Welcome to Autumn

Autumn has always been my favourite time of year, I've always loved that back-to-school feeling that September brings, the idea of fresh beginnings, feeling renewed after a summer break; we can begin again with a clean slate, it feels like anything is possible. Harvest, pumpkins and squash, fields of sunflowers. Conkers, acorns and crispy leaves underfoot. Knee-high boots and woolly tights. Gingham table cloths, apple and blackberry crumble. Gingerbread and cinnamon sprinkled coffee. Dark mornings and darker afternoons. Chunky cardigans and chenille blankets.TV dramas and new ‘books to read. Halloween and Bonfire night, sparklers clasped in small gloved hands.

Cooling temperatures mean our homes once again take centre stage for family life, we draw curtains, light candles and snuggle under checked blankets. We drink warming chi lattes or syrupy red wine, spend afternoons in the kitchen perfecting our apple crumble; we warm our little one's flannel pyjamas on the radiator for when they get home from school. We start new projects and make plans and lists, powered by the new energy a change in season brings. We anticipate Halloween, bonfire night and Christmas, and the joy these occasions will bring to our homes

We take strolls for the sheer childish delight of kicking up piles of crispy leaves. Nature is at its most beautiful, there are fields of sunflowers, but there are also blackberries, apples ripe for picking and deliciously shiny conkers paths covered in a blanket of leaves in shades like the setting sun . naked branches sculpture against a twilight sky. Woodsmoke lingers on the air.We cuddle up with our partners to watch the latest box set, and spend hours on Pinterest making boards for how we want the new season to look. We take long hot baths scented with cinnamon and sweet orange, then we retire to our bed to snuggle under blankets and throws with some atmospheric reading material. This, then, is how we do Autumn ...