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September 23, 2009
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30 Quintessential Fall Activities

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  1. hauling the  a/c units out of the windows
  2. eating an apple cider donut
  3. writing longhand
  4. making the bed with flannel sheets
  5. annual viewing of Anne of Green Gables (preferably while knitting, crocheting, or embroidering)
  6. swapping iced coffee for hot
  7. walking through the woods (even if it’s a wooded grove at your local park)
  8. visiting a pumpkin patch
  9. wearing plaid
  10. stocking up on pens, pencils, and notebooks
  11. making apple sauce
  12. reading a classic
  13. stowing the summer clothes and pulling out your woolens (isn’t that the funniest word?)
  14. hosting a soup swap
  15. spending an afternoon date at a museum with yourself, a friend, or a paramour
  16. drinking chai, preferably on a sunny outdoor bench
  17. raking
  18. bringing herbs inside to the windowsill
  19. roasting a chicken on Sunday evening
  20. tramping through fallen leaves (walking doesn’t count; you must tramp)
  21. picking apples
  22. learning something new: a language, a craft technique
  23. attending a scholarly lecture (thankfully, there will not be a quiz on this)
  24. putting the comforter back on the bed
  25. taking a moonlit walk
  26. donating books to the library
  27. volunteering to walk dogs at a shelter
  28. building fires on cool evenings
  29. taking yourself out for a glass of red wine
  30. feeling that your home is a cozy respite from the chilly outside world

I bet you can suggest 30 more, at least. I’m all ears. What are your favorite fall rituals?

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Comments

  • Adrienne: Busting out the denim jacket. I only ever wear it in the fall, never the spring. (And I had my first ever cider donut on Saturday - from now on no autumn will be complete without one)49 weeks ago

  • Fran: Taking off the toe nail polish until spring and putting on socks.49 weeks ago

  • Fran: Adrienne - Good one - I just put my denim jacket on this week!49 weeks ago

  • Megan: 31. switching to dark nail polish!
    32. baking an acorn squash
    33. making a huge pot of cinncinati chili and eating it over spaghetti
    34. SWEATERS!!49 weeks ago

  • Erin: 35. return of the cozy slippers
    36. fall colors
    37. switching from birkenstocks to clogs
    38. scarves! (megan stole my sweaters one, I second that!)
    39. the oregon coast is beautiful in the fall (sept and oct)
    40. thanksgiving is coming!
    41. carving pumpkins
    42. pumpkin flavored stuff (beer, ice cream, coffee creamer)
    43. falling leaves
    44. snuggling up in a down comforter (even better with a loved one)49 weeks ago

  • Erin: 45. enjoying all the frozen soup I made over the summer
    46. Cassaroles! (mac and cheese, pot pies, lattice topped chicken, etc.)
    47. the crisp feeling in the air
    48. mulling spices on the stove
    49. mulled wine

    I love fall too :) 49 weeks ago

  • Charone: Fall is my favorite season, although it’s a bit depressing for me now that I live on the east coast (because I know that 3 to 6 months of brutal weather are right around the corner).

    October is totally my month, because I grow pumpkins and have two black cats.

    Apple cider donuts are good. I should try making them this year, since the ones I’ve had from the store taste somewhat bland.

    Lastly, I don’t know what a soup swap is, but if I get to yell “No soup for you!!!” at people, I’m totally in.49 weeks ago

  • Pomona: Wearing woolly socks, and my cashmere cardi, and vests, and having soup for lunch instead of salad. And stepping up from one hottie in bed to two!

    Pomona x49 weeks ago

  • Dina Seiden: Switching from Mojitos to Manhattans, wearing socks with my sneakers,wearing underwear everyday (i know, eeeewww), less product required for my hair, watching my cat’s white, billowing bib grow in again, having more light in my apartment as the beautiful oak outside my window sheds, growing out my leg and armpit hair, playing darker, more Gothic music, thirsting for vitamin D. the clarity and crispness of the sunlight in the fall just steals my heart.49 weeks ago

  • californiablue: This is a wonderful list - I would also agree that pulling out the cozy slippers would be a great addition :) 49 weeks ago

  • Rae: 50. Stores filled with the ever-potent Cinnamon Brooms
    51. Waking up early to a hearty breakfast and feeling like you’ve earned it

    I second the Pumpkin flavored things, I go spiced and pumpkin mad for a few months to the point that I can’t even look at the lovely plump beauties come March…49 weeks ago

  • Christine S.: 52. fireplaces and bonfires
    53. high school/college football games - outdoors, of course
    54. opened windows
    55. hayrides
    56. making Halloween costumes
    57. crockpot cooking!:)
    58. hot apple cider
    59. caramel apples
    60. candied apples

    And, yes, PUMPKIN EVERYTHING!!!!49 weeks ago

  • Sara Rose: Ummmmm, you get MARRIED so you can add celebrating your anniversary to the list!

    I love my little annual halloween party. I love that I host thanksgiving every year. I love baking and baking and baking some more. I looooooooove busting out my crockpot. I LOVE FALL. This year we are taking a hayride and going to the pumpkin patch darnit.49 weeks ago

  • anon: buying school supplies, even when you’re not in school! new notebooks, new pencils and pens, a clean slate to organize work…my favorite quote from “you’ve got mail” is when tom hanks writes to her,

    “Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.”49 weeks ago

  • anne: - Crock pot simmering all day long.
    - Locally grown apples
    - The distinct change in the wind49 weeks ago

  • Anita: making apple butter in a large copper kettle outside.49 weeks ago

  • Sarah Jane: I could not stop smiling after I read this post.Especially since I just started a scarf with an old fashion-y knitting pattern, checked out Anne of Green Gables from the library and got my down comforter out to air yesterday. Are you sure you’re not psychic?

    I love to watch the quality of the light change in the fall.49 weeks ago

  • Lesley: Love your list. For me, I’d add lingering in the grocery aisle and staring longingly at the canned pumpkin. Mexico City doesn’t really have fall, or canned pumpkin, so I don’t know what I’m going to do this year. Maybe I’ll just eat more pineapple.49 weeks ago

  • I love everyone’s additions!

    Dina, You are so right about the soundtrack to life changing. And I, too, am eager for the tree outside my living room to lose its leaves so it will let in the light.

    Sara Rose, How fitting is it that I find October to be the most romantic month and now it will have my wedding anniversary. Perfect, eh?

    Sarah Jane, Hilarious! Great minds!49 weeks ago

  • Juliette: - Dia de los Muertos
    - the color orange
    - marigolds
    - first fire in the fireplace
    - canning
    - rain, glorious rain
    - scones with our own honey
    - purring cats on a comforter-strewn bed49 weeks ago

  • Jora: OK, this list totally reminds me of the lists in The Silver Palate Good Times cookbook. Did you ever read/have that one? I love fall by the way!!49 weeks ago

  • Loulou: Breaking out the Dutch oven and cooking up some hearty, slow simmering dishes like Gumbo, Coq au Vin and Cassoulet.49 weeks ago

  • Jen: - Neil Young. After the Gold Rush = Fall.
    - knitting socks
    - making Christmas gift-making lists (an exercise in optimism)
    - baths with books
    - scarves
    - kale
    - skirts and tights!49 weeks ago

  • Katie: Along with eating that apple cider donut, being able to eat a second because you get to wear a sweatshirt or sweater that covers any extra pounds you might gain.49 weeks ago

  • Karen: Love everyone’s favorite activities!

    I celebrate my wedding anniversary in October. My babies were born in the fall….. so this time of year is very special to me.

    Some favorites….
    leaf peeping
    apple cider
    apple picking
    corn mazes
    church fairs

    …. and the colors of fall… leafy green, ochre, orange, russet….. so pretty!49 weeks ago

  • fefe: i love fall!
    pumpkin flavored everything( have been adding pumpkin pie type spices and 1/4c canned pumpkin to my oatmeal in the morning-yum)
    comfy clothes
    soups and stews in crockpot
    i want a fall wedding (have collected martha fall weddings for YEARS)!!
    hatch chile season!!!
    too bad here in houston there is not much of a fall…49 weeks ago

  • Evon T.: I too have forever felt that Fall is the most romantic time of year! It seems that my most treasured, romantic experiences have happened in the Fall. Plus, your hair holds better, makeup stays true for much longer, and you can wear sweaters without feeling like you have to put your Body Magic on to perhaps shift a few minor “bumps”.49 weeks ago

  • Evon T.: Oh, and how could I forget those yummy pumpkin scones at Starbucks!49 weeks ago

  • yummyfoodies: jumping in a huge pile of golden leaves, making a carrot cake with 5 spices and canning some tomato jam!!!

    LovE WINTER FOOOOOOD! :) 49 weeks ago

  • Wendy Bussell: Instead of flowers in my crystal vase, peacock feathers! A new candle with cedarwood.
    To add to the list pumpkin bread with dates.
    Squirrels burying nuts in my yard!
    Crysanthemums.
    pinon wood smell from chimeneas.
    Raking leaves.
    Leaving the windows open longer and longer.
    I also second the motion on cassoulet.
    Night happening earlier, more lit candles to welcome hubby home.49 weeks ago

  • Karen Chaffee: Fall, mmm, my favorite season!

    –changing out my cool pastel curtains, pillows, and throws for ones in warmer, richer colors
    –mums!
    –”color” tours
    –passing out candy to trick-or-treaters
    –baking a fresh-apple pie
    –frost covering the grass
    –over-sized sweatshirts on the weekend
    –raking leaves and jumping in the pile when done49 weeks ago

  • Christine S.: Love that line from “You’ve Got Mail”, too! That is one of my all-time favorite movies!49 weeks ago

  • Megan: mmm, kale — good call! i have found that roasting kale on a cookie sheet drizzled with a little olive oil and salt/pepper is the best way to eat it, and i can’t wait for it to show up at the farmer’s market!49 weeks ago

  • Ashley: love this post!
    fall is accessorizing every outfit with a scarf.
    wearing brown nail polish
    bringing out the holiday DVDs
    reading classic novels
    stocking up on hot chocolate49 weeks ago

  • Sara Rose: @POP Sarah- That would be because October IS the most romantic month. Had we not eloped we were planning an October wedding.49 weeks ago

  • Victoria Haynes: If you have not already held your annual AoGG viewing, I’m totally available. I’d add to that watching Little Women. Even though the story spans all the seasons, I definitely associate it with, like, November. It makes me want to wassail.48 weeks ago

  • nkp: I’ve kinda fallen in love with your blog just now. And with this list for that matter. Funny how things come at just the right moment. Thank you.48 weeks ago

  • citygirl: Bundling up and reading a book on the porch outside.48 weeks ago

  • Julia (Color Me Green): just wanted to let you know this inspired me to make a similar list on my own blog today! http://colormegreenanew.blogspot.com/2009/10/to-do-fall.html47 weeks ago

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Taking food and drink is a great enjoyment for healthy people, and those who do not enjoy eating seldom have much capacity for enjoyment of any sort.
- Charles W. Eliot