Blog,  Decorating,  Garden,  Lifestyle

A World Where There are Octobers: An Ohio October Picnic

Winter is quickly approaching, so I’ve been doing my best to prioritize outdoor time with the family. One of the easiest ways I can ensure we do that is by eating dinner outside. I put together a fun October Picnic with all the Fall necessities, hoping and praying that it’s not our last picnic before the snow!

October Picnic

I can’t get enough outside activities in the Fall. This year we’ve been less busy with Fall festivities than usual, BUT to make up for it, we have been eating dinner outside quite a bit. Today I want to share a fun outdoor picnic I put together for the “A World Where There Are October’s” Tour!

Thanks so much to Cecilia with My Thrift Store Addiction!! I’m so honored and excited to be apart of this fun tour to different climates during October. If you’re here from Jen at Midwest Life and Style thanks for continuing the journey! Make sure you head over to the other Fall climates and get a glimpse of October in their neck of the woods!

If this is your first time visiting I want you to know I’m honored you’re here! My name is Aliya. I’m a nurse turned mostly stay-at-home-Mom who loves DIY projects, decorating, and gardening.

At Open Doors Open Hearts, we believe that if you’re brave enough to open your doors to those around you, you’ll be blessed by hearts opening around you. I hope you enjoy sitting outside for an October picnic in my garden! It was fun putting it together, but the real joy is enjoying it with others!

Northern Ohio in October

I’m in Northern Ohio. So October’s here can swing from t-shirt weather to coat weather overnight. I even remember trick-or-treating in the snow before! Generally, I’d say October’s are mild. I looked up the average temperatures for our area in October and the internet claims a high of 60’s and a low of 40’s.

While the temperatures are definitely my favorite temps of the year, the colors, smells, and sounds make Fall the best! Truly it has everything to do with the leaves on the trees. The way they sound rustling in the wind or crunching beneath running feet, their brilliant colors of yellow, orange, and red, and lastly the smell! They smell absolutely divine as they dry up. Octobers in Ohio are wonderful! I could live in a world with a couple Octobers in one calendar year haha!

Elements of an Ohio October Picnic

October Florals-Golden Rod

October Picnic

For this October picnic, I chose to add flowers that are all over at this time of year as the centerpiece. Golden Rod! It’s literally everywhere! I can’t drive any distance without seeing it in ditches, among tall weeds, and beside the road. Even though it’s common, I’m struck by the beauty of it’s yellow blooms!

October Picnic

I offset it like I did when Justin and I had our Romantic Date Picnic a few weeks ago. I mentioned that this simple DIY pallet table is a little bit small for the four of us in that post, but with the flowers moved off to one side and not in the middle of the table is seems to give us more space.

It also allows us to have a fun special picnic like this with the girls. By moving everything off to one side we can keep the decorative pieces safe from the girls’ little hands! This is all assuming the girls don’t want to fight me and Justin for the seats closest to the flowers haha!

October Produce- Pumpkins

To add another October element to this picnic I put pumpkins on the table. October is prime pumpkin time! We actually just went to the Alpaca Farm down the road and got all out pumpkins for the year.

For this table setting, I think the pumpkins make it clear that this is an October picnic. If there was a Month Produce just like States have birds, flowers, and trees, Octobers would be pumpkins.

October Picnic

I love the traditional Fall colors, so I went with oranges and whites. I also knew I wasn’t going to have space for large or medium pumpkins, so I decided to go with minis. They serve the same purpose without taking up as much space.

October Clothing- Sweaters, Pants & Blankets

I mentioned the temperatures of Octobers in Ohio earlier. That means that during the day you’d generally be fine to run around in jeans and a sweater. But by the time the sun is setting and you’re getting ready for dinner, it really cools off. The nights are too cold for me to be without a blanket or near the warmth of a fire.

Since our garden is pretty far away from our firepit we have to use blankets to stay warm after the sun goes down over there. I used one on the table for decoration but I put a basket of blankets nearby so when the sunset we were prepared!

October Food-Chili & Cornbread

The food I chose for a picnic in October is a food that’ll help keep you warm! CHILI!! Not only does it help keep you warm on cold evenings, but it’s also so easy to make! We eat so much chili (and all varieties of it) during the colder months.

October Picnic

October Ambience-Cozy Flicker of Candles

This is one of my favorite parts of this October picnic. I LOVE candles! They are wonderful at creating a cozy, warm, and inviting atmosphere anywhere you put them. But one of my all-time favorite places for candles is on a table. When I first started turning everyday, ordinary activities into something special I started with candles at dinner.

I literally remember my first candle-lite dinner with the girls and Justin. It was a small gesture, but they ALL noticed and they all appreciated the candles. Candles at the dinner table seem to quietly announce that this is not your average run-of-the-mill dinner. It’s special.

October Picnic

Thanks for taking a quick trip to Northern Ohio during October. It’s been so fun having you! Now that my tour of October is over you should visit CoCo with The Crowned Goat and check out another climate in October. Can you get enough October your life?! I believe 31 days simply isn’t enough, so soak up as much as you can!

Don’t forget to Pin for later!

October Picnic

Thanks for stopping by! Don’t forget to follow along on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram! Have a great week! XoXo

Open Your Door,
Aliya

For More October Inspiration Check Out These Blogs!



Hi! my name is Aliya and I'm so glad you stopped by today! Truly you have no idea how much it means to me. I live in Ohio with my husband and 3 little girls. I believe that once we start opening our doors, that hearts will start to open around us as well. You can head over to the About Aliya page to get my whole story.

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