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7 Things We’re Excited About for Fall That Are Not Pumpkin Spice

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Sure, we’re lamenting summer’s end, but we are more than ready to embrace the cooler temps, hot drinks, crunchy leaves and boots, boots, boots that fall brings. Maybe it’s because winter is getting closer and soon everything will be white and grey or maybe it’s because Halloween and Thanksgiving are the two most delicious holidays out of the entire year. Who knows? What we do know, though, is that there are plenty of things to love about fall. We’ve compiled our top seven. (We have dozens more, but this blog is called SEVEN Things, not 13975495 Things.)

Apple picking

Despite their killer price per pound, which Esquire magazine says “In almost 400 years of cultivating apples, Honeycrisp may be the first true name-brand variety to hit the shelves — a designer apple, the first malus domestica to price out of a segment of the market,” we think the Honeycrisp is worth the wait for fall marking apple picking a top-seven celebrated fall “thing” at the 834 offices. You can find us the first Friday of Honeycrisp season celebrating FriYAY in a corn maze or dunking donuts in cider in an orchard nearby.

ArtPrize people watching

Yeah, the art’s pretty legit, but honestly, the people who attend should be their own ArtPrize installation. “Come for the art, stay for the people” should be ArtPrize’s motto. We recommend taking an afternoon to bar hop downtown and wander around the chaos. (Pro tip: Find a bar with big windows and grab a window seat for optimum gawking.) Assign points for every fanny pack you see, jay walker you catch and “Is this an ArtPrize?” you hear.

Bonfires

Summer bonfires are fun for a little bit. But then everyone gets overheated and becomes a skin buffet for mosquitoes. That’s why fall is the absolute perfect time for a bonfire. The air is crisp but not too cold and the mosquitoes are long gone. If it’s too warm, take off your sweater! If it’s too cold, put on your sweater! Can you do that in the summer? Nope.

Halloween

If you haven’t noticed already, we’re just a little festive over at 834. If something is worth celebrating, well damn, we’re going to celebrate it the best and the hardest. Coming from a firm with a bunch of creative types, Halloween is the perfect time of year to get weird.

Clothes

Everyone at Team 834 has big closets, full of long sleeves, big sweaters, (p)leather jackets and, of course, boots. Fall is the time to layer up with favorite pieces, with the colors of our clothes matching the colors of fallen leaves. Olives, deep reds and browns parade the 834 office during this time. And did we mention accessories? No. We didn’t. Scarves and hats round out the perfect fall outfit. Just try to avoid unintentionally parading around as Han Solo for most of the season.

Leaves

No other type of flora can give us as much joy as leaves can. Seriously. Only leaves can get people excited about going on a drive or jumping into a giant pile of yard waste. When walking on the sidewalk, do you go out of your way to step on a branch or flower petals? No. You do it for leaves. There’s also that perfectly “fall” smell you get from burning leaves in the aforementioned bonfire. The time of year when all the leaves are fallen off of trees is a sad one.

Fall TV

The plus side to not having new episodes of our favorite shows during the summer is that we can just go outside. The weather and all of summer’s activities was a nice distraction, but come on, we’re ready to enter back into Shondaland.
Like we said, we could go on. But that wouldn’t be #onbrand. Instead, tell us what your favorite things about fall are.

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Introducing our third speaker for Uncomfortable Conversations | The Pause, happening this Thursday. 

Meet @bitnermd, co-founder of @true.womenshealth, a concierge practice in West Michigan, focused on helping women thrive through midlife while reducing chronic conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, depression, and diabetes. 

Dr. Bitner is a board-certified OB/GYN specializing in midlife, menopause, and sexual health. She’s the author of I Want to Age Like That! and has published peer-reviewed research on menopause care. She was named Menopause Practitioner of the Year by The Menopause Society in 2015. Dr. Bitner is committed to translating evidence into practical, scalable solutions that improve women’s health, confidence, and participation at work and in life. We’re beyond excited to have her join our panel discussion this Thursday. 

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Just because you be small, does not mean you are not mighty. The Women’s Owners Network will accept its first cohort this November. Applications are due October 1.

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Introducing our second speaker for Uncomfortable Conversations | The Pause, happening this Thursday. 

Meet Cheryl Bergman, Executive Director of the @miwomenscomm.

Cheryl is a statewide policy leader driving economic opportunity and better health outcomes for women across Michigan. Appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2019, she brings together employers, healthcare experts, advocates, and policymakers to tackle the issues that actually move the needle - economic security, affordable childcare, and midlife women's health.

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We love this trend, so we thought we’d jump on it and ask the team some “hard-hitting questions” to end the week. 

We’re a team made up of Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. Find out who knows the most about the classics. Any guesses?
We've received so many questions from new grads about breaking into a competitive market as a young professional. It starts with one thing according to @bodespeaks: being the salesperson of YOU. Emulate the leaders in your industry and show up where they show up.

It's not who you know, it's who knows you
Use the playbook of people you admire
Show up consistently and be seen
A handwritten note beats 100 LinkedIn messages, always.

See more Bode wisdom at her YouTube channel linked in our bio.
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