Friday 7 September 2012

Autumn anticipation

I don't know about you, but I am nothing short of impatient for it to be autumn now. It has overtaken summer as my favourite season, and now that it's September proper, I think that the time has come to be excited about autumn things!
 
1. Back-to-school style
Summer fashion always leaves me a bit cold - it's all a bit flimsy, and although my happy hippy side comes out and dances around in pretty dresses, I always feel much happier when I can layer up a few tops with some mittens bunches around my wrists and cosy socks on. This year, my hopes for autumn style are:
Leather Jackets!
Plaid anything!
Animal sweaters! and More animal sweaters!
Colourful opaques! 
ALL THE SOCKS AND SLIPPERS ON THIS PAGE 
Fair Isle jumpers! 

2. Autumn food
Soups, beef stews with dumplings and chanterelle carrots, fish pies, roast veg with couscous, home-made pasta, roasts, pies, baked potatoes, sausages...
I intend to go mental with soups in particular over the next couple of months - I have recently had:
Roasted tomato and onion
Roasted parsnip with parmesan
West African chicken and peanut, and am intending to try soon:
Russian winter vegetable
Pea and ham
Carrot and corriander
Leek and potato
Sweet potato and chorizo
Italian bean... and many more. 

3. Weather
Sun and warmth is all very well, but I burn easily and generally tend to run quite warm anyway, so I often find summer months quite uncomfortable (even in the north of England! Ridiculous). The feeling of being wrapped up against the wind in my many woolen layers is only topped by when I get home, shed my "outside layers" (jumpers, leggings, coat, boots, socks, hat) and put on my "inside layers" (pajamas, cosy jumper/hoodie, slippers) and curl up by the fire.

4. Celebrations! 
Bonfire night, Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving (for Americans, but I wouldn't mind having a dinner and a holiday that's about gratitude at all. It's a lovely idea), not to mention the excitement and anticipation of Christmas! 

5. General productivity
This is me more than other people, as I have become pretty sluggish over the summer (not really giving myself enough to do) and I'm really looking forward to being busy again with uni work.


Oh, how I'm looking forward to it! Crisp air, all wrapped up, cups of hot chocolate and excessive amounts of soup! Huzzah for autumn!
 
 
 

Stag weekend

All the boys have gone away for a friend's stag do this weekend and I have the place to myself! I actually couldn't be more excited - I'm intending to spend the whole time lounging about matching underwear and nighties etc, like Dita von Teese's protegee; drinking everything out of a champagne flute and having immaculate makeup at all times.

 She is all kinds of amazing - I bought her book Burlesque and the art of the teese/Fetish and the art of the teese a few years ago, and it completely amazed me. Part autobiography, part history of the burlesque industry, part coffee-table book complete with the most beautiful photographs - she's a real inspiration.
There is something quite delicious in having the house all to myself, although a lot of the things that I'm planning to do are things that I could easily do while they're here - so why put them off? Having a bit of space to think and breathe can certainly be helpful though.