Celebrate the First Day of Autumn in Style

Today marks the first day of autumn, the season of apple cider, donuts, pumpkin patches, hay rides, and everything Halloween. If you’re like the majority of Americans (as nearly every survey done in the past twenty years has shown), this is the season you’ve been waiting for! Whether you’ll be first in line to get a mug of pumpkin spice latte at your local coffee shop or you’ve got apple orchards and pumpkin carving on the brain, we’ve compiled some of our favorite ways to celebrate this amazing season below!

Celebrate the Colors of the Season

One of our favorite ways to celebrate is to embrace the colors of the changing leaves! Websites like Good Housekeeping have created tutorials on making fun and colorful leaf garland for wherever you want to see an extra splash of fall. Or create your own DIY leaf wreath with upcycled aluminum cans! There’s nothing better than reusing and recycling while creating something new.

Change Up Your Wardrobe

Creating the perfect fall look isn’t as hard as it may seem. Do you have a favorite summer dress that you’re sad to see get put away as colder weather rolls in? This autumn, don’t abandon your favorites! Pair a sundress with thick tights, boots, and your favorite chunky sweater. Add layers and keep your favorites at the front of your closet this season.

If you’re looking to add new pieces to your fall aesthetic, you don’t have to break the bank to get something fresh! Check your local second-hand stores or resale shops. The best part about autumn attire is that vintage items are perfect to pair and layer with any outfit.

Take a Road Trip

One of the best ways Michiganders know to enjoy autumn in style is with a road trip! Pure Michigan has compiled the best trips to take to see the fall colors on their website here, reaching everywhere from Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids to Petoskey and Marquette. Each trip is curated for a specific fall color specialty, such as countryside relaxation, cider mills and festivals, shorelines and lakes, and more! With so many options to pick from, Michigan has it all when it comes to fall.

Get a Taste of Autumn

Finally, our favorite way to celebrate the season is with our taste buds. Michigan apple orchards boast nostalgia, but also delicious apple-based treats. While it’s always fun to travel to the nearest orchard and pick up a box of cinnamon donuts and a cup of hot cider, there are so many other ways to celebrate fall with the taste of the season.

This fall get creative with your cooking in a whole new way. Michigan Apples is a website that embraces everything amazing about—you guessed it—apples, and their recipes are crazy good. If you’re a carnivore, try your hand at an Apple and Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich! Or maybe you have more of a sweet tooth that can only be satisfied by Apple Cinnamon Rolls or the ever-popular Candy Coated Apples. Michigan Apples also provides healthy living options for their recipes as well, like Baked Squash with Apples & Chicken Sausage or the delicious Apple Orchard Salad. With step-by-step instructions, this website makes cooking easier (and tastier!) than ever before.

 

Your Turn: What’s your favorite way to celebrate fall? Tell us about your autumn adventures in the comments!

 

Community Financial neither endorses the information, content, presentation, or accuracy nor makes any warranty, express or implied, regarding any external site.

How to Create Your First Elevator Pitch

Elevator pitches take humble-bragging to a new level. At its core, the concept of an elevator pitch is to squeeze all you can about your talents, strengths and work experience into the time it takes for an elevator to travel from one floor to the next.

The beginning of the new school year is a great time for polishing your elevator pitch until it is perfect. You can use it to answer common interview questions as you job hunt, or just have it handy if you happen to run into a potential new employer, anytime, anywhere. Working on your elevator pitch will also help you clarify your work goals as you prepare to transition to a new stage of life.

To make this task easier, we’ve broken down the process of creating a killer elevator pitch into seven simple steps. While reading through each section, jot down a few sentences that cover the details of that category. Don’t worry about the writing or syntax here; we’ll get to that.

3 Reasons to Switch to Digital Wallet Purchases

As credit and debit card purchases become more prevalent than cash transactions, you may think that pulling out your plastic is more hygienic than paying for your morning coffee with cash. Think again! According to a 2019 study, the amount of bacteria living on the average credit card is about twice as much as that on the average dollar bill. 

With COVID-19 still on the front of many minds, looking for a healthy, safe alternative to cash and cards should be a priority. Thankfully, Community Financial has the answer: Digital Wallets! With a digital wallet you can securely store your Community Financial debit or credit Mastercard in your phone and use it just like your physical card—but without the added germs! Below, we’ve compiled the top 3 reasons to switch over today.

Learn New Skills Without Spending a Penny

For some, the COVID-19 shutdown provided extra downtime to learn new skills. Now whether that be a skill they’ll be able to utilize in the future (like a new language) or one that’s more fun than anything else (such as throwing a ping-pong ball over your shoulder sinking it into a cup), people have been utilizing their own creativity and online resources this summer.

Just because you didn’t jump onto the pandemic-learning bandwagon doesn’t mean you can’t start now! Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn a new language, but the Rosetta Stone price-tag kept you from committing? Don’t worry! Learning new skills doesn’t mean you have to break open your piggy bank. Teach yourself something new without even spending a penny with our resources below.

The Back to School Guide for These Unconventional Times

This year, back-to-school season is all about getting ready for a school year that promises to be unlike any other. Whether your child’s education is gearing up at home or in the classroom, here’s our guide to helping your child prepare for the new school year in these unconventional times.