Happy Fall, Y’all! It’s October and that means it’s time to start savoring every fall moment possible – which is why I need the help of a fall bucket list to make it happen!

I went back and forth on how many things I wanted to include on my fall bucket list this year. I want to take it easy and not put too much pressure on myself to do everything with baby Chloe, but I also love a checklist, and I wanted to share a lot of ideas with you so you can use them for your family this season! I've narrowed it down to my top 15...take them or leave them! ;)

We just had our first fall weekend, and I definitely made the most of it with my little family. Everything is so much more fun with baby Chloe! We did have to pull over and do an in-car nursing session on the way to a pumpkin patch, but it was all worth it!

I started off my weekend by checking off a pumpkin spice latte… Actually, that’s not even true! I had a pumpkin spice cold brew from Starbucks, and it was delicious! Of course, since there was a donut shop right next door, we also grabbed some fall donuts to fuel us for our trip to the Dallas Arboretum pumpkin patch.

By the time we got there, Chloe was asleep and she actually stayed asleep the whole time we were at the Arboretum... so here is her first photo at the pumpkin patch lol. We are members at the Dallas Arboretum, so we have unlimited visits, so I will definitely go back in a week or so and hopefully the temperature will have cooled off a bit by then!

As I was thinking about what I want to do this fall, and how I want to remember, Chloe’s first, Paul, a lot of my items, revolved around baking and eating lol I grew up always baking, special, seasonal treats with my mom, and I still love to do that, so I am hoping Chloe will grow up enjoying that as well.

Without further ado, here are my 15 fall bucket list items!

Indoors:

1. Watch a Halloween movie or fall vibes movie:

You’ve got mail or Gilmore girls counts as well.

2. Decorate the house for fall!

I’m a little behind on this one, but I do have a few pumpkins inside so far! TBH do I skip it and go straight to Christmas at this point? Am I too late?! lol I think I'll add some fall colored stems in a vase and call it a day, but I do love having a few mini pumpkins scattered around the house!

3. Decorate the front porch with pumpkins.

I just added my porch pumpkins over the weekend, and I love them! This was the first activity I did at our house when we moved in two years ago so decorating the porch with pumpkins will always be a fun memory of when we first moved in. PS. How precious is this still frame from my reels video?!

4. Host a Friendsgiving!

I’m not sure what Friendsgiving will look like this year with a baby, but we did just have a baby brunch on Sunday and it was just about the most precious thing! I’m definitely going to try to do some kind of Friendsgiving this year. If that seems like too much work for you, think about doing a brunch or a potluck style dinner party and don’t call it Friendsgiving if that makes it seem less stressful. ;)

5. Host a Halloween party!

I’ve hosted a Halloween party for the last 12-ish years, but this year will definitely look different. I don’t anticipate a bunch of single friends wanting to come over and hang out with our baby this year. Lol so will either do trunk or treat with our church and decorate a trunk or will have a "baby boo bash" and do some kind of morning or afternoon costume get together with friends.

6. Drink all the seasonal drinks:

Really there are only two on my list, but they’re heavy hitters.

Of course I have to order a pumpkin spice latte. They’re not some thing I crave, but I do appreciate them every fall season. Over the weekend, like I mentioned, I had a pumpkin spice cold brew from Starbucks, and it was definitely some thing I would order again – highly recommend!

...annnnd hot chocolate! Hot chocolate is a staple for me. I usually drink it every night when it gets cold, but during the fall, when it’s still a little warm in Texas, it’s fun to drink on special occasions during a fire pit night, or a fall movie date night.

7. Bake/eat all the seasonal treats:

Baking and eating seasonal fall goodies is always very high on my priority list for fall activities. Here are a few of my faves just to give you a few ideas to use for your own list:

• Pumpkin pie-can I level with you? I don’t even like pumpkin pie. Lol but they’re so cute and everyone else loves them, so I always bake one.
• Pumpkin or regular homemade cinnamon rolls.  Cinnamon rolls are one of my favorite special breakfast foods and breakfast is my favorite meal… so homemade cinnamon rolls are usually pretty high up on my baking list.
• Apple cider donuts -I always hear about these, but I actually don’t think I’ve ever had one. Last year I was on a serious mission to find an apple cider donut but I never did! The search continues this year and if I don’t find one, then I’m going to give myself a check mark anyway, because I had a cinnamon sugar donut on Saturday, so I feel like that’s pretty close.
• Sourdough bread: I actually just took my sourdough starter out of the fridge today to start feeding it to wake it up again. I really don’t remember when the last time was that I baked sourdough, so I hope my starter is still active enough to make a decent loaf of bread in the next few weeks.
• Homemade apple pie: since I don’t like pumpkin pie, apple pie is absolutely my go to! I think pie crust is so fun to make a cute design with. I’ll definitely be making a homemade apple pie this year… TBD, if the crust will be homemade or store-bought from the refrigerator section. (IYKYK)

Outdoors:

8. Roast marshmallows over a fire pit.

This seems basic, but a fire pit is on our "to buy" list for our backyard, so I probably have to include a back porch makeover and a fire pit with this bucket list item. Ha! If the fire pit doesn't happen, I’ll roast my marshmallows over our gas stove, and call it a day. ;)

9. Plan a fall photoshoot.

Of course I have to plan some fun fall photo shoots! Some of my favorite photos over the years have been in the fall. I’m excited this year especially because I have already gotten approval from my husband to do a photoshoot theme that I’ve been wanting to do for years. It’s going to be so much fun with baby Chloe this year!

10. Pack a fall picnic

I feel like picnics are normally on summer bucket lists, but in Texas, when we’ve had 100° days most of the summer, picnics get moved to the fall. I’m looking forward to nice weather, walks to the lake, and packing the cutest freaking picnics you've ever seen. This will be another thing that is so much more fun with baby Chloe.

11. Walk at the Dallas Arboretum and visit their pumpkin patch.

Done! ;) This is a *must* for my Dallas friends. If you enjoy the Arboretum, I highly recommend becoming members at the “family” level because you get unlimited visits, can bring up to 6 people each visit, and members get early access each morning from 7am-9am before it opens!

12. Explore the Dallas Farmers Market and Ruibal’s Garden Center

I always look forward to my annual fall visit to the Dallas Farmers Market! Walk the pavilion and bring a tote bag to fill with local goodies and produce. Then walk across the street to Ruibal’s to get your pumpkins and take the best photo of pumpkins in the foreground and downtown Dallas in the background!

13. Go to the State Fair of Texas

Eeek! So excited for the fair this year! We’ve got our tickets already and are excited to introduce Chloe to Big Tex ;) We mostly just walk around and try a few of the new fair foods after getting our standard Fletcher’s corn dog and a classic funnel cake!

14. Visit a pumpkin patch!

I know, I know, there are already a couple “pumpkin patches” on the list, BUT this one is talking about an *actual* pumpkin patch. There are 4 or 5 around DFW/North Texas. They’re a little bit farther of a drive but I think a fall farm vibe is so cute and worth it! Chloe doesn’t *love* car rides just yet, so we’ll see if we get this one done.

15. Pick apples at an apple orchard!

Let me level with you…this is on my list every year and I never do it. Why? Again, a bit of a drive and it’s definitely more of a “for the kids activity” unless you’re just going for photos (guilty)! This year, however, I know a lot of farms have been struggling with the heat and being able to keep their trees and crops watered, so it may not be a great year to visit. TBD!

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I hope you add a few of these to your own fall bucket list! Want a few more ideas? Check out last year's Fall Bucket List post and see how it compares!