Sharing All My Cozy Fall Favorites

Plus The Best (And Easiest) Hot Chocolate Recipe Ever!

Fall arrives slowly in Colorado; as August draws to a close, the early morning air takes on a faint chill. With the coming of September, the leaves on our cottonwood tree begin to turn yellow at the edges, and the silage corn fades from green to gold. The rain comes more gently, more often.

The sunlight shifts from its brash summertime direction to a more subtle, southerly angle, peering sideways through the front windows in the morning, shedding its blistering white heat for a richer, orange warmth.

If you couldn't tell already, fall is my favorite season.

Summer is fast: With county fair, camps, and fundraisers, everything is going 100 miles per hour. When autumn comes, the world begins to slow down, as if the earth can sigh in relief after the heat of summer and the chaos of allergy season. With the first freeze, I can safely go outside again without fear of itchy eyes or chest congestion.

More and more, I've started to acknowledge the shift in seasons, taking as much time as I can to enjoy it. This year I'm going all out - engaging in every autumn activity I love, starting a new project for the new season, and consciously slowing down when possible. Seeing how it's become so important to me, I wanted to share some of these things with you.

Here are my favorite writerly (or just favorite in general) things to do during fall!

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NaNoWriMo Prep

This is a big one. If you don't know what NaNoWriMo is, it stands for National Novel Writing Month, which takes place during all of November. The idea is to write a novel, or 50,000 words, in 30 days.

Yeah, it's a lot.

I've participated in NaNo for the last three years. While it can be easy to get caught up in stats and word count, it gives me a huge boost on whatever project I'm working on and takes off some of the pressure to make it 'good'. (I'm planning a whole post about NaNoWriMo in October, so keep an eye out for that!)

Now, a lot of people take full advantage of the NaNoWriMo site's prep and outlining resources; I don't. There are some really great templates, especially if you require lots of outlining and planning for a new project - but you know by now, I'm a chaotic pantser (flying by the seat of my pants) who barely writes anything down beforehand.

That said, there are still things I do to prepare for NaNoWriMo:

- Decide whether or not I actually have time for it

- Anticipate what project I'll be working on at that time, and whether I want to begin a new one or finish a current one (my books tend to end up well over 100,000 words)

- Update my NaNo profile to match said project

- That's about it

If you're a plotter who absolutely loves all the prep and outlining that goes with NaNoWriMo, by all means have at it!

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Workplace Aesthetic

While I don't currently have a desk, most of my writing is done sitting on my bed with my dog nearby, making it a central location for my work. One of the simplest things I do to change aesthetics is choose a new desktop background, and/or theme colors. Sometimes this coordinates with seasons; often it has something to do with my current project.

I also have a string of LED lights hung on one wall, where I like to display finished drawings and posters. I switch these out often with the seasons, and add more when I create something new.

For the rest of my room, I rearrange things and set out cozy, fantasy- and fall-themed keepsakes and knickknacks like glass bottles, candles, lanterns, and any other decorations that catch my eye.

This is the time of year when I start getting out my wool, yarn, and knitting supplies so I can get ahead on Christmas gifts. I often have handmade gloves, hats, Christmas stockings, and socks draped here and there.

When it starts to get cold outside, I put on the socks I've made for myself and slip my generally chilly hands into fingerless gloves to keep them warm while I write or read. The dog curls up at my feet for her afternoon nap, and I can look out the window at the turning trees and bright blue or slate-gray sky.

Sometimes I open the window and listen to the leaves rustle in the wind and the geese flying overhead. I pretend I'm living in a clean, cozy frontier cabin, where there is plenty of time to enjoy the crisp air and sunsets.

Other times (and this may work better if you live in town,) the day calls for a fall-themed ambience video. When I find a good one, I like to let it play in the background while I clean or write.

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Wardrobe

This is a true mark of the change in seasons: I pull out my underbed boxes, and exchange some of my warm-weather clothes for thicker, layered apparel. Shorts and light capris go in the boxes, and long-sleeved shirts and fuzzy pants get to see the light of day. I don't go completely to sweaters and coats, because the weather here can still get hot during the day, but I love to dress in layers that I can adjust as needed.

I start wearing more tank tops with light jackets, rather than T-shirts, and my beloved flannel shirts get to make their first appearance when it rains. Hoodies and headscarves join the party too. I start putting my hair up in looser, more bohemian styles, less concerned with keeping it off my neck than I am when it's 98 degrees out.

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Kitchen Stuff

I'm not much of a cook, but I love to bake and make warm drinks on the stove. As the outside temperature falls, I start making cookies more often. To keep up with drinking enough water, I set aside the multiple glasses of ice water and return to sipping on hot tea. An electric kettle makes this much easier, but you can also heat up water in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove.

As much as I love tea, sometimes the day calls for something a bit. . . richer. But packaged hot chocolate mix tends to taste like paper and desperation, so I prefer to make it from scratch.

Printable Hot Chocolate Recipe!

Hot Chocolate Recipe

.pdf

Download PDF • 26KB

I've also discovered how to make chai lattes at home. This is more complicated, but so worth it! I follow this recipe from Live Simply, but with a couple of changes: Using brown sugar rather than maple syrup (most of the time), and I cut way down on the ginger and add 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves for a less spicy taste.

I also love apple cider, apple butter (look it up if you don't know what it is, it's the best thing to ever go on sliced bread) and chocolate covered pretzels!

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Music

So I realized this year that I had no playlist for the music that I associate with autumn and comfort. . . Of course, this required immediate remediation. Words are important, but music is everything else.

Fall is the season of flutes and violins and bluegrass, pumpkin pie spices and freshly stacked wood. Everything is warm and rich, but the hint of chill and frost is never far away.

Maybe you define fall differently; maybe you live somewhere that doesn't get cold, or maybe it's already snowing for you. Either way, I'm super excited to share this playlist with you!

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Armed with my chai latte, fingerless gloves, and the perfect music, there's no better way to spend a fall morning than immersed in a good story - whether that means writing, reading, or just daydreaming while I watch the leaves blow.

Happy fall, mate!

- Lydia