How is it the end of September already?! This month has been particularly splendid, which is probably why it has flown by. I've gathered some of my favourites below so read on for tasty treats, autumnal revelling and some house planning discussion.
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♥ Anniversary... Beginning with September is a particularly special month for me because our wedding anniversary falls almost mid-way through. It feels so odd to think that our wedding day fell three years ago already - which isn't a long time at all but at the same time, feels like a lifetime ago (in the best possible way!)
We were both working this year unfortunately (boo to mid-week special occasions and not enough annual leave!) but went out for a lovely meal in the evening at a local restaurant we'd been saving for this very occasion. It turns out going out on a Wednesday evening makes for a very quiet and cosy night, and the food was amazing. I've been waxing lyrical about the smoked haddock risotto I had ever since too. Yums.
♥ Neighbourly adventures... We've been lucky enough to have good neighbours in the last few places we've lived but we're so lucky to get on really well with the lovely lady next door at our new place - and she's remarkably tolerant to how fond I am of her dog too! We went blackberry picking last month and she came over for dinner a couple of weeks ago - a late night with lots of good food, conversation and a few too many glasses of red wine. It also gave me the chance to make my favourite blueberry cheesecake, which always goes down a treat and makes for a tasty dessert over the course of the following days too (if it lasts that long).
♥ Autumn-spotting... Autumn is here at last but I've been loving spotting all the little signs of it over the course of the last few weeks, from the blackberries and sloes dotting the hedgerows to the slightly crisper mornings and the bite in the air. Bring on all the woollens, I'm ready to get cosy!
Autumn, for me, is also about curling up with something darkly gothic - not too scary, mind, I'm not good with things that are too frightening. But a good old fashioned gothic novel or film, there's nothing cosier. This weekend, we braved the cold and the rain and headed into London to watch 'The Little Stranger' at the Barbican cinema. It was wonderful - beautifully shot and deliciously eerie. I loved it. Full disclaimer though - I did have to turn to my husband at the end and say "you know that bit where I had my hands in front of my face/fingers in my ears, what could you see/hear?" See what I mean, very eerie!
I think I did push the experience too far though by agreeing to watch 'The Woman in Black' the following evening. I've seen it at the theatre and found it terrifying but thought, I coped with that so this will totally be fine. It was not fine. I've barely slept since. There's a fine line between pleasantly chilling and cosily gothic, and giving yourself a stress headache because you're so terrified. Walk that line carefully, my friends.
♥ Pinterest moodboarding... We're not going to get a chance to do anything major with our little cottage this year but to be honest, that was never really the plan. I have started making plans for next year though and Pinterest is so helpful with that! I'd like to tackle our bedroom first and have been scrapbooking colours, beds (and bedding!) and storage options. I think I need to get a bit of a floor plan going too to plan where things are going to go and maximise some storage. Where do you like to look for homeware? Any recommendations?
♥ Family catch-ups... One of my favourite things this month was finally going to visit my brother and his girlfriend at their new flat in south-east London. We had lunch at the flat before heading out to explore nearby Crystal Palace. The sun was shining, so we took pedalos out on the lake in the park before spending a little while pottering around all the antique shops, going for a few drinks and then enjoying an amazing dinner at an Iranian restaurant you find by disappearing down some steps through a very unassuming doorway. It was one of those weekends in the best of company when you're devastated that it's come to an end! Need to get more of those in the diary - long train journeys, be damned!
♥ Do let me know what's made your week/month a little rosier by leaving me a comment below or dropping me a tweet (I'm @happygoluckycat) or better yet, why not join the fabulous bunch of #WonderfulWednesday bloggers? Pop over to their blogs for a dose of mid-week happiness - Sally, Michelle, Helen, Kate, Jo, Laura, Sarah, Peta, El, Mimmi, Lynsey, Katie and Em (I think that's everyone - shout at me if you're not on the list!) - and then join me in counting down the days until the weekend. It's in sight! ♥
