Fall Fun!

It's my favorite season of the year, and every time the air starts to get cooler and the leaves begin to change, I get very excited to celebrate fall. In West Virginia, we're very lucky to have full seasons, but fall seems to be the season that flies by the most quickly. It is important to celebrate the season while it's here, and here are some ways to do so.

Idea #1: Decorate your home with seasonal items. I have several decorations that include pumpkins, scarecrows, harvest decorations, leaves, Halloween ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, and others that I have collected throughout the years that make my home seasonal, comfortable, and inviting. It's nice to come home to a house that is decorated, and it definitely makes it feel more like fall! I also have several candles that are scented (pumpkin, banana bread, mocha, apple cinnamon, etc.) that I burn that make the house smell seasonal as well. It's a nice way to celebrate the season inside your home.

Idea #2: Take a drive to see the rapidly changing colors of the leaves. When I was younger, my Mom would take me on Sunday-afternoon drives to different parts of West Virginia, just so we could see the leaves change color. We would see the leaves change from green to red, orange, or yellow, and take pictures along the way. The weather was comfortable and the sun was shining, so we had the opportunity to create such fun fall memories along the way. My husband and I now carry this tradition on ourselves, and have some fantastic fall pictures and memories to keep for years to come.

Idea #3: Go to a festival. In our area, we are fortunate enough to be close to both Ohio and Kentucky, which have just as many fall festivals as we have here in West Virginia. Each weekend there are several different options, from Apple Butter festivals to my home county's Buckwheat Festival in Kingwood, WV, that we make time for every year. It gives us the opportunity to celebrate fall and the harvest during these times, and we've been fortunate enough to taste many different types of food along the way. My favorite? Of course, Buckwheat cakes, which are made at the Preston County Buckwheat Festival, which I look forward to every year. We've also gone to the Pumpkin Festival in Milton, WV, and have sampled several different pumpkin-themed goods. Fall isn't a good season for a diet, but it's well worth it!

Idea #4: Bake and cook with seasonal flavors. Use ingredients from your garden or your farmer's market to make seasonal items. Fall is the perfect time to make use of apples, pumpkins, and zucchini in order to make cookies, pies, breads, and cakes that will make your friends happy that fall is here! It's also a good time to begin making homemade chili, soups, and stews as the weather cools down and the football games begin.

While there are several different activities that you can participate in during the autumn, I wanted to make sure to highlight a few of my favorites. It's the perfect time to be outside and enjoy your weekends, as the evenings get cooler and the time for snow approaches. It's important to take advantage of the fall season as much as you can before the rush of Christmas, and I hope I've been able to give you a few good ideas!