My house is a complete disaster, I am exhausted and it’s not remotely fall-like outside in Minnesota yet… but here I am, writing about my favorite season anyways 🙂 School starts next week so it doesn’t feel too premature actually.
Things I Want to Do This Fall
- When I was in high school/college, I used to grab a PSL on a cooler day and take myself for a solitary walk on the prairie in the beginning on September. Now I know PSLs aren’t the healthiest things in the world… so maybe I’ll make a homemade one (or just a nice hot chocolate) and do the same this year!
- Bake pumpkin and spiced apple things. I don’t think we’ll have time for apple-picking or pumpkin-patching this year, but that doesn’t mean I can’t whip up some pumpkin muffins from a mix or throw together a quick apple crisp.
My favorite pumpkin spiced drink in college… haven’t been able to find it up in the Cities since! The perfect cozy drink. - Take family photos! Fall is my favorite time of year to do this (we did our engagement photos in November 2017, and our family photos in November 2021 in the same place). I’ve arranged another family session for this year.
- Cozy up with some new-to-me books. Somehow I’ve already far surpassed my reading goal for this year, but I’d love to read some more books about history, faith, tradition, and femininity. Fall always feels like a very introspective and spiritual time to me; I appreciate quiet, dark evenings with a hot drink and warm light even more.
Future Fall Dreams
- Learn how to cook a pot roast. I didn’t grow up eating red meat but I finally acquired a gorgeous Dutch oven this past year, so I really have no excuses now. I won’t have time to learn/perfect the technique this fall, but a next year’s goal for sure.
- Go fall camping again. Perhaps a bit earlier in autumn than the last time I went camping, when my dad and I camped at the end of October a few years and it got down to 20F overnight. We had a bit of a standoff to see who would outlast the other in their tent (it was me–but I had a better sleeping bag), then ended up leaving first thing in the morning to get brunch, lol. Still fun!
My dad and I camped at St. Croix a few years ago–the most beautiful Minnesotan landscape right on the river. - Take and share autumn-themed videos. I’ve wanted to get into filming nature adventures and cozy moments for years now, because I love watching that kind of video and feel like there’s not enough of them. Someday!
Bits of Fall Inspiration
- This video of making jam which my kids are obsessed with and is very meditative!
- Little House in the Big Woods & Farmer Boy which I’ve reread every year since I was a teenager. Something about that romanticized, 19th-century wild pastoral life…
- “Autumn Forest” by Adrian von Ziegler, the perfect background track for creative fall pursuits 🙂
- “The Wild is Calling” This producer doesn’t really share her music anymore, but I still adore this song from a few years ago.
- The Old Magic of Christmas–a fun book about the folk roots of Christmas traditions that I just finished and would be the perfect read for a cozy indoor evening!
Another picture from an old camping trip… I can’t wait to bring the kids in future years!
What are you looking forward this fall or in future seasons?
xx Claire