Pumpkin We Must

Mums and pumpkins in South of Broad, Downtown Charleston

Classic and confident orange, calm and inconspicuous sage, modern and minimalist cream - these are the colors of the season. With their pleasantly round and delightfully irregular shapes, pumpkins rarely fail to elicit joy in me.

My pull toward pumpkins started early this year. Charleston, South Carolina's summers are oppressively hot. By late August the sunshine feels not unlike the spotlight in a nineties-era crime drama interrogation. Where was I at noon on Sunday, August 18? Seeking the cool breeze of our 23-year-old (and seemingly immortal) HVAC system, cuddled up with one of the many fall-themed books I've binged in the last month.

While my husband and close friends mourned the end of summer, I secretly lit woodfire scented candles and shopped for clothes I couldn't afford much less WEAR for the next three-ish months. Then last week a work trip took me to Nashville, TN, where my mom lives permanently but a lovely cold-front was passing through temporarily.

Comfortably wearing my favorite sweater, I took in the familiar sight of her apartment. When suddenly, I clocked something orange. And then the flood gates opened: decorative pumpkins large and small in every corner, fall inspired floral displays, and all manner of autumnal knick-knacks with solid use of the word "fall." As Charlie XCX wisely sang on the hit album Brat, "I guess the apple don't fall far from the tree."

And that's how I found myself with a cart full of pumpkins and a smile this weekend. Because, pumpkin we must.

All shapes and sizes South of Broad