I love to live seasonally as much as possible. Some things just seem more “right” at certain times of the year. Since this year is about WELCOME for me, I thought I would show you a few ways I welcome each season. This process definitely evolves over time, and I have more ideas for how to welcome seasons in the future. However, here are some things I’m welcoming right now as autumn begins where I live.
In my part of the world, autumn means cooler weather, colorful falling leaves and harvest. The main holidays are Labor Day, Halloween and Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S. Our family chooses not to celebrate Halloween. We also have three birthdays in our house during these months. Autumn is also known as Fall, but the world “fall” just doesn’t have the same appeal as “autumn” to me. For me, autumn begins when Labor Day is over and ends after Thanksgiving. The official beginning is the autumnal equinox which is September 22 this year around 3:20 PM.
Traditionally, we take lots of hikes in the autumn and visit a farm and choose pumpkins. I’m not sure how those things will play out here in our new area.
FOOD
One project I did last year was to build a family cookbook by placing our recipes seasonally through the year. We have traditional meals we cook for different holidays. And, if the holiday is held elsewhere, we have traditional foods we take for those holiday celebrations.
I try not to indulge in my first Pumpkin Spice Latte until after the first day of autumn, but I was more eager to get started this year, I guess. I’ve had one (or more) already this season. We eat more soups in the autumn months. The first one I made this season was Tortellini Zucchini Soup, one of my favorites. We also have lots of pumpkin recipe favorites. My husband makes his late mother’s pumpkin roll and pumpkin pies for our Thanksgiving holiday. My contributions are either our family’s Sweet Potato Casserole or Cranberry Salad to go along with the turkey. For the rest of the month, I like to make oatmeal, my Granny Smith Apple Pie with Honey Spiced Whipped Cream recipe, and this Caramel Apple Pizza.
CLOTHING
I typically change out my outfits only twice a year, for spring and summer then for fall and winter. Of course, there are a few things that I wear only in fall and only for the Christmas season so there is a little overlap there. I wear dresses and skirts only so colors and materials matter to me for warmth in the colder months and coolness in the warmer months.
I did wait until the first official day of autumn to change out my clothes. I’m looking forward to sweaters and heavier skirt and dress materials. The weather today cooperated with a rainy 60 degrees F. Next week, we’re supposed to see temperatures in the high 70s and even 80, so I’ll keep a few lighter-weight things handy.
MUSIC
I love music, so I’m a Spotify fan. I can build my own playlists for practically anything. The idea of seasonal playlists came to me rather recently, though, from blogger and author, Myquillyn Smith (aka The Nester). Her sister, Emily Freeman, has also started sharing seasonal playlists. I can’t vouch for every song on each of these lists, since I haven’t heard them all. However, they are in general very “autumn” feeling. Check them out here and here.
HOME
I don’t decorate much for autumn, but I am still enjoying changing out the decorations on my coffee table. I have decor involving pumpkins that are not orange (I do not like the color orange much) planned for later in October. For right now, I transitioned from summer with an in-between fresh flower arrangement and some autumn children’s books.
Autumn candle scents are some of my favorites. I’m finishing out a few summer scents before bringing out the apple and pumpkin candles. I’ve already purchased one. Some vanilla scents still smell wonderful in the cooler months, and you can always win with a coffee-scented candle.
STAYING WELL
One unpleasant thing the cooler months bring is illnesses like colds and flus. I’ve always tried to be mindful of how to keep us healthy, but it has become so much more important in the last year and a half. Year-round, we would not be without our vitamin C. We all take it every night at dinner. If someone is sick or exposed to illness, we take double. My favorite brand is Ester-C, but for those who can’t swallow pills, I get a chewable or gummy. My husband and I take an even bigger assortment of immune boosters to help (we hope!) ward off illness.
If someone starts getting sniffles or a scratchy throat, I make echinacea tea from echinacea leaves. I used to make a syrup with echinacea, ginger and raw honey, but it made one of my kids very sick. Apparently echinacea isn’t always the best thing to give to kids. We take Sambucol the minute someone starts feeling unwell, too.
I’m not a huge oil enthusiast, but I do use the oil that smells like Vicks (you have one no matter which oil camp you’re in) to help breathing and asthma issues. When I’m really feeling like being a natural mama, I treat sore or scratchy throats with oil pulling using virgin coconut oil and the orangey-cinnamon oil (again, you know what it’s called in your brand of choice). Who am I kidding….I’m the only one who will actually do this, but it does help. We also treat ear infections with aloe ear drops before rushing to get an antibiotic.
We all know the best ways to keep well even if we let them lapse. Wash hands frequently, stay away from people who are ill, don’t share drinks or utensils and eat more nutritious foods. Avoiding sugar and drinking more water are essential but difficult to do with cooler temperatures. My wishes are for you and yours to have a very healthy autumn!
What do you do to welcome autumn into your life and home?