From The Pumpkin Patch

If you follow the meteorological calendar, autumn begins on September 1st. It’s a fact. It’s science.

And really, when you think about it, it makes sense. Why confine autumn to October, where it shares the spotlight with Halloween? Or November, when most people are getting ready for Christmas?

I celebrate autumn in the manner it deserves, from the very first fallen leaf at the beginning of September to the bare trees on the last day of November. It’s the least I can do.

Now that September has come to an end all too soon, I’m looking back at some of my favourite moments and memories of early autumn.

The leaves began to change almost as soon as September arrived, dusting the tops of the trees with a red, orange and yellow glow. Some have already fallen to the ground, and I’ve been collecting and pressing them between the pages of some of my favourite seasonal books.

I’m impatiently anticipating their full bloom within the next few weeks, but for now I’m happy with these subtle, gradual changes.

September also brought the first hearty, cosy meals to my kitchen this year. I love seeing all the seasonal produce arriving in the supermarkets, and have been busily stocking up on pumpkins, squash, apples… all the wonderful flavours of autumn.

We’ve been enjoying apple granola, homemade mac and cheese, warming curries and lentil shepherd’s pie, and I’m preparing to make spiced apple cider this weekend to celebrate the start of October.

I’m looking forward to roasting a chicken on a cold gloomy night, or making my famous kabocha soup as a Thanksgiving starter. Autumn is the best time of year to be in the kitchen!

I try to avoid trends as much as possible. But there was something about this pumpkin Labubu that I just had to have. Maybe it’s his creepy little face, or the fact that I’m obsessed with anything Halloween. Either way, I love seeing him dangling from my bag.

He gets a lot of looks when we’re out and about, so I think he’s quite special.

We went vintage shopping in Shoreditch earlier this month, where I didn’t buy anything vintage as it was all so overpriced.

But I did find this spooky/cute little pin in an underground market, which I just had to have. It sits perfectly next to my Luke’s coffee cup, and sets off my thrifted brown bag nicely.

How did I live this long without reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt?

I devoured this book over September. It may be the best book I’ve ever read. I simply could not put it down. Donna Tartt knows how to make you become a character in her novels, instead of a mere observer. I felt like I knew everyone, Richard, Henry, Bunny, Francis, Charles and Camilla, and attended Hampden College in rural Vermont. I was swept up in the thrill of it all, and shuddered along with them at the very real consequences.

This book came everywhere with me. I even took it on my day trip to Paris at the end of September, so it will always carry a special memory.

Of course, our entire house is beautifully decorated for autumn. I counted eighteen pumpkins in the living room alone!

I haven’t shown our dining area on the blog before, but it’s possibly my favourite room in the house. I love to write here, and eat delicious meals, and play games. It’s the cosiest little nook. We do plan to install some soft seating cushions, which should make it even more inviting.

And here’s one of my favourite tea cups!

I’m drinking a lot of tea these days. Sticky toffee rooibos from Marks and Spencer, spiced pumpkin from Trader Joe’s, my favourite autumn harvest blend that smells just like a late October day. I can’t get enough of it.

I also discovered that Starbucks can add four pumps of pumpkin spice flavour to a white hot chocolate, and it creates the most incredible seasonal drink. Be warned – it’s addictive.

October has now arrived on a chilly, biting wind (did I hear a witch cackle?) and I’m eagerly anticipating the spooky weeks ahead.

But I still have a soft spot in my heart for September, that tentative, gradual month where autumn can be found in the very smallest of places.