We’re headed into my favorite season, which contains my birthday (next week!), crisp air and red leaves, the beginning of a new school year (bouquets of sharpened pencils, anyone?) and the sense of endless possibility.
I love a good list in a new season, so here’s my manifesto for this fall:
- Reread the Emily Byrd Starr books by L.M. Montgomery – they seem perfect for crisp golden mornings and velvet twilights.
- Find the perfect double-breasted trench coat.
- Host my sister and brother-in-law for a visit (this weekend!).
- Go apple picking, make pumpkin bread and cranberry bread, drink chai and savor the last of summer’s produce.
- Spend a week in Oxford for the first time in five years. (!!!)
- Spend a long weekend in NYC with the hubs. (I love New York in the fall.)
- Write by hand nearly every day.
- Read at least three classics. (I’ve got Silas Marner and The Song of the Lark on the short stack.)
- Knit something fun and colorful.
What’s on your list for this fall?
cakes, tea and dreams 
Visit my friend in Vermont.
Wear autumn colors.
Wear the necklace I had made for my wedding rehearsal dinner dress with one of my many brown tops and dresses.
Drink Chaider (a combo of chai tea and apple cider they serve at my local cafe).
Knit my little cousin a sweater he can wear over the winter.
Collect horse chestnuts from the ground under the trees near my doctor’s office in Brookline.
Turn 47.
Pick up acorns as I approach my office building on the Fenway, and notice whether there are enough for all the squirrels (there was a shortage a couple of years ago!).
Register for Booktopia.
Cook using our Le Creuset dutch ovens and our new Calphalon pots that we got for our wedding.
Eat lots of leafy greens, particularly kale and chard.
Buy apples at the farmer’s market.
Wear some of the shoes I inherited from my late mom.
Wear tights and dresses.
Get a flu shot.
Sleep with the windows open.
Read cookbooks and get ideas for new things to cook.
Read magazines that have pictures of fall living.
I love this list!
A week in Oxford?! Oooh I’m practically green with envy! Take LOTS of pictures and notes for us 🙂
I can’t wait to hear about your upcoming Oxford adventure!!! 🙂
And I love the idea of sharing fall lists… Here are 15 fall wishes of mine:
Sip pumpkin spice lattes while reading outdoors
Wear soft, plaid work-shirts
Take long, lingering walks through the orchards to watch the light in the trees
Listen as the geese migrating overhead
Collect leaves & pinecones to make fall garlands with my best friend’s children
Spend a whole afternoon at Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm
Drive up into the Sierra Nevadas for crisp Saturday picnics by the lake
Load up on library books and read favorites aloud with little ones
Bake with more spices: cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves
Have a bonfire night with a group of friends with music, hot drinks, and s’mores
Watch teacher classics: Dead Poets Society, Mona Lisa Smile, October Sky
Start a “thankful” list again, making note of something beautiful each day
Notice the smell of woodsmoke in the early mornings
Light Yankee candles: Spiced Pumpkin, Cranberry Chutney, Autumn Leaves
Try to remember to pause and look up at the moon and stars each night
I lit a Yankee candle today! It was called Autumn Wreath. Really yummy.
I like that one, too! 🙂 Yankee’s autumn scents are so wonderful!
I’m glad you’re going to Oxford but I believe you need to add “visit Nashville” to this list!
HANG OUT WITH KATIE IN OXFORD! Can’t wait to see you, dear!
I should reread the Emily books also. I started on rereading the Anne books and got sidetracked with other books. Too many books to read!
YES to all of it! Jealous about the travel plans. (Tell us about it on the blog?)