I wrote a blog post earlier this summer called “Ways I’m Romanticizing our Lives This Summer ” and y’all LOVED it. So I figured it was time to bring out it’s sequel especially considering my obvious, enduring, perpetual and borderline obsessive love of fall.
I am 100% a fall girly. I love the shifting season. All things pumpkin, cinnamon-spiked everything, cozy sweaters, and a snuggling up with a miles-long reading list. Yes, there’s a certain freedom and ease of energy that comes with the summer, but as we cozy up to the semi-cooler temps (I do live in Texas after all), fall invites us to soak up the cozy life–embracing the romance inherent in every day.
I think romanticizing your life goes beyond the dreamy Instagram visuals. While flowy velvety dresses and frolicking in a pumpkin patch while carrying an Agatha Christie book can certainly evoke the right vibes, to create romance in your normal everyday life requires orienting your thoughts, habits, and routines toward joy, happiness, and pleasure in all things—both big and small. If you’re looking to spark a little more wonder and magic in your day, here are my favorite ways to romanticize your life for fall:
1. Go inward and create space for alone time. While I love getting cozy with my husband and am excited to plan all the fall events with friends, this is a great time to embrace your own company. Solo era, main character energy—whatever you call it, create space to get to know yourself a little better this season.
2. Schedule coffee dates. Per the last tip: with a spouse, a friend, family member, or yourself. You already made time for yourself, now it’s time to carve out time with your coffee loving friends. Make a list of local coffee shops in your city you’ve been wanting to try. Or become a regular at the café down the street. Bring a book, a journal, crossword puzzle—whatever pairs perfectly with a foamy chai latte. Or an iced coffee if you’re like me!
3. Attend a high school football game. Dress in their team colors and make signs as you cheer for the home team. Friday night lights is emblematic of the fall (especially here in Texas)—and this couldn’t be a cuter way to celebrate it.
4. Pick a signature fall beverage. I might be in the minority but I’m not a huge PSL fan. I do love a hot cider, a chai latte with pumpkin cold foam, or even a hazelnut latte.
5. Cozy up your home. I drape cozy knit blankets over our couch, make the switch to our soft flannel sheets, and add some pops of fall foliage with a display vase of dried flowers. This includes sprucing up your porch decor–I love simply adding some pumpkins and a new floor mat for an updated fall vibe outside.
6. Watch all the fall movies. Our list? Hocus Pocus, Practical Magic, Good Will Hunting, You’ve Got Mail, Harry Potter, and Ghostbusters. And of course, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
7. Create a playlist for your house. While summertime sees me rocking out to all the beachy, sunny, pop infused jams, fall is about creating a cozy, quiet atmosphere. I love playing Miles Davis, Norah Jones, or John Mayer to set the perfect tone at home.
8. Go to the pumpkin patch. Buy lots of pumpkins.
9. Transition your wardrobe. For those of us in Texas, this actually means getting my fall/winter things out of the guest closed where they’ve been tucked away for the last 8 months. While fall may make me want to swap out shorts for oversized sweats and never look back, I love all the possibilities with more layers added to the mix. Find your perfect chunky knit cardigan, boots you’ll never want to take off, and all the hats you need to get you through the season.
10. Read your heart out. Maybe it’s the back-to-school season, the fact that it gets dark quicker, or simply the inclination to spend all day cuddled up under a leopard print blanket, but no season makes me want to plow through my reading list faster than fall. Get inspired with all the new releases and make progress on your TBR. Bonus points if it’s got a spooky theme to it–A Wilderness of Stars, The Nature of Witches, Once There Were Wolves, and Fable are all great reads!
11. Browse your cookbooks. If you’re like me and have a stack of cookbooks (We love Half Baked Harvest), start make a fall baking bucket list. Cinnamon rolls, apple-spice muffins, walnut banana bread and anything pumpkin are all fair game.
12. Get your dog (or cat) a cute fall themed bandana. They can sport a cool buffalo check plaid or a fun pumpkin print and you’re guaranteed to smile every time you see them in it.
13. Go to Trader Joes and buy alllllllll the fall themed items. Our favs? Pumpkin bagels, Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese, Pumpkin Cream Cheese, Apple Cider Donuts (delish!!!), Fresh & Freeze Dried Figs, and their Autumn Harvest Pasta Sauce. Don’t forget to treat yourself to some flowers when you’re there–you deserve it!
14. Break out the crockpot. Fall is an amazing time to use your crockpot/slow cooker for chili, stews, and soups!
15. Change up your morning routine. In the summer, my morning routine involved a lot of ice rolling on my face, a longer walk with Jack, and a meditation sesh. While I’m keeping the meditation going in the fall, I’m also making time for red light therapy, swapping out my ice roller for some lymphatic massage, and enjoying a bowl of my favorite apple cinnamon protein oats.
16. Puzzles. I don’t know what is is–maybe being inside more? But my family loves puzzles during the cooler months. We pick a bigger one and spread it across our formal dining room table and work on it a little bit at at time each day. What a feeling of success when we complete it!!
17. Buy pretty pajamas. Sleeping is all about feeling your most comfortable, but it can also be an opportunity to tap into your feminine energy and feel pretty just for you. Invest in something silky, lacy, or a pretty matching set. Don’t forget your Ugg slippers!
18. Volunteer. We love to volunteer at the local women’s shelter, food bank, and animal shelter during the autumn months. Spending a small part of our day to impact someone else’s life has quickly become one of the things that we value the most as a family. You can also do something simple like donating warm jackets or blankets to your local shelter–these are much needed items during the colder months.
19. Invite friends over for a potluck. Keep it simple, but channel a romantic vibe. Light a few candles, buy a simple fall floral bouquet, and make sure your home is all cozied up for your friends. Assign everyone a course, and delight in the joy of gathering together to eat cozy, comforting food.
20. Use your “special occasion” items. That nice dress you’ve never had a reason to wear? Wear it on your next date with your spouse. The china you inherited from your grandmother? Use it to serve your favorite meal and talk about Grandma over dinner. The expensive perfume you got for your birthday? Wear it on a Tuesday with your favorite cardigan. There’s never a perfect time to use your nice things—enjoy that time now.
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