Trying to Find the Real Autumn | Slowing Down & Enjoying the Simple Moments

Autumn has arrived in all of its golden glory. Dancing leaves in blustery winds. Warm coats with upturned colours. Days to be enjoyed outdoors if only to make the return home all the more enjoyable. So I'm going to make some soup and I think I'm just going to do like a spiced cauliflower soup which is what I would like to make but I need my kids to eat at dinner tonight so I think I think I'm just going to do tomato soup. Creamy tomato soup maybe because then I know for sure they will all eat it. Okay tea. It has definitely been noticeably chillier this week. Winter coats have been brought down from the loft and extra blankets have been finding their way onto the beds. I think it's often these small things that I love the most about autumn. Even with all of its dramatic changes in light and landscapes, ordinary moments feel a little bit more special in dim glowing light. It's one of the things I love most about the seasons. Each one lingers just long enough to make you nostalgic for the others. As with many things, autumn has quickly become something to consume. It's funny how price tags can be so high for the feelings nature gives us so freely. And whilst I along with so many love to treat myself to decor and food and experiences all in the name of autumn, this season, like all of them, can be found all around us. In small things. Small moments. Cold noses and tissues up sleeves. Misty mornings and auburn falling leaves. Stirring brown sugar into porridge and afternoons spent baking. Warm socks slipping over cold toes. Turning the heating up a degree or two. All small things and throwaway moments. And yet autumn, it can be felt in them all. Liam and I have come for a good wander and rummage around at the Antiques Centre today. This is definitely one of my favourite ways to relax. I love that feeling of treasure hunting, of keeping my eyes peeled for a bargain or two. I've always loved these wooden cutlery trays, but not this price. I am strictly in bargain mode today. These candle thingies, I thought they were really unusual, but they were £22 each. These copper kettles were beautiful and I thought this was quite a good price to say how large they were. Now this was slightly damaged and it's a little bit too dear for me, but I am keeping my eye out for something like this. I would love some little drawers on my kitchen worktop. I really, really loved this enamel kettle. I would have probably bought this, but it was being sold as a complete set, which I can understand. It would be a shame to separate them, but I certainly don't need a whole set. Well, this would have made my childhood dreams come true. I have always loved old luggage and all the different compartments inside. These kind of items, they always have me wondering who they belong to. I actually wish I'd bought this pot. I loved the colour. Now this I love. It's similar to a crock that I already own in the kitchen, but this is a different shape and I can already imagine this filled with flowers. I have thoroughly enjoyed myself nosying around today, enjoying the peace and quiet, but other days are all the more special when spent together as a family. Sometimes autumn provides the most beautiful of days. Most days are much more ordinary. Bloomy days of endless grey skies, soggy morning school runs and shorter days followed by cold nights. Often I think the changeable weather is one of the main reasons home feels all the more wonderful this time of year. I thought I would try and do something I've never done before today, and that's a simmer pot. My little helper is at the ready so let me just see how this goes. We're going to use whatever we have in the house. I've got some oranges and apples, a little bit of rosemary left and ginger and cinnamon. I've not followed any measurements. We've kind of gone for a plonkadollar method today, but I'm not sure it matters too much. We're just going to leave it to simmer away for a few hours and hopefully it will fill the house with wonderful scents of autumn. I thought I would show you the few bits that I bought from the Antiques Centre. I picked up this book to add to the bookshelves. I love the colour and the spine and it was only two pounds. And I did buy the tiny winter picture. I thought it was just too sweet to leave behind, especially for only one pound. And of course the brown stoneware vase. That was just six pounds and I thought that was a good price for its size. The last of the summer flowers are still hanging on. They may not be at their best anymore, they are a bit bruised and windswept, but I certainly want to make the most of them before the frosts arrive. There's no denying that this is my favourite season, for all of its changing colours and cinnamon spice treats and my most loved concert shows. But I think it's good to remember that autumn, it's a season of slowly winding down. Each year autumn feels less about its grand moments and more about its gentle ones. Noticing just how many more leaves have fallen on your way back home. The glowing lights peeking through the windows. A warm drink after a particularly chilly day. Small unassuming moments, perhaps they might not be so ordinary after all.