Happy Fall, Y'all!

Today marks one of my favorite days of the year, and although it is a bit different this year, it's still full of the things I love about fall:

*Gray days

*Cozy socks

*Soup

*My favorite fall teas

*PUMPKIN MUFFINS!

What in the world isn't lovely about fall? Now, I typically turn the thermostat down and splurge this one day of the year to make it feel like fall INSIDE our house, since it doesn't feel too seasonally appropriate OUTSIDE. This year, I feel like I won the weather lottery. (Thank you, God!) It's so gray and rainy! *giddy squeal* I propped my office door open for the pets and it will stay that way until I run out of perfect weather. If it all goes well, I may even be able to put on a light sweater in a few minutes!

I also usually drag out my fall decorations, all the pumpkins and leaves, on this very awesome day of the year. I wasn't so sure I wanted to bat my eyelashes and send my darling (and slightly less than perky today) husband into the attic for my porch pumpkin, but he's perking up and just might do it for me after all. I keep the rest of the goods where I can see them when I open the linen closet all year, for a little pick-me-up when the weather is miserably hot and humid. They'll be covering every surface by the time our principessa gets home from school today.

Now for the truly sacred traditions of the autumnal equinox in our household, we look to the kitchen. This is the day I bake the inaugural batch of pumpkin muffins and make the inaugural pot of soup. Don't get me wrong, we love pumpkin muffins and soup, but these culinary delights are reserved for fall and winter in our household. (Most likely because, by the time spring rolls around, we've had soup and pumpkin muffins nearly every day for half the year!) This year, we're taking it to back to basics with a tried and true "Trashcan Vegetable Soup." It sounds delicious, doesn't it? The name might imply that this consists of whatever vegetables would be headed to the trashcan, but that's actually my recipe for veggie stock. Nope, Trashcan Vegetable Soup got its name because I dump in whatever I feel like adding. This time, it's a mixed veggie blend with added okra, chickpeas, and lentils. It's 9am and I'm already drooling over supper! I'll be satisfied with a pumpkin muffin to hold me over and to go with my first cup of fall tea, Squashbuckling Chai from my favorite tea shop, Savoy Tea Co. I would love to drink it all year, but there's something about it that begs me to hold on for its season. Today's lineup also includes Gesundheit, because 2020, and Frosted Orange Roll... because... Frosted Orange Roll.

And now, dear reader, I leave you to enjoy my tea and a good book in the company of my support crew. I would leave you with a picture of them, but Beckett and Sugar have what can only honestly be referred to as "COVID haircuts." I hope y'all take time to enjoy the little things with big impacts, and have a happy fall!