Happy Monday!
Is there anything more satisfying than beginning a new month on a Monday?
And not just any month, but October!
It’s my favourite month in the calendar, and (as far as I’m concerned) the most wonderful time of the year. I love everything about it: the colours, the scents, the food, the cosy knits and wooly blankets.
I love cracking out my favourite coats for a walk on the leafy Common, then coming home to beef stew and apple crumble. I love cinnamon lattes in the morning and red wine in the evening. Hot tea in bed, candles burning on the mantle, pumpkins for Halloween and balloons for my birthday… It’s just MAGICAL. ♥︎
1. Clean flat. Between San Francisco, La Rioja and North Yorkshire, I spent a grand total of four days in this flat over the last six weeks. Four days where I was jetlagged and racing to catch up with admin and submit my deadlines. The house was, frankly, a tip, and it was driving us both batty, so we set to this past weekend and cleaned it from top to bottom. Now everything is fresh and dust-free, and ready for cosy autumn evenings.
2. Storage space. We bought a new Billy bookcase and a giant footstool for the living room, and it’s amazing how much of a difference they’ve made to the space. I cleared and empty four huge plastic boxes of stuff that have been sitting there since we moved in (LAST OCTOBER), my shoes have gone into the footstool, and now everything has a place to live. I loveee it.
3. Great British Chef. I’ve been catching up on this season and it just makes me so happy. Everyone’s always so lovely, and the food always looks and sounds so delicious, and it’s just great. Perfect autumn evening telly.
4. Quiet time. I was meant to be on a trip last week, but it got postponed at the last minute, which meant I got to enjoy five unexpected evenings at home with no plans at all. Bliss…
5. Pho. …But I get angsty if I’m home alone for too long, so I arranged to meet Jasmin for dinner! We went to Pho in Wimbledon, and I got to try my very first bowl of phở. It was delicious and I can’t wait to take Gary one day soon.
6. New jumper. I bought a cosy new jumper for £10 in ASDA and I’ve barely taken it off since I got it. (In fact, I’m wearing it right now). It’s so soft and comfy, and the colours are beautiful, and the sleeves are juuuuust the right length to pull slightly over my knuckles when I’m feeling chilly. Perfect.
7. Jumanji. Have you seen the new Jumanji film yet? It’s very good. I first watched it on the flight to San Francisco and I enjoyed it so much that I asked Gary if it could be this week’s date night movie. The cast is amazing. Jack Black as a teen girl is just hilarious, and I actually really like the storyline. It’s funny, easy to watch, and a very good family film. 10/10 would recommend.
8. Roast dinner. I have been craving a proper roast dinner for MONTHS and I finally got my wish on Sunday, when I met Jasmin (again) for lunch at the Rose and Crown in Wimbledon. The service wasn’t great (forty minutes for two dinners?), but the roast chicken with boar stuffing and bread sauce and roast potatoes and roasted carrots and greens? YUM.
9. Freddie’s Flowers. I signed up to Freddie’s Flowers over the summer, and I cannot express how much I love it. It’s a flower delivery system, and they’re just amazing. I miscalculated the dates of my last delivery, so I took the box up to Gary’s mum in North Yorkshire, and not only did they survive five days in the box with no water, but they looked absolutely stunning and were still going very strong when we left seven days later. This week’s bunch are doing just as well and I’m so happy to have a regular supply of fresh flowers again.
10. Magic photos. I’ve been having so much fun planning magic photos for my Instagram. They’ve mostly been spur of the moment ideas that I’ve come up with when my original plan has failed, but they’re very fun to do, and you guys really seem to enjoy them. So keep an eye on my feed… October is witchy season, and you never know where one might be hiding ?
I’ve just re-read this and realised it’s one autumn cliché after another, and I wish I cared but I don’t because AUTUMN. ♥︎
