Fall Bucket List 2015

Happy Fall y'all!

The leaves start changing, the weather gets cooler... It's my favorite time of year! I dream of being able to experience a "true" fall somewhere in the northeast and then see some snow afterwards! But for now, I'll make the most out of what a Jacksonville fall has to offer. So here it is, the Fall Bucket List - 2015 Edition.

Finally go to Mike's Farm & go on a hay ride

This is something we've been wanting to do since I moved out here two years ago and somehow we never seem to make it happen. No more excuses though, we WILL go this year. Not only do they offer hay rides, there is a pumpkin patch, a delicious restaurant, and a little country style store. Best believe I'll be coming home with some fudge and hot pepper jelly!

Fill the house with pumpkins

Last year we bought a fair amount of pumpkins, some for carving and some just for decoration, and this year I'd like to double that amount! Call me crazy, but I love pumpkins of all shapes, sizes, and colors and I think they make perfect decorations :)

It felt like we had a lot more while we were at the patch...
Anyway, this year I have visions of hay bales and pumpkins galore! 

This handsome guy can carve me some jack-o'-lanterns whenever he wants ;) 

Make a ton of soup

I've said it before and I'll say it again.. I LOVE soup! I made a lot last fall but not nearly enough to satisfy my obsession. I really could eat soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, especially once the weather gets cooler. The Pioneer Woman's recipe for Italian Chicken Soup was my favorite last year although I'll probably half the recipe next time I make it... I didn't have enough containers to store all that I made! I also have my eye on this recipe for homemade tomato basil soup. Is there anything better than grilled cheese dipped in tomato soup? I don't know if there is. My ultimate goal is two soups a month, so we'll see how well I stick to that.

Bake a ton of goodies

At first I typed "I love to bake!" but that's not exactly true... I really love the end result of (good) baking but honestly, who doesn't? Baking is not at all like cooking... When you cook you can just throw in ingredients and spices until whatever you're making tastes good! With baking it's much more exact so I tend not to be as great at it, but I always like to try new things, and with so many yummy pumpkin recipes clogging up my Pinterest feed, now seems like the perfect time to attempt some unfamiliar recipes! 

I recently made this pumpkin zucchini bread and it turned out so well! I swapped chopped pecans for walnuts, sprinkled some coarse sugar on top before baking, and made five mini loafs instead of two regular ones, but I got the seal of approval from Mike so I think this recipe is here to stay! :)

Go all out for football season

Wearing our jerseys without washing them through all winning streaks. Making chili every Sunday. Stuffing Lou into a Broncos dog jersey and yelling at the tv. Yes, all of these things are going to happen.

I look forward to plenty of this!
Hopefully next time I'll have wing sauce smeared all over my face.

Get outside as much as possible

While it might still be in the mid 80's here most days, soon enough the weather will (finally) start to cool off and when it does, it can be pretty amazing outside! We are surrounded by forest on one side and beach on the other and both are really great places to be in the right weather. I want to get out and explore with Mike and Lou as much as we can and hopefully find some places we've never seen before! And of course take some pictures when we do, if I can actually remember to bring the camera ;)

Donate to a food bank

This was on my list last year and will continue to be on my list every year! I think it's so important to give back to the community and to lend a helping had to those who may not be as fortunate as we are and while this is something that's important all year round, I really feel an extra push to donate and help out during the fall. Maybe it's because this season leads up to the holidays, or maybe it's because of all the warm, cozy, soup filled days I get to enjoy.. Who knows! I already have a bag of canned and non-perishable foods filling up in the pantry and I hope to fill many more before the season is over! 

Now comes the challenge of actually accomplishing (and documenting) all of these things! My camera and I definitely need to get a little closer this fall... For now I think I'll go inhale some of that pumpkin zucchini bread ;) What's on your fall bucket list??