Welcome Autumn

It is pouring outside right now. How perfect. I may be among the masses--particularly in the Great Northwest--who feel this way but...I love Autumn and I don't care who knows it.

Tomorrow marks September 22, which is the first official day of Autumn. Contrary to the rather popular belief that Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes usher in the first sign of Autumn, I prefer to let the calendar maintain its authority. I, too, get the late-summer blues, eagerly waiting for the first signs of Fall to come. I refused to give in early this year and I must say, it panned out pretty well. We were hit with a record-breaking Indian Summer this year with temperatures in the upper 90s last week. I can imagine how silly I would have felt clutching my pumpkin spice latte while beads of sweat dripped off my forehead.

Now that summer has breathed it's last fiery breath, it's time to embrace the season at hand. It is the best time of year. It is when everyone seems to shake off the travel bug, come indoors after a beautiful and warm summer in the sun and find a new, closer-to-home routine of life. It's the hunker-down, hug-your-family, and snuggle-up time. It is a time when everything seems to get quiet.

Every year I have a slew of Fall traditions and, for the most part, I try to preserve many of these traditions solely for this brief season. The brevity of Fall is a crime, really. Fall runs from late September through Thanksgiving. Although technically Fall runs through late December, who is talking about Fall on December 20th? No one. Everyone starts talking Christmas and Winter traditions once Thanksgiving has passed. Not that I'm complaining. I really do love Christmas. This year we have a special treat. Thanksgiving is rather late this year, so that means a little more time for Fall. Hooray!

I thought it would be fun to post my Fall traditions list and do my best to blog about some of them as I check them off the list. I should preface this list by saying that the items with an asterisk are items I have not actually had as a regular tradition prior to this year, but I am adding them to make sure this is the best Autumn yet.

So, stay tuned. This is bound to be the best fall yet and I'm excited to squeeze every ounce out of it that I possibly can and share my experiences along the way.

Without further ado...

Ashley's Autumn Traditions

• Blog regularly*
• Go out of my way to step on crunchy-looking leaves
• Watch movies
• You've Got Mail
• Twilight Saga (all 5)
• Runaway Bride
• Attend the Portland Apple Tasting at the Portland Nursery
• Make and can homemade applesauce
• Make homemade apple cider*
• Buy Autumn-scented foam soaps from Bath & Body Works
• Buy a basket of orange and purple mums
• Buy a new sweater
• Turn an old sweater into something for my girls*
• Read a book
• Have a soup-making day
• Drive along the old Oregon Highway to Multnomah Falls*
• Antique shopping
• Visit Joann's Fabrics
• Complete at least one Pinterest project*
• Listen to Michael Buble's "Call Me Irresponsible" album
• Send a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils to someone*
• Kayak at Bird Fest in Ridgefield, Wa.
• Watch the Swifts in downtown Portland*
• Visit Powell's Books for several hours
• Dye my hair brown with hints of red
• Enjoy at least one pumpkin pie smoothie
• Puddle jumping in rain boots
• Pick out Halloween costumes
• Celebrate Lamaya's birthday
• Bake a pie for a neighbor*
• Visit the Oregon Coast for a rainy day or weekend
• Go to a book signing*
• Watch Gilmore Girls
• Bike ride on a nicer day
• Wear stockings
• Write a letter*
• Carve Pumpkins
• Celebrate Halloween and trick-or-treat fully costumed
• Light lots of fall-scented candles
• Have fall-time family photos taken
• Visit Bob's Red Mill
• Visit a pumpkin patch
• Listen to my Autumn Playlist on Spotify

AA