Hello again, Autumn.
I don’t know about you guys, but the miserable weather hit me hard this year! I said this on Instagram and a lot of you said you felt the same. I guess it’s a bit of everything, the dark days and weeks of rain, the restrictions lifting yet life doesn’t seem quite back to normal, and the overwhelming feeling of having a full diary all of a sudden again. Seriously, what was I thinking?? I am not this sociable during the colder months!
The sun came out this morning and it was like everything had a rose-tinted glow to it! I woke up early, I wrote in my journal, planned my day and then ticked off a few work deadlines too. It was an amazing feeling, but it has got me thinking… am I solar-powered???? Can I only exist when the sun is shining? Is this an existential crisis??
Nonetheless, I have found myself feeling like I need to try and have a better attitude… maybe my self-deprecating humour needs to take a backseat.
I’m going to stick to my happy habits (waking early, exercising daily, journalling, sleeping & eating well… you know the script!) despite what mood I wake up in. It’s so easy to slip back in to that negative, hopeless state of mind when it’s dark and cold every day, but I’m determined to not let winter get me down.
I know I probably speak for a lot of us when I say that life can feel quite overwhelming right now – I swear one minute we were in full lockdown and the next we were back to that busy way of life, diaries jam-packed and schedules over-loaded (despite saying we’d never go back to that!).
It is an odd time, and I’ve learnt that you need to prioritise yourself – don’t feel bad for cancelling plans, or for taking a morning off just to rest. Be a little selfish – you can’t pour from an empty cup.
This morning we booked a trip to Paris for a few weeks time to celebrate my birthday – I didn’t do anything for my 30th last year as restrictions were still in place so I’m treating this as a sort of late celebration. I’ll have finished filming the Christmas episode of Scotland’s Home Of The Year, which will no doubt be so much fun but incredibly exhausting, and a trip away will give me something to look forward to! I think that is the secret at this time of year, you need to sort of romanticise it a bit – embrace the rainy evenings by stocking up on candles and cosy socks, and start the Christmas festivities early by watching Home Alone with a selection box or a glass of wine. It’s the time of year to go wild on the self-care.
For the first time in a while, I feel so hopeful for the coming months – there’s so much to be excited about, but I do really need to stay on track and have a better attitude! I think when the dark evenings first roll in after the clocks go back, it can be a bit depressing knowing it will be dark by 4pm for the next 4/5 months. But there’s a lot of fun times on the horizon too – I’m already thinking about Christmas prep and festive trips away, celebrations for my birthday and our ten (10!!!) year anniversary and hopefully our annual trip to see It’s A Wonderful Life will be able to resume also!
This has to be one of my favourite outfits, I love wearing different shades of the same colour to create a v v cute colour-blocking outfit. I wear these satin midi skirts with cardigans and jumpers often, and it’s always such an effortless outfit for me… although you do have to master the jumper tuck, which I couldn’t so I just left it untucked, but I do love how it looks.
The cardigan is from Hush, the skirt is an old ASOS find () and *. I am living for a chunky boot right now, and this tan pair are perfect for pairing with a softer outfit.
I wear these Pala Eyewear sunglasses* as much as possible, the round frames are so flattering and they’re the sort of sunglasses that go with every outfit.
My jewellery is all * and my bag is my much-loved * which I’ve had for years now – it’s always a staple of mine because the colour is divine and it holds all my crap.
What are you excited for over the next few months? Are you the kind of person who totally romanticises autumn?
