Living the Fall Life

As I took a walk yesterday morning, crunching through the acorns and leaves, I realized I was in the middle of a dream come true: Fall is on the way, the days are getting cooler, but the season hasn't passed yet. I am thick in the throes of the beauty of the season, but I still have time for the actual season to come. What a place to be: anticipating and also enjoying at the same time.

Fall is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year. It happens in just a couple of days, Monday the 22nd. And as always, particularly because living in California means our summers last very long, I'm ready for it. 

I also love spring - it comes in a close second. But fall, with its giving way to letting go, changing, altering, and moving on... yet knowing a new future is coming to bring you more good things, feels like the most refreshing feeling in the world.

To make me truly feel connected to the season, I'm one of those who need to get into the spirit of the season. I haven't always lived the slow life, but I do now, and I realize that years ago, when I first fell in love with the autumnal season, it was because it was a return to slowing down. It was calling me all these years. Fall feels like I'm coming home every time she comes to visit.

The days are shorter, meaning more time at home. The nights are colder, which means more time cozying up in a blanket and reading. The weather means cooking, baking, creating, and mellowing. Fall is the season for those who love a slow-living lifestyle, as it marks a return to creation within the home.

As we carry through the next few months, if you're yearning to hold onto the season for as long as possible (like I am), do the things that nestle you further into that feeling. Create that home you long to be in. That world of wonder and enchantment to letting things change and enjoying it. 

1. Bake: Yes, bake that pie, or make the cupcakes, or cookies. I'm not much of a sugar-eater these days, nor do I eat much gluten, but that doesn't mean I don't occasionally indulge. Baking takes me back to when I was young, creating confectionery concoctions with my mom and sisters with every season. If you're like me, you can still bake without gluten or lessen the sugar. There are still ways to create that baking atmosphere without having to give up restrictions. But, it's also a small window to enjoy the treats you've always loved, too.

2. Create: For me, reading and writing are the biggest additions to the season. Don't get me wrong, I read and write year-round. But when the days are cooler, I want to do more of those things. My husband plays guitar, so when he's home, he's in our music room playing music. There's nothing like a home filled with live music to not only indulge the senses but take me to a place back in time where music and the arts filled every home, every day.

3. Recreate: Walking should be at the forefront of your exercise routine for the fall. Why? because of the bounty of beauty just outside your door. Every day, you can document the changing of the leaves' colors and watch the apples ripen. The darker mornings give you a chance to see the sun rise in its brilliant morning shades of magnificent to sublime. Watch new wildlife appear, new autumnal birds versus the summer birds that have cleared out. Everything is changing, and it's up to you to notice it before it changes again.

4. Make: With a new season comes a new wardrobe. It's time to put away the shorts and t-shirts and add in the sweaters, corduroy, wool, and boots. If you need a new sweater or jacket, let me suggest second-hand sweaters, preferably vintage. Vintage clothing is almost always better quality, and with better-made and better quality clothing, you also have items that will last far longer than any modern equivalent. Having sold vintage clothing for fifteen years, the quality, in my book, is incomparable. Thrift for a fall piece for your wardrobe, and if you're like me, who wants to keep their closet minimal, then donate one that no longer fits or you no longer wear. Let the circle of life within the textile world carry on.

5. Take: If there's anything to truly take with the season, it's the beauty of it. The leaves and their insane hues, magentas and pumpkin colors. Go pick apples at an orchard, find a pumpkin patch, or grab a natural and organic collection of leaves and nuts just outside your front door. Nature is leaving us gifts everywhere we turn. I even have collected a small bouquet of turkey feathers! 

Fall comes once a year. It's up to us to appreciate each season. And to do that, we have to deliberately notice the season's special attributes, whether we are inside or outside. Living the fall life means going back to our old ways of slow living and enjoying the bounty of color, smells, tastes, and sounds of the season, no matter where we live.

Happy Autumn.