In the immortal words of F. Scott Fitzgerald (Okay okay, I've never actually read The Great Gatsby, sue me, but I did love the movie.)...
Fall is literally a breath of fresh, cool air after the hot, sometimes brutal months of summer. It's no surprise everyone seems to get a second wind come October when everything seems refreshing and brighter and crisper. So I'm counting down my 5 favorite things about Fall.
1. Fall Clothing

2. CANDLES

3. Pumpkin Everything!
Me: "Hi, I am Tracy and I am a Pumpkin Spice Latte Addict."

4. Halloween!
Halloween is definitely my favorite holiday because even as a 28 year old woman I still love getting dressed up! Last Halloween I found a gorgeous red Merida wig and a green, Scottish style dress, but I also wanted to play with fake blood and fangs so I ended up being a vampire Merida...and that's what so amazing about Halloween! You can let your imagination run wild and mash up all your favorite characters and no one bats an eye and any character is 10x cooler with some fake blood tossed in!

Dressing up, scary movies, haunted houses, candy; Halloween is basically an adrenaline and sugar fueled regression back into childhood where everything was exciting and wild and possible.
5. Cool Weather and Warm Fires
I recently moved into a new, adorable little studio in a historic mansion. My apartment has huge windows on two sides and when I open them it's like I can finally breathe. This is the season when I can throw open my curtains and let the sun in and feel that perfect cool breeze that's so different from the pathetic zephyrs of summer that do nothing to cool you.

The best part of fall though might be the storms, I plan on many stormy nights spent curled up on my turquoise Ikea chaise with a cup of Ghiradelli hot chocolate and a good book in front of my fireplace.
It's at this time of year though that I'm reminded of a quote from one of my favorite books:
"Many human beings say that they enjoy the winter, but what they really enjoy is feeling proof against it. For them there is no winter food problem. They have fires and warm clothes. The winter cannot hurt them and therefore increases their sense of cleverness and security." (Richard Adams, Watership Down)
This rings so true after my list of frivolous things. I can love cold, windy, rainy weather because I can sit inside, snug as a bug in a rug and not deal with the unpleasantness of it. So this season while I revel in all my favorite things I'm also going to pay special attention to just how lucky I am. I'm going to use this season to thank my parents for instilling in me a sense of safety and joy every Autumn since I was a little girl dressing up as a zombie princess for Halloween. I'm going to cherish my job that allows me to take vacations during my favorite season and puts a roof over my head. And even though I'm now living in a different state than my sister I'm going to schedule a long distance Hocus Pocus sister date complete with Facetime on our iPhones, popcorn and costumes!
Happy fall! Now get out there and enjoy it before the Christmas craze takes us all over!