My Fall Bucket List

This summer didn’t necessarily go how I envisioned it to go. I imagined spending sunny days out on a lake, enjoying an endless amount of s’mores around bonfires with friends, starting my gardening journey, and getting out of the midwest at least once this summer. Although I spent most of my summer in the AC wearing jeans, I was able to get some work done on a bathroom renovation, spend time with family, and push my business forward while learning a whole lot about myself. I caught myself in the loop of dreaming and making plans to do the things I wanted to do this summer, instead of DOING them. 

Over the past three months, I learned that things don’t always work out in our favor or the way that we plan on them happening unless we take action to live out the experiences we wish to have. These are a few of my fall bucket list activities and events for 2023- gather with friends and family, first-time experiences, and exploring more to get to know the communities around me. The fall season is the “pregame” for the holiday festivities, where we begin to create magic, memories, and share spaces with our loved ones. 

Experience- Solo Activities

During this calming, colorful season before our winter storms, I’m setting the intention of finding more things to do on my own; whether that be out and about in public, nature, or in the comfort of my own home. I’ve found that I’ve become so used to doing things with friends that I haven’t intentionally planned things to do for myself. These activities are a few of the very many things that we can be doing on our own.

Decorate Porch for Fall

Pumpkins and mums are beginning to replace the plants for gardening in our grocery store parking lots. Leaves are falling from their branches in a rainbow of colors. There’s dew on the grass and windows mirroring our lawns. There’s a crispy-ness to the scent in the morning air. A seasonal welcome sign and matching rug greet your visitors on the front porch. Corn stalks, pumpkins, and mums flood the fronts of houses. There’s magic between the first step of the porch and the front door. I’m excited to take some time to create a welcoming home to my visitors this fall season. 

Hand out Candy for Halloween

The first couple years of living here, I’ve turned off my porch lights while enjoying time to myself while kids roam the streets for their fall sugar highs. I remember when I was a kid, my parents always went camping during the fall where we would celebrate halloween. For four weekends, we collected as much candy as we could from other campers. Seeing the kids on the sidewalks in town reminds me of how much fun I always had with my sister and our friends and I want to share that same experience with the local kids this year. 

Hocus Pocus Night with Wine and Homemade Pizza

Hocus Pocus has always been on my fall activities list. This year I want to make it a little bit different. The morning of, I will put a bottle of wine in the fridge to chill and get all of the ingredients for homemade pizza. My favorite pizzas are usually a deluxe or veggies version depending on what I’m feeling. I’m thinking, homemade pizza crust, sauce, cheese with toppings of pepperoni, sausage, green peppers, and onions. Once the pizza is in the oven, I’ll grab some twinkle lights and start to hang them while the pizza is in the oven. I’ll start the movie as soon as the pizza comes out of the oven and pour a glass of wine and enjoy my evening. 

Fall Photo Shoot

I have realized throughout this year that I really don’t have as many photos of myself as I used to. Maybe it’s because I don’t have people living in the next room over or maybe it’s that I’m not as present as I used to be; recognizing all of the magical moments and taking the time to document them. My roommates and I would take time to get all dressed up to go take photos of each other, a whole day excursion of getting ready, doing our hair and makeup, picking out the perfect fall outfit, and driving to a picturesque location where we would take turns being the main character. 

Soup Season, Love for Making Homemade Soup

I am a HUGE lover of soup season. The warmth radiating from the stove, the smell lingering throughout the house, and the bubbles simmering on top of the pot. There’s nothing better. Some soups that I would love to make this fall season are homemade tomato soup with grilled cheese, minestrone, chili, and I would LOVE to perfect my broccoli cheddar soup. Last year I tried to make it and it was an epic fail. Stay tuned on when I try a new soup recipe or perfect some recipes that I’ve tried in the past. 

Gather – With Friends + Family

Even though I have recognized that I want to do more things by myself, that doesn’t mean that I have to take away from still doing things with my friends and family. Personally I’d like to have a balance of fun individually and with others. These bucket list items are some must do’s in the fall season with a few wedding adventures already scheduled in. 

Fall Buggy Ride

My first fall in the UP, I spent one day with some of my new friends riding through the colorful trails. The wind was blowing through my hair, lots of laughs, and still some peaks of sunshine through the naked branches. The lakes up here in the midst of the forests are one of my favorite things. I hope to make this an annual thing, eventually turning into me having my own UTV to join the crew. 

Carve Pumpkins

There’s just something so sweet about gathering friends at home with a table cloth covering the dining room table, candles lit, and spooky music playing while we disassemble pumpkins to make art. There will be laughter, messes I won’t mind cleaning up, and memories to share for a lifetime. The pumpkins can be displayed on my front porch just before Halloween until the snow starts to fall. 

Watch a Packer Game / Packer Party

In college, I used to spend weekends with my roommate’s family. Whenever there was a Packer game on, we would plan to be in town later than normal to spend time at her grandparents’ house for a Packer Party. We would bring all of our belongings to leave right back to campus after the game was over, do our homework while the game was on and enjoy the company surrounding us. Her grandparents always had a bunch of food prepared for snacking and extra blankets in their screened in porch. If it got toasty, they would open up the windows for some fresh air. 

Kenzie’s Bachelorette Party: Door County, WI

My best friend is getting married next month!! I’ve seen Kenzie before she was with the love of her life and I’ve watched their relationship grow and I cannot wait to experience the beginning of the rest of their lives together. My first time in Door County, WI was last year for another bachelorette party and I’m excited to experience it all over again. The wineries, the food, the markets- there’s just so much left to explore there. 

Kenzie’s Wedding

I said it before and I’ll say it again. I cannot wait to experience the beginning of the rest of Kenzie and Cody’s lives together. Wedding season brings so much love and light to life, there’s laughter, dancing, and so many memories being made. After I celebrate a wedding of loved ones, I feel re-energized and alive again. 

Explore – Surrounding Communities

Some of the locations listed below are completely new and to be honest, I found them through social media ads. While others are a little bit more local and familiar in the northwoods areas. Scheduling time to be a tourist in a new area can spark inspiration and connection to new areas, either giving you a reason to go back again or to recommend to others too. 

Rock Ridge Orchard- Edgar, Wisconsin

I discovered Rock Ridge Orchard in Edgar, Wisconsin through an ad on social media. When I saw it, it reminded me of the wineries I visited in Door County last year and the local orchard in my college town. Mums, pumpkins, apples, ciders, and more. Live music, in a lawn chair snuggled up in a sweatshirt and cozy blanket. 

Rhinelander, WI

Earlier this year, I was driving back home from an event and discovered a few businesses in Rhinelander, WI that I wrote down on my list of places to check out. If you’ve read through a few of my posts, I think you can tell that I love a good market and coffee shops. As for the meat market on the list, I’ve been thinking about getting myself a little chest freezer to buy local and fresh meat in bulk to keep for when I want to use it, to avoid buying meat from grocery stores. 

• Golden Harvest Market
• Bessey’s Meat Market
• Northern Grounds Coffee

Chicago Fall Market with Kaiti

This was another social media ad find, Jack’s Pumpkin Pop Up located in Chicago, IL. As soon as I saw the pictures, I messaged Kaiti with a plan for making this work out since Chicago is a solid six hours away for me. It would be a whole weekend trip, I would drive down to her house on a Friday to get there once she’s done teaching. Saturday morning, we would drive down to Chicago for the event and then spend the night either in Illinois or in southern Wisconsin and make our way back to her house on Sunday to have a chill rest of the day, maybe make something delicious for dinner. I would then head back up to the northwoods on Monday morning when she leaves to go back to the classroom. 

What’s on Your Fall Bucket List?

Send me a message and let me know if you would try any of these bucket list items or if you have any ideas or anything new that you think I should try.