Fall Bucket List

With fall officially starting last week (eek! my favorite season!), I couldn’t help but start to make a mental list of all the fun things I’m looking forward to doing. …sipping warm drinks on long road trips into the mountains, bundling up in an oversized scarf to the cooling temperatures, and eating pumpkin flavored everything are just a few of my favorites. So I thought it would be fun to start a new little series highlighting a few of the things I’m looking forward to most at the beginning of each season. 

image

1. Drink something pumpkin flavored.

I’m looking forward to fitting in as many pumpkin-flavored drinks as I can this season. Whether it’s having a pumpkin beer at Avery Brewing or making my own version of a pumpkin spice latte at home (just got a Nespresso machine and love it!), I’m all about experimenting with pumpkin flavored drinks this season.

UPDATE: Love making this pumpkin spice latte recipe. Yumm!

2. Drive to Aspen to see the leaves changing.

I moved to Colorado just last year around this time and remember falling hard for the mountains at first sight. But what really solidified my love of this state was the intense colors of fall that were quite literally out of this world for me and something I still remember quite vividly. A year later, I’m still learning the best places and times to do everything, but one thing I’ve been told is to take a trip up to Aspen at the beginning of the season to see the changing of the leaves, in a place where they’re at there thickest and most beautiful. Needless to say, Aspen isn’t called Aspen for nothing. 😉 So I’m looking forward to making the long drive from Boulder to see this magnificent sight in person and start the season off in the most perfect way possible.

UPDATE: Read all about our road trip to Aspen here.

3. Go camping for a weekend.

Camping is something that Allen got me hooked on while in Texas. I still remember the first time we went camping in Davy Crockett National Forest and how perfect of a weekend it was. We went stand up paddle boarding on the the little lake there, read peacefully in our little nook of the woods, cooked hot dogs and smores all night long, and fell asleep under the stars. Since moving here last year, I’ve wanted to go camping soooo badly! But finding the right place and the right season for camping in an entirely new state climate can be a challenge (especially when you’re gone in Houston all summer long and have grad school to keep you busy every other time). But we are up for the challenge and can’t wait to find a new favorite camping spot here in Colorado. And fall seems like the perfect time to go exploring in this beautiful state of ours! (If you have any suggestions, I’d love to know!)

UPDATE: We went camping in Lost Creek Wilderness and North Crestone.

4. Go to a pumpkin patch.

I remember going to a little pumpkin patch in Tulsa when I was a little girl and recall how magical of a time it was for me. I loved picking out the biggest pumpkin in the patch and dreaming up all the funny faces we could carve into it for Halloween. So this season, I’m looking forward to bringing back this childhood favorite of mine, and am making it my goal to find the best pumpkin patch in the Boulder area–one with plenty of plump, ripe pumpkins, a giant hay maze to walk around in, and lots of apple sugar donuts and warm apple cider to munch/sip on. That’s not too much to ask, right? 😉

UPDATE: Read all about our trip to the Rock Creek Pumpkin Patch here.

5. Have a fall picnic.

I’ve always loved the idea of having a picnic in the fall, when the temperatures are perfectly cool and the colors are at their brightest. Maybe it’s the Texas in me, but summer picnics were always just a bit too hot for my comfort. For a fall picnic, I have this idea to take a nice big plaid blanket and gently set it atop a bed of fallen leaves, while we sip hot apple cider and eat finger foods out of a braided wicker basket. Sounds magical, no? I think we need to make it happen this fall.

6. Carve a pumpkin for Halloween.

I’ve only ever carved my own pumpkin once! Can you believe that?! I mean, don’t get me wrong…we always carved pumpkins as a family when I was younger and set them outside with a candle for trick-or-treaters. But I mean actually carving the pumpkin on my very own, without any help? I’ve only done that once! Allen keeps telling me that he likes to carve the really weird and unique pumpkins. He finds it’s a fun challenge to try to incorporate any irregularities into the face. So I’m excited to try carving something truly unique and quirky this year, whether it be a super warty pumpkin or one with an interesting color or shape.

UPDATE: See if you can guess whose pumpkin in whose here!

7. Cook something with a gourd.

Gourds. Gourds! I always see these used as decor, but how interesting would it be to try to cook with one and make it delicious?! Haven’t you ever been curious how they taste?! If you’ve got any favorite recipes, I’d love to try them!

8. Bake Mom’s famous pumpkin cookies.

My mom makes THE best pumpkin cookies. They are soft and chewy and covered in smooth cream cheese frosting that melts in your mouth. Naturally, I need to make them so that I can have one every single day of fall this year.

UPDATE: Mom baked me a batch over Thanksgiving to take back during finals!

9. Wear something plaid.

Fall is the perfect time to bring out all things plaid, including my favorite plaid button ups and ALL the plaid blanket scarves. Blanket scarves are seriously one of my favorite things about fall. Is that weird? I don’t care! I love bundling up in them and keeping cozy all season long! (I wore them here and here last year.)

UPDATE: ALL the plaid!–here, here, here, here.

10. Eat lots of candy while watching Hocus Pocus.

Nothing says Halloween like overdosing on “fun-sized” sugar and watching one of my all time favorite fall movies! Also, PSA: how cute is this shirt from the ladies at ABM?! I think I need one. 😛

UPDATE: See our Halloween line-up here.

What about you? What’s on your fall bucket list this year? I’d love to know!