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! 🍂

For all the spider haters, Rentokil have a spray that not only is amazing at killing them, but I spray round everywhere in my house every 3-4 weeks (when the house will be empty for a bit afterwards) and (praying this doesn’t jinx it) never ever get spiders. I even spray round the walls and outside of the windows and doors outside, many a morning have come down to find a giant dead one outside on a window ledge or the door. I have the cans on Amazon subscribe and save as I can’t live without them now, they really are fantastic

Great thread op 😄 i absolutely love autumn.

I've just brought a velvetiser & autumn lights thanks to this thread 🤦‍♀️ I'm in need of a new flask so on the look out. I don't like the bottle ones as too hard to clean.

I've just had soup with fresh baked rolls and am scrolling Instagram with #autumn... I'm so ready for Autumn! I want a new scarf and a smaller derrière before October... and I'm going to see if there are any early blackberries later.

@MintyCedric "Going to treat us to a Velvetiser when it gets properly cold"

They are on offer now, £20 off!

I was born in the summer and absolutely love the autumn and winter.

Loving this thread and all the ideas, I will be trying the lemon drizzle cake later.
Can't wait for the cozy nights indoors, eating nice chocolates and doing a good jigsaw puzzle.

Velvetiser on offer you say? Be rude not to....

I made an apple and blackberry crumble today! I managed to find two handfuls of blackberries. It was delicious - I'm already on the autumn train 🍂

@Sawyersfishbiscuits

I made an apple and blackberry crumble today! I managed to find two handfuls of blackberries. It was delicious - I'm already on the autumn train 🍂

Yes! Never let this thread die 🍂 🥧 ☕️

Tip for anyone getting a Velvetiser- it's cheaper to just buy your favourite chocolate and grate it yourself. My favourite is Lindt chocolate with sea salt. I buy a lot of bars, grate them up finely into a nice glass container and use that for my hot chocolates. Whipped cream mandatory.

This thread has made me feel all cosy I love Autumn!!! Velvetiser, fairy lights and candles are on my wish list! I'm looking forward to autumn walks followed by cosy nights in. I wish I had a real fire but I just have to make do with my built-in electric fire and it's flame effect! Or YouTube if I'm snuggled up in bed. Keep this thread going it's really cheered me up!

YouTube have lots of autumn background videos with either classical, ambient or nature sounds. Some have changing autumnal scenery, others have falling leaves. They are lovely to play on the TV while reading, knitting etc

A lovely new coat. I feel so much more pulled together in the autumn and winter when I can just chuck a coat and boots on and it doesn’t really matter what kind of awful leggings/jeans/holey T-shirt nightmare is on underneath.

My old coat has done a long stint of many years so I’m really looking forward to replacing it.

Also remembering that actually, I don’t really like summer. I get too hot so easily, especially at night, and I hate the pressure to have organised fun. Give me autumn any day.

I also made our first apple and blackberry crumble yesterday. I love it with an oaty brown sugar top and double cream. The blackberries had finally ripened along our track. It’s feeling distinctly autumnal here in Essex today so I’ve made wholemeal cheese scones for lunch. Chilli for supper. It’s all about the food here . I’m a massive autumn greeder. 😆

@witchbaby ooh a jigsaw is a really good idea. Now I am tempted to buy an autumn themed one but I will resist as I have enough jigsaws here that I haven't done yet! Maybe next year.

This is a lovely thread, I’m a recent summer to autumn convert
But please please don’t kill spiders @Doghairismyglitter
They won’t harm you

I love these threads! We've been outside for a fair amount of local walks and I've seen plums, apples, cherry plums and berries all over (although they need an extra week or two to ripen I think). I saw an older couple picking cherry plums together at our local park, and it reminded me that summer is almost over and Autumn is near. I love Autumn!

Someone in this thread mentioned Whittard hot chocolate, thank you! I have ordered 4 different types (two for DH and two for me) and a mug that was on sale. I'd love to see the summer out with one last BBQ, but I'm excited!

I love our spiders, although DH isn’t convinced.

Soon our harvest spiders will once again appear, looking for love. And once again DH will run downstairs panting that this year’s are the size of Jack Russells.

In preparation for autumn can anyone recommend a good and reliable heated throw?

@Labradabradorable

I love our spiders, although DH isn’t convinced.

Soon our harvest spiders will once again appear, looking for love. And once again DH will run downstairs panting that this year’s are the size of Jack Russells.

panting & the size of Jack Russells - that's really made me laugh!

Following - I love autumn, despite most of it being wet and grey instead of crisp and golden!

I stock up on dinner table candles. Mostly the cheap, plain tea lights but also some precious, slender beeswax tapered ones. Usually stick a few in some leftover jam jars, and while it may only be cheesy beans on toast for dinner, they transform another darkening afternoon/evening into a cosy meal.

@JeromeKJerome - look at the faux fur heated ones from a Lakeland. I’ve had mine 3 years now and blooming love it!

Fab - thank you. There are so many to choose from it’s difficult to know which one to go for 😀

@JeromeKJerome - ok. I’ve just been on their website, as thought I’d find the one I got to point you to a recommendation. It appears they don’t do them anymore! It appears that what comes up are all electric blankets.

So, the brand I got (via Lakeland) is called Dreamland - and a quick google shows there are a number of other sites that sell them.

They have a nice “weight” to them, so on a normal autumn evening they’re comforting without turning them on.

My cottage is really old and difficult to heat. Having the throw means that for a lot of evenings, I can get away with no heating - I use the throw and just turn the heating on for an hour or so before bed just to warm the bedrooms up.

The biggest downside is not wanting to disturb the cat that is snooz8ng on the throw on top of my feet 🤣

[quote Furries]@JeromeKJerome - ok. I’ve just been on their website, as thought I’d find the one I got to point you to a recommendation. It appears they don’t do them anymore! It appears that what comes up are all electric blankets.

So, the brand I got (via Lakeland) is called Dreamland - and a quick google shows there are a number of other sites that sell them.

They have a nice “weight” to them, so on a normal autumn evening they’re comforting without turning them on.

My cottage is really old and difficult to heat. Having the throw means that for a lot of evenings, I can get away with no heating - I use the throw and just turn the heating on for an hour or so before bed just to warm the bedrooms up.

The biggest downside is not wanting to disturb the cat that is snooz8ng on the throw on top of my feet 🤣[/quote]
That’s incredibly helpful - thank you 😊

This thread has reminded me I need a new coat and a new slow cooker. I'm looking forward to coming home from a chilly autumn walk to a warning stew or casserole.

• warming stew!!