Thanks to Nevillegirl for this tag. Seeing both she and The Magic Violinist do this prompt made me stop and enjoy and catch the blog tag bug. I miss blogging and I'm stopping what I'm doing right now (I tend to get hyper focused and it's difficult sometimes to pull myself out to do something fun for myself) to also participate.

Just one of the gorgeous views out the back of our house

What is your favorite fall month?

I like September because it often still feels like summer and that's when we go to the beach. I also love November when the trees are all beautiful and colorful and everyone is excited about NaNoWriMo and coffeeshops. :)

Do you have any fall traditions?

Our annual beach trip, Halloween, visiting The Renaissance Faire, eating out of pumpkins, trips to visit coffeeshops, starting up with our fall TV lineup, getting into more of a school groove, and NaNoWriMo all come to mind.

What music do you like to listen to in fall?

I think, like The Magic Violinist, that I transition from more upbeat, pop "summer" songs to more folksy, melancholy, reflective songs. I also can't help but think of Gilmore Girls soundtrack music, because Stars Hollow is all about the seasons and I think fall is one of the first ones to come to mind when I picture it. Also, Harry Connick, Jr. reminds me of my freshman year at college and the fall time of year when I met and started to fall in love with Mark.

What is your favorite fall outfit?

I'm all about hoodies and cardigans when it gets chillier, but not freaking cold. I think jeans, a nice shirt, and a cardigan are pretty classic. I always miss giving up my sandals (and when inside I wear my soft slippers or fuzzy socks), and generally trade them out for boots.

What is your favorite fall scent?

Leaves, wood-burning stoves, and pumpkin/cinnamon scents all come to mind off the top of my head. Every year, we get a bag of those cinnamon-scented pine cones and they always make our mudroom smell festive. Oh, and probably coffee, because coffee shops and NaNoWriMo.

What books get you in the mood for fall?

Harry Potter and classics. Gothic novels come to mind (including Rebecca, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Jane Eyre) as well as familiar, cozy books like Little Women, The Secret Garden, and Anne of Green Gables.

Do you enjoy fall weather?

It's okay. I don't like being cold, so I prefer hot, summer days, but fall isn't as cold as winter, so.

What is your favorite fall food?

I don't know how to choose, but I'll say that as every season changes, I kind of burn out on the food of the outgoing season, so it's nice that we have changing seasons to get us eating different things, too. With fall comes pumpkin (I cook dinner in them for our family every fall), sliced apples dipped in caramel, chili, crockpot meals like chicken and dumplings, enchilada soup, taco soup, creamy vegetable soups, creamy chicken pot pie, pies, cobblers, crisps, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pasties, cinnamon rolls, and more. I think we tend to make a lot of Indian food at this time of year, too.

Apple pie or pumpkin pie?

Depends on my mood, but a small sliver of each is good, especially if they're homemade. I'm more about the savory foods, though. (And my favorite pie is probably peach pie).

Hot chocolate or warm apple cider?

I like both, though I probably prefer Hot Cocoa because it's not as sweet.

Do you like pumpkin spice lattes?

Yes, as long as they're not too sweet. I kind of prefer either mochas or straight coffee with milk and no sugar. Or tea. Or cocoa. I'm not a fan of anything super sweet. Chai can be nice in the fall and winter, too. Oh, and butterbeer!

Tea or coffee?

It depends. More often, green lemon tea with milk is my favorite. But sometimes a nice croissant in the morning with some milky coffee is also delicious. Kate and I recently attended a British afternoon cream tea that was so lovely! We tried different teas, scones, and clotted cream. It was all so good! I especially liked the Contessa Grey tea. Yum.

Do you like candy corn?

Not really, no.

What is your favorite past Halloween costume?

Funny enough, I don't have many memories of dressing up for Halloween as a child, but as an adult, I've done more cosplaying for things like Harry Potter parties and the Renaissance Faire and steampunk events. I love steampunk outfits, because they're so awesome. I recently sort of morphed some steampunk and pop culture together and rocked a Gilmore Girls fangirl shirt with a steampunk skirt and boots and I gotta say, I felt pretty sexy in it.

Who/what did you dress as for Halloween last year?

I don't think I dressed up this past year for Halloween, though I did dress up for the Renaissance Faire stuff (steampunk again).

How do you plan to spend this Halloween?

Um, well, it's already passed, but I made dinner in individual pumpkins for our family and then met up with friends for group pictures. Mark took Max trick-or-treating with friends, and Kate handed out candy here at the house while reading Stephen King on the porch. How apropos!

What is your favorite Halloween candy?

Reese's peanut butter cups, duh.

Do you enjoy carving jack-o’-lanterns?

Sure. I think I enjoy the glowing finished project more than the process, though.

Do you like to visit creepy graveyards?

Not particularly, though I've enjoyed a couple of visits to some specific graveyards, including one in Jamestown, New York, on a trip to visit "I Love Lucy" sites (she's buried there, too) and I've been to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, MA twice and that's a super cool place to visit, because you can visit the graves of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, Bronson Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, David Thoreau, and others at Authors' Ridge. Louisa May Alcott's grave often has little gifts of pencils and pens that people leave there. Emerson's often has leaves and twigs and rocks. When I was growing up, I used to ride my bike up the street. The road would turn from paved to dirt and a little farther up, I could visit an old, run-down cemetery with hard-to-read tombstones. I used to have fun exploring that by myself.

Cats or bats?

I'm allergic to cats. We had a bat in our house once and while we were a little freaked out, the bat was super cute hanging out on our curtain rod.

What is your favorite scary movie?

I don't like scary movies.

Halloween or Thanksgiving?

Um, believe it or not, Halloween is probably edging out Thanksgiving for me, because my kids LOVE it. Max loves to dress up and is always so excited about it. Both of them enjoy cosplay and geeking out over favorite characters. And, you know, there's chocolate and candy and eating out of pumpkins. Thanksgiving is great, don't get me wrong, but the traditional meal isn't our favorite, so it's a lot of work for something we're so-so about. It can feel a bit lonesome for us, too, without visitors. When people come, it's more festive. We've had a few bummer Thanksgivings, so I don't know. We sometimes get creative and go rogue and do Mexican and play games. That's fun. Sometimes we get together with friends. Sometimes we do traditional stuff. It varies. I think NaNoWriMo overshadows Thanksgiving. I do like the gratitude traditions we have - nightly, the gratitude door (where we spend all November writing down things for which we're grateful), and the ABC gratitude list before Thanksgiving dinner.

What is your least favorite thing about fall?

When it starts getting cold. Brrr.

What is the best thing about your town during fall?

We live in a small town so it's GORGEOUS in the fall. This is, hands down, one of the most beautiful places I've ever lived. So many areas look like picture postcards and there are so many trees and the foliage is just gorgeous. Our view every day from our windows is of trees, trees, and more trees. Along a creek even! Driving around, walking around . . . it's all so pretty. We also love our local park and seeing the colors change and the leaves fall and the geese in the fields near the lovely creek . . . it's all so picturesque. The town does traditional things, too, like crock-pot cook-offs, fall festivals at the park, and pumpkin walks. And there's a real community feel about Halloween. Oh, and there are tons of farms, hayrides, pumpkin patches, campfires, and corn mazes. We've recently discovered the wonder of apple cider donuts, too. Yum! (Huh. Somehow we got back on food. Shocking.)

What is your favorite fall memory?

Well, that has to be meeting and developing a friendship (and then romance) with Mark our freshman year in college. We would talk for hours on end (still do) and we'd stay out late walking around together and playing Trivial Pursuit. We has a political science class together. We'd walk to classes together quite a bit and he'd always carry my bag for me. 4 years later, we got engaged in the fall, too. We started our business in the fall 9 years ago. We homeschool our kids, so there's always some educational excitement in the fall. We visit the Ren Faire, go to the beach, dress up for Halloween, look at the gorgeous fall leaves, do NaNoWriMo, etc. Lots of fun, fall memories. Oh, and now with fall trips to NYC for Broadway shows, well, that could be a really fun tradition we're starting. :)

Fall Semester 1992 (Dating)

Fall 1996 (Engagement Picture)

What is one thing you’d like to try during fall, but haven’t?

I have no idea. As a mom especially, I've done (and do) so many things! We do pumpkin patches, corn mazes (we even did a geeky one this year), fun foods, trick-or-treating, cosplay, NaNoWriMo, fall festivals, annual beach trips, hayrides, dinner in a pumpkin, mummy hot dogs, writing in coffee shops, fun fall drinks, campfires . . . so many things I didn't ever do as a kid (except trick-or-treating). I love being a mom and doing these things with my family!