fall favorites

Air is crisp as an apple, porches are decked with chrysanthemums and pumpkins, warm coffee and squash soups become the default menu and trees are clothed in raiment rust, gold and red.  If you’ve been around these parts of the Internet, it will be no surprise to you that I am delighted that Fall is here. In fact, I’ve pretty much been listening to Nat King Cole’s Falling Leaves on repeat for the past two weeks. Ahem.

I love this season and so many of the things it entails- it is wrapped up in so many of my favorite memories... Jumping in piles of leaves with my little sister, making pumpkin pie with my mama (read: watching her making said pie and eating it afterward), going for an autumnal hike with my dad for his birthday, Thanksgiving meals with my nearest and dearest, coming up with a Halloween costume idea and making it with my mama (read: watching her making said costume and wearing it afterward), eating an indecent amount of candy with my neighborhood friends after trick-or-treating... These days, I associate it to midterms, sure, but also the long-anticipated Thanksgiving visit from the boy. He flew back to BC just yesterday morning, but we had the most precious time exploring new corners of the city, sipping lots of good coffee, introducing him to more people in my world, going on walks and drives with Bon Iver playing and marveling at the autumn colors.  

Fall is, and undoubtedly always will be, my favorite season. 

I have been enjoying a lot of different things in these past few weeks, and thought I would share some of the things which have been inspiring me in these past few weeks: 

Reading: Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott. A beautiful account of the author's life and writing experience- she is witty and writes with such depth matched with simplicity. I am finding so much inspiration in her words to pursue this craft of writing!

Listening: Other than Nat King Cole- I have been mixing it between a few different classics; Louis & Ella, Billie Holiday, Django Reinhart, Edith Piaf. Of course, the death of French singer Charles Aznavour came as a great surprise to me last week, and I have been listening to many of his pieces as well. When in the mood for something more contemporary, I have been loving folk-alternative singer Nadia Reid- so rich in talent!

Smelling: I've been loving Ashland's Pumpkin Spice Chai scented candle. It is delightful- I can't get enough of that smell!

Wearing: Scarves, boots, sweaters. I had been saving up and hoping to get a Patagonia pullover for months and finally got one, and love it! This is by far my favorite season to dress for! 

Meditating: I have been reading psalms of prayer since early September. The latest I read was Psalm 142- what a blessed reminder that I can go to God in my brokenness and find refuge. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I have also been thinking through Ann Voskamp's powerful words, "Thanksgiving is our 'yes!' to His grace." Amen!

I'm thankful for all four!

Show-watching: This is Us- season two. I have been waiting for it to be on Netflix for months and it is finally here! The boy and I are watching them together (yes, long-distance couples can do that too- either over Facetime or just synchronizing when we watch episodes) and love it so much it hurts. 

Movie-watching: Upon my sister's adamant pleas, I watched When Harry Met Sally for the first time last week- and OH.MY.WORD what have I been doing all these years?! This rom-com is quite literally everything I love about 80s-90s movies. Meg Ryan? Billy Crystal? New York City? Love? Yes, please. 

Sipping: Call me basic all you want, but I'm a pumpkin spice latte fan all the way. I'm so glad so many local coffee shops are offering them now! I also tried my first charcoal latte this past weekend- and was a bit perplexed, to say the least. I didn't categorically dislike it, but think I'll stick with good ole' PSLs for now.

Eyeing up: I have this itch to go thrifting in the next couple weeks (ya'll know I love me some thrifting!) and am hoping to find some books and an oversized knit sweater. Since I will be graduating in a few months (eeeek!), I also want to get a McGill crewneck as a nod to these past three years there, and a way to remember my alma mater in years to come.  

Eating out: While the boy was in Montreal, we tried out the coolest brunch place ever called Barley, in Griffitown. Delicious. 

Cooking: I made Magnolia Table's spinach and leek risotto the other night. It was SUCH a good recipe. I will surely make it again!

Baking: Where to begin?! The boy and I made Betty Crocker's pumpkin pie (albeit with homemade pumpkin purée made with a gourd bought at a local market!) and these i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e pumpkin cookies which I had seen trending around the Internet over the past couple years. We cut the amount of sugar a bit for the cookies, but otherwise followed the instructions VERBATIM (and you should, too!).

Working on: Slowing my pace despite the stress of midterms (ugh), and making room to hear God's voice more clearly and love others well.

Praying for: My back/ joint pain. I don't know what's going on with me, but I have been experiencing quite a bit of discomfort, achiness and soreness since a Fall at the end of Summer. I finally am meeting with a doctor next week, and praying for some answers and healing!

Well, that's it for now. I hope this gives you an idea of my current loves and what my Fall of 2018 is looking like. I'm having fun, to say the least! 

To finish off (and avoid scaring off dear readers with my unending declaration of love to this season), here are some words of a beloved poet, Mary Oliver, who puts it perfectly in her piece, Song for Autumn: 

Don’t you imagine the leaves dream now

how comfortable it will be to touch

the earth instead of the nothingness of the air and the endless

freshets of wind? […]

Hmmmm. Isn’t that beautiful? 

Happy Fall. Let me know what you have been loving this season! I truly would love to know!

For today's post, I am liking with Katie from Cup of Tea, Della from Della Devoted, Tif from Bright on a Budget and Becky from byBMG for High Five for Friday.