Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice
November 1, 2019 | by rebecca stewart
You know fall is in the air with the arrival of all things pumpkin spice. If seasons have smells and flavors, that is certainly autumn’s claim to fame. Latte lovers wait in eager anticipation of this particular seasonal change to their favorite coffee house’s menu. For someone who doesn’t do coffee (gasp, I know. Are we okay?), I don’t totally get it, but I fully support your need for all of the pumpkin spice. Whether pumpkin spice is your seasonal ride or die, we can all relate to at least some of the other beloved seasonal cues.
If fall was a look (lewk), surely it would be flannel or chunky sweaters paired with skinny jeans and this season’s boots of choice (so many gorgeous options…); the stocking hat/beanie that shouts loud and proud what phase of life you’re living (is it a fashion choice or an actual warming device?), and scarves draped around necks and shoulders…Fall is a glorious season of warm and snuggly existence.
Then there’s the food. “Fall Comfort Foods” is a very real, totally legit food category. If ever there was a time to bust out the crockpot and make all of the soups, this is the kickoff to that season of heavenly deliciousness. (We can be super enthusiastic on this front at the start of fall because we have not begun to even think about winter doldrums, when we’re so over freezing our faces off). Maybe you don’t like lattes, but you love yourself some pumpkin spice: So. Many. Options. Fall Comfort Foods is where it’s at.
We’d be remiss if we left out all of the family fun that fall has to offer. We spent the better part of October traipsing through pumpkin patches and raking leaves (okay, that’s maybe not so much fun, but hopefully there was also some jumping into piles of leaves, or at the very least joyfully crunching through fallen leaves). Quite possibly you envisioned a picture-perfect family photo session with autumn’s beautiful colors as the backdrop. These are the dreams, and even though the reality doesn’t always match our hopeful expectations, they make for great trips down memory lane.
And then, there’s the overlap – where baseball season intersects with football season. On the home front, it’s Friday Night Lights. In our literal homes it’s, well, a lot of football. Probably some yelling at the television. For baseball fans it’s seeing your post-season dreams go down in a maddening three-game sweep (lifelong Twins fan, here, but I’m not bitter. It’s fine.).
By the time we see Santa make his appearance at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and we’ve eaten more than our fill of Thanksgiving dinner, we’ll be ready for the fading of pumpkin spice and everything nice into peppermint, twinkling lights, and cinnamon delight.
Originally printed in the November 2019 issue of Simply Family Magazine
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