purpose!

Marching Bands
I could care less about football, but it matters to most everyone else so I try to be interested in it. I love the marching bands more than anything else that happens on the field. I especially love hearing the sounds of the band rehearsing after school on Mondays. As I make my weekly visit to my public library branch after school, I hear the drums and brass coming over the hills and the trees from my school, just a mile down the road. That moment always means fall is here to me. It is one of my favorite moments to sit and listen and be thankful for everything about where I am at that precise moment.

Halloween
I think that any holiday you get and give candy is OK in my book. I used to be a crotchety old lady and make kids say "Trick or Treat" before I gave them candy (I know...) Catherine is obsessed with ghosts, stemming from one of her Curious George books. She is going to be a ghost for Halloween (just like George). I've decided to embrace a holiday I honestly used to roll my eyes at people getting excited about. I get it now. I may not be ready for haunted houses and the scary side of Halloween, but I want to make this a special and exciting and fun time for Catherine.

What are your favorite things about autumn?