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Fall is finally here!
The long, summer days are slowly waning, and the cool, crisp, autumn mornings are on their way.
Fall is the season for cozy sweaters, warm drinks, and lots and lots of pumpkin. Things may be very different this year because of the novel coronavirus, but there are still plenty of activities I am looking forward to doing.
Check out my fall bucket list to learn more about the activities I am most excited about this year. If you feel inspired, try out a few and leave me a comment below about your experience – I would love to hear how you are making the most of the fall season.
1. Apple picking
I have only been apple picking once in my life, but it is an experience I want to repeat. Nothing quite compares to the taste of a freshly picked, sweet, juicy apple. After collecting your bushel, try your hand at a classic apple recipe, such as apple pie or cider.
2. Drink a pumpkin spice latte
Starbucks has already released its pumpkin spice latte, and it’s just as delicious as ever. The bitterness of the espresso is balanced beautifully by the perfectly steamed milk and sweet, fall spices. It’s the perfect drink to sip on a chilly day.
3. Explore a corn maze
A corn maze is the perfect place to reminisce about the fall seasons from our childhoods. It’s one of the few places where I still feel just as small as I did when I was a kid. Spider Hall Farm is one of my favorite corn mazes to get lost in every year. The farm also has a terrific Mom and Pop’s-style store, a hayride, and a pumpkin patch, so it caters to all of your fall activity needs.
4. Hike in the Fall Foliage
I love it when the leaves change colors. As the weather gets colder, the bursts of yellow, orange and red from the treetops still fill my soul with warmth. Hiking is one of the best ways to take in the trees’ beauty, but if hiking isn’t for you, a drive down a scenic back road would also be a breathtakingly beautiful experience.
5. Pumpkin picking
It wouldn’t be fall without some pumpkin picking. If you want some extra spookiness and autumn vibes, try picking out your pumpkin at dusk. Once you have found the biggest one, take it home to carve or paint. And don’t forget to roast your seeds for a delicious snack!
6. Watch a Football Game
Sports look a little different this year, but I am excited to have a lazy Sunday afternoon with my family, cheering on our team and eating snacks. There is something about rooting on a team together, or booing each other’s rival players, that brings people together.
7. Dress Up for Halloween
Halloween 2019 – Joseph and I dressed up as Clark Kent and Lois Lane
I don’t care how old I get – dressing up on Halloween will always be something I want to be a part of. Every year, I am allowed one evening to be creative and pretend to be anything I want to be, and that’s something I am always going to take advantage of. Trick-or-treating is optional, but always encouraged (if it is approved by the governor, of course – otherwise, I will just eat my candy alone at home).
8. Watch “The Nightmare Before Christmas”
You may find this one strange, but this is my favorite Halloween tradition. Every year, I sit down with my sweet treat (and, as I have gotten older, my spiked drink of choice) to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas. As far as I am concerned, the holidays start as soon as the clock strikes midnight (which, incidentally, is also the moment that I play the song, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” much to the annoyance of anyone else in the house). Halloween is the nightmare that occurs right before the Christmas season, therefore I believe it is the perfect day to watch this movie.
9. Spend a Day Reading
I can’t think of a better way to use my time on a chilly, autumn day than to curl up with a hot mug of tea (find my favorite mug here), a fuzzy blanket, and a good book (here is one of my favorite classics). It’s one of my favorite ways to indulge in self-care, especially when it’s too cold to go outside.
10. Spend Time with Family
Thanksgiving 2018 with my family
Thanksgiving marks the end of the fall season, and it’s one of my absolute favorite times of the year. Spending time with family always reminds me of how grateful I am for the people in my life and the love we have for one another. I can’t think of a better way to say farewell to fall and greet the holiday season than to be surrounded by loved ones, remembering just how blessed I am in this beautiful life.
Since the novel coronavirus hit in march, unemployment rates have been on the rise and many people have been concerned about the state of their wages. For those who are working, some people have had their salaries dropped, and I have many friends and family members who are worried that, if a second wave of the virus happens, they will lose their jobs, too.
I have never had a consistent income. Before and during college, I worked part-time jobs to make ends meet, and after school, I worked mostly freelance jobs, which meant there was never a consistent amount of money coming in. This never bothered me – I learned how to manage my money in a way that worked for me. So, when the virus hit, and my freelance jobs began to disappear, the way I budgeted my money actually stayed the same.
Many people take specific amounts out of their paychecks each week or month for savings or to give to charity. Because I have never had a consistent amount of money coming in, instead of taking out specific amounts of money, I split up my paycheck by percentages. This way, no matter how much I am earning, I always know how much money I have available for spending, how much should go into savings, the minimum amount I want to give to charity, etc.
This is not the ideal way for everyone to split up their incoming funds, but it works for me. And during such uncertain times, when paychecks seem to be less consistent for many people, I thought I would share how I split up my money as a possible option for others. You can use the percentages listed below, or just use my formula as a starting point to create a budget that works best for you!
My budget
Spend account – 60 percent (40 percent for essentials and 20 percent for recreational spendin)
The biggest chunk of my money goes into my spend account. The key here is that, hopefully, I won’t actually spend all of this money. This account also functions as a short-term savings account for bigger, unexpected expenditures. This is always the account I dip into first for any purchases, big or small, expected or unexpected.
Charitable giving – 10 percent
Ten percent of everything I earn is donated to charitable organizations of my choice. The organizations I donate to most frequently include Compassion International (I sponsor a child living in Ecuador), the Ulman Foundation, and United Church. I love also letting this account build up sometimes, so when I am asked for more sizable donations, I have the means to give. To be honest, though, I have a hard time saying “no” to people when they ask for support, so this account normally drops into a deficit, meaning I take some funds out of my spend account to donate, too.
Savings – 10 percent
Ten percent of everything I earn also immediately goes into savings. These are my long-term savings that I don’t touch unless it is an absolute emergency, or for very large purchases that I can’t cover from my spend account alone. As suggested by Dave Ramsay, I always try to have a minimum of $1,000 in this account in case of an emergency.
Adventure Fund – 10 percent
I am a saver, not a spender. I learned a long time ago that this meant I rarely spent on myself, which meant I ended up never doing anything that I really wanted to do with my life. So, I wrote myself a bucket list, and anytime I take a step towards achieving one of those goals, I take the money from my adventure fund. It’s a savings account for all of the life experiences I want to have. These include fun trips, like my road trip to Colorado, but also more practical purchases that are important to me, such as going to college and buying a home in the future.
Loan payments – 10 percent
Another 10 percent of my paycheck is designated to pay off debts, such as college loans. If there isn’t enough in this account to pay for loans, I take money out of my spend account, adventure fund, and savings (I also often take money from these accounts anyway to put extra money on my loan payments – the faster they are paid off, the better).
For me, having a budget has not been restrictive, but freeing! Knowing what I have to spend and feeling reassured that I have money set aside for paying off debts and saving for the future makes me feel more comfortable spending money on things that I want and need.
Comment below if you have tips to share on how you best budget your money, or if you have any questions about my budget formula!
While we were making dinner, Joseph’s sister, Joanna, called to ask if we wanted to visit her and her husband, Dan, in Virginia. They moved to Leesburg nearly six months ago, and although they live only an hour and a half away, we had not yet had the chance to visit. Joseph is about to start graduate school, and I am about to leave for a trip, so we did not have much availability in our schedules. When Joseph told Joanna this, she proposed we visit the next day.
We agreed. After Joseph got off of the phone, I proposed that we turn this visit into a longer stay. We have made it our quest to visit all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., and this was an opportunity to cross Virginia off of our list.
It may sound spur of the moment, but after planning for a two-and-a-half week Colorado road trip in only a few days, this seemed almost simple.
So, we packed snacks we had left over from our last trip, stuffed our clothes into overnight bags, and planned for where we wanted to visit during our trip.
To officially say that we visited a state, there are a couple of things we have agreed we need to do. We want to walk a main street, eat (or drink) at a local restaurant, hike at a national park, and visit a tourist or scenic spot. Only after completing all of these tasks can we visit a Starbucks and purchase our souvenir: A mug from the “Been There” series.
For this trip, we knew we would cross off the main street and local eatery with Joanna and Dan. After some research, we decided to hike at Shenandoah National Park and then visit Luray Caverns. It was an extra two hours of driving away from home, but we knew it would be worth it.
On Wednesday, we arrived in Virginia during the hottest part of the afternoon. As soon as we stepped out of the car, I was reminded that the hot and muggy weather in Maryland does not even compare to the moist heat in Virginia.
Joanna and Dan were both still at work when we arrived. Luckily, Joanna had sent us some ideas of things to do. We went to Ball’s Bluff Battlefield Regional Park, one of her favorite hiking spots. The park is the site where the Battle of Balls Bluff during the Civil War took place. It was interesting walking around the silent, serene trails, knowing it was a spot drenched in bloody history. This was a spot where the Confederate Army had won the fight. According to the American Battlefield Trust, the Union had 1,002 casualties that day.
After hiking, we went to visit Joanna and Dan at their apartment. It was an exciting reunion. We have not seen either of them in months, and the four of us have not spent time alone together in almost a year.
Joanna and Dan treated us to SideBar, a restaurant in downtown Leesburg. Like many of the businesses on the street, the restaurant was situated in renovated homes built in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The food was delicious. Our favorite dish was the sweet potato fries, which were topped with candied bacon and brie, and served with a maple sriracha sauce.
During dinner, the four of us got to talking about the Black Lives Matter movement and how it has affected the lives of those closest to us. It seems like so many people have different opinions on this movement. The four of us all fully support the peaceful protests, though we know that if we really want to see change happen, it starts with us in our personal lives. Joanna and Dan had a number of recommended podcasts for us to listen to, including 1619, an audio series created by the New York Times to enlighten listeners about the history of slavery in America and how it has impacted our country today. 1619 was the year the first enslaved Africans were brought to this country. What the four of us agreed on most is that, through all of this, the best way we can help is to educate ourselves on what has happened and what is happening in America, and then we can know better what we can do to help.
“We’ve learned that we have to speak up,” Joanna told us. “It’s not enough to just not say or do racist things. We have to call others out when they are doing something racist. And we have to be comfortable looking at ourselves and discovering where we may have biases, too.”
After dinner, we walked along the main street, taking in the sights and soaking in the historical significance of the place. We passed by homes that had been built centuries ago and signs commemorating the significant moments that had taken place there. The most notable things were the Civil War artifacts and commemorative items. According to the Thomas Balch Library website, Leesburg (originally called George Town) was built in 1740; it was named after the Lee family in 1758. We stopped at a sign in front of an old house on the street, where Robert E. Lee was treated for battle wounds he incurred during the Second Battle of Manassas (this battle occurred a little less than a year after the Battle of Balls Bluff – it was also a Confederate victory). As we walked, we passed by more historical markers, including Confederate statutes that, according to Joanna and Dan, the local government is debating removing.
On our way back to our car, we passed by a house on the market that the real estate agent, who was sitting on the front porch, claimed to be haunted. I grudgingly agreed to look around the house with my enthusiastic companions. We did not personally witness any paranormal activity, but the vibes in the home were disturbing to say the least, and I was grateful when we decided to leave.
We returned to the apartment, where we relaxed and spent more time with Joseph’s family, my soon-to-be relatives. I am so very grateful for their hospitality. It felt good to finally have the chance to catch up with them and what has been happening in their lives. Besides the fact that Joseph is more than the man I ever dreamed of marrying, I cannot believe I am so lucky that his family members are some of the kindest, most generous people I have ever met. I am very excited to be a part of this family.
When we awoke the following morning, Joanna and Dan had already left for work. Joseph and I ate a quick breakfast, and then we packed our belongings and headed out for another day of adventure.
The drive to Shenandoah was almost like déjà vu. The mountains in the distance were reminiscent of the Colorado landscape we had been traveling through not long ago. Despite these mountains being smaller than their western counterparts, they were still magnificent. They stretched so high into the sky that their tips were hidden away by the white clouds.
We drove up to Stony Man Mountain, a decent hike with breathtaking views of the world below. Little Stony Man had the greatest view; from there we could see Skyline Drive winding through the trees far below. We continued hiking to the top of the summit where we were greeted with, not a view of the world below, but that of the one above. Instead of looking out at mountains and trees, we walked straight into a cloud. A white haze engulfed us while a cool mist ran across our hot, sweaty skin, shielding us from the oppressive Virginia heat. It was not the finale we were expecting to our hike, but it was one of the neatest experiences I have had at the top of a mountain.
Our next stop was Luray Caverns. I had visited the attraction when I was a young child, and while I remembered very few specifics, I could recall how fantastic the views were. Joseph, who had never been, was more skeptical.
“Where are the caverns,” he asked as we drove into the parking lot. “Are they behind the buildings?”
“They’re beneath us,” I told him with a smile. I could tell that I had piqued his interested, but he still balked at the $30 entrance fee.
As soon as we stepped into the cavern, the air chilled around us as if we had been plunged into cold water. We traveled deeper into the darkness, gazing in wonder at the rocks growing up around us. The packet we had been given for our self-guided tour told us that the caverns have been growing, inch by inch, over hundreds of millions of years. At every turn, Joseph and I tapped on each other’s shoulders and pointed to different, incredible sights. We gazed together in wonder at Mirror Lake, the largest body of water in Luray Caverns. The water projects a perfect mirror image of the ceiling above, which gives it the illusion that it is several feet deep and filled with stalagmites (when, in actuality, it has only 20 inches of water at its deepest point). Thin rock formations hung from the ceiling like veils while deep hollows plunged into darkness beside us. In one room, we were greeted by ethereal music, played like a music box from an organ that uses the speleothems around it to produce the different notes.
“This was definitely worth $30,” Joseph told me, and I beamed.
On our way home, we visited Starbucks to buy lattes and our Virginia mug, the reward for our efforts. By the time we got home, we were tired and hungry, but the burgers in the fridge and pint of ice cream waiting in the freezer were a welcome change from the makeshift meals we had made during our road trip in Colorado. I had not expected to go traveling again so soon after our last trip, but this short little adventure had been more than worth it.
And just like always, I feel like our travels taught me something. Once again, I had to step out of my comfort zone to face and experience the world around me. There are quite a few alarming things happening in our country right now, one being the realization of the treatment of some of our fellow Americans. But as we discussed in our conversations with Joanna and Dan at dinner, one of the best things we can do is to educate ourselves on the topic, and then to not sit idly by when we see injustices take place. One of the best ways I have learned to do this is through my travels. This trip gave me the opportunity to have real conversations with people, and to take a step into history. It gave me a chance to catch just a glimpse of where all of this suffering, inequity and discrimination began. And now this blog and the life I have returned to are my opportunities to use that knowledge to do my part in creating change.
As Joseph said on the top of the Stony Man Mountain, “We are officially adventurers now.” Adventurers are people who seek new experiences, who step outside of their comfort zone in the pursuit of understanding what life truly is. Adventurers are those who take risks, even if it puts them in harm’s way, to create lives that are truly meaningful, for themselves and others. Adventurers seek to find beauty where others may miss it, and along the way, they attempt to connect with other people and build friendships in unlikely places.
We are adventurers, and this blog is just one small attempt to create a little space for beauty, connection and inspiration for this world around us.
