Today is October 1st and as in Northwestern fall fashion, the fog and rain greeted me as I pulled back the blinds this morning. Oh how I love October!
The following are the things I loved in September.
Autumn Nightly Baths
I think the thing I most look forward to with the coming of Fall is my nightly baths. Rarely, if ever, do I have a bath in the summer. I keep a hefty stash of products for this sole purpose; Lush bath bombs, oils, my favourite Origins Ginger Float foaming bath cream. During my last visit to Bath & Bodyworks I found these bubble baths with apt names celebrating the season and descriptions that immerse you in that Fall feeling: Hayrides, Cider, Friday night lights…I’m feeling the vibes.
Charlotte Tilbury Makeup
Charlotte Tilbury must be the best salesperson I’ve ever met (online). Ever since the first Makeup tutorial I watched on her channel, I’ve wanted to invest in some of her makeup. I use the word invest because it’s steeply priced so after a lot of thought and research I stopped in at Holt Renfrew, had the makeup artist try the products I was interested in and purchased this bronzer/ highlight duo and a setting powder that makes your skin looked airbrushed. I also got a few samples. The Glow Wonder illuminator makes you look glowy. Not shiny. Gentle, like candlelit.
Cozy Fall Movies
I think I’ve read 100’s of articles and google searches on the best Fall movies. You know, movies set in the fall. Movies that make you feel warm and ready for Thanksgiving. You’ll usually find movies like Good Will Hunting, Practical Magic and You’ve Got Mail on all of these lists. But I’ve watched these and many times and was looking for something new. I was excited to find a list with a movie I’d actually never heard of before. Starring Steve Carral, Dan in Real Life is a lovely story about a widower father with 3 daughters trying to be the best dad while exploring the idea of dating again. This movie is very underrated and I’m so happy I found it. Yellow leaves floating through the air, warm autumnal clothing, a family football game in the yard and a great cast including Diane Weist and Juliet Binoche. Watch it.
A Sunday Roast
Cooking all year is a pleasure. It starts with researching a recipe. My favourites contain ingredients I’ve never cooked with like Radicchio and Chanterelle Mushrooms this year. I prefer to grocery shop alone. I take my time, strolling the isles (keep to the outer perimeter of the store for the healthiest food), enjoying the process. During Autumn the grocery store comes to life!: colourful squashes, root veggies like parsnips (I make a great puree), red and golden beets, mushrooms. They’re all so grounding. This past weekend was my fiance’s bachelor party and I figured after 2 nights of indulging in one too many spirits with his friends a good old fashion roast was in order. We eat as healthy as we can throughout the week. Sundays are a different story. Lazy mornings, brunch out, the football game on TV, you get where this is going.
Recipe for my gingered carrots:
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound whole small to medium carrots, peeled
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1-2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar or maple syrup
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- Sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a small bowl, whisk together honey, olive oil, ginger, soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar (or maple syrup) and salt and pepper. Toss carrots with glaze (in a large bowl)
- Bake for 15-25 minutes (depending on the size of your carrots), turning and stirring once during cooking, until carrots are tender. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.
Strange Cravings
I think I’m alone on this one but I recently discovered I love pickled onions. While visiting Italy this summer we ordered a charcuterie board that included pickled onions. I was the only one that liked them; so much so that when I saw them in the Tesco isle (an isle at my local grocer that carries food from the UK) I bought a jar and they’ve totally become my favourite snack while I’m cooking. They’re crunchy and sweet and pickled and at my annual Mabon feast this year I put some out for my guests. Not one person liked them. It’s kinda funny but more for me I guess.
Warm Knits Season
I can’t decide if it’s the cooking or cozy clothes that come out during the Fall that I like most. I’m going to call it a tie. I recently added 4 new sweaters to my autumn wardrobe. I found a lovely cape style sweater by Ugg Australia on Ebay. It was new with tags and is knit with a really soft almost cotton feeling yarn. I like wearing it with a plaid shirt underneath and jeans. During a visit to the mall for birthday gifts for my Virgo family, I stopped in at TopShop and found this cozy striped sweater. It has really roomy sleeves and looks great half tucked into high waisted jeans. The cream coloured cropped jumper is from Asos. It’s so soft and is shorter in the front and longer in the back. I’ve been wearing over dresses with boots to prolong my summer dress season. The last one was a total impulse buy. I’d seen a sweater almost identical to this one a couple of months ago on Net a Porter website. It was $450. This one is almost identical and was $80. I had to buy it.
New Make-up Storage
Every time I clean my bathroom I have to move all my makeup. One by one I remove bronzers, highlighters, skin care from the counter and I’ve had it. Well, I wasn’t that upset really hehehe. I saw these storage bins with drawers at London Drugs last week. They were $10 and now all my makeup (well lets be real, this is like 1/2 of my makeup. The rest is in the bathroom drawers) is neatly stored and next time I clean I just pick the entire thing up and move it, wipe and return to it’s place. Why didn’t I do this earlier.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the things I’ve been using and loved in September. I love hearing from my readers so drop me a line any time!
Until next time.
Love,
Jennifer
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