Everyone talks about how the ocean is full of fish after a breakup, whether that was yesterday or last year, and how the winds of change shut a door but open a window. That’s great, but you really don’t care about fishing or crawling out of windows right now.
The winds of change have come with fall, and this season your singlehood is all about you being Lady Robinhood with your band of Merry Leaf Jumpers:
- Coffee With Friends + Relaxing Shenanigans
Don your best scarves over fluffy sweaters where the sleeves pull over your wrists as your wrap your hands around warm cups of coffee. Fill the warmth waft over your nose as you taste the cinnamon on top of the foam.
Invite your friends out for coffee, and haunt the coffee shop for an afternoon or evening. Bring supplies for shenanigans, including nail polish, adult coloring books, tarot cards and tabletop board games. Let the fun unfold with girlfriends for the price of a cup of Joe.
- Cuddle Up With a Good Book and Mulled Wine
Has your stack of borrowed books gotten too high? When was the last time you sat down and dedicated an afternoon to reading a good book? Make it so.
Let yourself get absorbed in an entirely different world, particularly on a chilly, rainy day, with a glass of mulled wine. What will you read? Is it a dystopian romance between a werewolf and a human detective? Is it a nonfiction book about the lives of the Tudors or Marilyn Monroe?
Mulled wine is typically made from red wine, such as Merlot, and heated up with honey/sugar, cloves, cinnamon sticks, ginger, an orange and brandy. Your mulled wine can be ready in less than thirty minutes, but some recipes call for it to heat slowly for hours, letting the spicy scents fill your home.
- Do a Wine Tasting at a Vineyard
It’s fun to relax with friends over a glass of wine at the end of a long week, but why not do a wine tasting at a vineyard? Learn how to properly taste wine with your girlfriends, and enjoy a group meal first to avoid getting a little tipsy and dulling your palate while there.
Small things can also dull your palate and senses when wine tasting, including chewing gum or mints or wearing strong smelling perfume. Dress casual, but avoid couch potato wear, such as yoga pants or sweatpants. When wine tasting, know that it’s okay to sip and even spit your wine out. It seems rude, but many wine connoisseurs sip the wine out to avoid a buzz getting in the way of the taste of wine.
- Go Apple Picking
Fall is the season of apple picking, especially October. Look for the closest orchard near you, and get your apple picking baskets ready. There are many kinds of apple varieties, and whoever runs the farm or store at the orchard can advise you which you might like best. To pick an apple, grab at the base and twist — the apple will come right off of the branch.
When you get home, sort your apples together, and choose a recipe to try, such as an apple pie or simple apple slices dipped in homemade caramel.
Don’t forget the bottle of wine you all took home from your vineyard adventure! Prepare a big feast together with an apple recipe for dessert.
- Walk a Nature Trail and Watch the Leaves Fall
Fall reminds you of how change happens quickly, with the shifting of the leaves from green to gold and red. The season also reminds you that change happens slowly, as you watch a solitary leaf break away from the branch and drift gently to the trail before you.
Get back into nature to be present in your body. City dwellers are at an increased risk for anxiety and depression, and time and nature does the brain good. Studies have shown that spending time in nature boosts your mood and sense of creativity. Bring your camera or sketchbook and capture the beauty.
Change isn’t always a bad thing. Let the fall season teach you about the beauty of change, transition and ultimately personal transformation.
Scoop up a big pile of leaves on a nature trail and jump inside. Go apple picking. Gather friends for a coffee date and play board games or color. Go to a wine tasting, and make mulled wine at home while you read a good book. Lady Robinhood, your band of Merry Fall Jumpers await your fall call into the wild winds of singlehood adventure. What say ye?
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