"A change is in the air; a great mellowing is at work. It's in the wind, in the earth, inside each and every one of us. And somewhere, not far off in the distance, woodsmoke is seasoning the evening sky.
Each year, autumn arrives all bluster and, like an old friend, invites us to come outside and enjoy a few more days of color and light. In the fall, we watch the sky. We listen for rain. We stop to watch the trees and their painted leaves. We pack away our beach chairs and unpack our woolen socks. We settle into our long pants and our sturdy boots and our trusty old raincoats. We return to books half-read and sweaters half-knitted and favorite old recipes, written in our mother's hand. This time of year, we remember our love for pumpkin and pecans; we pick barrels of apples and bake with buckets of cinnamon.
Each year, autumn reminds us to return to the routines that anchor our lives in time. We feel nostalgia deeply and embrace ritual fiercely. We go home again. We relive glory days. We gather together in September stadiums, around October bonfires, and at long November tables. And in the shadow of the dimming natural world, we tell and retell tales.
So, let's harvest all the light and goodness that we can. Here and now, during the sweet golden hour of the year."
(As written in Magnolia Journal, by Austin Sailsbury)
In many ways, September is like a January for me. With the start of a new school year and a big change in how our days and nights look, I've found the importance in setting aside time for intention and focus in order to usher each new season well. In August, I always find myself in a sprint to squeeze the most out of all that sunshine. We stay up late, eat easy meals on the deck, at the pool, or on a blanket in the grass, and we jump from one adventure to the next knowing all too well that the long warm days will soon be gone. And while every June I close my eyes tight and wish for eternal summer, September always blows in like an inviting wool blanket around my shoulders. This season calls me home more than any other and I welcome the slower, cozier pace more every year. From long-stretched dinners around the table, getaways to see and savor how beautifully golden our fields turn, or the sweet, simple details like something warm to drink or a cozy knit sweater to slip into, there is much to embrace in the fall.
So come on inside and I'll make you a cup of tea. We can curl up with a blanket and open pretty fall magazines and comfort food cookbooks and savor this sweet, special time of year...
Mums and funky pumpkins for the porch
We moved this cozy reading chair from our bedroom to the living room one night before small group and it's stayed put ever since. I love it here right by the fireplace and right by the picture window. I think it will stay until Christmas as our perfect perch for all the fall books and morning cups of coffee.
Fall scented candle spree at Bath and Body Works.
A Sunday afternoon at Barnes and Noble, stocking up on some new seasonal kids' books and a pretty stack of fall magazines for me.
Set intentions for many meals around the table. Cider donuts and hot cocoa for an early after school snack, pancakes and pour-over coffee on Saturday morning, charcuterie and family game night, and weeknight tomato soup and grilled cheese after football practice. A teapot of milk and cookies for something special, fresh pie with orchard apples, a big pot of spaghetti and creamy burrata with the last of our garden tomatoes.
A set table, a bottle of nutty red wine, a candle for ambience, and a set of table topics to spur some good conversation, laughter, and banter
A really great playlist - Ashley's Fall Vibes
And a bucket list! Here is ours this year...
