The air is getting cooler, the leaves are starting to change color, and there's talk of Halloween — that means it must be fall. Fall just gives you that warm, content, happy feeling and I am so here for it.

I like to call fall a sweet spot season meaning that it's not too hot outside and it's not too cold either. You can mix shorts and a sweatshirt or pants and flip-flops. Others would say they love the typical fall fashion like boots and sweaters, and although I like that fashion too, I find fall to be a time where you can be bold and experimental with fashion without overheating or having to throw a heavy coat over everything.

Some people look at fall as a time where nature is dying, and that might be true, but who doesn't think that the leaves changing colors is not the most beautiful thing in the world? I wish trees would hold their oranges, reds, and yellows a bit longer before shedding their leaves to live on the ground instead. The colors are a phenomenon that I could just stare at for an eternity and still think it's amazing.

Speaking of trees, one of my favorite things to do in the fall is go apple picking. My sister and I started a tradition about three years ago where we go to the same orchard and run up and down the isles of apple trees in the hot sun and try to find the best apples to makes apple pie with (our pies are pretty bomb). We always use to sneak in a couple of the expensive apples in our bag before the orchard actually made it a rule last year that you can pick any apple you want for the same price. As you can imagine, we were very happy about that change.

You also can't go apple picking without getting some fresh apple cider and a cider donut to replenish all the calories that were burned out in the field. I do have to admit that I normally eat too many apples to fit the donut but I always make sure to at least bring home some apple cider for later.

That brings me to my favorite fall eats. I sort of fulfill the basic white girl stereotype in that I love everything pumpkin flavored, but I do draw the line at ordering a Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. Everything else pumpkin I love though. I love pumpkin muffins, cupcakes, hot coffee (from Dunkin duh), pie, candles, lotion, you name it!

Another fall festivity I love to do is go pumpkin picking. I would advise however to not go pumpkin picking with me unless you have time to kill because as a person who can't decide quickly on anything I tend to take quite a long time picking out the absolute perfect pumpkin. It needs to be not too big, not too small, no dents, round, and a good stem to firmly grasp (I know I'm crazy you don't have to say it).

In my opinion, you can't just skip to the pumpkin picking without completing a corn maze or hopping on a hayride. These two things have actually gotten slightly less exciting as I've gotten older but that doesn't stop me from doing them. A friend and I have a tradition of going pumpkin picking a couple days before Halloween every year, and then we bring the pumpkins back to my house to carve the night away.

Now I would like to address the real reason why fall is the best time of the year — Halloween, aka, my favorite holiday. I mean, I might need a whole separate article to express my love for all things Halloween. When October first rolls around, you will see me scurrying around decorating my front lawn with mismatched decorations. Don't even get me started on my costume...I start planning that in like May. On a side note, I would like to mention that I have been a three year reigning champ at my family's Halloween costume party and still came in 2nd place last year (but don't let my falling back fool you, it just means my family knows who the competition is now and therefore have promptly stepped up their game). We have a really good time though and now that I'm too old to go trick-or-treating, it gives me something fun to look forward to.

So those were just a few of my favorite things that I love about fall time and when I find someone else who shares the same excitement as I do about this time of year it just makes it that much more enjoyable.

Happy fall everyone!