One of my favorite podcasts is “Happier” with author Gretchen Rubin and her sister Elizabeth Craft. On the show, they make a yearly resolution to design their summer based on the following quote from Robertson Davies:

Every man makes his own summer. The season has no character of its own, unless one is a farmer with a professional concern for the weather. Circumstances have not allowed me to make a good summer for myself this year…My summer has been overcast by my own heaviness of spirit. I have not had any adventures, and adventures are what make a summer.

Every time they bring it up on the podcast, I love the idea behind it and want to try it. As I start to design, I see one glaring issue. Summers are usually chaotic for our family. Summer is when we’re picking up and moving to a new home. When we’re eating off paper plates in lawn chairs, waiting for our household goods to arrive. And then there’s the organizing and giving away, balanced precariously on a full work schedule. By the time everything has settled, it seems like summer is nearly over.

Which is fine by me, because my favorite season is fall. I love everything about fall — the colors, the smells, the crispness in the air, the food, the cozy outfits… everything. Fall also seems to be the most fleeting of seasons, and often times it feels like it slips away from me.

Inspired by the Design Your Summer movement, I decided that this year I would try to
make the most of my favorite season. This year, would be the first Design Your Fall.

For weeks, I’ve been collecting links and activities that would truly make the ultimate fall experience. I decided the best way to fully immerse myself in the season, would be to appeal to the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. Here’s what I would like to do in these few short months of fall.

Sight

The biggest of all the categories, and for a good reason. This is our first time living on the East Coast, so we’ve been busy making plans to see and do all of the things. In our current home state, there are a never-ending list of fall festivals to go to.

GRAVES MOUNTAIN APPLE HARVEST FESTIVAL

Apple picking, hayrack rides, horseback riding and all things fall! Since it’s only a couple hours away from the house, it’ll be a great little day trip to Central Virginia.

LEAF PEEPING THROUGH VERMONT

One of our friends is a Vermont native and gave us the full scoop on where to go and what to do in Vermont in the fall. We’ve planned a road trip (11 hours) to get there, so we can take in all of the colors on the way there as well. This will be our big adventure for this season and I’m so excited for it.

FALL FAMILY PHOTOS

This one is part of the 19 for 2019 list, and a big priority for me. After Lucy had unexpected surgery this year, I was reminded that we don’t have forever to capture our family as it is.

MOVING THROUGH THE COLORS (hiking, biking and everything in between)

I would like to bike the Virginia Creeper Trail in Abingdon. It’s about 34 miles, so it would be a nice day activity if we decide to camp overnight.

Also on the list is to hike the colors in Shenandoah National Park. Any time I can go to a new national park, I seize the opportunity. On the way to and from, we can drive along Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway to see the colors from the car.

We’re also looking at spending a weekend hiking and biking through Ohiopyle State Park in Pennsylvania on the Great Allegheny Passage, a 150-mile rail trail connecting DC to Pittsburgh. And no… we won’t be biking the whole thing. We’re not that crazy.

Last but not least, we’ll be running through the fall colors at the Richmond Half Marathon. Coincidentally, training for the race has already led us on an exploration of color through our own neighborhood and the surrounding trails.

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS!

Since weeknights are a little less adventure-filled, I’m going to read anything and everything that could possibly usher in the coziness of fall. This means perusing the depths of the local library, conveniently a short autumn stroll from my house. I’ll probably sneak in a fall movie or two, though nothing too scary since that’s not really my style.

Sound

Music! I’m a huge playlist person (thank you, Spotify). Certain songs just sound like seasons to me. I’ve been curating seasonal playlist for years so this one is pretty easy to identify. Here are some of my favorite playlists for fall:

Touch

Another one on the 19 for 2019 was to learn how to knit. When I asked friends how they learned, they all pointed to YouTube. For whatever reason, learning this way just did not appeal to me. I struggled with setting aside the time to find the videos, watch them, rewind, etc. In the past, I’ve enjoyed taking art classes and having a more structured, hands-on instruction.

As fate would have it, one of my random activity Googles led me to discover fibre space, a knit studio in my area! To appeal to my sense of touch, I’ve signed up for beginner knitting classes this fall season. Don’t be surprised if some scarves start coming your way.

The other way I’ll incorporate the sense of touch is by upping my fall decor game. For being my favorite season, our house is seriously lacking in looking like fall. Basically we have a wreath and a couple of metal pumpkins I decided were cool back in 2009.

On the list of decor wants are lots of textures. Anything that makes the house feel cozy and inviting, with pops of color inspired by fall in Japan. While I love getting pumpkins at the grocery store, I’m looking to invest in items I can continue to use year after year and build on.

Taste

What’s the fall season without the proper meals to match? Mark got an Instapot last year, and I’m not so patiently waiting for the weather to cool down so I can use it. Here are a few of the recipes I’m trying this season.

I’ve also picked up a handful of pumpkin snacks and drinks… like every pumpkin ale in the tri-state area.

Smell

Last but not least, I’m enjoying the autumn scents. I LOVE Bath & Body Works fall scents. If you’ve ever been to my house, you know I stock up on these spicy scents and more or less keep the fall vibes going year-round.

A couple of my favorites are:

• Leaves

• Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin

• Pumpkin Pecan Waffles

This year, I’m also experimenting with some new essential oils and stocked up on clove, cinnamon and sweet orange.

And that’s it! What’s your favorite season? Do you do anything special to mark it? If you have any fun fall traditions, I would love to hear them and try them out.