Author: Whitney Hollingshead
The autumn season is nearly here. Here are some great ideas to get you thinking about fun ways to add some of the best aspects of fall into your life. It’s time to bring fall into your home, your diet, and your personal care routine.
Fall Into Your Home
You can transform your home into a festive fall haven with a few simple elements. Check out these suggestions listed room by room:
Kitchen
Change the kitchen towels to festive fall prints or bold fall colors
Add some small gourds and mini pumpkins to your fruit bowl for festive decor
Put groupings of fake fall leaves in various vases spread throughout the space
String leaf garlands across the windows
Place a fall wreath around a candle to create a festive centerpiece
Bathroom
Purchase fall scented room spray or a fall scented wall plug in
Hang fall themed hand towels
Fill a tall glass container with fake apples to add to the countertop
Purchase fall scented hand soap
Trade out the shower curtain and bath mat for something more festive
Bedroom
Place a decorative glass bowl with fall scented potpourri on the nightstand
Use soft flannel sheets
Place a cozy quilt across the foot of the bed
Toss fall patterned decorative pillows on the bed
Hang a fall garland across the largest window
Living Room
Toss pillows in fall colors and textures on the couch and arm chairs
Make a cozy throw blanket easily accessible
Add vases of flowers in reds, oranges, and yellows to end tables
Place a festive floormat at the door for decor and to help keep things clean
Add pillar candles throughout and enjoy their ambiance
Fall Into Your Diet
Fall offers some of the best flavors for food. Check out these scrumptious recipe suggestions centered around the fall flavors of pumpkin, sweet potato, squash, and apple:
Pumpkin
Pumpkin Waffles: Combine 2 ⅓ cups of Bisquick mix with 1 ½ cups of milk, ½ can of pure pumpkin puree, ¼ cup of cinnamon applesauce, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and two eggs. Spray waffle iron with cooking spray before pouring batter onto iron. Serve with syrup of choice.
Pumpkin & Sausage Manicotti: Brown italian sausage, drain grease, and set aside. Cook manicotti pasta tubes as directed on package, drain, and cool. Meanwhile, combine one can of pure pumpkin puree, one egg, one 15 oz. container of ricotta cheese, browned ground italian sausage, one teaspoon of sage, and a cup of shredded cheese of your choice. Stuff mixture into cooled tubes. Pour a light layer of alfredo sauce to coat the bottom of a baking pan. Lay the filled tubes on the sauce in one single layer. Top with the remaining alfredo sauce and bake covered at 350 for 45 minutes.
Super Easy Pumpkin/Chocolate Chip Cookies: Mix one box of spice cake mix with one can of pure pumpkin puree and one cup of chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until toothpick comes out of the center clean. Once cooled, you can frost these cookies with cream cheese frosting and sprinkle them lightly with cinnamon for an extra decadent touch.
Sweet Potatoes / Squash
Slow Cooker Sunday Roast: Place beef roast in slow cooker. Cover with two cups of beef bouillon and one packet of dry onion soup mix. Add bite sized pieces of red potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes. Sprinkle the vegetables lightly with olive oil, brown sugar, and italian seasoning. Cook on low for six hours.
Sweet Potato Fries: Peel yams. Cut into strips. Spray strips with olive oil cooking spray and spread out on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with black pepper, parsley, and parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until fork is inserted easily into strips. Serve with a mixture of mayonnaise and barbecue sauce.
Apples
Spiced Apples: Slice green apples and cook them over low heat with melted butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a little brown sugar. Serve these apples warm as a side dish for lunch or dinner, or with ice cream or vanilla yogurt for dessert.
Apple/Toffee Salad: Cut two or three varieties of crisp apples into bite sized pieces. Chop Heath or Skor candy bars into bits. Fold the apples and candy bits into vanilla yogurt or vanilla pudding and serve immediately.
Caramel/Apple Rolls: Thaw loaves of frozen white bread dough. Once the dough has thawed, roll the dough out into a flat rectangle. Cut apples into very small pieces or shred using a cheese grater. Gently spread melted butter across the dough. Sprinkle the dough generously with cinnamon and brown sugar. Next, sprinkle the apple pieces on top. Roll the dough up into a log and slice the log like cinnamon rolls with dental floss. Place the cut rolls on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Drizzle the rolls with your favorite caramel sauce and serve warm.
Fall Into Your Personal Care
By adding some elements of fall into your personal care routine, you can take the best of fall with you everywhere. Here are some simple ways to accomplish just that:
Toss fall scented hand sanitizer or hand lotion into your purse. Applying either will give you a sensory pick up on the go.
Use an all natural body butter with an intoxicating fall scent like this one. You can combat dry skin that often flares up when the temperature drops and smell great.
Swap out your soap or body wash for something in a fall scent. Consider using something like vanilla or brown sugar if you plan to follow up with a pumpkin or apple lotion afterward.
Spraying your favorite fall scent on your hair or clothes will make the scent last longer throughout the day. When spraying fragrance in your hair, choose something with a low alcohol content and spray the fragrance into the air and walk through, instead of applying directly to your strands.
Fall in love with autumn all over again as you use these ideas to bring fall into your home, your diet, and your personal care routine!