How to Enjoy a Fall Day Despite the Heatwave
Ah, ‘Tis Autumn
“Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.”
– Jim Bishop.
While it’s only just September, that doesn’t mean we cannot call the fall to us with some cozy autumn rituals.
“It looked like the world was covered in a cobbler crust of brown sugar and cinnamon.” – Sarah Addison Allen.
If you’re like me, you’re living in what is, essentially, a big sweaty microwave at all times unless you’re in air conditioning. 110 degree weather and humidity, tropical thunderstorms, booming thunder and severe weather warnings, all do not bring a sense of cozy comfort to our world. But it does portend something else.
Autumn is coming.
Well, it should be, anyways. And I won’t tell mother nature what to do. But I’ll keep doing me!
So, here’s how I like to have a fantastic, cozy, autumnal start of the season, despite the heat.
But that doesn’t mean you cannot leave the house.
Saddle up in your car, and kick off your day with some fun fall errands!
Outfit
Okay, so no sweaters. Fine. There are still tons of options! Try shorts, shirt, and a light flannel over; tone down a dress by putting a denim jacket or flannel shirt over; hike up a maxi skirt to your chest and put a shirt on top to make it a cute short skirt combo.
Have a drink
Grab boba or an iced latte (I love having a drink in my hands as something to do/hold onto while shopping). Alternatively, have pumpkin spice syrup or flavored coffee made from home- it tastes just as good!
“There is something so incredibly nostalgic and significant about the annual cascade of autumn leaves.”
Let’s Go Shopping!
Craft Store
Head to Michael’s! Or Joann’s! Or a mom and pop craft store near you! Trust me, they have already started decorating for fall, so you should, too. They have all sorts of fun spooky and cozy autumnal things. Thrift stores also sometimes have their fall things out already. I like to pick up things I know I’ll use, like a Halloween puzzle, or yet another mug to add to the collection.
Halloween Tricks
You could also go for Target if you have other errands to get as well. I love to grab those Halloween cookies or ready to bake cinnamon rolls from there as well. Target also has pumpkins out, so I’ll sometimes grab the little ones. This year, I’d like to get my big, carving pumpkin from a pumpkin patch, so we’ll wait until it’s more in season for that.
Halloween Treats
Trader Joe’s! Okay, last grocery store on our autumn outing, I promise. But this is a hard one to skip. They have tiny little squash for only $1.50, cinnamon broomsticks, fall harvest tea and coffee, and the best apple cider.
“Books are mirrors: You only see in them what you already have inside you.”
– Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind
Go to your local library, and get a card if you haven’t! Check out a spooky book or two. There are a TON of recommended fall reads on YouTube to find your perfect genre. Like fantasy romance? Try Bride by Ali Hazelwood. Like a spooky witchy novel to get you in the mood for the season? Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom is perfect for you! Want a murder mystery? Agatha Christie has you covered.
Even picking up old children’s reads is such a wonderful trip down memory lane. Think of It’s a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, Too Many Pumpkins, Clifford’s Halloween, Max’s Halloween, and The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree. Flip through a couple of Goosebumps books and remember the terror you felt in your childhood, wrapped up in blankets and reading by a flashlight.
Even just autumnal reads like Harry Potter (paired with the movies!), The Secret History, Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Okay but also Dracula, Frankenstein, and anything by Edgar Allen Poe (The Masque of the Red Death and The Cat are my personal favorites. Watch with The Fall of the House of Usher and catch all the crazy references!). Alright, there is so much more, but I’ll stop myself for now.
7. Start a Book Club!
– Your high school English teacher, your mom, me
A really fun way to read (and keep yourself accountable) is to start a book club with friends! My friends don’t live near me, so we all picked a few dates out of the next two months where we could FaceTime and chat about the book we chose. This is a little cheesy, but I totally recommend doing it!
Here’s how ours went: We are all very organized, Pinterest-y type folks, so we had an interesting set up. To choose, each person brought three book ideas to the table (some, like me, only brought one, but that’s okay!), which were added to a randomized spinner. I also wrote them down in our Meeting Minutes shared Apple Note (yes, we took minutes, mostly as a joke, but it actually turned out to be super helpful!). We span (spun?) the spinner, and as it landed on a book, we crossed it off of our list and deleted it from the spinner. It made it feel exciting, watching as our top picks got crossed off, like a fantasy football game (at least, that’s what I’m assuming the feeling is like).
There the spinner went, crossing off titles like The Water Dancer, Giovanni’s Room, Jackal, and The Fault in Our Stars. I breathed a sigh of relief when my joke choice, Determined (it’s fantastically life-altering, but also the size of a Yellow Pages and weighs like a TV, so perhaps not the best choice for a group read) didn’t make the cut. All around, the spinner went, tick, tick, tick, until it landed on none other than… And Then There Were None. WHAAAT! That’s crazy to me! We all watched the spinner on FaceTime and gasped as the book steadily won out against all the rest. It is fate. It was the first book offered on the table, and when the group heard it, we all chittered about how cool it would be to read a murder mystery for our first book club.
8. Crafting!
Make a fall crafts like turning white taper candles into bendy ghost candles by putting them in hot water to bend and adding black painted eyes. Or, create papier mache vintage jack-o-lanterns! Or repaint old thrifted paintings into spooky versions! Or make a puzzle! The possibilities are endless.
9. Slay Vampires!
Okay, if you play Dungeons and Dragons, you’ll know that every fall, SOMEONE is going to bring up Curse of Strahd. And why shouldn’t they? It’s a fantastic horror game that has been around for long enough for people to make it into all different kinds of versions. In our campaign, I’m playing Red Riding Hood, who is looking for a cure for her grandmother who got turned into a werewolf. Other players include a mad scientist, a haunted sailor, and a betrayed soldier. We’re all coming together to rescue some women who have recently gone missing, and uncover the mystery behind the gothic Count Strahd. Reach out to your local game store and ask about when they host DnD games (you’ll be so glad you did!), or look to Roll 20 for an online version.
To end the evening…
Autumnal Night
Okay, got your fall-themed drink downed, some cozy snacks and groceries, maybe a little squash or cinnamon broomstick or two, and a book in hand? You’re ready for the BEST autumn evening! Light up a fall candle (my favorite is Leaves by Bath and Body Works. It’s not exceedingly sweet, and actually smells like a mix of apple cider and crisp oak leaves. That or The Pale Elf by Ashborne candles for a bergamot rosemary brandy blend that’s a bit more mature), bake some fall treats, play some vintage Halloween or classy autumn songs, and relax!
Play Games
Play a video game or two: I’ve recently been enjoying Stardew Valley for a cozy time, Baldur’s Gate 3 (I mean, it has vampires), Resident Evil: Village, and Skyrim for an old reliable (and lots of mods have Halloween/autumn themes!)
You could also do a fall-themed puzzle to set the mood as your Halloween cookies are baking. Yum!
Relax
I could truly, truly, go on. There are so many things you can do inside for autumn. Cook yourself a cozy dinner, play a puzzle, video game, read, cast a spell, enjoy a bubble bath with fall scents, watch Over the Garden Wall for the fiftieth time, arrange your squash. Ah, I love fall. Don’t you too? Thanks for reading!
