{Fall Feelings} 10 Things To Do

I never tire of the novelty that is experiencing seasons. Spending the first 18 years of my life in Los Angeles, where, with the exception of El Niño, I rarely experienced anything outside of a constant, temperate 70-something degrees, I still get excited about the first brisk fall air that warrants sliding my arms back through the sleeves of my tried and true leather jacket, (though among the least expensive pieces in my wardrobe, is absolutely in the company of the most prized). While I love bare legs, and long days with the sun shining well through the evening (and conversely - loathe leaving my office to find it's suddenly dark), and feeling the surf between my toes, in nearly 10 years - watching the leaves turn color and zipping up a crisp pair of boots out of necessity and not just for aesthetic purposes still feels new and exciting. I've kicked off the fall with a short get away to Connecticut, strolls through Brooklyn's farmers markets, lots of new shoes (I'm especially fond of the Loeffler Randall rain booties that are helping me stylishly jump into puddles), seeing The Gossip in a room filled with so many of my favorite people (Beth Ditto notwithstanding), pumpkin pumpkin pumpkin EVERYTHING, and a reacquaintance with the coziness of angora.

Go to Sleepy Hollow.  

Run through an apple orchard; pick a pumpkin out of a patch; eat fruit off the vine;
bring it all home and cook up a storm.
Sneak bits of candy corn in between bites of the delicious fall harvest.

Also: mulled apple cider, hot toddies. 

Wear high socks, opaque tights, ankle boots, suede shoes.
Wooly hats, thick polka-dotted scarves, fuzzy collars.
Burgundy lipstick, orange nailpolish, dark green eyeshadow smudged across my eyelids.
 Army green parkas over a rainbow of sparkles.
Angora. Cashmere. Wool. Leather.

Ride my bike from one end of Brooklyn to the other.
Ring the bell.
Pack the basket.
(Wear a helmet.)

Drive upstate and watch the leaves turning colors.
Fall into a pile of leaves. Take a hike. Walk around a lake.
Breathe.

Dress up for Halloween with Miss B.
Go to the Halloween Parade in the West Village.
 Find a hat for my cat to wear.
Go to a haunted house. 

Read, and read, and read, and read.
There's a new Zadie Smith and a short stack of Joan Didion essays and IQ84 by Murakami still untouched.
Read them all.
Preferably outside.
Finally, subscribe to The New Yorker. It's overdue.

Have a tea party in Prospect Park, or Central Park, or Fort Greene Park - or any park, really.
 Tea, friends, a macaron or two,  cozy blankets, & the fresh autumn air.
Don't forget the Scrabble. 

See Cat Power. Visit the Discovering Columbus exhibit.
Check out new bands at CMJ Music festival.
Visit the Andy Warhol exhibit at The Met.
See the Milliners Guild hat parade.
Go to the ballet.
Watch indie films in Coney Island.

Be happy.
And have fun.
And don't put to much pressure on yourself to get-it-all-done.
After all, fall will be back faster than you know it.