For those of you who haven’t noticed, I love to plan. Dinners, events, trips, you name it. I guess this goes hand-in-hand with “hosting”.

One of the great things about the fall season is that there are so many “activities”; from apple picking to pumpkin patches, Halloween festivities, Thanksgiving and everything else in between, there is always something to plan and do!  And with that, a journey to a pumpkin patch and vineyard are totally necessary.

Below is how I spent my weekend and a guide to planning the perfect fall outing.

1. Indulge in brunch (read: mimosas). 

 Whether you decide to host a brunch (I did this last year) or make reservations for one, make sure everyone is well fed before venturing out for the day. We all did breakfast on our own and then enjoyed mimosas (as seen below) at my house. Nothing like a little Florida OJ and Schramsberg bubbly to get the day started!

Mimosa Details: Mason Jars // Bows // Straws (Similar) // Bubbly // OJ Carafe

2. Visit a nearby pumpkin patch.

The most important part of the trip is finding the perfect pumpkin patch. I have visited Great Country Farms in Bluemont, Virginia the past two years. It is the perfect spot just outside of DC and there is so much to do, see and purchase! My girlfriends and I loved their country store, hayrides to the patches, giant apple dumplings and kettlecorn for the ride home. I walked away with two bags full of pumpkins of all shapes and sizes to cover our front steps and windowsills.

If you don’t live near a farm pumpkin patch, this is more of an excuse to get creative (hello, I went to church/school parking lots in Florida growing up for pumpkins). One idea would be to purchase pumpkins and host a carving + decorating party. Hopsy from Monograms and Manicures has an adorable tutorial on glitter pumpkins that I love!

Found my pumpkin! 

3. Spend the afternoon wine tasting. 

To end our day, we concluded with wine tasting at Bluemont Vineyard. Bluemont is  located just across the street from Great Country Farms and its views are beautiful.  In fact, it’s hard to believe it’s only an hour outside of DC!

We reserved a table on the top deck overlooking the gorgeous Virginia landscape and popped open a few bottles of Rose after enjoying a complimentary tasting (included in the farm entry free). There’s no shortage of food at Bluemont either, charcuterie and cheese boards, bruschetta, hummus, truffled parmesan white bean dip (#bestthingever), baguettes galore and gluten free crackers (for yours truly). They have it all and so did we.

After sipping, we walked the grounds and enjoyed live music before heading back to city life.

Have you bought your pumpkins yet? What do you do to kickoff fall? Let me know!