Ahhh, fall. The best season New England has to offer if you ask me. And, Boston has plenty of fun ways to treat yourself during this lovely season of brisk weather and Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
Take a trip to the Boston Public Market and get hot apple cider and cider donuts.
There’s nothing like hot apple cider on a chilly autumn afternoon. Take a break from studying for midterms, grab all your friends, and stop by the BPM for Red Apple Farm’s house-made spiced cider and fresh cider donuts. You can watch as the flip the dough into the oil right in front of you. There’s nothing like fried sugary goodness to lift your spirits.
Itching for a trip outside the city? Go apple picking.
Why walk to the BPM, when you could go pick your own apples and make your own cider? Yeah, it’s a lot more work but it’s kind of fun. Sometimes being in the city can get a little suffocating, and it’s easy to forget that the world of trees and hills and fresh air isn’t too far from reach. Wrangle a friend with a car, take the T all the way west, or even hop on the commuter rail and drag your buddies to the closest apple orchard you can find. Or, if you’re up for an adventure, Honey Pot Hills in Stow is one of my favorites. Apple trees as far as the eye can see!
Rather stay close to home but still want to feel festive? Have a cooking baking party.
Nothing says the holidays are coming like cookies. And what better way to treat yourself than to bake yourself a treat? There are so many good fall cookie recipes out there in the ether, like this Pumpkin Spice Cookie recipe from Two Sister Crafting and this list of 20 of the best fall cookies by Delish. The hard part will be having to choose between the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip, Cinnamon Roll cookies, and Molasses Ginger bars. Or just camp out in the new communal kitchen in 172 Tremont and try them all.
Maybe a little salon pampering is what you need. Good thing there’s plenty of fall nail trends to go around.
Burnt orange hues, tortoise shell details, accent hearts, and more. Statement nails are all the rage and, if you haven’t tried them out already, this fall is the perfect time to give it a whirl. Check out this article by Refinery29 detailing all the trends and consider using my favorite color of the season so far provided by Essie.
Take a trip to your local pumpkin patch, have a photo shoot, then carve your pumpkin and make a face mask with the leftovers.
This is truly a treat yourself all-in-one activity. Run out to the nearest supermarket to grab your pumpkin or take a quick trip to Allandale Farm in Brookline for a true pumpkin patch picking experience. Spend some time carving up a goofy or spooky face on the front, but make sure not to throw out the pieces and guts you cut out. Rinse off the seeds, coat them in olive oil, sprinkle on some salt, pepper, brown sugar and paprika and bake. Now you’ve got a quick and healthy fall snack. Then, take the leftover pumpkin carvings and follow this recipe from Allure to make a DIY pumpkin face mask. The vitamin-packed pumpkin will have you glowing like jack o’ lantern.