I love October and Autumn, almost as much as I love Winter and Christmas. I love the colours, the change of season, not so much the change in weather to rain, but I especially love the build up to Winter.
I generally don't mind any season, but there are things about certain times of the year that get me excited!
October brings gorgeous colour changes in leaves, the winter wardrobe outfits appear and the heating comes back on (unless you decide that November is soon enough for the heating!) We are lucky enough to a fire - albeit it being gas and not a real one - but I love nothing more than snuggling up on the couch with a hot drink of choice and my man in front of the fire, watching a film. It's that cosy, homely feeling that makes me happily reminisce and reminds me that after yummy hot pot and stew on Bonfire night, Christmas isn't that far behind!
November brings cooler nights, early Christmas shopping (unless, like me you started in January!) and Bonfire Night. Treacle toffee, toffee apples, hotpot, pumpkins and soup-making for my dinners at work. I love wrapping up in warm jumpers, the hat scarf & gloves combo comes out and the build up to Christmas gets even more exciting. I have very fond memories of fireworks and bonfires whilst eating chilli or even hot dogs in the freezing temperatures, but to me, that's all just part of the fun.
December I think has to be my favourite time of the year - because it's Christmas. I am very family-orientated, which has to be a good thing seeing as I have a rather large family! Through family marriages, I have gained further family members through the years and the best time to have an excuse to visit is December. I also make sure I take them time to visit my friends to hand deliver Christmas cards where possible. Sometimes that may be the first time in a few months that I have seen them but at least we get to have a catch up over a hot beverage.
I love the atmosphere of bustling town centres in December, and even though it's total chaos I just love visiting somewhere to experience the Christmas Spirit. It's very entertaining if you grab yourself a window seat in a cafe on the main street so you can people watch!
I'm not particularly religious but to me, there is something special about going for the midnight service at your church. I remember the first Christmas that I spent with my boyfriend and we went to his family Church. I don't think he had stepped in there for years but we went anyway and it was so magical. After the service we went back to his where he lives with his parents (and where I now live) and decorated our first Xmas tree together, until 2am on Christmas morning! We still laugh about that every Christmas Eve.
I love the Christmas hymns (I don't think there is much about Christmas I don't like!) and it brought memories of my primary school years when I was in the School Choir. We used to take one day out a year in December to visit the 4 old people's homes in the village where my school was based and sing them hymns.
Is there anything particular about this time of year that makes you happy? I know that the weather can be miserable but I look forward to seeing if it'll be a white Christmas, watching classic movies like "It's a Wonderful Life", "Miracle on 34th Street" and many others, and making mulled wine, not forgetting an annual trip the the Manchester Xmas markets. I also love New Year - the perfect excuse for one big party with friends and family to celebrate a new year.
No matter what is going on in life, as long as you have something to look forward to then nothing can bring you down.
I have something to look forward to this year as part of Perfect Choice Planning. After the amazing images from the Fairy Inspired Photoshoot that I styled and organised in September, I am in the process of organising one in December with some amazing suppliers and an equally amazing location. I can't wait to share these with you in the New Year and hopefully this will give you something to look forward to seeing :o)
For now I will leave you with a sneaky bit of inspiration about my next styled shoot.....
Until next time...
Me x
