It's the 1st of September and to me that means it's the start of autumn! While today is still bright and sunny, the weather is set to change and become much colder in the next few days and that makes me so happy.
I love the dark season and I have a few little traditions of my own. I always book my holiday for the following year in autumn and this year is no exception. I've already booked a trip to the Orkney Isles for next year and I am so much looking forward to that. John O'Groats is the furthest north I've ever been so it will be wonderful to visit the Northern Isles. I can't wait and I get excited whenever I think about it.
I also like to go shopping each September for a few treats to cosy up my home ready for the colder months - candles, oils and bath products are a must. I like warm scents such as cinnamon, gingerbread and vanilla. I also like to buy something for the house that looks autumnal or wintry, but which can be used all year round.
Over the years I have collected a lovely set of oak leaf man ornaments - mirrors, candle and tealight holders, dishes and trinket boxes etc. They bring the spirit of the autumn woods to my home all the year. I like to have things around me that remind me of the dark season, even at the height of summer. There might be a heatwave going on, but once indoors I am surrounded by autumn and winter, my favourite seasons.
A couple of years ago I bought a few owl shaped plates, mugs and teapot and I always find myself reaching for them come August, when I am sick of the sun and ready for teatime on rainy days.
I am a pluviophile which means that I take great comfort and joy in rainy days and 'dismal' weather. I love the cosyness of it; of walking in the rain with a bright umbrella and then coming home to a cosy, warm house, a cup of tea and a good book.
This year I have added to my woodland crockery collection, buying a gorgeous fox shaped chopping board that looks fantastic in my kitchen. He is a joy to see each day and always makes me smile. I wish I'd got the set of tea-towels to match, but I might go back and pick them up another day.
I also got something that has been on my wish-list for a while. A few years ago as I was watching Once Upon A Time, I noticed a pumpkin shaped cookie jar in Snow's kitchen. I looked everywhere but couldn't find one and I had given up on it as just one of those American things that never made it to the UK. But now I have one! A burnt orange ceramic pumpkin oven dish and lid that will make a fab sweetie jar to keep treats in. Its from the same range as the fox (pictured above) and was quite inexpensive. I love it when that happens; when you've wanted something for years and it suddenly lands in your lap right when you've given up on it. It's manifestation as its best.
So now my kitchen at least is ready for the dark season and looking very pretty, cute and autumnal. Shopping is always a fun way to mark the turn in the seasons and companies these days are tapped into the lure of Instagram, producing lovely items that seem to be made for those of us who like to buy pretty as well as practical. Even the cheaper supermarkets are getting in on the act, so a few seasonal treats and trifles needn't break the bank.
But for the moment I'm going to make a cup of chai tea in my owl mug, fill the pumpkin with yummy treats and settle down to write a seasonal column for Samhain. My October column is already in, but we decided I'd write a bit extra for the witchy month of the year, so that's what I'm off to do now. My writing life calls and there's no rest for the Wiccan. Enjoy squirreling away a few autumn treats for yourself this season.
Blessed Be
Marie x
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