Fall ritual

I had a lovely little date with my brother Russ last night at Graffiato in Chinatown catching up about his first full week on the client site for his new job and debriefs from the weekend.  Everything was delicious, perhaps even more so because he treated, which kind of of blew my mind after years of dinners and drinks with the broke college student he so recently was.  I'm so proud of his transition to post-grad life and very happy to have him in DC for a couple more years.  Being able to spontaneously catch up over a meal or drinks is a luxury that I try to never take for granted.

After dinner we wandered over to Bed Bath and Beyond with the mission of finding the perfect, fall-smelling candle.  I like doing these types of errands with my brother because he does not mind that I need to smell every candle (even ones that I'm not considering that day) and deliberate way too much over whether I buy the jar or the tumbler version of whatever Yankee Candle I finally select.  He even manages to be (or seem) amused by my silliness, which I greatly appreciate.  In the end, the winner was "Autumn Wreath," and I have to say that it was not much of a competition as Yankee Candle seems to have cut down the distribution of some my other favorite seasonals, like "Harvest" and "Farmer's Market" in favor of new, overly sweet smelling pumpkin-y varietals.  Yes, I am a person who takes scented candles seriously/personally, so there you have it.

After all that hemming and hawing, I have to say that I am very happy with the selection after burning it for a few hours last night.  It has a warm, spiced-cidery scent that makes our apartment feel very cozy, so I can check this ritual off of my seasonal to-do list.  I am very much looking forward to curling up on the couch tonight with some takeout to watch the Presidential Debate in my newly fall-scented apartment. What are some of your favorite fall rituals? Any other crazy candle ladies/gents in my camp?