Our apartment, very luckily, is both West facing and away from the main street. This means two things: we aren’t subjected to the shrieks of ambulance sirens that make up the soundscape of Streatham and I get to watch the sunset each evening from the dinner table. In our communal courtyard, there are a handful of benches, bushes and trees. Over the last few weeks, I’ve watched the trees shed their leaves — a swathe of them fluttering to the ground with every gust of wind. Now, looking out, they are almost completely bare. Naked little arms pointing to the sky, a reminder that Autumn is ever present.
But Winter isn’t so far behind. The little dahlia plant I carried home on the Tube from Chelsea in a heatwave has turned brown and I wonder if I should trim it back to see if it will return in the Spring. Inside, I’ve got the kettle on rotation and I’m wearing thick teddy socks to bed. Suddenly, everyone has rosy cheeks and thick coats on.
This week has been hectic. In between Black Friday deals and my attempt to get ahead on Christmas shopping, I’ve been in a rabbit hole of writing. In addition to my Sunday Substack, I also write a bi-monthly piece for Kitchen Diaries. More recently, I’ve joined a six-week writing course while attempting to write a novel for the first time. Needless to say, writing is everything that I do. I’m not bothered, the creative channels have been kept busy.
Some thoughts below from this week (and a few links).
candles
When winter arrives, I want the home to be nothing but a beacon of warmth and comfort, a place of peace to walk into. I have candles of all shapes and sizes; some tall, some sort, some curly, some twisted, some super small for romantic occasions. If you’re looking to bring Hygge in your home, I recommend buying from Nordic Nest or Sostrene Grene, a danish brand from Aarhus, Denmark.
If you need a ridiculously easy and completely delicious recipe, this one’s for you. A chocolate cake is not my first choice if I’m honest, but everyone in the office raved about it and I have to say, I felt rather chuffed myself.
polaroid photographs
I have three polaroid cameras of different sizes sitting on the bookshelf. One of which I bought in a camera store in Paris where I documented my trip almost entirely in little square frames. I like the idea of having something immediate that I can stick to the fridge haphazardly. One day we’ll move and all these polaroids and magnets will come with us.
jolly
Although Christmas is a single day, the festive season begins just after Halloween. The mood changes, the knotted string lights come out of their box in the loft and the tinsel is wrapped like a snake around the bannister and tree. Everyone is eager to spend loads, drink too much and binge mince pies, to be jolly and bliss and while I don’t like Winter very much, it’s wonderful to watch people let go of anything that’s held onto them all year. This may be the mulled wine speaking, but I think there’s just a bit of magic in the air.
tradition
Every year, my family orders a real Christmas tree. We select one ourselves and it’s delivered wrapped in white netting for me to decorate. Even though I’ve moved out, I’m trying to continue that tradition — but with a much, much smaller tree. I also think of the new traditions B and I will make. I’ve gotten us matching Grinch jumpers so we can take a photo with the cats and every year I want us to wear them. Eventually we can line them all up and see how much everything has changed.
this has put me in the mood for the holidays, even though I've mostly been annoyed by all the decorations being up already before the 1st of December!