• My Faves

    My 2016 Fall Favorites

    The Recovering Pessimist: My 2016 Fall Faves -- With Fall approaching, I wanted to share what I'm looking forward to this year. | www.therecoveringpessimist.me #amwriting #recoveringpessimist #optimisticpessimistAutumn 2016 began September 22 and with that comes cooler weather, which we need here in RVA. So without further adieu, I’m here to deliver my fall favorites for 2016 (click here for last year’s post).

    Food and Beverage!!

    In last year’s post, I mentioned several of my favorite food and beverage items. It’s apple butter and pumpkin butter time! Absolutely delicious on toast, bagels, and in oatmeal. I’ve been obsessed with finding bread pudding and cobbler recipes to my Pinterest account. Also, seasonal beers appear on shelves, ready for my taste buds to enjoy.

    Layers

    The weather is still warm, but the nights get a bit chilly, so layering clothing is essential for me. There’s something about a light, chunky sweater, boots, and a light infinity scarf that make me so happy. I’ve been online window shopping for all new clothing. Soon as a sale starts, I’m on it!

    Home Fragrance

    For fall, I love scents such as leather, wood, musk, bergamot, and sandalwood. I tend to buy these scents in the forms of candles, incense, room sprays, and air fresheners for my car. A few of my favorite home fragrance lines are by Glade, Bath and Body Works, Yankee Candle, and various Etsy stores. The first three usually have coupons and/or coupon codes available this time of year.

    Cozy Nights

    Fall nights are great. I tend to open the windows to allow the crisp night air to enter the apartment. It feels so relaxing to read, watch TV, sleep, etc. with the window open and crisp air surrounding you. The cooler air mixed with the home fragrance of your choice is divine.

    Festivals

    Festival season doesn’t stop at the end of summer. Here in RVA, my favorite festivals are the Richmond Folk Festival, Armenian Food Festival, and Richmond Italian Festival. Put on your comfy layers and enjoy!

    That’s it, folks! I hope you enjoyed this year’s list. Leave a comment with some of your fall favorites.

    Until next time,

    MsWalton

  • The Recovering Pessimist: What I Love About Summer -- Hot weather and outdoor drinking are a few of my favorite things about summer. | www.therecoveringpessimist.me #amwriting #recoveringpessimist #optimisticpessimist
    My Faves

    What I Love About Summer

    The Recovering Pessimist: What I Love About Summer -- Hot weather and outdoor drinking are a few of my favorite things about summer. | www.therecoveringpessimist.me #amwriting #recoveringpessimist #optimisticpessimistToday (June 2o) is the first day of Summer Solstice 2016. Longer days from the Spring Equinox combined with warmer weather lead to all kinds of awesomeness.

    In fact, as I’m writing this, we’ve experienced our first 90-degree day of the year here in #RVA.

    I can’t put into words how elated I am about summer starting, so I’m going to drop this GIF:

     

    Kelly Rowland / giphy.com
    Kelly Rowland / giphy.com

    Nailed it!

    And without further adieu, here’s what I love about summer. Enjoy!

    The Heat

    My skin finally gets some sun exposure, allowing it to become a gorgeous shade of bronze. Dresses, skirts, rompers, tank tops, shorts, and sandals are my standard summer uniform. People watching becomes an outdoor event for me and my friends. We find a heavily populated area (usually the outdoor malls), grab a drink, snacks, and a comfy place to sit. Then we chit-chat and watch the people passing by. It’s inexpensive entertainment, trust me.

    Outdoor Drinking

    Drinking + outdoors = thank you! In Richmond, rooftop bars are all the rage at the moment. That’s cool because I intend on having several drinks on top of each one of these rooftops, soaking in the #RVA skyline. If you can’t get to the rooftops, there are also a lot of patios and breweries I can hang out at. Speaking of drinks, I have a lot of sangria recipes I’ve saved from Pinterest just itching to be made. Fruit + alcohol = win.

    Food!!

    It’s grilling season!!!! There’s something about grill marks on food that makes food taste 10 times better. I eat excessive amounts of watermelon and BBQ. Oh, and I get to attend (and occasionally crash) cookouts. Word to the wise: pay attention to how food is prepped for the grill. Just because it’s going on the grill doesn’t mean it you can skip out on seasoning. I don’t want to bite into ribs that are sauced to capacity and not seasoned. So disrespectful.

    Summer Nights

    There’s something about spending summer nights outside looking at the stars and watching fireflies light up the sky. I love to grab a good craft beer (or sweet wine) and enjoy the peaceful sounds of nature. Oh and don’t let it be raining at nighttime. Rain during the summer is very sexy. Think along the lines of “Summer Rain” by Carl Thomas.

    Enough about my favorites. Let’s chat. If you had to plan your ideal summer day, what would you do? I’d love to read your ideas in the comments.

    Until next time,

    Jae