Fall Fun Series: Beverage & Colors

October ended with another lake trip, three more birthday parties, and multiple days of Halloween fun. After two fall months packed with activity, November is my calm before the holiday storm. I’m not skipping over Thanksgiving, but that has never been a very complicated holiday for me. Each year it never fails that I have more than one Thanksgiving dinner to attend, and traveling anywhere from one to four hours is usually part of that. I don’t mind it at all, though. I could argue that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It makes me so happy to get together, cook with my family and friends, and spend the day vegging out together either watching football or playing card games. Everyone has “their element” and apparently, this is mine. Up until that week, though, the only thing on my agenda is paying attention to the election and hoping that there is peace in the U.S. once it is all over. Life must go on…

It’s interesting observing my own patterns and the way I act according to the season or how I categorize things according to the time of year. For example, since it’s November and I know Christmas will be taking over my life soon, I feel pressured to “finish up” with my pumpkin spice body care, home fragrance, and snacks. I’ve had my fill of pumpkin spice lattes, there is no doubt about that, so lately I’ve been making caramel mocha lattes instead. An ex-boyfriend gifted me a latte machine for Christmas several years back, so I get to have the whole cafe experience: frothed milk, coffee infused with syrups and creams, and single or double serving sizes to prevent me from going too crazy and drinking a whole pot. My current boyfriend, on the other hand, does not share in my “everything according to the season” philosophy and will eat, drink, use, and smell like anything at any time of the year as desired. I’m fairly certain he cannot relate to my need to rotate scents, flavors, and colors simply because it is November now. I don’t blame him.

I’ve removed my Halloween decor, of course, but also switched some other things around. I’ve pulled out sweaters, scarves, and mittens to keep warm, and the contents of my beauty bag have darkened in their shade range. Nothing screams “I love fall!” quite like coordinated lip, nail, and accessory colors. Obviously, scents are included in this November transition of mine. I am a Bath & Body Works junkie first and foremost, so I set aside two 3-wick candles just for the beginning of November: fall 2015 Sweater Weather, and a new release from this fall, Caramel Woods. I have not mentally prepared myself enough to go through my collection and decide which fall scents I want to use before it becomes winter’s turn, but I do know there is a Pumpkin Pie large jar saved for Thanksgiving week.