The Sunday Times: Issue #35

Fall is my favorite season by far. I was born on Thanksgiving and have always felt an affinity towards the entire month of November. I bristle when shops start decorating for and playing Christmas music the day after Halloween, skipping right over the most glorious time of year. I understand that there aren't many good November-themed songs that are as cheerful and as powerful as Christmas tunes, but do we really need to skip right to December? So a few years ago, my friends and I started celebrating "Falliday"- a time in October or November to get together and do all the Fall things: go apple picking, carve pumpkins, make pie, sit by the fire, and so on. My best friend Sam lives in Easton, Connecticut, the perfect spot to celebrate the season. We went there for a long weekend this past weekend and tried to soak it all in. I'll share some of our trip below.

I also want to spotlight November's birthstones - the much overlooked citrine and topaz. As a kid, I was unexcited to know that the boring brownish-orange stone was all I could claim on the Claire's birthstone chart in the mall. Next to the emerald, diamond, and sapphire, topaz and citrine looked so blah. As an adult, however, I've learned so much more about them (and their many other colors) and have come to really appreciate them. I'll tell you some fun facts about them in this issue.

So pour yourself a cup of tea and get comfy.

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree."

- Emily Brontë

EDEN IN EASTON

FALLIDAY 2025

Hurricane Milton ruined my Falliday plans last year as the airport closed the morning I was suppose to fly to CT. So I was doubly excited about our plans this year to soak up as much fall air as possible. We don't experience the changing of the seasons here in Florida, so it's important to travel somewhere every year to get our fill. As I mentioned above, my friend Sam and her partner Chris usually host as their house is perfectly situated on a blissful 3 acre plot in the woods.

Their town of Easton, CT, is very quaint with only one business in town, the local coffee shop/post office/market Greiser's. It's very Gimore Girls. They also live very close to one of the "most haunted" cemeteries in the US. So if you ask me, you should skip the over touristy Salem and just stay in Connecticut.

Here are some photos from our trip. We picked flowers from her garden, picked apples at the local orchard, made apple pie, played chess by the fire, and went on a hike with her cousins visiting from Germany.

TOPAZ + CITRINE

THE BIRTHSTONES FOR NOVEMBER

No doubt chosen for their autumnal hues, topaz and citrine are the birthstones for November. But did you know these fun facts about them?

• Citrine is a yellow quartz! If the quartz has a grey brown color, it's called smoky quartz, and if it is purple, it's amethyst! In fact, a lot of amethyst is heated to change colors to be sold as "citrine" so make sure if you buy citrine that it's not just heated amethyst.
• Sometimes both citrine and amethyst can be found in the same stone called "ametrine."
• Citrine is the official stone for the 13th anniversary.
• Topaz comes in lots of different colors including pink, dark blue, light blue, green, yellow, and white.
• The most prized color of topaz is a reddish orange called "Imperial Topaz."
• Topaz ranks 8 on the 10-point Mohs hardness scale, but its perfect cleavage makes it prone to breaking.