My 19 big and (especially) small plans for this fall

When it gets dark and bleak outside, there is always one thing that brings sunshine to my days: making fun plans. And in my case, these are usually not complete trips to Bali, driving courses and other grand, memorable things. No, I love small plans. And because anticipation for those plans is also an important part of the fun, I made another list blog. These are 20 small and (okay) a few big plans that I am happily looking forward to this fall.

1. Two weeks of Christmas vacation! Wow, I have never given myself this as a gift since I became an entrepreneur. Usually I give myself one week off, but on January 2 I dive back into the writing assignments. I like that too, so it never feels like a punishment. But because our Christmas vacation last year consisted of moving, renovating, emptying a house and celebrating Christmas in the chaos, I gave myself a more extensive vacation this year. There is (apart from celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Eve) mainly very little on the schedule, so that we can recharge in our new house after a hectic year of renovations.
2. Finishing our attic. The wall is painted and the wallpaper is up. Now it is time to finally put up the skirting boards after 8 months, to set up our guest bed and to get curtains. I don’t necessarily feel like doing those three things. I do feel like going on new IKEA trips and styling the room. I already have a beautiful rug in mind that will hopefully shine beautifully next to the guest bed.
3. Working on my own sit-stand desk. In 5 weeks, my own sit-stand desk will finally be coming this way. Until then, I am fortunately allowed to work at Ben’s sit-stand desk (super sweet!). But oh, I can’t wait until I have my own desk and can finally work without neck pain in my own pink office. Since I tried Ben’s desk, I have only noticed how nice it is to work standing up part of the time.
4. Picking a summer holiday. Last year, our summer trip was to Berlin. This year, Paris is high on the list, because Ben has never seen the city of romance with his own eyes. But a trip further away from home also seems really cool to me. For example, we are also thinking about a holiday in Spain. For example, I am in love with Valencia and Barcelona, and I have also heard many good stories about beautiful Andalusia. So that is also a good candidate. And if the Spanish mountains are not the case, then probably the beautiful French coast. As you can hear: plenty of plans. Now to book!
5. Take a 1-day food photography workshop. As an early Christmas gift (someone has to buy it for you if you are self-employed…) I gave myself a food photography workshop. Jane from Jane’s Kitchen is one of my favorite food photographers. When she recently shared that she was offering a one-on-one food photography workshop, I jumped at the opportunity. Next month it will be time and we will dive into the kitchen together with the camera, so that she can teach me all kinds of things. The best Christmas gift to myself ever!
6. Watching Medical Center West. Oh, in terms of TV viewing material, this is really my favorite season. The fun programs are suddenly flying around my ears. At the moment I am completely into Medical Center West, The Great British Bake Off, and The Perfect Picture. More than enough viewing material to entertain me many weekends!
7. Many wonderful nights after yoga class. When I first started with yoga, it couldn’t be busy and active enough for me. Power yoga was my favorite. Then I at least had the idea that I had really done some active sports. Nowadays I follow the most peaceful form of yoga: yin yoga nidra. The second half of the class you even lie on a mat with your eyes closed. It’s so nice! I always sleep like a baby afterwards, which is quite special for a bad sleeper like me. Those classes and the good nights afterwards are definitely something to look forward to in the coming months.
8. Decorating our new artificial Christmas tree for the first time. Yes, we finally have a real fake Christmas tree! And at 6 feet it is bigger than all the trees we have had so far. In short: more than enough space for glittery Christmas decorations and other kitsch stuff. Decorating the tree will definitely be more fun than ever this year.
9. Buy some more kitschy stuff. A bigger tree also means that extra Christmas decorations are needed to prevent bare branches. In other words: more kitsch please! A good reason to go into the department store with Ben again and choose 2 items from all 1001 hangers that deserve a spot in our tree.
10. Celebrating New Year’s Eve in our new home. This year, just like last year, I want to celebrate New Year’s Eve in a relaxed way, first baking doughnuts at Ben’s father’s and then plopping down on the couch at home without any obligations. It’s our first New Year’s Eve in this house and that feels like a milestone that we’d rather celebrate nowhere else than right here. At home. With a New Year’s Eve special on and a few doughnuts on the side, of course.
11. Trying lots of Christmas pastries. The last few weeks I have been experimenting a lot with Christmas pastries and other showy sweets to serve with Christmas dinner. For example, I recently discovered the recipe for vegan tiramisu, I am making a few attempts at passion fruit cake and I might want to make a Christmas loaf-like pastry myself. I still find it a fun challenge to put the Christmas classics from the supermarket in my own vegan jacket.
12. Writing a letter to the old year. This is a new tradition that I recently came up with. I think it would be nice to end every year from this year on with a letter to the old year. What do I want to leave behind? What do I take with me? What was I grateful for? And what do I burn with love? I then light that letter with a sparkler to end the year and consciously take the nice things with me.
13. Forging new business plans. In terms of work, 2024 was a great year. I feel like I have really found my way in what I do, I know even better what suits me and what doesn’t, and I dare to make more choices in that. And I had my first publications in a magazine, which was a bucket list thing in itself. So I certainly don’t have any change-of-course plans for next year. But I do always like to set a few goals in terms of work. I’ll have to brainstorm soon about what I want to do more or less of next year!
14. Second-hand shopping at the River Halls. I haven’t been to the River Halls for a long time: the paradise among flea markets if you love second-hand clothing. In the coldest months of the year, I never really enjoy it there, because even with the warmest clothes on, it still feels like a cold, draughty hole. But in February, I dare to go. I’m already looking forward to searching through the mountains of clothing for a few colorful gems for my closet.
15. A day in Willowton. I like to keep the Christmas holidays nice and quiet. Watching Christmas movies, baking cakes, consuming those same cakes, crafting and typing blogs are enough plans for those two weeks. But I like to make an exception for one thing: a day trip to Willowton. I have never really admired that city (only from the train window), but I have heard a lot of good things about it.
16. On the hunt for itch-free sweaters. Before I went vegan, I used to buy sweaters made of wool. And I would still wear them with love, but now I get insatiable itching tendencies just from the feel of wool on my skin. So it’s time to expand my clumsy collection of 2 non-itchy sweaters for the winter season. First let’s see if I can find some second-hand ones!
17. Making recipes from my brother’s book. This year my little brother George released his second cookbook full of vegan recipes with legumes in the leading role. Now I have tasted almost every recipe at his home. But I also really enjoy making one of his recipes myself. This fall I also want to prepare a lot of legume pearls from his book.
18. Wandering through the illuminated Nine Streets. What I am perhaps most looking forward to is wandering through my favorite streets in my favorite city where everything is beautifully illuminated around Christmas time. At Christmas, the eateries are suddenly even cozier, the windows are full of beautiful decorations and it is already a party to window shop in this part of Texas.
19. Give myself a fruit vase as a present. A what? Well, From the Pots is the brand of the well-known lemon vase (of which we also have a second-hand copy) and this brand has many more beautiful vases with fruit. I solemnly promised myself that I can buy another one at the end of the year. I haven’t decided yet whether it will be the vase with figs or the one with bananas. In any case, it will be a colorful end of the year!

What fall plans are you most looking forward to?