Happy Fall Y’all! I honestly laughed when I got back to Philly after spending a few months in North Carolina because it was COLD here! After a summer in the South, I got used to 100 degree weather and most days it’s 60 degrees here in Philly. The change in weather is getting me excited for the change in seasons. Fall is going to look different for all of us. Right now, Jake and I are debating whether we will even go to a farm to do the usual pumpkin picking this year so I wanted to make a list of fun things to do this fall so we can celebrate in our own way where we feel safe. A lot of us were not expecting this pandemic to last long so I want to avoid getting into a slump and enjoy fall in a different way this year.

Get your planner out and make some plans now to make this fall special in its own way.

Buy Real and Fake Pumpkins

I hope to make my way to Trader Joe’s soon and get some real pumpkins soon! For now I am so happy I have accumulated some faux pumpkins so I can easily decorate without having to buy pumpkins every year. I found some amazing ones and put them in a blog post here.

Get Mums at Hardware Store

In the past I would buy mums at Home Depot or Lowes and this year I want to shop small. Shopping for fall mums and flowers is a great and easy way to support local businesses right now. We got flowers and soil at Rittenhouse Hardware in the spring and they had a great selection right down the street from us. Even though we don’t leave the house often, I want our front door to look welcoming for me because it’s such a fall tradition. It’s also going to encourage me to go outside and sweep our sidewalk to keep it clean which is a big task in a city!

Try New Coffee Shops

I want to make it a weekly treat to take a long walk and try new coffee shops around Philly. There are so many cute coffee shops in walking distance so I have a list of places to try in a note in my phone to try. It’s also an excuse to put on real pants and get a long walk in so it’s a win-win! I never imagined I would go this long without buying coffee and it’s nice to save money, but I miss sipping a hot coffee while I walk around the city admiring the sights.

Decorating My Home

I love decorating my home in the fall with cozy blankets and candles. With just a few small changes in my house, it gets me excited for the changing season. I like to get items that I can use year after year so I got some great faux flowers to use around the house. Target and Walmart have some great affordable options! And most importantly, you can’t forget about the fall hand towels! Our guest bath is super cute in the fall with some fall decor and fall themed hand towels…. for the guests we won’t have. Oh well!

Closet Swap for Fall

This year I am swapping out my summer clothes to my fall clothes differently. Usually my closet holds all of my work clothes and I rarely see my cozy fall clothes because they are jammed in a drawer. This year, I brought out all of my favorite fall clothes and put work clothes that are not being worn right now into storage. Clothes that I know I will not wear anytime soon are in labeled boxes in our basement so I can easily get to them if needed. My current wardrobe is t shirts and comfy clothes so I want those to be easily accessible so my office clothes are going to storage! It has definitely helped me really think about how much I have and how much goes unworn because there is no room for it.

VOTE!

Make a plan, register to vote and volunteer in any way that you can! You can go to VoteSaveAmerica.com to learn how to vote and how to get involved in your state.

Halloween Movies

Freeform has their Halloween movie lineup posted for October and I am so excited to light a fall candle, get cozy under a blanket and watch one at night! Jake and I are being more intentional with our time together so even though we are both home all the time, we are making plans to do things together. On Fridays, we have been ordering in and watching a movie together and now we can plan on watching Halloween movies together to get into the holiday spirit.

Long Walks

My goal is to go on a walk everyday to get some steps in, more specifically 10,000 steps. It’s a great excuse to also get some fresh air after being home all day. I got spoiled being in the South because I spent most of my day outside so I want to keep doing that. Jake and I plan on walking around the city or taking advantage of the hiking trails nearby on the weekends. I am so excited to enjoy this fall weather! For a while I dreaded going on errands because it’s a long walk to everything but I want to look at it as an excuse to get some air on a long walk.

Try New Recipes

Jake and I have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen making dinner together and we want to keep trying new recipes this fall. On our long walks we can go to Trader Joe’s and our grocery store to stock up on ingredients to make sure we have a stocked kitchen. We are still having our produce delivered through Giordano’s so we eat really healthy and have shifted to more clean eating instead of eating processed food. I’ve been spending a lot of time on Pinterest saving recipes and bought some new cookbooks to try new things. Bring out the crock pot because it’s chili season!

Get Dressed

And finally, as a promise to myself I want to get dressed everyday. It’s something I started to do this summer and not only did it help improve my mood and give me energy, but I was happy to wear my clothes. My closet has amazing clothes and a great fall wardrobe that should be worn, right? Get dressed everyday for yourself, I promise you won’t regret it!