My Fall To-Do List
Fall is possibly my favorite season, and I always dabble between Spring and Fall - but I looove how cozy Fall is. Lighting all the candles and curling up quickly make any evening instantly better. As I'm in my own place, I think I've challenged myself to do more things. Whether that's around the house or out and about. Here's my mini to-do list for the season:
1. Pumpkin Patch. My #1 goal was to head to a pumpkin patch which I already did (woohoo!) and we took my pup Ollie along. Tbh it was mostly for him - and he was undecided about the place. He liked frolicking through the corn fields and stared at pumpkins. He even tried to eat the stem of one (?) - idk, he's a strange pup. We did try to put him in our pumpkin wagon and he was not about it. Look at the side eye on that guy.
2. Decorate the apartment. We picked up some mini pumpkins / squash while we were at the pumpkin patch and I've quickly made a little setting with them all. I'll surely take more photos over the upcoming weekend to feature them!
3. Make some Fall inspired drinks. Pumpkin spice everything is basically how I go every Fall. Call me a basic bitch, whatever - I love the stuff. Although I'm not keen on everything being pumpkin spice, I do like a good PSL. I'm trying to be better about not buying coffee frequently, but I've seen so many recipes over on Pinterest that I think I'll need to try my hand at it.
4. Make soup. One of the best things I make is my own take on Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana. That's probably one of the best "dishes" I make and all my friends come running over whenever I do make it. I do get pretty lazy about making it, but when I do I instantly feel so happy and warm inside. I'm planning on making a big ol' pot and inviting some friends over. // I also want to challenge myself and make a bigger variety of soup recipes. I def want to master making butternut squash this year for sure.
5. Cook a roast dinner. I've said it a million times, but Thanksgiving is borderline one of my favorite holidays. I know, it isn't really one of those "celebrated" holidays, but I loveeee the food. Every time I see anyone post about a Sunday Roast, I low key start drooling immediately. I've been browsing recipes online for the longest time and think I may need to test out some of those recipes. If you have any good recipes (family recipes even), please send them my way so I can try them out!!
6. Wake up earlier and go on crisp morning walks. One thing I hate is how last minute I am about waking up / getting ready in the mornings. I give myself a less than 30 minute window to wake up, get ready, and get out the door each morning before work. It gets kind of hectic and I definitely want to give myself a little more time to make a nice cup of coffee, take a walk with Ollie, and relax a bit before the day starts.
7. Read some books. I mentioned in my Life Lately post that I was reading a book with my office for our book club. I'm about 50 pages in (lol) and I need to finish that over the weekend. I'm so slow at reading but I just need to slow my pace down and just sit down and binge read. As the majority of my coworkers in book club have dogs, we all collectively decided to read A Dog's Purpose for next month's book. We've read some reviews saying it's a tear jerker, so bring on the water works.
8. Discover some podcasts. So my most recent obsession has to be Estee's podcast: The Heart of It. I have sooo much respect for Estee and the topics she takes on. She's only a year older than me but I love that she takes on challenging subjects to talk about and really gets to the heart of it. I think her most recent podcast about moms really struck close to home for me. I'm excited to hear more of them! // I know podcasts can be addicting and I'm trying to just learn more about different topics and the world altogether. I spend so much of my time listening to music which is fine, but sometimes I just need a bit of variation. Listening to these on walks, commuting to work, or even while at work help the time go by faster while giving me a little extra something to learn that day. I think I may start My Favorite Murder because so many people recommend it. If you have your favorite podcast - please send it along! Cookie points if it is also available on Spotify!
9. Have a clear out. After moving in with my boyfriend, the majority of our apartment is organized. With the very clear exception of our closet. From my old room to our new place, my closet space has probably been cut in half (if not more). My boyfriend has been so kind about giving me basically all of the drawer space and majority of the closet, but it's still a bit cramped. I'm gonna try to do a little clear out and also post some pieces over on Poshmark! In addition, I think I'll tackle my makeup stash because without a good designated area to get ready each morning, my makeup routine has immensely simplified itself. I know a lot of friends would make better use out of my collection, so I'll be letting them have their go at my clear outs.
10. Head to all the local farmers' markets. Unfortunately dogs aren't allowed to farmers' markets but for valid reasons that I can understand. I like taking my time walking around to see all the stands and to also brainstorm ideas of things to make throughout the week. This is definitely going to require me to do a lot more research throughout the week so I can put together a list of ingredients to search for while I'm walking around. I'm also keen to visit any local/handmade markets that pop up around the downtown areas so I can slowly start picking up little trinkets to decorate my home with :)
What are some of your favorite things to do during Fall? Share your to-do list / items with me!