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Usually, you don’t make me extremely happy with the words “Autumn is coming”. As a lover of long, light summer evenings, the summer period can’t last long enough for me. But there are also things that make me very happy in the autumn. That’s why I always like to start the autumn with an autumn look-ahead list. These are 15 things that I’m already looking forward to during the shorter, darker days (apart from pumpkin soup, apple pies and yellow parks).
- That sleeping is nicer again. As nice as warm summer days are. I am less charmed by sticky summer nights. We also do not have a luxury air conditioning system that makes it a bit more bearable. So I am overjoyed when the autumn nights arrive again and sleeping under a blanket is nicer than ever. Even nicer: that I can get my weighted blanket out again. I always sleep best with that blanket on me, but in the summer I find 5 extra kilos on my body a bit too much of a good thing.
- Lots and lots of autumn baking. I bake all year round. But in autumn I feel like it even more than usual. A warm piece of cake tastes extra good when it’s bleak and grey outside. Moreover, autumn is my favourite season in terms of dishes and ingredients. I love pumpkin, parsnips, apples, pears, figs, steaming hot stews, warming curries and anything with cinnamon and raisins in it. Goodbye summer salads, hello hearty autumn food!
- Decorating our attic. The past few days, the painters have given our previously drearily white attic a purple hue. When the other wall has also been provided with striking wallpaper (a thing to look forward to in itself!), the real decorating can begin. Then we can finally let the very last moving boxes make way for nice IKEA cabinets and give the folded guest bed a nice place. And then we can finally say: everything in the house has been painted. Another renovation milestone ticked off!
- Making a design for the garden . The renovation inside is finished, but outside we still have a way to go. Our back garden is anything but green and colourful at the moment. A makeover will be quite a job, because three quarters of our garden is now decking and the other quarter is gravel. If we remove all that, we will probably be left with one muddy mess. So we still have to plant everything, choose tiles and generally decide what goes where. We will probably ask a landscape architect to make a rough sketch to prevent us from putting a nice tree somewhere that cannot withstand the heat at all or that the tiles do not fit. In any case, it will be greener. A nice project for this winter, which will hopefully result in an even nicer garden next summer.
- My brother’s cookbook. My little brother will be publishing his second cookbook in the not too distant future. With a real publisher! How cool is that! The book is full of recipes with beans and legumes, and I have seen up close how much love and attention he has put into each recipe. He has tested some recipes 25 times (and I have also eaten them several times with pleasure!). I am mega-curious about the end result and will definitely give a promotional talk for the book at that time. Not as some kind of influencer, but as a super-super proud sister.
- The first Christmas in the new house. It will be a while before we can count down to Christmas. But I am looking forward to it more than ever. Last year our Christmas was hyper-chaotic. We moved 1.5 weeks after Christmas and had put up a Christmas tree between the moving boxes and junk. There was no real time to enjoy it and we were both stiff with the stress of moving and renovation. How different this year is! Our house is almost finished and in this bigger house we suddenly have room for a Christmas tree that is not tiny. Wish me luck in my attempt to convince Bart that we should go for the artificial Christmas tree. And there are even more possibilities in terms of bringing Christmas atmosphere into the house. For example, we want to buy a Christmas wreath for outside to also bring the front door in Christmas style. And a bigger tree of course also requires a trip to the garden center to buy new Christmas decorations and lights . A bright spot (literally and figuratively) in itself!
- Lots of chill evenings on the couch with good TV . What a joy that there is more to watch on TV than in the silly season! If, like me, you don’t watch reality shows, the TV offering in the summer was rather meager. But in the coming period there are plenty of nice things on the Nefilix schedule and I can’t wait for the cocoon evenings on the couch with a candle and tea.
- Peace and quiet. For me, autumn symbolizes more relaxation, more alone time and fewer external stimuli. After a rather hectic period, that is exactly what I need: no more summer barbecues or crowded terraces, but retreating more often into my own cocoon with an audiobook in my ears, a cake in the oven or a blog article in front of me.
- Creating a newsletter for my blog. For Vaker Vrolijk I have had a mailing for a while now, where you get a message when a new article is online. But that could all be a bit fancier and with more cheerful content than just a list of my articles. I am currently working on something for that. Hopefully it will go live in a while and you can – if you want – receive cheerful digital mail from me in your inbox every week.
- Get some good running shoes. I’m going to put this plan into action very quickly. I’ve been running on the same worn-out running shoes for 15 years (I know: totally irresponsible ergonomically!). Since I run every week, it’s high time to treat my feet to something more solid and colorful. I’ll go to a running store soon to get myself fitted for something new. I’ve already solemnly promised my physiotherapist that I won’t run on those shoes for 15 years.
- Mindful autumn walks. There is something mindful about autumn. With the rustling of the leaves under your feet, the sound of the wind in your ears and the subtle autumn sun that warms your head through the leaves, I can always come back from a walk in the forest feeling very zen. I am already looking forward to walking through the Amsterdamse Bos, where we now live very close, with Bart more often. Or to sniff the scent of rain and leaves on my own. Yes, I really like the smell of rain (especially when it has just rained and I don’t have to get soaked myself) .
- Dinner for two at Kasvio. I recently came across this 100% plant-based restaurant on Instagram. It is located in Utrecht and they serve truly artistic meals made from very fresh ingredients. Since I still have my birthday dinner coming up (my birthday was in May, but it didn’t happen sooner…), Bart and I are going there this fall.
- Watching the movie ‘It ends with us’. I’m hardly ever found in the cinema. The last time I saw one from the inside was at least two years ago. But for a really good movie I’m willing to sit in a cinema seat again. ‘It ends with us’ falls into that category if I understand correctly.Taraji Henson is also one of my favorite actresses. Reason enough for a bio comic! And if that doesn’t work, we’ll watch it on the couch with Pippa and my ever-beloved Stoov cushion.
- Workshop gluten-free baking. In November, Bart and I will follow a workshop gluten-free baking. A present from me to him (which I can also enjoy myself!). Because I myself have little experience with baking bread, I am very curious whether I will discover a new passion. And especially whether we will from now on conjure all our breads out of the oven ourselves instead of getting them in plastic packaging at the supermarket.
- Hello, sweater weather! As much as I love my summer dresses in the closet, my cheerful striped sweaters have been sitting at the back of the shelf long enough. Time to get them out! For the first time, I really feel like wearing long-sleeved clothing again. There are enough sweaters and blouses in my closet that I find far too beautiful to let languish on the shelf. So yes, hurray for fall! That would ever come out of my mouth.
What are you looking forward to this fall?
