October Mixed Bag: A Cozy Midlife Transition to Fall

For me, October has always signaled the transition to Fall more than the ramp-up to Halloween. I did enjoy the cute-overload of my kids in their costumes and pumpkin-shaped candy buckets. But once that era was behind me I was kind of over the whole Halloween thing. I much prefer the things that make me feel cozy and Fall-forward to the spiders, skeletons and other creepy decor that traditionally take up residence everywhere around me.

Even Halloween itself has taken on a different vibe in midlife. We no longer carve pumpkins. I stopped putting out the little pumpkin-shaped candles that light the way to our front door. And I’m sorry-not-sorry that we turn out our lights so as to indicate that no one is home once the super-littles on our street have come by for their candy. 

So my transition to Fall is not Halloween-themed. But that doesn’t mean I don’t mark the occasion with a few choice rituals and intentional activities. This week I’m cataloguing some of the things I’m doing to transition to Fall – welcome to the October Mixed Bag!

Fall Decor + Decluttering

A seasonal transition provides an excellent opportunity to declutter. Every year when I transition to Fall, I aim a critical eye on what decor I still have and what I actually use. For example, when I went to grab my pumpkin dishtowels from the dishtowel drawer I had to dig them out from under a huge pile. Many in the pile had holes or stains, so I decluttered them. It took less than 5 minutes.

Another example: I’ve pretty much deleted the kind of decorations I have to store in favor of things found in nature. Mums in pots. Gourds on my table. Pumpkins at our front entrance. Not only do these things feel authentically Fall, but I don’t have to store them when I’m done. I can just chuck them in the compost bin! I probably spend more money than I used to but it also feels like less work for me; that’s a good trade in my book!

Fall To-Do List

My transition to Fall is also a ramp up to the holiday season. If I knock out a few holiday-related to-do’s now, it saves me time and stress once the season kicks into gear in November. One to-do on my list this month is polishing my silver tea service. It was my grandmother’s and sits on a credenza near our dining room table. I polish it 2-3 times a year to keep it gleaming since it’s visible from almost every angle in our main living space. Sitting down to polish it now means I don’t have to do it in the crazy run-up to Thanksgiving. I add to the Fall vibe by putting a Jane Austen movie on in the background and drinking tea while I polish. It feels cozy and warm and looks so good when I’m done!

New on my Fall To-Do list this year is practicing piano. Specifically, Christmas carols. When my dad moved this summer we inherited the baby grand piano that’s been in my family for 3 generations. I’ve had a dream of friends and family singing Christmas carols around that piano like my family used to do when I was young. Now we have the piano, but my playing skills are pretty rusty! Taking 15 minutes each day to re-familiarize myself with reading the music and nailing the fingering will help me to achieve my dream come December 24th. Breaking it down into super-small pieces is how I won’t overwhelm myself and burn out.

Fall Watch List

Remember when all of your favorite tv shows would come back into your life each Fall? Well, network TV may not be a thing anymore but the streaming services have caught on to how much fun this used to be. The transition to Fall this year includes the return of so many favorites! Jay and I will cling to our last few weeks of baseball, but in between times here are the shows we’ll be tuned into:

The Great British Baking Show – Netflix. Reality TV for the person who otherwise can’t stand it!

The Morning Show – Apple TV+. I love this show, the core cast is amazing and each season they bring on some new faces. For Season 4 Jeremy Irons and Marion Cotillard join the cast!

Slow Horses – Apple TV+. If you haven’t checked this one out yet, you need to get on it. Gary Oldman stars as a washed out British spy leading a misfit MI-6 team. But my favorite is Jack Lowden as River Cartwright (dreamy.)

Shrinking – Apple TV+. I love ensemble casts and this show has a whopper! And it’s so much fun to see Harrison Ford play for laughs. Plus Jeff Daniels is joining the fun to play Jimmy’s dad – I’m certain that chaos will ensue! 

And because I’m a Jason Bateman fan, we’ll also be watching Black Rabbit (Netflix) as soon as the Word Series wraps. I know – it’s a lot! But curling up in a blanket in front of a quality show is one of my favorite parts of Fall. So when the roster is bountiful I take advantage!

Happy Fall Y’all!