Ideas to make the coming autumn lovelier ( or at least a little more bearable)

[Labradabradorable]

Looking out at the garden this evening I can see the light is a little more golden and the shadows a little longer. Autumn is around the corner, which I normally greatly look forward to on a hot late-August drive home through France, piled high with wine, well-read and dripping with idleness. I suspect this year’s bracing camping in Wales might just be a reminder of the rain and mud to come.

Any ideas to make the coming season a little nicer? So far I’ve come up with :

Blowing my birthday John Lewis voucher on a nice candle ( Diptyque Feu de Bois) and a couple of velvet scatter cushions
A houseplant for my bathroom window
Booking some riding lessons for all of us
Embracing the darker mornings and getting up early to walk the dog. Also, joining a beginners agility group.
Regular swimming and encouraging the kids to come too
A lovely bath foam ( I like L’Occitaine almond)
Buying good pyjamas and new boots
Planning some pretty woodland walks
Planning some good autumnal food (crumbles, stews)
If possible, doing a few days extra work and booking for DD and I to go to Paris. That might be wishful thinking as my summer energy ebbs.

Any other ideas welcome! 🍂

It's absolutely lashing rain here, I've the lamps on and a tarte tatin candle lighting, and a pot vat of homemade baked beans simmering in the oven. Bliss

Thinking about it, this is the first decent rain we've had in weeks and the kids don't have coats with them. D'oh! Coats every day from now on, I think.

and a pot vat of homemade baked beans simmering in the oven.

Ohh do you have a recipe please?

@BelleOfTheProvince

and a pot vat of homemade baked beans simmering in the oven.

Ohh do you have a recipe please?

Nope! I fried some onion till it was all brown and caramelised, threw in some Aldi cooking bacon, a load of tins of different types of beans, a big jar of passata, some bay leaves, some oregano, mixed spice and pepper, and then bunged it in the oven for about two hours.

I know it's not the proper american version but it's bloody tasty and a lot less sugary.

I feel very Little House on the Prairie this afternoon!

Moreee!! Moreeeee! We can’t let this thread go!

I’m a spring baby so going by a PP that’s why I think it’s the best season (2020 doesn’t count), BUT I love all seasons and I’m definitely ready to move on from summer now.

My ideas:

• I’m following TeamTOMM organised Christmas which is making me feel both excited for the seasons ahead and sanctimonious
• investing in a pair of comfy, waterproof boots
• autumnal family walks collecting things for our wreath
• Classic FM
• Extending my repertoire of slow cooker recipes
• ordering in books at the library and spending the cosy darker evenings reading
• salt lamp
• having a wardrobe clear out and working out what warmer clothes I need (definitely some non bobbly jumpers)
• booking seasonal events (such a joyous novelty)
• vetiver in my aromatherapy diffuser (smells like the woods)
• getting DD her first wellies for puddle splashing

Any more toddler approved autumnal ideas?

Not just wellies, but an entire puddlesuit! If she's waterproof from head to toe, you need never be stuck indoors, no matter what the weather

Im very excited as I have located the box of halloween stuff in the loft, and my salted caramel wax melt has arrived. (of course it is warm and sunny again now today but hey ho!)

Any more toddler approved autumnal ideas?

We're going to go foraging for acorns (will keep a fair eye out in case they go anywhere near the mouth)

Used my first pumpkin of the season today. Mango and pumpkin curry and a pumpkin, butternut squash and carrot soup.

Remembering going out leaf kicking when mine were little. Little red welly boots, puddle suits and bobble hats. I'm definitely premenstrual. 😭

BelleOfTheProvince

What's everyone's favourite autumn/winter fragrance? I love Hugo Boss Deep Red. Found a very weird dupe for it- Pamela Anderson Malibu

This is my favourite autumn/winter fragrance. I've just run out and can't afford to replace it how close is this dupe? Is it cheaper?

Thanks to this thread I have ordered a slow cooker cook book and started following some autumn lovers on Instagram.
I’m thinking of getting my autumn decorations out this weekend, going blackberry picking and making apple pie this weekend

It's called Malibu Nights by Pamela Anderson. It's not an exact dupe but is similar imo. I wonder if you could try it out in a big department store or get a tester sent or something? It's not too expensive but I wouldn't want you to make an expensive mistake. It's the blue one not the pink one.
Eden perfumes are also great for dupes if you would like one.

edenperfumes.co.uk/shop/perfumes/fruity/431-no-589

@moregarlic I was wondering what to do with my toddler too, so I ordered some little fake white pumpkins from ebay (I think we got 12 for just under £4) and I'm planning on painting/sticking leaves to them in October on rainy days. So we'll be having to go leaf collecting too when we walk the dogs. Oh, and I saw online you can make salt dough, get them to do hand prints and foot prints in it then cut them into pumpkin, leaf and gourd shapes, bake them and then they can paint them. May have a go at that too! 😊

I got a delivery of remote control candles and tea lights yesterday. I had some little metal lanterns on the mantelpiece that are a pain to get tea lights in and out of, and to light, and then they get too hot to safely remove the covers to blow them out. These new ones have solved the problem beautifully. Plus, I have a load if different sized pillar candles in the fireplace (just till the end of September, then it's fire time!). As fake candles go, they're not half bad and I'm really enjoying the cosy effect.

Following, love the autumn my favorite season😁

BelleOfTheProvince thank you I will have a look, I'm hoping if I drop enough hints to dh he might buy me some for Christmas

This isn't edging too far into Christmas territory, is it?

@UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername

This isn't edging too far into Christmas territory, is it?

No, it's beautifully autumnal and I LOVE it 🍂🍁🍄

DH has just made a playlist of autumn songs and put it on a CD (like it's 2005 )

@DoAsYouWouldBeMumBy What a good DH you have! What songs are on it?

@UtterlyUnimaginativeUsername - wow, that looks gorgeous!

[quote Plastictattoo]@DoAsYouWouldBeMumBy What a good DH you have! What songs are on it?[/quote]
Good question! He's only just played it, but IIRC, it includes:
Autumn Almanac: The Kinks
Autumn Leaves: Frank Sinatra
La Chanson de Prevert: Serge Gainsbourg
Forever Autumn: Justin Hayward
September Song: Frank Sinatra
Lyr's Lament: Loudest Whisper
September in the Rain: Dinah Washington
I can't forget: Leonard Cohen
Handbags and Gladrags: Chris Farlow

DH has just made a playlist of autumn songs and put it on a CD (like it's 2005 )

That's brilliant! In my day it was tapes

@DominicRaabsTravelAgent

DH has just made a playlist of autumn songs and put it on a CD (like it's 2005 )

That's brilliant! In my day it was tapes

It was tapes in our day, too 🤣 He was being modern 😳

I need to check my eye sight. I read that as tapas..