Dress: H&M (similar) // Shirt: J.Crew // Bag: Kate Spade (similar) // Shoes: Target (old) // Rings: Julie Vos, Old Navy, Etsy, Nordstrom // Lipstick: Sephora Cream Lip Stain // Nails: Julep Molly
One of the things I most anticipated about moving to Iowa was getting to experience all four seasons. Don’t get me wrong—there’s something very luxurious about living in place where you can wear almost everything in your closet 365 days out of the year, but after jealously eying rich cashmere jackets and buttery leather gloves for the past few years, I’m pretty excited for proper cold weather.
First up: fall. The air here already feels crisp, even on sunny days, and the leaves are staring to blanket our backyard. Iowa, I know, is different from New York in the fall, but with each jaunt around the block, that favorite Ephron line, “ bouquets of sharpened pencils…” drifts in and out of my head. I, too, share an overly romanticized view of school supplies.
But since I’m not currently in school, and can therefore justify only so many new notebooks and pens, I decided that apple picking would have to serve as a stand-in autumn ritual. Happily, if you live in Iowa, you can say things like, “so we headed over to our neighborhood orchard.”
Wilson’s Apple Orchard is about 15 minutes from our house and is set on rolling hills, which look especially enchanting at sunset. Naturally, we stopped at the orchard store to treat ourselves to apple cider donuts and an apple cider slush, which, while a little cold considering the weather, was a revelation.
Plaid seemed the perfect thing to wear on this fall outing as it calls to mind such seasonal delights as wrapping paper, shortbread boxes and scotch tape (see what I mean?). While in SF I could have gotten away with a light jacket over my shirtdress this time of year, here I felt compelled to layer a chambray shirt under it for added coziness. Plus, it’s way more fun to pop two collars.
