Simple ways to embrace the cosy fall season.
In this post I will share with you how I intend to enjoy my favourite season, autumn. What could be better than putting on a cosy jumper, making your favourite hot drink in a cute new mug and snuggling under a blanket to read an autumnal book or watch a great film. I’m going to share what’s on my autumn reading list, what films and TV shows I’ll be watching and what autumnal items I’ve been shopping around for.
It’s still surprisingly warm here in England, considering we’re now well into September. However, some of the leaves are starting to fall from the trees on our walk to school on a morning. We’ve been picking blackberries and have been gifted a bag of cooking apples from a friend, so a crumble will be baked at some point this week. I hope you’ll enjoy the whole article, but if there is a specific section you would like to skip to then you can do so via the Table of Contents below.
Table of Contents:
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My Simple Autumn Wishlist:
- Read some books
- Watch some cosy films and TV shows
- Buy a thrifted / secondhand jumper
- Buy a new autumnal style mug
- Go pumpkin picking with my kids
- Make some apple and blackberry crumbles
Books
I love reading other bloggers book recommendations for fall reading material, whilst also finding some of my own. Three out of four of these books I have borrowed from my local library, which has saved me a small fortune over the years! I would encourage you to check out your own local library, or charity shop, to see if you can find your perfect autumn read. But if you’re not able to do this, then I have included some Amazon links for convenience.
This autumn, I am reading the following titles:
Coming Home to Starr’s Fall by Kate Hewitt
This is the perfect autumn read! It was exactly what I was looking for when I stumbled across it on the ‘new releases’ stand at my local library. Laurie moves to the small town of Starr’s Fall to open a pet shop and bakery. There she meets handsome but grumpy Joshua, who owns the bookshop across the street. It’s a really sweet and romantic story, with a bit of a heart breaking sub plot as well. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!
The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore
This book came highly recommended and you only need to look at the cover to get all the cosy autumn feels. The main character, Jeanie, is gifted a café by her aunt so she moves to the small town of Dream Harbour and becomes the new café owner. There she meets the local farmer, Logan, who is handsome and a bit grumpy and (long story short) they fall in love! It was light hearted and easy to read, which is just what I was in the mood for. The synopsis reads a bit like a cheesy Hallmark movie, so I was a bit surprised when there were some pretty, how should I say this, graphic intimate scenes! Overall though, I enjoyed this book. It was well written and I liked the characters.
The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman
Alice Hoffman is of course the author of the ultimate autumn read, Practical Magic. Practical Magic now has two prequels The Rules of Magic (2017) and Magic Lessons (2020) and a sequel The Book of Magic (2021). All of which I highly recommend and would make perfect autumn reads! I’ve also read a number of Alice Hoffman’s other books and whilst they can all feel quite dark at times, I almost always come away feeling glad that I’ve read them. Other than the Practical Magic series, I think my favourite of her books is The Marriage of Opposites. There’s always an element of tragedy within her stories, along with some magic and a lot them are set in or around Boston Massachusetts.
The Invisible Hour starts with the story of Ivy, who falls pregnant at the age of 16 and runs away when she realises that no one is willing to support her decision to keep her baby. Ivy winds up living in a community/cult and her daughter Mia is raised within it. The story then follows Mia and takes an unexpected twist when she ends up time travelling to meet an author whose work saved her life. It’s very cleverly written, but this wasn’t my favourite Alice Hoffman novel. At times it felt like there was perhaps a political agenda behind some of the elements of the storyline, which didn’t really need to be there. However, Alice Hoffman is an incredible author who is masterful at transporting you to another time and place.
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
The Ex Hex is another novel that seems to be featured on a lot of autumn reading lists. I’ve heard it described as Bridget Jones meets Practical Magic, which I think pretty spot on. There is quite a bit of swearing in it and some raunchy scenes between the main characters, who are both witches. Apart from a few scenes that are quite creepy, it’s a pretty light-hearted read.
Films
My favourite films to watch at this time of year are:
Jane Eyre (2006)
This is technically a one off mini-series, rather than a film, but it didn’t feel right to include it with the TV shows I’ve written about below. This is a stunning adaptation from the BBC of the classic gothic romantic novel written by Charlotte Brontë. It stars Ruth Wilson as Jane Eyre, who is one of my favourite actresses. Jane Eyre is a dark and moody story, but Jane is so resilient and shows such strength of character that you just want things to come good for her in the end. The BBC really knows how to do period pieces well. Their 1995 version of Pride & Prejudice is another must see.
Twilight (2008)
I was a huge fan of the Twilight films and books when they were first released. I even attended a couple of Twilight Conventions! #TeamEdward! Despite the vampires and werewolves, it’s sweet and romantic and still makes for great autumn viewing and/or reading.
Hocus Pocus (1993)
I’m not a fan of scary movies, so Hocus Pocus is about as far as I’ll go in terms of Halloween viewing. It’s pretty silly, but good fun, with great acting from an all star cast. I wasn’t a fan of Hocus Pocus 2, but the original 1993 film is great.
Practical Magic (1998)
A story about sisterhood, witchcraft and family curses all set in New England during the fall. It’s a bit scary in places, but overall a beautiful adaptation of a wonderful novel.
TV Shows
I don’t watch loads of TV, but I’m a big fan of handful of certain shows. Here are my favourite shows to watch in autumn.
Strictly Come Dancing
This year marks 20 years since Strictly entered our screens in its current format (there was a show called Come Dancing that started way back in 1949). For me it marks the start of autumn viewing and leads all the way up to the excitement of Christmas. I have watched every series without fail. It is perfect, wholesome, Saturday night TV that the whole family can watch. It’s always so joyful and the whole production of the show is incredible. It’s great to see that this year the BBC has got rid of some of the sleazy professional dancers and brought back the nice guys. Hooray!
The Great British Bake Off
I’m not as loyal a fan of Bake Off as I am of Strictly. However, it does make for great family viewing and it’s another really fun and creative show. Bake Off is shown on Channel 4.
Sister Wives
Sister Wives is a reality TV show that follows the lives of the (former) polygamist family, The Browns. Kody Brown is the egotistical husband, who started out the show with four wives; Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn. It’s been fascinating to watch how this family operates over the last 10 plus years, especially as the wives have one by one decided to leave. Only Robyn is still married to Kody at this point, but the show still follows the lives of the other wives as well. After so many years of watching this family evolve, I feel well and truly invested and I can’t wait to watch the next season on TLC channel.
Gilmore Girls
I have only recently started watching the Gilmore Girls, but I can confirm that it is the ultimate in cosy viewing. The small town setting of Stars Hollow goes big on decorating for autumn and winter. It’s so gorgeous. It took me a few episodes to get into it and I still find a couple of the characters frustrating, but I am hooked. All episodes of the Gilmore Girls are currently available on Netflix.
Jumpers
Last week I packed away all of my summer dresses, to make room for my autumn/winter jumpers in my wardrobe. I fancied getting a jumper in an autumnal colour like a warm brown, deep green or burnt orange. So I took to Vinted and found just what I was looking for and it only cost me £5.09 including postage! Vinted is my go to place for most of mine and my kid’s clothes now. You can find pretty much anything on there and it is so cheaply priced. It’s also so much more sustainable to buy clothing secondhand, so I’m all for it.
However, I have been tempted to buy this beautiful autumnal jumper I found on Etsy, but I might hold off until next year.
Mugs
I have spent more hours than I care to admit searching for my perfect fall mug this year. Mugs are a great way to add a touch of fall decor to your home in an affordable way. There’s nothing cosier than snuggling up under a blanket with your favourite hot drink in a gorgeous mug.
My new favourite mug is from Le Creuset. I think it’s subtle in terms of an autumnal mug and it is beautiful quality. I bought the 350ml ‘Volcanic’ colour mug from Amazon.
My fall mug from last year is this one from Emma Bridgewater. This mug is very well made, but it’s just a tad smaller than I thought it would be so I don’t tend to use it much.
This cute ‘Hey Pumpkin’ enamel mug is still in my Etsy shopping basket. I think I will wait until next autumn to purchase it, as I’m using my Le Creuset mug all the time now.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for sticking around! I realise this is a slightly random post, with a little bit of everything thrown in. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my favourite ways to embrace the cosy autumn season. Let me know in the comments below what book, film or TV show is your favourite to watch in autumn, I would love to know!
Dawn-Upside Lane says
Great autumn round-up – thank you! It made me feel fall cozy just reading it! Gonna grab one or two of your book recs, thank you!
Rachel says
Thank you, Dawn! So glad you enjoyed this post. Happy reading!