list nine: things i love about fall.

I love the day when I step outside and I can feel Fall in the air. It's all fine and dandy when the first day of Fall officially arrives, but it's not truly fall until I can walk outside without sweat collecting in unfortunate places. Here in Florida we don't get any fancy color change, and we're certainly not removing our summer clothes from our closets to make room for coats and scarves, but we have our own way of doing Fall, and I think it's just perfect.

1. Pumpkins. There is nothing more exciting than pulling into the local grocery store and seeing the huge pile of pumpkins outside. In my family, there is much deliberation about which pumpkin is worthy to step foot (wait, pumpkins don't have feet!) into our household. When my sister and I were younger (and argued about almost everything) we each made a potential design for the pumpkin carving, and my dad took the care to combine them, making sure that at least one element of each of our designs was included. Then, we went to work.

2. Toastie-Warm Halloweens. I'll admit, I did not always find this precious. As a matter of fact, I remember one year my sister and her good friend dressed up as prairie girls (hello, layers) and probably felt like they were going to faint from heat exhaustion. On the rare occasion that our Halloweens decide to be breezy, it's awesome, but there is something so Florida-ish about a Halloween evening when it's 8pm, and you're walking around with a pillowcase full of candy, sweating buckets. And when you come back to your house to sort out all your loot (don't pretend you did not do this. Who else had specific piles for each kind of candy? Kit-Kats. Snickers. Dots. Three Musketeers. M&M's.) you could not be more thankful for the invention of air conditioning. And even though it's kind of awful when your beyond awesome Halloween mask is suffocating your face, it's still kind of cool, in a weird Florida it's-always-humid kind of way.

3. Camping. Sometimes Florida decides to give us some REAL fall weather and it is entirely appropriate to shirk all responsibility, buy some marshmallows, and go camping.

4. Decorations. Fall decorations are the best, are they not? It's the only time of the year when it's considered appropriate to litter the front yard with mock gravestones bearing [beyond] tacky puns about how 'Barry M. Deep' died. And, for whatever reason, it is hilarious.

5. Thanksgiving. Self- explanatory. Good food. Good people.

6. My Birthday. Yep, I'm one of the lucky ones that was born in the Fall, along with my sister. And I'll be the first person to admit that I love birthdays, especially if it's mine. (Just kidding, but seriously.)

7. Tights. This might be stretching it. It is likely that I will not be able to pull out a pair of tights until early December, but hey. Here's to hoping.

8. We could still go to the beach if we wanted to. To all the fancy people up north who can enjoy hot apple cider, and tights, and cool fall walks around the neighborhood, and a breezy Halloween, and a game of croquet in the backyard where you're sporting a cardigan (and not a tank top), you probably won't be heading to the beach any time soon. And hey, neither am I, but I totally have the option if I feel so inclined.

What are some of your favorite things about Fall?

Have a lovely weekend! xo, R.