activities for fall, from tangerine.

today's post is coming to you from me! i've told you before how much i love fall. i love the smells! i love eating pumpkin everything, i love that good crispness in the air, i love halloween, i love wearing scarves and tights. mmm. but here are a few things i like to get out and do during fall:

donut falls, taken with instagram.

1. participating in conference weekend festivities.
october conference is my favorite. it has all the things i love wrapped up into one grand weekend. ok so on friday i usually print out a conference activity booklet (i never got over those games your parents make you play to pay attention when you're little). and on friday night there is usually a washington dc north mission party and seeing all those mission friends is the best! come saturday morning you can find us at one of the sessions. the flowers on temple square are all spent and the leaves are just starting to fall, everyone is dressed in their fall sunday best with boots and scarves and that beautiful mustard yellow color. we always accompany the session with a lovely lunch in salt lake city. sunday is mostly about eating. we wake up, don't get ready, and run downstairs for pumpkin pancakes. then we cozy up round the tv in the family room to watch the first session. for lunch my mom makes her chili. oh man, if i could just have that right now! last year we rounded out the day by making doughnuts (i told you it was mostly about eating). oh and we usually do something with extended family or friends during the weekend. so there you have it, all my favorites in one grand weekend.

2. going on a fall hike.
this is a newly found fall love for me. unfortunately my summer didn't consist of much hiking. to make up for it, i decided to take my mountaineering to fall. this week we drove up big cottonwood canyon to donut falls. it is a quick hike, maybe an hour, super easy, and super pretty. you just can't beat those aspens at this time of year. it was so beautiful and i so wish i could bottle that misty mountain air smell.

3. watching football and more eating.
fall always reminds me of football. in high school i remember dressing warmly, getting some of that delish starbucks hot cocoa and heading over to see taylorsville high school loose pathetically. now a days i do that same thing except with byu ... hahahahahaha. just kidding, dad ... no but really, my weekends during fall are filled with byu football watching. to honor the cougars and lavell edwards stadium i eat a cougar dog each game, which is a big sacrifice for me because i don't usually like hot dogs; but something about those cougar dogs, they get to me.

4. wearing/shopping for fall clothes.
the only real reason i put this on the list was because i wanted to talk about these moccasins that i saw at dsw last week. i saw them sitting there on the display and instantly, in my mind's eye, i saw myself wearing them and never taking them off until spring; just frolicking and happy. but other fall clothes are wonderful too. right now i'm wearing this great burnt orange cardigan that i completely forgot about! and yesterday i wore a gigantic yellow scarf as my coat. oh, i also have my eye on this anthropologie coat. it shouldn't be too difficult to fulfill my dreams on this one because the new anthropologie just opened in city creek and it is beautiful (also because i still have a gift card from my birthday)!

5. watching horror movies.
you know i love this. it might be that we only have 31 days to fit in all the scary movies we wanna watch, but the anticipation for october horror movie watching is the greatest. as we speak, i am just giddy with excitement. we pick the movies for the season ever so carefully to fit in only the best. and then we are just terribly frightened the whole month. fun right! oh and even though this is not a horror movie activity, i thought i'd mention it because it's just soso great. the tower is having a mamma mia sing-a-long this weekend. we went to the west side story sing-a-long a bit ago and it may have been the best thing i've ever done in salt lake. imagine: salt lake city, movies, 9th and 9th, mamma mia, abba, the tower, singing; if you like any of those things this is right up your alley.

well there you have it; all the fall activities you could ever ask for. i learned that i have some things i need to check off my fall to-do list: go pretend camping, try the pumpkin steamers at starbucks, go on a fall picnic while listening to this playlist, and hike to lake blanche. thanks to everyone who participated, you're wonderful for doing so. and thanks to everyone who read. did we miss anything? what are some things you like to do to celebrate fall?

guest post // activities for fall, from miss marie.

the first time i met marie was at her house, i think maybe even in her room. mostly what i remember from this experience is that it was like wonderland. and i stood on her acupressure foot stand for the whole time we were there. but i mostly know marie from her blog, begin again cardigan. this girl's the whole package: asain, fashionable, drives a cube, rides a vintage bike, drinks tea, and is an outdoors enthusiast. check it!

hello miss wightman's valiant readers! the lovely courtney here has asked me to write on a fall activity; i decided to take this task very seriously and i did some research. and here is what i have found:

hiking is the best fall activity (also anything pumpkin, but courtney specifically asked me not to mention this). ok i didn't really do research, i already knew this, but i did go on a recommended fall hike. check it:

tell me you love that! it was spectacular!
hiking. seriously just go and do it! fall hikes are marvelous! romantic! and so fall! don't you just want to rejuvenate yourself from the hot summer days and sit near a gorgeous lake while sipping hot cocoa? yes, yes you do.

now go and take your honeys up to lake blanche.

also speaking of mountains and beautiful leaves ...

the sundance lift anyone? most wonderful thing ever. they even give you a little blanket if its cold. precious.

happy falling!

guest post // activities for fall, from audrey.

today's post comes from one of my most favoritest people, audrey. i talk about her a lot too. i have the greatest friends! audrey and i first met in a ceramics class at byu. i told her i would buy her ceramic arm with fluffy white clouds painted on it and put it in a feminist art exhibit. she didn't speak to me for the rest of the semester. luckily we got a second chance at friendship when she moved to suitland to do missionary work with me. she understands me now.

1. go on a fall picnic. people these days. ya, know? they all think picnics are for summer time. well guess what, they are dead wrong. the fall is perfect for them. to try to show to you my passion for this number one item on my list, i wrote a poem about it:

go by yourself or with friends,

grab your basket full of odds and ends,

wear some warm fall clothes, 

hike to some place no one knows, 

pull out your bread and butter

and that vintage thermosutter*

enjoy the crisp beautiful scene of changing colors

with yourself or with others

*thermos that rhymes with butter, not to be mistaken for a normal thermos

2. as a child, the other children and i loved baked potatoes. the mother would often ask us what we wanted for dinner. of course we would request baked potatoes year round. in the summer, my mother's response would be something like, "well baked potatoes are more of a winter food." of course children don't understand this reasoning and i'm not sure i do now. but what i do know is that i ate potatoes yesterday and i wlll probably eat them again today. 

3. bike rides. what better way to get in the crisp fall air than to bike around in it? to show you my passion for this love called bikes, i wrote a rant about it:

just ride your bike. ride it in the city or in the country. ride it fast or slow. ride it, ride it, ride your bike. bike. bikes. i love bikes. bikes with baskets. bikes with gears. bikes with no gears. bikes that are colored. bikes that are black and white. bikes are winners. we are winners when we ride bikes.**

**please don't auto tune that and make it sound ridiculous, it's better if read in a monotone voice

4. well, knitted goods. or just warm clothes in general. such as this, or that, or those.

5. i have this playlist that is called wool socks and neutrals. this playlists makes so much more sense when i can actually wear wool socks and neutrals. i try in the summer, but sometimes it's no fun. so in the fall the playlist really makes a comeback and even gets a little refurbished.

guest post // activities for fall, from annie.

today's guest post comes from annie, of stevenannie. i talk about annie quite a bit here. first she was some girl that was dating my cousin (who is really more like my brother, my cousin brother), then she was some girl that got married to my cousin brother. now she's like my dietitian, my fellow yogi, my therapist, my shopping buddy, my sous chef, and most recently, my paige-filler. she's wonderful and i'm grateful everyday that she's some girl that dated my cousin brother.

1. going to my family's cabin in september or october, or doing anything in the mountains during fall.

2. making and EATING autumn food.

... need i say more? colder weather means warm comfort food. this means hot chocolate, herbal tea, soup (particularly zucchini, homemade tomate, and butternut squash soups), warm rolls, pumpkin flavored everything, pumpkin steamers from starbucks (steamed milk with pumpkin flavoring, you HAVE to try it!), zucchini everything (just posted a zucchini pizza on my blog), apple things, sweet potatoes, apple cider, homemade donuts, etc ... i love food, what can i say? one thing i like to do is make a steaming mug of cocoa and put a scoop of chocolate ice cream in it. YUM!

3. throwing our annual halloween party. 

pretty much everyone who knows me knows that halloween is my favorite holiday. what could be better than a holiday where you get to dress up and look silly while eating all kinds of candy? plus, you can go to haunted houses, watch scary movies (does hocus pocus count as a scary movie?), make crazy halloween food, play funny pranks on people, and much much more. thanksgiving is another favorite holiday. the idea is so simple, but it reminds me each year to be thankful for what i have. i love being with family and eating lots of yummy things. 

4. going to/watching utah football! 

again, eating good food, seeing friends, wearing comfy ute sweatshirts. it's great.* 

5. watching the changing leaves. 

seeing the mountains turn shades of red, orange, and yellow makes me giddy. it's a change from what we've seen over the spring and summer. seeing the leaves turning colors reminds me that even changes in our own lives can bring something new and beautiful.

6. wearing autumn clothing.

as with food, colder weather means warmer clothes. sweaters, boots, hats, scarves, thick socks, coats/jackets, etc. fall clothing is sooo cute. i love wearing warm, cozy clothes.

*this blog does not support ute football, but we let it slide just for annie

guest post // activities for fall, from amelia.

to kick off fall, i decided it would be fun to do a little guest series again. everyday this week will feature one of my dear friends, telling us how they spend their autumn. i'm excited!

today's post comes from my soon-to-be roommate amelia. she is one of the kindest, most genuine southern gals i've ever met. you should probably get to know her. check out her blog or follow her on twitter. she's pretty hip and updated on current happenings in salt lake, a good beehive ambassador.

1. making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. i fell madly, deeply in love with the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie after going to college. since then each fall i whip myself up a big batch to ring in the season. if you're thinking of doing the same i really like this recipe. just make sure you add a little nutmeg to it.

2. playing in the leaves. why mess with a classic? this can cover a wide range of activities from literally jumping in piles of leaves, to something a little more planned. for example, i would say taking a walk or drive to go see leaves also counts (in a more grown up-ish way). i may do a drive up millcreek canyon this year. in utah the leaves really do change colors which is still sort of picturesque and wonderful to me.

3. knitting. knitting is fairly easy, helps fill my insatiable desire for scarves, and makes me feel just a little bit accomplished. plus it makes my grandma happy (it really does). if you ask i will gladly teach you how or even make you a only-somewhat lopsided hat.

4. going to a show. fall makes me miss international cinema, cougarettes, MOA trips, recitals, student film showcases, and other BYU-ish things. my SLC fall show/event wishlist so far is: ballet west's the lottery or ririe-woodbury's four, open screen night, UMOCA First Fridays/Your Land/My Land: Election ’12 exhibit, and the king's english banned books week.*

5. pretend camping. real camping lacks indoor plumbing and requires actual survival skills. i'm not all the way opposed to this if accompanied by an expert, but on my own i prefer pretend camping. here's what you need for pretend camping: gorgeous fall day, cute fall clothes to keep you warm, new boots (these can have heels if you want, cause, hello, not actually stepping foot in wilderness), some sort of camp fire food or hot beverage, a book, some comfy blankets or sleeping bag, and a great view that does not include any sort of building or man made structure. now be at one with nature until you get cold or something then go home and sleep in a real bed. 

*also, this isn't really an event per say, but i'm kind of hoping to force someone to go with me to a corn maze. i've been wanting to go to one of those things ever since i tragically missed the david archeluta corn maze of '08.