The Fall Guide for Arizona Gals

There IS a way to embrace your inner "Basic-PSL-Loving-Plaid-Wearing" side AND shop local. Begin your love-affair with Fall while shopping small! Simply click the yellow links.

1- DIY HARVEST BOARD

Move over over-processed (but adorable) fall treats, Harvest Boards are getting a glow-up with Tucson Toffee. Choose the Churro flavor. Get addicted. Gift some. Repeat! You might think you "like toffee." Like I once believed. Then it happened: my texture crush on THIS toffee! Textured with sugar and cinnamon, bouncing around with dreamy-creamy white chocolate. Then finally a crunch that does not break your teeth! Savor on a foodie board, crushed up atop lattes, or clutched with your pearls lying in the tub crying for 2021. - DIY HARVEST BOARD

Briggs & Eggers Orchard is a semi-secret orchard encompassing 400 acres of organic pears and apples in Wilcox, Arizona. Not open for u-pick since the majority of their crops sell to apple-cider-vinegar producers. But anyone brave enough to bear the giant ice-box of a frontage shop, CAN get their hands on bags of their sweet, crisp produce. Diced up red Barlett pears added beautiful color to my Harvest Board and surprised my palette with citrus notes. The apples were scrumptious too!

Chow down on pears and toffee while your are wrapped up in a cozy wool nest/blankie from Hidden Dreams Alpaca. As the name suggests, it is a shop hidden within a shop, and operated through its host Pinetop Olive Oil. Shelves are overflowing with colorful (and locally-sourced Arizona) alpaca mittens, beanies, even embroidered sweaters. The moment I touched this buttery plaid wool throw, it transported me to a boogie chalet. Complete with cozy cuddles and a snowy backdrop through the glass. Much like Pinetop.

2- PRIVATE PUMPKIN DATE

Parents puh-leeeease carve out a little time for you as a couple. Easier said than done I know! When a family vacation turned into survivalism, my hubby and I were not gelling. So I grabbed as many pumpkin as I could find, placed them lovingly on a bench hidden beneath the cabin, grabbed a couple mugs of cider, and forced that romance folks! Because he matters to me and I'm betting your loved one does too.

Recipe: 1 bottle Santa Cruz Organic Apple Juice, 1 packet Spiced Cider Mix, 1 large splash orange juice, 1 big sprinkle of cinnamon, and love!

3- PICK WILDFLOWERS

Mount Lemmon is crawling with colorful thistles and peculiar fuzzy leaves this Fall. Savor a few and leave the rest to grow. Through the thistles and the sprigs of desert-paintbrush-wildflowers, popped these earrings! Wearable art y'all. Sigfús was a designer I aspired to wear (when I first moved back to AZ.) Lauren designs graphic arches, abstract hoops, and acrylic earrings that turn heads. My yoga-and-flops-uniform rarely match. Which is exactly why I spoil myself with a few Sigfús pairs a year. I want to OWN the moments I clean up for. Cooler weather is the perfect occasion!

4- LUXE LATTES

Reviews (mine included), reveal that few folks are able to resist keeping these bold mugs for themselves. Naked mugs mass-produced aren't very special so we add every special creamer and syrup trying to make that plain-Jane-coffee luxe. She ain't! Studio Katagami hand-cuts paper stencils to place her punchy designs. Then fires them off in contrasting glazes. I am one mug in and referring to myself as an art collector now. Hah! Topping off the creamy whip with shattered Dark Chocolate Toffee. These dark gems are less sugary-sweet than their sister churro-flavor. Grownups DESERVE candy with their coffee this Fall! Tucson Toffee

5- BUNDLE UP WITH BEESWAX

Picture Willy Wonka's candle factory. Candles in every elaborate shape and color you can imagine, THAT is Prescott Candle Company. Since I am a bit of a candle snob, I stick to burning 100% beeswax. It knocks the dust right out of the air and the smell is heady and seductive. The shiny bit above the flame is the cutter or self-extinguisher. A handy feature to cut down on the risk of house fires. LOVE the old world look of this charming candle.

8- STEP ASIDE PUMPKIN PIE

Two words: PUMPKIN HORCHATA. Rollie's Mexican Patio has a bit of a secret menu and this is on it! In November, Rollie's will crank up the Autumn one more level: Pumpkin Horchata topped with a slice of pie! Do not leave Rollie's without also ordering their Birria Tacos. Brewed (okay stewed) meat in a taco is the epitome of comfort food. It's a gauntlet in my house fighting for the right to devour the last one!

(Photo Credit to Rollie's Mexican Patio.)

9- SUNFLOWERS & A CORN MAZE

Sunflowers are magical. Fields of sunflowers can blow away the worst mood. They are sunshine! Borrow the farmer's cutters and take home your own giant bouquet. Holiday hosting?Pick out a pumpkin or three, to fill with sunflowers, creating a dreamy fall centerpiece. Hovering between 15 and 20 degrees cooler than Tucson and Phoenix, makes outdoor activities way better in Wilcox! Scoop up tickets to the Apple Annie's Orchard corn maze-through the end of October. Better yet, win a family-pack through me for FREE! (Just share this Fall Guide on your Facebook or Instagram account and tag @Janeloveslocal I will be picking winners weekly!)

10- MOUNTAIN-MADE HEIRLOOMS

"Shopping small" shines in the hands of true artists. Arizona's White Mountains house one of my favorites: Koch Leather Co. Koch Leather Co. duo Josh and Jen pour love into each piece of leather. Sumptuous, can-take-a-beating-and-age-even-better Horween leather! Koch bags and heirloom pieces you will be proud to pass down. Their bags are pure luxury that I swear you will stuff your head into when you need a whiff of heaven. Though a soft scarf and a grip of sunflowers are perfectly appropriate too.