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Five things I love to do in the fall

It’s a rainy—as in drench through your raincoat rain—Friday afternoon as I write this and while to some, this weather is a bit of downer, to me, I’m all smiles. Probably because I’m all about fall, which officially just arrived late this week. And while I can pretty much find something to love about every season, autumn might be the season that tops my list. So to celebrate, here’s a roundup of five of my happy fall rituals.

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It’s a rainy—as in drench through your raincoat rain—Friday afternoon as I write this and while to some, this weather is a bit of downer, to me, I’m all smiles. Probably because I’m all about fall, which officially just arrived late this week. And while I can pretty much find something to love about every season, autumn might be the season that tops my list. So to celebrate, here’s a roundup of five of my happy fall rituals.

1. Pulling out my sweater. Not just any sweater. No, this is that favourite sweatshirt we all have, tucked away in a drawer and that we pull out once the season starts chilling down again. In my case, it’s my “Sandy Lambke School of Dance” sweater, a Pepto Bismol pink, holey, barely-keeping-it-together sweater bearing the name of the dance school I used to attend as a teenager. It’s much detested around my house—really, my husband threatens to toss the thing into the garbage almost weekly and I would never want Stacy and Clinton to catch me in it. That said, the sweater shows its well-earned comfort and has made it through many milestones in my life: moving out of my parent’s home and attending university, painting the walls of my new house in it when we bought it and cradling both my newborn children in it.  

2. Apple picking. This is the activity on deck for my family this weekend. While my kids love all the fun extras that go along with picking apples—the hayrides or playing in the fun yard—me, I can’t wait to bite into a McIntosh, which is pretty much candy to me this time of year. When we go picking, we ride around the orchard and fill bags with McIntosh, Honey Crisp, Pink Lady apples and more, and then stop in the market on the way out to buy an apple blossom or apple cider. Yum.

3. Opening the windows. It’s been a sweaty summer, so that’s meant keeping our windows closed to keep the air conditioning in. But come fall, in those few weeks after we’ve turned the air conditioning off and the heat hasn’t been flipped on yet, I open as many windows as I can around the house. I love the feel of the fresh air coming through my windows, even at night when the temperature drops to say a cool +5.  

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4. Planning for Halloween. Honestly, H-day talk has been going on in my house since just before Labour Day. But now that fall’s officially here, we can really talk about how spooky we’re going to make the house this year, whether we’re going to add an audio scary track out front, what our costumes will be and what I’ll include in the bags of candy we hand out. (Chips or cheesies? Does anyone really like those molasses-flavoured Halloween kisses?)

5. Watching Fall TV. After a summer of watching reruns, bad movies and Big Brother, I’m thankful for the return of my fall shows. New (think Up all Night or Dance Moms) or returning (Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, Survivor, Dexter and many, many more…) After all, I’m not spending all my nights out at ice cream runs with the kids, running myself (I prefer to run in the daytime and daylight in the fall) or soccer practise…and I don’t hide the fact that I love TV, so welcome back fall premieres!  

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Want more happiness news? Follow me on Twitter @AstridVanDenB

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