Why I Love Autumn

Oh, September! How I love thee! Kids go back to school and stop clogging up supermarkets with their chaos and bratty-ness, things quieten down at the restaurant I work at and most importantly…Autumn’s on the horizon!

I’m so excited for autumn this year. How I long for crisp mornings and the best type of weather where it’s sunny but freezing cold so you need a jumper/coat. England’s had a pretty shitty summer, with it raining all the time. And I hate Spring with a passion, summer’s okay for a week or so but then I get bored of sitting there sweltering and feeling the need for a shower right after I got out, and winter’s…winter’s pretty good. But not as great as autumn. And here’s my list of why I really love autumn:

1) Tea

I don’t feel right about drinking my usual copious amounts of tea in the summer. There’s something just not right about it. Nothing better on a crisp autumn day than drinking a lovely cup of tea to warm your bones and just make yourself feel better. One of my favourite things to do after uni is sit down, watch a dvd, snuggle on the sofa, eat some chocolate with a lovely cup of rosy. Perfect!

2) Halloween!

What would autumn be without Halloween?! I bloody love Halloween. I try to do something different every year, but it never turns out that way. Well, last year I went with the Queen of Halloween, one of my best friends, Holly, to Brighton to a Halloween house party. Year before, we went clubbing. Year before that, we watched movies and ate shit tons of sweets. What to do this year! I really want to go to London Dungeons but it’s pretty expensive but I’d love to go.

3) Pumpkins and pumpkin picking!

I love pumpkins. I love eating them, looking at them, smelling them…it’ll be pumpkins galore in my home! At the restaurant where I work, there is a farm shop where there’s a huge array of different sizes to pick from. And best of all, they’re grown in my home town! I never get them from supermarkets because I just have a thing about them. You can’t beat a freshly grown pumpkin! I’m going to try my hand at pumpkin pie soon. Yum!

4) Gingerbread men and cookies

I made gingerbread last year, but it wasn’t great so I’m going to try again soon. The smell of ginger is a lovely, clean summer smell…but when cooked, it just smells so autumnal and beautiful.

5) Crunchy leaves

You’ve done it. Gone out of your way when you’re walking somewhere to step on a crunchy leaf. Oh, the sound! The trees look so much better when they’re dying, and going for a nap for the winter. Such beautiful colours. I’d rather have 50 shades of brown than green any day.

6) Snuggly jumpers

So snuggly! I hate baring my flesh over the summer. I always get hang ups like “Oh, my legs look really fat in these shorts” and “my arms look too sinewy in this tank top”, but with a snuggly jumper, it doesn’t matter! And this year the shops have gone all-out with patterned jumpers…my bank account is going to take a hit very soon.

7) Cinnamon

The smell of all smells. I’ve had my Yankee Candle ‘Cinnamon and Spice’ out already, and it’s my favourite candle ever. IT just smells so homely and like Christmas and Autumn and all things wintry wrapped together! So good. I could go on forever about cinnamon. I pretty much add it to anything that fits. Hot chocolate, coffee, cupcakes, cookies, regular cakes, even tea! Everything tastes so much better with a little spicy kick.

8) Festivals

I love autumn festivals! The Canterbury one is fantastic, especially because of the scenery. All old-timey and wonderful little knick-knacks. Last year I bought some incense and some lovely candle holders.

9) Toffee/Caramel Apples

One word: yum. SO MUCH YUM. I’m going to make my own this year because the one from Tesco tastes so weird and the apple underneath is always rotten and soggy. Yuck.

10) Bonfire Night

It’s sad that no other country celebrates it, but I guess that’s because it’s an English thing. Fireworks! Bonfire! Sparklers! Ooh, I’m excited already.