This past weekend, I went to a friend’s outdoor and socially distanced wedding ceremony in New Hampshire. While mutual friends and I were wearing our masks and tossing hand sanitizer to one another at the reception- one of them jokingly told me that I needed to get myself set up in a “Hallmark Movie Romance” situation given my recent return to singledom.
Together, her and I came up with elaborate and increasingly ridiculous scenarios: I would work in a dried flower shop and fall in love with the local, rugged mechanic after my car broke down. I would move to rural Vermont and team up with the brooding, handsome owner of a family-run sugar shack to stop it from being put out of business by a major maple syrup conglomerate (and then we’d fall in love- of course.) So on and so forth- all potential scenarios being pretty much on point for what we’d expect from Hallmark movies.
I did inform her that my neighborhood was essentially something out of a Hallmark movie already- so I had that going for me, and earlier this week I took a walk through one of my favorite parts of the Pioneer Valley when I stopped by Historic Deerfield- who were in the process of decorating for the Fall.
I admittedly haven’t been through there in a long time- what with the pandemic and everything- but it was nice to be back and to be able to enjoy a long, leisurely stroll in a post-rainstorm temperature drop. I’m absolutely ready for Sweater Weather and for this humidity to take a vacation for a while.
And seeing pumpkins and gourds out on display among the rows of beautiful, very old houses and barns got me excited to dig out my own bin of Autumnal decorations this weekend so that I can liven my apartment up since it has, admittedly, been at a sort of decorative stand-still since the early days of COVID-19 back in March.
I think a change in scenery will do me some good, lift my spirits and get me feeling more festive, really. That, and I’ve been gradually making my way into some of my favorite Fall playlists- so transitioning from surfer rock and beach tunes into things like Bon Iver, Iron & Wine, etc. to sort of slow it down and get things a bit more mellow has also got me feeling my warm and fuzzy Fall vibes.
I’m excited to get out and pick my annual pumpkins, break out the sweaters and my boots- and embark on a New England foliage tour in the coming days/weeks. I know a lot of people tend to feel a little gloomy when the Summer starts seeing itself out- but Fall always makes me feel invigorated and, despite all ongoing things in my life and the world in general- even makes me feel a bit more optimistic. I’ve had more energy in recent days than I feel I had most of the Summer- largely due in part to the toxic relationships and friendships I distanced myself from by the end of August. I wrote about that experience here.
This weekend I’ll be diving right into some seasonal activities- and I’m excited to share them as I continue to blog here at “Coffee & Chiffon.” Of course, I always love to hear about your plans for the Fall (and suggestions on things to try!) so feel free to drop me a line on my social media or by e-mail- all linked above.
xo
Coffee & Chiffon 