My favorite season is without a doubt Autumn. It’s the reason me and my fiance have decided to get married in October. When I heard about the graphic novel partnership with Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks and it revolved around an apple orchard, I knew this would be an automatic purchase. Pumpkinheads is the cutest, most body-positive, apple orchard, fall fun themed graphic novel I have ever read. I am captivated by the story and with the apple orchard map revealed in the first pages of the novel. Instead of writing a typical review, I decided to use this inspiration to do my ABC’s of Autumn. One word per letter of the alphabet to summarize fall. Here we go:

A is for. . . Autumn

Autumn is the better word to describe the season than Fall. It’s a beautiful word to say.

B is for . . . Books.

Being able to read a book with the sunlight filtering in my reading corner is heavenly. I do plan on re-reading Pumpkinheads around August to get myself hyped up for the season.

C is for . . . Cinnamon / Apple Cider floats

A tradition I hold for attending the Renaissance Festival is ordering an apple cider float with cinnamon ice cream. It’s slightly spicy, less sweet and the best beverage for Autumn. I believe you can make this boozy by adding cinnamon schnapps or hard apple cider.

D is for . . . Dress Code

Autumn is for cardigans in themed colors. Plaid shirts with dark jeans and thigh-high boots in light and dark browns. Graphic sweaters with fall-themed patterns. The style this time of year is what I live for.

E is for . . . Exercise

When Autumn hits, I walk outdoors for exercise. Looking at the colors of the leaves, seeing the sun rising high in the sky, feeling the cool breeze move my hair. It’s truly bliss. I will work out outdoors versus being stuck in my gym or home.

F is for . . . Friends

Doing fall-themed activities with friends. The Renaissance festival, apple orchards, visiting the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. T’is the season for fun events with friends.

G is for. . . Grantolini

Grant is my fiance. Early on in our relationship, I started calling him “Grantolini” The name has stuck. Grant is my partner and we do a whole lot of fun activities in the Autumn months.

H is for. . . Halloween

Halloween is my favorite holiday that’s not a typical holiday. I adore the costumes, reading horror-themed literature, watching scary movies and wearing a costume. Last year I was the “Angel of Death” which was a spontaneous costume idea I had on Halloween. I and a couple of friends went to a brewery and had a couple of beers in costume. Last year Halloween was a special memory because the day after was the last day at my old job. It was before I started my new job I’m currently in which I’m super happy with.

I is for . . . Igniting Candles

Grant has picked up numerous fall-themed scents in candles. Being able to light a pumpkin or cinnamon smelling candle makes our apartment smell amazing.

J is for. . . Josiah & Deja

Josiah is one of the main characters in Pumpkinheads. He is emotional, real and passionate about the apple orchard. Deja is the outgoing counterpart who stops at every food stand in the apple orchard because why not?? These two characters make Pumpkinheads as enjoyable as it is to read.

K is for . . . Kitchen

When I have the time to cook, I do enjoy being in the kitchen preparing a new recipe. Fall themed recipes include hot dishes (in Minnesota, we don’t use the term casserole), chilis and soups.

L is for . . . Leaves

Leaves falling everywhere. Seeing the leaves pile up and kids playing in them… so cute.

M is for. . . Maroon

Maroon is an autumn color. It’s one color I would love to have as my wedding color.

N is for. . . Nippy

This is how the temperature is like in Autumn. I can walk outside with a cardigan or light jacket. I could wear a cute hat or gloves and I would be warm.

O is for. . . Orange

Maroon, burgundy, and Orange would be my three color choices for an Autumn themed wedding.

P is for. . . Pumpkin Coldbrew Coffee

There’s a coffee shop/game store in my area that makes the best pumpkin infused, cold brew coffee. It’s a cold, black coffee with hints of pumpkin. It’s so good. Every year, I message this shop asking when it will be available. They used to sell growlers of it and this year I’m committed to purchasing one.

Q is for. . . Quilts and blankets

Sitting next to me is a quilt I received from Grant’s twin brother. This quilt comes from Senegal where he is in the peace corp serving his last year. I’m also using a quilt made by my grandmother. I love cozying up underneath multiple quilts and blankets.

R is for. . . Renaissance

The Renaissance Festival in Minnesota. I go almost every year. It’s fun to walk around, see the shows and eat some Fall treats. As I mentioned, I always do the apple cider float. Another fun part of the Renaissance Festival is shopping for jewelry. I typically look for earrings, necklaces, and rings.

S is for. . . Spooky

I and the fiance went to Goodwill for Halloween decorations last year. We found so many cute items to hang. It made me happy to see Halloween stickers on the windows and nick-nacks on our sofa table. We will need more window stickers for this year.

T is for. . . Tea

I drink more tea in Autumn than in any other season. I do like vanilla black tea if I want caffeine. Green tea is more used for if I need less caffeine. If I’m feeling in the mood or sick, I like spicy cinnamon tea.

U is for. . . Umbrella

Autumn can be a rainy time of year. I lost my polka dot umbrella and I’m notorious for forgetting to bring an umbrella even though I know it’s going to rain. Additionally, I love breaking out my British / Union Jack rain boots.

V is for. . . Vivid

Vivid colors! Enough said.

W is for. . . Wedding

I will be disappointed if we don’t get married in October. We haven’t found a venue, but we toured one we like. We want to make sure we settle on a venue we love. Weddings are expensive.

X is for. . . being Xtra

Taking a selfie with the first Pumpkin coffee drink or using Instagram to take a boomerang of you throwing leaves. It’s a time to be Xtra this season.

Y is for. . . Young

I’m not a mom. If I do decide to have children, I will take my kids to the apple orchard, renaissance festival and other fall-themed events. I want to share my joy with my kids again if my life path allows for kids.

Z is for. . . Zigzagging through a Haunted House or Maze.

I haven’t done a real corn maze in a while. I did do a haunted maze at Valleyfair’s Valleyscare. Valleyfair is a small amusement park south of the Twin Cities area where I’m from. I don’t like going to the amusement park in summer, but in Autumn, they make it up to be Halloween themed. I haven’t been back in a while, but I hope to go this year.

Yay, I found a word for every letter of the alphabet. If you haven’t read Pumpkinheads, you need to. Pumpkinheads is written by Rainbow Rowell and drawn by Faith Erin Hicks. Pumpkinheads can be purchased at any place where books are sold, though I highly recommend supporting your local book store.