12 Editor Picks for Fall

Smooth Like...

Don't let the name fool you—there are no cows sculpted from dairy at the BUTTER Fine Art Fair in Indianapolis. Launched in 2021 by creative agency GANGGANG, the annual event (August 31–September 3 this year) features more than 60 Black visual artists from Indiana and around the country. With colorful artwork, thought-provoking panels and curated galleries spread throughout the repurposed Stutz factory complex, the show aims to recontextualize how art by Black people is accessed and appreciated. "The arts present an active way to challenge mindsets about how we live together as people and how we treat each other," says Malina Simone Bacon, GANGGANG cofounder and executive director. "What we hear most is that people feel happy when they are at BUTTER. They feel joy and they talk about feeling love."

Drink and Be Merry

Go for a (leisurely) spin at Francois Frankie, an American brasserie in Chicago's Loop, where the bar is a rotating, golden-mirrored merry-go-round. Inspired by the famed Hotel Monteleone carousel bar in New Orleans, the owners of Francois Frankie had one custom-built. Sip the Sazerac-inspired Rye the Carousel cocktail or nosh on Lobster Tail Ratatouille while slowly revolving around the space.

Related: Plan Your Trip to Chicago

Aurora Alerts

The fall equinox is a great time to hunt the aurora. I've seen the lights twice this year, thanks to this app.—Julia Sayers Gokhale, Travel Editor

Full of cool live maps, the free app My Aurora pings you when chances are good to see the Northern Lights in your location.

Related: When and Where to See the Northern Lights in the Midwest

Food

Bowled Over

Indiana food writer Shelly Westerhausen Worcel's colorful new cookbook, Every Season Is Soup Season, sounds like a gimmick: Each veg-forward recipe comes with inspiration to reinvent leftovers as a completely different dish. But darned if they aren't all clever and delicious! Gruyère, Cauliflower and Potato Soup becomes the "gravy" for biscuits and eggs. Chipotle Cocoa Three-Bean Chili fills next-day empanadas. And if you just want to eat or freeze the extra soup, Worcel has you covered with precise storage tips. On sale September 19 (Chronicle Books, $33). (While you're waiting, try the White Bean Stew with Marinated Radicchio, pictured, and its companion recipe, White Bean and Dill Dip.)

Sassy Salsas

My family orders these salsas by
the case—they're that tasty! I use Verde Good as a chicken chili base.—Christy Brokens, Deputy Art Director

Made in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Double Take Salsa is available online and in supermarkets such as Target. $9.

Related: Zesty Homemade Salsa Recipes

Easy Popping

The brainchild of a fifth-generation Iowa corn-farming family, Cheerie Lane Popcorn pods are tidy, single-serve pucks of kernels held together with cacao butter and seasoning. Just drop one in a pan or microwave-safe bowl. From $9.50 for four.

Related: Healthy Snack Recipes

Home + Garden

Slow Build

First, a clarification: This photo isn't me. It's Jessica Akemon, aka @MrsJessicaDarling. But she gets people like me, whose weekend projects last months. (The bathroom refresh I began in spring still needs a towel hook and a piece of art.) "My husband, Jeff, and I are the slowest DIY-ers," Akemon says. "We're parents first, and we both have jobs." That relatability drew me to her Instagram, where she chronicles improvements to her Beavercreek, Ohio, home—like building a fireplace to transform this rarely-used dining room. Each endeavor hones carpentry skills she and Jeff first learned from their dads and grandpas. This fall, they're turning their kids' playroom into a library. But when I asked her for an easy, high-impact project, she said to just add trim. "It's so simple," she says. "You don't even need a saw, just handheld miter shears to cut corners." The towel hook can wait.—Joanna Linberg, Contributing Home Editor

Prairie Up

In his new book Prairie Up, Nebraska landscape designer and native plant booster Benjamin Vogt offers a blueprint for replacing thirsty grass with prairie-like ecosystems. He even includes scripts for explaining to your HOA why your lawn looks (and acts) like a nature preserve (University of Illinois Press, $30).

Related: Why You Should Consider a Prairie-Style Yard

Pressing Matters

Flowers are ephemeral—unless you send them to Lexi Erikson of Trykket Flowers. The Sioux Falls, South Dakota, artist presses blooms, then arranges them into framed, collage-style works of art. Clients send her mementos from events like weddings or
funerals, or even just the goods from their gardens. Sizes and prices vary, from $290.

Related: A Chicago Flower Artist Creates Long-Lasting Dried Bouquets in Repurposed Containers

Life

Give Back: A Dog's Love

When her husband was diagnosed with a serious illness and drew comfort from their family dog, Gayle Hutchens realized the healing power of the human-animal bond. "She then saw Oprah covering a dog assistance program in California and reached out because she wanted to create something similar for Indianapolis," says Ashleigh Coster, executive director of Paws and Think, the nonprofit Hutchens founded in 2001. The organization brings therapy dogs to dozens of community partners and also hosts classes that teach vulnerable youth how to train shelter dogs, a transformative relationship for both teens and animals. Though Hutchens died in 2011, her legacy is now 300 volunteers strong and the largest of its kind in central Indiana. "From health-care facilities and schools to libraries and support groups," Coster says, "our therapy teams extend a helping paw to those in need."

As part of our Good Neighbors program, highlighting unique Midwest nonprofits and individuals making our communities stronger, Midwest Living has donated $500 to Paws and Think.

Feed to Follow

Ojibwe is an Indigenous language rooted in the Upper Midwest—and you can learn a few words from Minneapolis educator James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw @jamesvukelich. His short, enthusiastic videos on YouTube and other social media bring Native culture and terms like ininaatig (man tree, or maple tree) to life.

Quoth the Raven

What to read this fall? Danny Caine of The Raven Book Store in Lawrence, Kansas, shares three picks.

The Book of (More) Delights

Ross Gay is a spellbinding Indiana poet, and this sequel is sure to hold more charming essays about life's complicated pleasures (Algonquin Books, $28).

Dayswork

Cincinnati couple Jennifer Habel and Chris Bachelder co-wrote this clever, poignant novel about a writer's descent into obsession over the private life and work of Herman Melville (W. W. Norton, $27).

Let Us Descend

Jesmyn Ward tells the story of an enslaved girl's forced journey to New Orleans, and
the porous boundary between this world and the spirits' (Scribner, $28).