Ignore the Heat and Enjoy the Season with My Fall Favorites

It may be almost 90 degrees outside here in Chattanooga this week, but it is the first day of fall! That means it's time for another round-up of my favorite entertainment picks to help you make the most of this season.

Fall is probably my favorite season. My birthday takes place in the fall along with Thanksgiving, Halloween and the beginnings of Christmas (don't fight me).

The changing of the season always makes me ambiguously nostalgic, and I love the feelings stirred up by cool mornings and blue skies. Maybe it's like this for you, but for me there are specific moments in time I picture when I think about fall. A particular hiking trail as the leaves change, looking out the open windows driving down a specific road, sitting on the bench outside my college dorm with a book and some thumbprint cookies, the first sip of a Pumpkin Spice Latte. All of these moments feel like fall to me. As my favorite season, I love recreating those feels as much as possible entering the fall months. Switching up my entertainment choices really helps me embrace the spirit of fall.

I believe every season requires different entertainment options. You need to refresh your music, reading, Netflix, and snacking choices every time the season changes. I've already given you some choices for spring and summer, and now I'd like to introduce to you my picks for a nostalgic, melancholy, sweet fall season.

Listen to This:

Instead of making you read a list of song titles, I wanted to give you an interactive experience for the musical portion of this post. I made you a playlist of some of my favorite songs this fall. Listen to them by the campfire, with your windows down, or while reading this post.

I present to you - the Fall Feelings playlist. Click on the image below to go to the playlist on Spotify. (Or click here)

Track List

1. Elysium - Bear's Den 2. Birds of a Feather - The Harmaleighs 3. Running For So Long - Parker Ainsworth 4. Gale Song - The Lumineers 5. Crow - Bear's Den 6. I Keep Ticking On - The Harmaleighs 7. From the Right Angle - Dawes 8. Have It Your Way - Nina Soro 9. Lego House - Ed Sheeran 10. Donna - The Lumineers 11. Love & War In Your Twenties - Jordy Searcy 12. Heavy - Birdtalker 13. Death By A Thousand Cuts - Taylor Swift 14. Mess - Noah Kahan 15. Blue Spotted Tail - Fleet Foxes 16. Bird On A Wire - Johnny Cash 17. Twinkling Lights - Annalise Emerick 18. Feels a Lot Like Love - Anchor + Bell 19. Hold My Girl - George Ezra 20. Light On - Maggie Rogers

Read This:

The Touch Series:

I read this series for the first time in high school, but never finished the final book. It follows a high school girl named Camelia who discovers she has the power of psychometry. Simply put, when she sculpts pottery, she sometimes gets glimpses of the future. She uses her powers to solve mysteries and crimes and save a few lives along the way. It's complicated though, because even though she knows this is a legit ability, it sometimes makes her feel like she is going crazy. Like all good YA novels, there's a love triangle. It's an easy series to breeze through, and that nostalgia of having read them in high school make this the perfect series to read this fall.

The Wondering Years

Written by Knox McCoy, the host of one of my favorite podcasts (The Popcast), this book is a warm and hilarious memoir/reflection on life, faith and pop culture. I read during my lunch break, so it's a little awkward how often I was laughing out loud in my office while reading this book. Knox has an impressive gift to discuss things that have a lot of depth along with humor and heart. It's rare for a book to make you laugh out loud multiple times, and also make your eyes a little misty at other times. It's a cozy book to read during the fall months, so pick one up asap!

Eat This:

Something I'm just now realizing as I'm writing this post is how much food is tied up in fall for me. Here is a list of some of my favorite fall treats:

1. Chai Latte: But not just any chai latte. You do have to be located in a specific geographical location to enjoy this one, so unless you're in or around Cleveland, TN, search elsewhere for something similar. However, if you're in Cleveland, the only way to do fall is to get a vanilla chai from Inman Coffee. Have them make it with almond milk and half the chai *chef's kiss*. Life changing. Enjoy with some thumbprint cookies from the Village Bake Shop and a good book.

2. Pumpkin Pie: Duh, right? I grew up on my grandma's pumpkin pie, which I could only get a taste of at Thanksgiving every year. In the past few years, I've taken over making this for the fam. Even if no one else liked this pie, I'd make it every year. Serve with a generous portion of whipped cream.

3. Fresh-baked Bread: Here's a fun fact about me. When I'm really stressed out, or just looking to really relax my mind, one of my favorite things to do is bake bread. It's one of those things that I think a lot of people are intimidated by. It seems like it should be very difficult. While it does take time and patience, it's not too hard to learn how to make some basic breads from scratch. Here's the first recipe I ever tried.

For me, all of these things make me feel like fall is truly in the air. Fall is about traditions, about things that have happened before us and will continue on beyond us, about quieting yourself and enjoying small things. I constantly feel inspired in the fall, which is good for my writer's heart. It's a beautiful season full of changes, letting go, and death that will one day lead to rebirth. I love fall, if you couldn't already tell.

What things make you feel like fall is here? Let me know in the comments! Be sure to listen to my playlist all fall and follow me on Instagram for updates. You can also subscribe to my newsletter for emails, as well as notifications of new posts.

Thank you for reading. I wish you a magical fall season.