My 5 Favourite Things About Autumn

So it’s Autumn again, and my goodness it really feels like it has come around so quickly this year! It seems like only just yesterday that I was lying on the beach in Cyprus sipping peach juice and now the leaves are falling in Durham and it’s a brand new academic year. As the temperature drops and the remainder of 2016 approaches, here are a few of my musings on what my top 5 favourite things about Autumn are.

 

1. It’s a time of great change and excitement - With the leaves turning orange, golden and red, before flurrying to the ground, in a cinematic movie magic way, it’s hard for Autumn not to capture your imagination and leave you with a sense of awe at how amazing nature really is. Autumn to me is a time of great modification, a parallel reshuffle in the seasons and simultaneously in life. A new academic year means getting disciplined again, immersing yourself in your studies and focusing. For others it might mean starting a new chapter in a chosen career in a different place. No matter who you are or where you are, I can almost guarantee that the time between the end of Summer and the beginning of Winter holds some kind of transition for you and it’s exciting to think of what new things could begin.



 

2. It’s time to get festive – The final three months of the year are when people collectively like to have a good time. Think Halloween, followed by Bonfire Night and then Christmas. It’s truly such an exciting part of the year. Halloween and pumpkin carving are intrinsic to October and Bonfire night means the cap on sugar is lifted and the toffee apples flow freely as we watch displays somewhere to Katy Perry’s ‘Firework’ song blaring loud. It’s an annual occurrence without which November wouldn't feel quite right. It seems to me like so much of the good stuff is crammed right into the latter end of the year. Do you agree?

 

The perks of living near the countryside. You can stumble upon mini horses on your treks!

3. Knitted scarves and faux fur boots – Naturally, Autumn / Winter calls for an annual wardrobe overhaul or reshuffle at least. We start switching the floral dresses and sandals for fluffy jackets, jumpers and things made of velvet. It’s time to get cosy and comfy, and wear so many layers you become a human onion. At the moment, it’s just fresh, not too chill, but in the coming weeks, no doubt we will be greeted with frosty window panes in the mornings and low setting sun in the evenings, which will then be known as 4pm.

4. Better films are in the cinema - It’s almost as if producers know that people don’t want to be outside freezing on cold evenings, but rather be captured by some cinematic magic. Inside. Where it’s warm and you’re not going to get frost bite waiting in the queue for 45 minutes, like you might do waiting to get into ‘Loveshack’! At the moment there are lots of good films out or about to be released; ‘Bridget Jones’ Baby’ the third in the ‘trilogy’, ‘The Girl On The Train’ (a book which I am currently reading and loving), ‘Trolls’ movie (I love their hair and the new MAC makeup range which has been brought out for it!), ‘Jack Reacher: Never Go Back’ from the detective book series which I also dipped into and the sci-fi fantasy American superhero comic adaptation ‘Dr Strange’ staring Benedict Cumberbatch and former Ice Queen, Tilda Swinton. TV is also looking up, with the finale of ‘The Great British Bake Off’ also happening in the not so distant future! (rooting for Selasi, but Jane is so consistent each week, but she’s had longer to practise as she’s mature, hmm...)

5. Hot chocolate – An Autumnal staple if you’re asking me. As much as I am a firm fan of Earl Grey, a hot chocolate on a cold Autumn evening is unparalleled. Getting into those fleecy PJs and snuggling down has got to be one of life’s simple little pleasures. Even better if you bake something sweet and delicious to go with it. Have you seen my Autumnal Spiced Toffee Apple Cake recipe?

What are your favourite things about Autumn? Do you have any traditions which I haven’t mentioned here? Let me know in the comments below! Bilgi x