It is the 3rd of the October as I write this, although I’m not quite sure when this little post will actually find its way onto the blog.. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next week. I’m not going to worry about it too much. After all, October has arrived.. and if there is one month that makes me want to stop rushing, it is this one !!

There is something different about my home in October.. The trees and plants outside are still beautifully green, but now I can see little hints of yellow and faded leaves appearing between them if you see closely.. It isn’t that dramatic autumn transformation you see in photographs I sometimes upload through Pinterest ( not all the pics), but I actually love this quieter version. Everything seems to be changing slowly, almost without announcing itself.. you know what I am saying.. And perhaps that is why I feel like slowing down too.

When October Starts to Feel Cosy

Inside, I can usually tell that autumn has arrived without even looking outside.. My kitchen has started smelling of lovely cakes because, unsurprisingly, I’ve been baking again.. There is something about the smell of a cake in the oven that instantly makes a home feel warmer and cosier.. It travels through the kitchen and into the rest of the house, and suddenly an ordinary afternoon feels a little bit special..

And my cups of tea and coffee have obviously increased. I mean, it’s October.. what else am I supposed to do?

Cinnamon tea has become one of my little very little October favourites, although my all-time favourite ginger tea is still very much winning. There is something so comforting about holding a warm cup while looking outside at the changing trees.. Sometimes I sit down and actually enjoy it. Other times I make my tea, get distracted by something or while reading book ( currently am reading , The Wife Upstairs – Book by Freida McFaddlen )and discover it sitting there half an hour later..

That is probably a more realistic version of slow living.

My 4:45 AM October Morning

My mornings are probably the slowest part of my day, and they begin much earlier than most people would expect.

I wake up at 4:45am.. ( can’t help it I need calm before chaos 😂)

The house is completely quiet at that time.. My husband is still sleeping, and I try not to wake him. There are no phones beside me, no scrolling, no messages waiting to be answered (hardly anyone bothers to text me 😂) and no noise from the rest of the house. It is just me, my first cup of tea and that beautiful little version of the morning that belongs entirely to me..

I take my tea and sit quietly for a while. If the weather is kind, I let the fresh air in and feel the breeze on my face. There is something about that cool early morning air that feels completely different from the rest of the day.. Everything feels cleaner somehow. The house is still, the world outside hasn’t properly woken up, and for a little while I don’t have to be anywhere or do anything.

Not the perfectly styled breakfast table or the carefully planned morning routine you sometimes see online.

Just sitting quietly with a cup of tea while the rest of the house sleeps.. (Just imagine 💭)

And I think that is why I don’t mind waking up so early.. Those quiet minutes feel like they belong to me before the day starts asking for things from me.

It is actually one of the nicest parts of my day.

After that.. the day can begin.

School mornings, breakfast, laundry, cooking, work, messages, errands and all the ordinary things that make up a busy home.

But that first cup of tea?

That belongs to me.

Giving My Home a Little Autumn Feeling

I’ve also started making a few little changes around the house.. Nothing dramatic, and definitely nothing that involves turning everything orange just because it is autumn.. like l said before ..

BUT I recently brought some new pampas grass into the living room, and I love how soft it makes the space feel. It has that slightly wild, natural look that works so beautifully with this time of year.. 🍂

I’m still using my Lemongrass diffuser at the moment, but I think I’ll soon be changing it over to my Autumn Soul reed diffuser. I love changing the little scents around the house as the seasons change. It is such a small thing, but scent can completely change how a room feels.

And then there are the lamps.

As the evenings start getting darker, I’m switching on my lampshades earlier and earlier. There is something about a little pool of warm light in the corner of a room that makes me want to curl up and stay home.. The darker colours I’ve started bringing into the house seem to look even better under that warm evening light.

I don’t think an autumn home needs to be completely redecorated. Sometimes a little pampas grass, a different scent, a darker cushion and a lamp switched on at the right time are enough.

The Little Changes I Notice Most

I’ve naturally started bringing darker colours into some of my home corners too. It wasn’t really planned. Summer just seems to be fading away, and I’m reaching for deeper, warmer shades without thinking about it.

A darker corner here.

A cosy throw there.

A lamp glowing as the afternoon disappears.

Nothing expensive or elaborate. Just little changes that make home feel a little more like October.

And perhaps that’s what I love most about seasonal living. You don’t have to completely change your home to feel the season.

You simply notice it.

A Little October Reading

I’ve also started reading more again, which seems to happen naturally when the evenings become darker.

At the moment I’m reading Frieda McFadden books ( just finished The Boyfriend and started The Wife Upstairs )that I got from my friend at the gym.. she generously lent me.. I love that books sometimes come into your life like that. Someone recommends one, you take it home, and suddenly you’re completely absorbed in a story you hadn’t even planned to read..

There is something particularly cosy about reading in October.. A book, a warm drink, a lamp on beside you and the rest of the house becoming quieter.

I don’t always get a huge amount of time to read as you know am a busy mom .. but I’m trying not to think that a few pages aren’t enough.

They are.

A few pages before bed or in the noon is still reading.

A Slow October Weekend at Home

Today happens to be the end of weekend .. and I’m keeping things very simple.

I’m making oats with banana and apple, with cinnamon sprinkled over the top. Nothing fancy, but it feels exactly right for an October morning.. Warm oats, soft fruit, cinnamon and a cup of tea.. sometimes comfort really is that uncomplicated.

My Very Disappointing Verity Movie Review

And before I completely finished this October post… I watched Verity.

And honestly… what the hell and what the #$@# ?! 😂

I read Verity by Colleen Hoover about four or five years ago.. and I still remember the feeling I had when I finished that book. I was genuinely shocked. I remember thinking about it for days afterwards. It was one of those books that gets into your head and refuses to leave.

So when I heard that Verity was finally being made into a movie.. I was actually really looking forward to it.
But after watching the Verity movie.. I honestly don’t know what to say.

They destroyed the book.

I know book-to-movie adaptations are never going to be exactly the same.. and I always try to watch them with an open mind. But this one.. Very, very disappointing.

The book had that dark, disturbing, uncomfortable feeling that kept you guessing and thinking about what you’d just read. The movie just didn’t give me that same feeling at all.

Maybe it’s because I read the book years ago and remember it so clearly, but the Verity film adaptation felt nothing like the masterpiece I had in my head.. I kept thinking, Where is the story I remember? Where is that feeling?

If you’ve read Colleen Hoover’s Verity.. you probably know exactly what I mean. For me, the book wins by a mile. The movie was one of those rare times when I actually finished watching something and thought, I wish I hadn’t watched that.

So yes… this is officially my very unpopular Verity movie review:

Read the book. Skip the movie. 😂

Anyway, back to my cosy October life.. tea, books, cake, lamps and quiet mornings.

Although after watching Verity, I might need another cup of ginger tea. 😂

But for tomorrow there might be a little cleaning.. perhaps some baking, definitely another cup of tea, some reading if I get the chance..

I think I’m appreciating these quiet weekends and weekdays much more than I used to.

What I’m Loving About October

Anyways.. that’s my October so far.. a little cosy, a little chaotic, a lot of tea, some baking, books, quiet mornings… and apparently one very disappointing movie. 😂

Until next time,

Love,
Dolly ☕️🤎