Up here in northern Minnesota, fall shows up early. While a lot of the internet is pulling out tall boots and big cozy sweaters in 80-degree weather, we’re down in the basement going through the totes, pulling out hats and mittens and scarves out of necessity, not fashion. The swimsuits and sunscreen go into the bins, (they had their moment in my summer favorites stack), the winter gear comes out, and every year we find out the kids have outgrown their boots again, and usually the snow pants too.
Our house is basically centered around one big maple tree, and right now its leaves are getting patchy and starting to turn. That’s my cue. I take inventory of what worked last year and what we need for this one, I swap out every closet and locker for the season, and I start wanting the crock pot back on the counter. I’m a seasonal girly through and through (I think you have to be, living where we do), so this is what I’m loving this fall, three favorites in each of the five categories I get asked about most.
A quick note before we get started: some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. I only share things our family actually uses and loves.
The Fall Wardrobe Staples I Wear on Repeat
Around here I keep a coat for pretty much every temperature, because the coat you want on a 60-degree day does nothing for you at negative 30, and the weather can swing between them fast. So when I redo our closets each fall, I’m looking hard at what I wore on repeat last year and what just sat there.
I’m hesitant to put much money into trendy pieces, so the three below earned their spot by getting worn over and over. They also all live in the same warm browns and burgundies, which makes getting dressed in the dark on a cold morning a lot easier.
1. Sézane sweaters and cardigans. I’m obsessed with Sézane everything, especially their Marie Cardigan which is so versatile. The quality is amazing and the styles are so timeless (very Parisian), and everything I’ve ever bought from them is still in my rotation, which makes them about the opposite of trendy.
2. Left On Friday sets, These are my mix-and-match staple, and bonus points, the swimsuit bottoms and yoga pants mix too, so one bag covers workouts and swimming (such a hack for travel). The fabric is the perfect thickness for compression without making you feel restricted, and I stocked up on burgundy and coffee bean so the warm tones mix effortlessly.
3. Quince barrel jeans. Barrel jeans are the kind of trend I’m usually slow to buy into, but at about $60 these are the perfect barrel. They’re comfy and they pass the squat test, they come in multiple washes, and I always get compliments on them.
Fall Essentials for Kids (Farm-Tested and Travel-Approved)
This fall looks very different for us, because we started homeschooling the girls. Having them home all day, every day has been incredible and not as big of an adjustment as we thought it would be. The slower mornings have been my favorite part, and now that we have the freedom to travel, we’ve got a few trips on the calendar while we find our groove.
It also means the kids are outside even more than before, and packing for trips more often, so their favorites get put to the test.
1. Bogs winter boots.We wear a lot of boots, and Bogs are the best. They come in different weather ratings, so we get the winter version of these and skip the fur and laces and stick with what works and Bogs are the faves.
2. Millie Fleur’s Poison Garden by Christy Mandin. I love this one, it’s adorable. Woven in with all the gardening is a reminder to be weird and be yourself, which totally resonates here in our household! Also, the illustrations are adorable.
3. Tonies. My kids have loved Tonies since they were little, and we’ve found some fun new ones lately, like Arthur and Bluey. They’re our most-used toy and the one we always pack. I swear this is forever our most used “toy” and something we swear by.
Easy Fall Recipes for When the Temps Drop
As soon as the temps drop, I want comfort food back on the stove. None of these three are my recipes, so each one links back to the kitchen it came from, and I hope you’ll go show those creators some love.
1. Lasagna soup from Tastes Better From Scratch. This has been my go-to recipe for years. I just sub in gluten-free lasagna noodles, and I’m making a double batch for my fam this weekend. The ricotta cheese mixture for the topping, yum.
2. Healthy homemade granola from Cookie and Kate. Homemade granola is so easy to make and so delicious, and it gets my kids to eat whole-milk yogurt, which is a big win when you want them getting enough fat and calories.
3. Homemade cashew milk from Cookie and Kate. I bought Drew a fancy espresso maker, so it feels like we have our own Starbucks, and I want frothy milk but don’t love dairy milk. I’ve been making cashew milk for a few years, and this recipe is the best.
Books to Read This Fall (Nightstand Edition)
I only try to read for fun these days. Anything I’m reading to learn, like books on homeschooling, goes on Audible, and my nightstand is saved for fiction and the few books I can’t stop sending to friends.
1. By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult. This is what I’m reading right now, and it’s amazing. It bops between modern day and Shakespeare’s time, and I’m learning a lot of history while I read. There are so many parallels to women in leadership and how we’ve had to move differently with our careers and with our writing.
2. The Daily Manifestor by Neville Goddard. I did daily devotionals for years and years, and this has been my switch-up. It’s a one-page nightly manifestation read before bed, the content resonates with me a lot, I find myself taking photos of the pages and sending it to friends because it resonates deeply and is just a shift in the way we think about our realities and how we manifest.
3. Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski. My therapist recommended this one, and I think it should be required reading for every woman. I’m not gonna lie, I blushed through the first two chapters on Audible, but it covers so much that women were never taught about our bodies and sex, and it’s well-studied and written by an expert who is also an incredible writer.
My Fall Self-Care Routine
My health routine is a very “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” situation and has been so freaking consistent for the last four years that I’m honestly impressed with myself. I think Drew assumed a lot of it would be phases, and maybe I’m just trying to prove to him (and to myself) that it isn’t.
What changes in fall is my skin and what my body craves. As the temps go down and everything dries out, my focus shifts to hydration and keeping my skin barrier intact, and I find myself wanting more heat.
1. Primally Pure Jelly to Milk Cleanser After being a cleansing oil girly for nearly a decade, this has been a fun swap. It goes on super thick and then gets creamy and it feels nourishing as you cleanse. Coming from a Noxema girlie who used to strip her skin raw, this feels like giving back and not taking.
2. HigherDOSE red light mask When it gets cold, this is where I get my warmth and a little bit of heat. I use it every single night while I read in bed (yes, I still look like a robot), and it’s part of the nighttime routine I swear by both for winding down but also for giving back to my skin.
3. HigherDOSE red light shower head. I swear I shower in the dark now, and it’s a nervous system reset. My husband calls me.a vampire but I set an entire mood for my showers and I swear it is where I have my best thoughts. Turn the lights low (or off) play some relaxing music and get a dose of red light while you’re at it. My only complaint is that my kids now only want to shower in my bathroom.
Fall Favorites FAQ
What are Jenna Kutcher’s fall favorites? My fall favorites this year cover five categories: a Sézane sweater, Left On Friday sets and Quince barrel jeans for my wardrobe, Bogs boots and Tonies for the kids, lasagna soup and homemade granola in the kitchen, By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult on my nightstand, and HigherDOSE red light mask for a moment of self-care.
How do you switch your closet from summer to fall? Swap everything at once, keep only what you actually wore on repeat, and stick to one warm color palette so it all mixes. I do it as soon as the maple out front starts to turn with swimsuits and sunscreen going into totes and winter gear coming up from the basement.
What winter gear do kids need in a cold climate? Winter-rated boots, snow pants, hats, mittens, and always check sizes early fall because kids outgrow boots and snow pants fast. In our house that happens every single year. We live in Bogs, and we get the winter-rated version without the fur and laces.
What are easy fall recipes for families? Soups and make-ahead breakfasts. Lasagna soup from Tastes Better From Scratch is my go-to (I use gluten-free noodles), and Cookie and Kate’s granola with whole-milk yogurt is an easy breakfast kids will eat.
What are good books to read this fall? This fall I’m reading By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult for fiction and Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski, which I think every woman should read.
How do you keep your skin from drying out in fall? Focus on hydration and protecting your skin barrier as the temperature drops. After nearly a decade of using a cleansing oil, I swapped to Primally Pure’s Jelly to Milk Cleanser, which goes on super thick and leaves my skin feeling soft versus stripped.
What Should You Stop Buying This Fall?
Part of my fall reset has been looking at what I kept buying and barely using, so consider this me basically telling on myself. These are the habits I’m officially done with, and what I am choosing to do instead.
1. I stopped buying one-off dresses. Now I rent them from Rent the Runway.
I used to buy a dress for one special occasion and then have nowhere else to wear it. Now I rent from Rent the Runway for special occasions and vacations, and it’s helped me stop buying dresses I only wear once, which is WAY better. And if I fall in love with something, I can buy it at a discount, so really it’s a win, win!
2. I stopped buying cheap boots. Now I own one pair of Blundstones.
I don’t want to spend more money on crappy boots, especially in Minnesota, where I need traction and all-weather wear and something that works with whatever pants I’ve got on. I stopped getting knockoff Uggs and bought one pair of Blundstones, and they last years upon years and look better with wear. No heels and no over-the-knee boots for me, because my boots need to work whether I’m in the garden or going out to dinner, so skipping a bunch of cheap pairs makes the splurge worth it.
3. I stopped buying new beauty products until I finish what I have.
I keep getting targeted with different makeup and different products, and falling for all of them left me with product overwhelm and a lineup of bottles I never finished. Now I wait until I have an empty bottle to decide if I’d buy it again or want to try something different. Having a little less beauty overwhelm has been one of my favorite changes this fall.
4. I stopped chasing trends, and my closet is thrilled.
I’ve gotten rid of so many pieces that were trendy right up until they weren’t. The skinny jeans, the millennial pink everything, the over-the-knee boots every blogger was wearing (you know the ones). I don’t own any skinny jeans anymore, which was a wild transition, but I’m done with all of it, and my closet, my wallet and my capsule wardrobe are basically praising Jesus.
