Autumn is finally here and I am as excited as ever, I can’t wait for dark cozy nights, warm drinks, comfy sofas, and everything to be pumpkin and maple-flavored. Yes, call me basic if you want but Autumn or Fall for my American friends is my favorite time of the year. I have specific things that I do every year when my child goes back to school and a cold breeze appears in the air blowing the beautiful red, orange, and yellow leaves off of the trees. Can you tell that I really love Autumn?
#6. The Little Things That Autumn Brings
For me, it’s the little things and that is where this list really starts. As I sit here on a dull and rainy morning in the middle of September, I am reminded of why I love this season so much. I am at my favorite coffee place with a warm breakfast sandwich, a very large coffee, and an assortment of sweet treats getting to work while in a place that makes me feel comfortable.
Comfort is the big thing when it comes to autumn, whether it’s cozy jumpers, warm drinks, or snuggling under a blanket, it feels like the right time to embrace nature. Some will say ‘what about spring?’ and yes, embrace nature when you want but Autumn is another one of those transitional seasons, like Spring. They are like a mirror image of each other with Autumn going from bright greens and warm sunlight to lifeless trees and grey skies. Autumn is the perfect in-between when we get to see the leaves change color and feel the warmth leave the earth, ideally, I am in the UK and it has remained warm.
Other little things include the darker nights, the baking, the smells of pumpkin, honey, maple, and more. Getting to spend rainy days inside, curled up with your favorite book or person, binge-watching shows, and that smell in the air that starts around mid-October and lasts well into November. Autumn is the most wonderful time of the year.
#5. XOXO Gossip Girl Rewatch
Yes, the original series, the first season to be exact gives real fall vibes as Serena Van Der Woodson returns after a year-long absence to the Upper East Side. The fashion, the drama, and the fall setting as a new school year starts for the elite of the upper east side. There are many reasons why I love this show, firstly cause I found characters that were like me, Blair Waldorf, and Serena has many aspects of myself, but I have always identified more with Blair. On the other hand, I’ve known kids like Nate and Chuck but the core of the show is family and your chosen family.
While Dan Humphrey and his relationships with his sister and dad are the grounding force of the show it’s the upper east siders and their friendship and idea of chosen family that holds a place in my heart. These kids, despite the money, power, and nepotism in some cases are just like you and me, they are people. Despite their privilege, you can see that not having stable parents, cause they are working, away, or have had multiple marriages, has affected who they are and how they view themselves.
There are many journeys that happen on the show but the most interesting is that of Nate Archibald. This is a subject I could talk about for hours, but I’ll leave that for another time. Oh and UK fans you can watch the whole show on BBC iPlayer, along with the reboot which is just as good.
#4. Pumpkin Spiced Everything
and maple too. In my house, we love maple syrup and I even make my pancakes with the syrup already in the batter, I use it in cooking and as a sweetener, along with honey on occasion. I also love Pumpkin Spice, which is something I tried a few years ago, when making a Samhain meal then last year I made my first Pumpkin Spiced loaf and it changed my life, It’s one of my favorite things to bake. Don’t worry I will be posting some of my recipes on the site.
And what about Honey, oh how I love honey bread, which is a little cakier and is a great little treat with butter. I use Orange Blossom Honey inspired by the loaf that is baked on Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. The end of October is my favorite part of the year but we will talk about that next.
#3. Halloween and Autumn Pagan Holidays
Halloween is the most wonderful time of the year. I know that’s not how the song goes but give me a break, how often do we get songs about Halloween or autumn that aren’t all spooky and sinister? So some of you might know this, some of you might not, but I am Wiccan/pagan, that’s how I identify my spirituality so for me the seasons are very important. There is a wheel of the year that pinpoints our sabbats and yes they are interesting. I might even do a series on them one day. The point is this goes a long way in explaining why I love this time of year.
We have three harvest festivals, you might remember that concept if you went to a school that celebrated that kind of thing. It’s all about thanking god or the gods for the food on our table, giving it away to the less fortunate, and preparing for the winter ahead. Yes, you will notice that a lot of Christian practices are the same as us pagans. The first of these three is Lughnasadh, this one takes place in August.
The first fall/autumn sabbat is Mabon, which is around the 20th of September and takes place on the Equinox the big one that everyone knows is Halloween or as we call it Samhain. This is the pagan/Wiccan new year, the start of a new cycle, a day of remembrance, and when the veil between two words is at its thinnest. There is a lot of mythology around this time of year and I enjoy all of it. On top of that, it’s a great time for kids to have fun, as well as adults, with costumes and sweet treats galore. Who wouldn’t love this time of year?
#2. Spooky Films For All Ages
I love a good horror movie it’s something I’ve always enjoyed and when the little one goes to bed I will gladly watch Halloween, Trick ‘r’ Treat, or any number of horror classics. But I am also a huge fan of the films I grew up on and new family-friendly Halloween films that I can watch with Emily, as we make ourselves a hot drink and snuggle up under a blanket.
We have a whole list from The Adams Family to Hocus Pocus to Coco all the way up to Nosferatu, yes we are exploring german expressionism. But this year I’m hoping to get her into the Universal Monsters films, starting with Frankenstein and Boris Karloff’s portrayal of the creature known as Adam in the novel. We are also very excited about the new Netflix series Wednesday, so that should be a fun time for both of us.
#1. An Emotional Gilmore Girls Rewatch
Gilmore Girls is just the anthesis of autumn, isn’t it? all those reds, oranges, and yellows all over the trees with a small-town vibe that I think we all secretly want. All the characters are weird and kooky while the show revolves around the mother-daughter combo of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. As my sister described it to me, it’s a show where everyone is sarcastic and all they do is talk, that is very true but there is so much more to the show than that.
For me, this show really holds a special place in my heart, I really identified with Rory during my teen years and her relationship with her mum is really similar to mine. Along with this Rory’s grandparents, Emily and Richard, really remind me of my own, which makes this year’s re-watch all the more emotional.
Rory has a very special bond with her grandfather and that was something I always loved about the show. My grandpa passed this year and I always found it refreshing to find a relationship on screen that mirrored ours. A best friend who could always discuss our interests while he also supported me in whatever I wanted to do. Richard is the same with Rory.
Now onto Emily, who is very much like my nan, and yet again this mirrors my life too. During the show we see Emily grow and come into her own while understanding her daughter and becoming increasingly close to her granddaughter. My nan is also sarcastic and full of wit, she is sharp-tongued and very proper, just like Emily. I am always very drawn to characters like this, it’s also why I like Violet in Downton Abby and Professor McGonagall [yes both played by Maggie Smith].
The rest of the characters are also fantastic and it’s hard to decide who is my favorite of the miscellaneous people who have been in Rory’s life over the years and helped raise her. It’s a show I always suggest when people ask me what to watch on Netflix, so if you want a good comfort show that you can watch while snuggled up on the sofa, Gilmore Girls is for you.
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