Fall Favorites & Autumn Memories ...

The Parasol Partners are from one end of this country to the other, literally ... From South Florida to the Great Lakes to the high desert of Utah to the Pacific Northwest.  But Autumn is coming ... and for this Parasol Lady (Kimberly), I can hands down say it is my favorite season!  So what are the Fall Favorites and our best Autumn Memories?

Daria ...

Four Favorite Things about Fall ...

Hayrides (growing up, we used to go to Linvilla Orchards)
 
Mums (love their bold oranges, yellows, etc)
 
Crisp, fall air
 
Apple ... crisp apples

And Football!!  Love NFL football!! (ok that is five!)

Fall Memory - When I was seven, I broke my arm playing football on a cool, autumn night with my brothers!  ( Check out Daria's book "Water Signs" for more on this memory! )   

Linvilla Orchards from Philly Tourism

Kirsten ...

Four favorite things about fall... 

Watching the hills of Wisconsin turn from green to vermillion, scarlet, and gold

Taking a walk in my suede coat and hearing the rustle of leaves under my feet

The golden quality of the late-afternoon autumn sun

Making hearty soups--especially ribollita! 

Fall Memory - During my first year and a half of college, I attended a little school in Boston. The parents of a friend of mine had a cottage in East Falmouth, and periodically, a bunch of us would pile into cars and head out to the cape for the weekend. There was an MIT student named Keith that always used to go, and I almost always rode in his vehicle, a crazy, tiny, blue beater of a car with a ton of character. The dash was strewn with an enormous collection of shells and driftwood that Keith had collected, and every time the car would turn a corner, the whole mess would shift from left to right.

One fall weekend, I remember sitting in the front seat of Keith's car, driving up to the cottage, and being responsible for catching shells as they would threaten to slide off the dash and onto the floorboards. The back seat was filled with other passengers, and we were all giggling wildly over this nearly fruitless exercise. That gorgeous and very particular afternoon, autumn sun was coming in through the windows, shining down on us and the shells. And then Tuesday Afternoon by the Moody Blues started playing on the radio. It got very quiet in the car. A few of us were humming or singing softly. It was a remarkable autumn moment of togetherness. To this day, I can't hear Tuesday Afternoon without thinking of changing leaves and light and that car full of friends. 


(Stay Tuned for Kirsten's upcoming post about Versailles in Fall ... delightful!)

Tallulah ...

Four Favorite Things about Fall ...

Apple-crisp mornings with the scent of burning leaves

Red and Golden leaves stuttering in the rain

Miniature pumpkins filling baskets in the grocery store

Ordering a new stack of logs for the fireplace

Fall Memory - One afternoon, after a fall day in Seattle, I took a turn into a park on my way home from school.  The park was very old, filled with old trees going back to the early 1900s.  As I entered the park, the leaves were blowing in piles around the oak trees...and coming up to my shins.  I walked all the way through the park, directly into the piles and piles of leaves, kicking them in front of me. The smell of the fires, the crisp air, and the sight of the leaves being kicked out in front of me, like multicolored confetti, will always be a great memory.

And ... since Fall is my absolute favorite season ... There is a farm filled with apples and pumpkins.  They make their own cider.  it's great fun to go there ... (very Martha Stewart/Bedford/Greenwichy)... all sorts of fun animals for kids to pet....fun unusual chickens and fowl ... Fresh made donuts and fritters.  And the BEST cider.

Kimberly ....

Four Favorite Things about Fall ...

the smells!  crunched leaves, tingly crisp air, apples, and chimneys warming up for winter

open windows ... cool breezes and the ever dropping temperatures that make a hot cup of coffee taste sooooo good
the food that does not quite fit with summer ~ soups and stews and roasts!

Halloween and jack-o-lanterns and all the adorable munchkins in costumes

Fall Memory - the best fall memory I have is of being kids and piling into my uncle's wagon while he pulled us around the apple orchard behind the tractor.  We would stuff our faces with ginger snaps and hot chocolate and laugh like lunatics.  Cherry cheeks, warm tummies and lots of giggles!

 

What are YOUR Four Fall Favorites or a great Fall Memory?