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! 🍂

I love autumn. We have 3 separate nights away booked for October in lovely places in the North.
Lots of hiking planned with country pubs at the end of them.
Darker nail polish.
Malbec.

Ive started watching Christmas movies😂

Candles, fairy lights, red wine, coal fire,

I cant bloody wait!

@Needhelp101

Great thread! Jo Malone used to do a great autumn candle but I can't remember the name, annoyingly.

I lit Incense and Embers by JM the other evening when it was feeling decidedly 'un-summer-like'. Is that the one?

I have Feu de Bois by Parks as my everyday one. I can't afford Diptique!

Ah yes all the lovely dark nail polishes!

I wish I liked red wine.. white just doesn’t seem right in autumn!

And thanks @romany4 will check those socks out

I love Autumn!
Can't wait to wear my new patent Dr Martens.
Coal fire on,lights around the fireplace.
Spicy smelling candles.
I would like some nice gloves this year if anyone has any suggestions and definitely going to make sloe gin, every year I think I will but never do.

I love autumn but I'm also enjoying the feeling of late summer. Yesterday I made two lemon drizzle cakes using courgettes from the garden, and we already have brambles so I'll be picking some later and making a blackberry and raspberry mess for pudding tonight as we have guests. We'll be eating outside and eking the last out of the summer evenings.

And as this thread has a poncetastic vibe I'll also add that I had a big shiver of happiness yesterday when I got in from a soggy dog walk and piled wet clothes and boots around the Aga and suddenly appreciated that the seasons are changing. I managed to stop short of lighting a fire and instead lit a couple of candles.

Big fan of Nigel Slater here, reading the Kitchen Diaries and the Christmas Chronicles is one of my favourite pastimes.

@Lanique We have a glut of courgettes here - where did your lemon drizzle recipe come from please? I love a lemon drizzle cake!

Happy to oblige @Spudlet...

From my mum's Good Housekeeping this month. It's a real winner!

Thank you! That sounds lovely, going to give that a go this week👍

I absolutely love the feu de Bois candle. I buy it one every year instead of an advent calendar so it always reminds me of Christmas.

You could grow some narcissus paperwhites indoors if you like flowers. They smell lovely and last for weeks.

September to January is my absolute favourite time of the year.

@Blissbiz I’ve just ordered myself a couple of pairs of recycled cashmere gloves from Turtle Dove (have loads of pairs, highly recommended).

All my hats, scarves and gloves will be washed or dry cleaned ready to wear. All my brushed Cotton bedding and sofa throws are going off to the cleaners to be re-washed (my washing machine just isn’t big enough) and freshened up after being in the linen cupboard for months and I’m doing the same with jumpers. I’ve got an end of summer deep clean planned and will change cushion covers and bring out some different accessories.

I’ve bought a wood wick candle called Frasier Fir that smells like Christmas trees. I’ve got JKR’s Strike books ready to read. I’m making a Christmas door wreath this year, so will be keeping an eye out for nice pine cones etc. The Velvetiser will be used again; we fill up a flask of hot chocolate and go for walks along the coast on a Sunday morning, mostly to make a fuss of all the sandy, wet dogs who are banned from the beach in the summertime. I start my Christmas crafting (usually with requests for personalised stockings and pyjamas), we have games nights with my DB and DSIL with hot buffets, we start making lists of things for Christmas, the slow cooker comes out for casseroles, it’s not too hot for roast dinners, toad in the hole etc. Christmas films and cookery programmes with Nigella, new pyjamas and lounge wear, winter boots and thick socks, experiments with mixed fruits and Amaretto to try and find the perfect mix for mince pies, doing a big shop for the food bank closer to Christmas with some nice bits in, going to visit gravestones, giving them a clean and a tidy up (of our loved ones, not just random graves, as that would be strange), making plans to see family & friends, we don’t have kids so panto is not really our cup of tea, but we usually try to get tickets for a good comedy gig, firework (or laser) displays.

we did trick or treat in our garden we have a play house and couple of outbuildings . We hid in the outbuildings and the kids came and knocked . We lit up the garden and decorated. The kids absolutely loved it more than any other year so we may do that again

That’s beautiful!!

Lanique I had forgotten that before Autumn comes the courgette glut. I've just been down the garden to check on our specimen, and it's rife with the buggers. In three days they've gone from teeny fruits, to almost marrows. I'll be making courgette cake, soup and sandwiches all week I think!

Thanks for sharing the lemon drizzle recipe, I'm keen to give that a go.

MilduraS I grew a lovely pot of paperwhites last Autumn. I cut them back and have left them in the pot, so I'm hoping they come again this year.

Someone asked a question about when to plant Spring bulbs. I'm no expert, but I normally get them in October. The garden centres will be full of them when it's time.

Has anyone else noticed how behind the season is, compared with other years? The harvest isn't all in yet where we are, which is unusual and the blackberries are still very green.

@Labradabradorable

Lanique I had forgotten that before Autumn comes the courgette glut. I've just been down the garden to check on our specimen, and it's rife with the buggers. In three days they've gone from teeny fruits, to almost marrows. I'll be making courgette cake, soup and sandwiches all week I think!

Thanks for sharing the lemon drizzle recipe, I'm keen to give that a go.

My pleasure @Labradabradorable although I should warn you, it's very more-ish and I've just eaten it for breakfast and brunch 😋

We have marrows too!

[quote Spudlet]@Lanique We have a glut of courgettes here - where did your lemon drizzle recipe come from please? I love a lemon drizzle cake![/quote]
I love Nigella’s courgette and lemon drizzle cake recipe. Really easy and very light.

Autumn is my favourite season by far I look forward to it all year!

I had so many blackberries last year I made jam for the first time and it was pretty successful. But apart from crumble and jam I really couldn’t find many recipes using blackberries. I wondered if anyone had any ideas? I’d love to find a blackberry chutney recipe I think it would be nice with cheese.

Adore autumn too, positively salivating at peoples lovely things !

@MotionActivatedDog

we did trick or treat in our garden we have a play house and couple of outbuildings . We hid in the outbuildings and the kids came and knocked . We lit up the garden and decorated. The kids absolutely loved it more than any other year so we may do that again

That’s beautiful!!

Ahhh thanks @MotionActivatedDog the funny thing was we were really worried about not being able to do anything. We missed the Halloween activities we had booked because I had covid . We did this and it's all they've spoke about and asking to do it again ... best Halloween ever . Just makes you realise it's the little tho gs they remember .

@AdaColeman

Other things I do with brambles, use some to make bramble whiskey, made the same way as sloe gin but only use a light touch of sugar. Simmer a small portion per person with a little water till soft but holding their shape. Add a splash of fruit liqueur and serve hot over ice cream or lemon sorbet, or pancakes. Frozen brambles work well. Float frozen brambles in glasses of Prosecco or winter berry cocktail.

Do you have a recipe for the bramble whisky?

Where are you all living that you've had no summer? We've been BOILED for weeks here (SE Scotland) 🥵

Ahhh thanks @MotionActivatedDog the funny thing was we were really worried about not being able to do anything. We missed the Halloween activities we had booked because I had covid . We did this and it's all they've spoke about and asking to do it again ... best Halloween ever . Just makes you realise it's the little tho gs they remember .

My mum was a big one for taking us out to whatever events were on, dressing up, bonfires etc. My absolute favourite Halloween memory was when my mum was working nights so dad was in charge Halloween night. He’s told us we weren’t doing anything for Halloween so we were bathed and in pyjamas upstairs. He called us downstairs and then bounced out and scared us from behind the sofa (just his own face- no mask ) and on the coffee table he had put a picnic plate for each of us with cocktail sausages, wotsits and a coke float. (I’d never had a coke float before!) The lights were off and I think we watched something Halloweeny but honestly have no idea. I just remember having so much fun that night. Like you say- it’s the little things.

@DoAsYouWouldBeMumBy
I use the Woodland Trust method, it isn't a recipe as such since it's based on volume. IIRC River Cottage also make bramble whiskey.
Only use a cheap blend of whiskey, as it would be criminal to use a decent single malt!

I am placemarking to come back later

[quote AdaColeman]@DoAsYouWouldBeMumBy
I use the Woodland Trust method, it isn't a recipe as such since it's based on volume. IIRC River Cottage also make bramble whiskey.
Only use a cheap blend of whiskey, as it would be criminal to use a decent single malt![/quote]
Thanks

@DoAsYouWouldBeMumBy

Where are you all living that you've had no summer? We've been BOILED for weeks here (SE Scotland) 🥵

South East England. Honestly we've had maybe three weeks of hot weather this year. Very depressing.