It’s a new school year, so we’re trying something a bit different! Let us know how you like it and if you have your own pressing questions for our editors! Check back next month for even more of our favorites/would-you-rathers.
Here is our take on fall!
Meghan Howie
1. Pumpkin pie or apple pie?
Definitely apple pie for me. My family would go apple picking every fall when I was growing up. Half the fun was cutting up the apples and getting them ready for the pies and apple sauce and everything else my mom made. Apple pie is easily the best of these. We like to freeze the apple and sugar mess into pie shapes so they’re ready to go all fall and winter. Just make your crust and throw one of those on top! In 20 minutes you have a delicious pie. Far better than any canned pie or store bought.
2. Favorite fall drink?
I’m a big fan of a hot cup of chai. As a coffee-addict in recovery, I’m learning to get by on the smaller amount of caffeine. I drink it straight and it tastes amazing. In those cold fall mornings when you never want to leave the confines of your cozy bed for the brisk walk to class, it is the perfect handwarmer and slow way to wake you up through a lecture. No jitters here.
3. Favorite fall clothing piece?
Blanket scarves. Hands down. They’re a clothing item and a survival supply. They’re also way too soft to not love. I cannot tell you how many times this has come in handy for impossibly cold classrooms. Did I mention that it serves as a great pillow too? Seriously, these things are underrated and deserve way more recognition for their versatility. I have a few more than I’d like to admit, but you bet I’ll be rocking them all once fall truly hits.
Tori Dickson
1.Favorite fall drink?
For the sake of NOT saying pumpkin spice latte, I’ll go with a nice London Fog with English Breakfast tea and a splash of vanilla (cinnamon on top if I’m feeling ~fancy~) Tea lattes are one of my favorite cafe drinks, especially when it starts cooling down outside. The minimal caffeine keeps you awake but not wired and the frothy milk and vanilla gives a tinge of sweetness to what some consider a blander tasting tea.
2. Favorite fall food?
I am irrationally and adamantly into apples. Apple orchards were always a huge part of my hometown in Massachusetts and I associate the coming of fall with rides to the orchard, snaking through bumpy, twisting roads and golden trees after sports practices. Then, on the ride home with a bag of best-in-season apples, often recommended by the orchard owner, taking sweet and dribbling bites with the windows down.
3. Favorite thing about fall?
I’m from New England so this is an extremely difficult question. I’ve always loved brisk breezes and bright leaves but DC is a little more splotchy and humid than golden and nippy. My favorite DC thing about fall is the care package my mom sends because she knows how homesick I get being away from Massachusetts this time of year. I open the box to find some of my favorite treats including loads of honey crisp apples from the orchard. She even uses colorful leaves from home for packing as a substitute for packing peanuts.
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Katie Malone
1. Pumpkin pie or apple pie?
Give me some zucchini bread instead. Many of my extended families have gardens that they tend to all summer, and if you know anything about gardening, you’ve probably heard that zucchini plants will flourish under almost any circumstance. My family is gifted dozens to munch on in July and August, but usually by the end of summer we’re getting sick of the same zucchini side dishes. So, at the end of the summer, we’ll shred and freeze and freeze the remaining zucchinis to make bread with all fall! It’s a great breakfast, snack or dessert, and it reminds me of early fall every time I taste it. It’s become one of my favorites because it’s not too sweet and you can pretend you’re getting your vegetables when you eat it!
2. 10 mini pumpkins or 1 big pumpkin?
One big one. Every year, my step-mom participates in a pumpkin carve where she gets to make whatever she wants out of a huge pumpkin. From brains to skateboards, she’s super creative with it and it’s fun to watch the process! One year, her skills won her a small stool that we still have in the house. I look forward to seeing what she creates every year, and it was always a tradition to attend when we were growing up. The memories of eating candy apples and drinking warm apple cider on the cold November nights of the carve blur together over the years, but it’s been a couple years since I’ve attended and I really miss it.
Hayli Spence
1. Pumpkin pie or apple pie?
Ah, my two loves! Unfortunately for pumpkin pie, however, apple pie will always win out. A hot slice of apple pie is perfect for a cold fall day.
2. Favorite fall drink?
Hot chocolate. I have a late class with some of my friends, and we love to hit up Starbucks afterwards to avoid walking home on cold nights. I’m not a coffee fan, and hot chocolate was a big part of my childhood in Michigan and Virginia, so naturally I’ve stuck with it.
3. Favorite fall clothing piece?
Boots! I love saying good-bye to ballet flats and tennis shoe laces when the days start to get cooler. A good pair of boots (or two… or three) are extremely versatile and super cute. They totally make any fall look!
4. 10 mini pumpkins or 1 big pumpkin?
Let’s see, 10 faceless vegetables scattered around the room or a big, smiling Jack-‘O-Lantern to keep the spooks at bay? Definitely going with the one big pumpkin. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and carving pumpkins is one of my top-three favorite traditions. My family always watches Charlie Brown while we carve, and I have a little witch hat that I wear. No two pumpkins ever turn out the same, so every year is fun and different!
5. Favorite back-to-school tradition?
Um, shopping! I may or may not have an online shopping addiction, and when the fall styles come out I usually use the “back-to-school” excuse to order some new outfits. When I was little, my mom would take me and my brother to the mall and make a day of it. Now that we’re older, the shopping is mostly done online, but it’s still fun to get something new or experiment with a new look.
6. Favorite thing about fall?
Well, I love everything I’ve already mentioned above–fall really is an awesome time of the year all-round. But, if I have to go with one thing, I have to say that it’s the colors. I love watching the leaves change, and there are always those days when the sky takes on a really vibrant hue that is just quentissentially fall. It’s just a really vibrant, colorful season, especially when you factor in holidays and fall festivals. Everything in life and nature seems to be celebrating something all the time–having that last hurrah before gray skies arrive. So, yeah, my favorite thing about fall would have to be all the colors.
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