Reminiscing on Autumn (with The Body Shop)

The Body Shop asked me to join their #fallthrowback campaign, and sent some lovely items for my use. All thoughts are my own!

As many of you know, Fall is my absolute favorite season. So when Erica of Talented Talkers reached out to ask if I might join in their campaign for The Body Shop’s new Vanilla Pumpkin line and talk about just what it is in this season that brings up thoughts of pumpkins and spice, my answer was an immediate yes. I was kindly sent the full line of body wash, body butter, and hand cream for personal use, and while I was not expected to put them in my post… I had to. Because what is more “fall” than vanilla pumpkin? Unless, of course, we’re talking about pumpkin spice.

The Vanilla Pumpkin line is delightfully more on the vanilla side, with a subtle spice of pumpkin pie about it. I have been using it since it arrived about a week ago, and am delighted by the way the scent clings and changes throughout the day. In the morning, I find myself smelling like a heady vanilla-pumpkin dessert, and by the end of the day there remains a wonderful scent of sugar cookies.  

Fall, to me, has always meant the warm scent of baking permeating the house as the rain falls outside. It brings the memory of crisp leaves that give off a grassy aroma as they crunch beneath my feet. Fall is the heady scent of woodsmoke floating through the air, and the piney flavor of the trees that always surround us. It’s the earthiness of rotting bark that gives way easily as you clamber over fallen trees, so lush you can nearly taste it.

Fall is the rain that drips incessantly from the leaves as you pass, trickling down your neck and clinging to your eyelashes. It’s the cold, crisp mornings and the warmth of the sun in the afternoons. It’s fog so thick you see only a bubble around you in the cold night air, surroundings shrouded in beautifully white mist. 

Fall is the hills swept with color, the vibrant reds and saturated yellows, the rusty oranges and earthy browns. It’s walking down the sidewalk as the wind blows color all around you, and you clutch the warmth of your coffee closer in your hands. 

Fall is family gatherings to hunt for pumpkins and laughter as you get lost in the mud of the corn maze. It’s crowding around the too-small table laden with too much food. It’s coming back for seconds even though your first plate overflowed with abundance. It’s baking beautiful pies that surely took more time and effort than they will take to eat, and the swift disappearance of whipped cream into not-so-subtly sneaking little mouths. It’s the spice of mincemeat pie, the creaminess of the pumpkin, the sweetness of marshmallows on sweet potatoes. It’s the sound of laughter and love, the dad jokes and collective groans, Nintendo playing somewhere in the background as cousins and siblings challenge each other to a game.

These are the memories I have of fall. The sights and smells, the sounds and feelings and flavors. And these memories are what make fall so very special to me.

Thank you Erica and The Body Shop for prompting me to reminisce on fall! I enjoyed being part of this campaign and remembering all of the things that make autumn the best season of the year!

Dress, gift from Skye | boots, Amazon | Belt, from another dress | Pumpkins from Target | Vanilla Pumpkin range kindly sent from The Body Shop