I’m writing this having just come in from a crisp evening dog walk around the neighbourhood with Penny. These days it’s a race to get outside before the sun sets and while I tend to reluctantly enter this darker season, I’m trying to embrace it a bit more and getting outside certainly helps. One of my favourite things about evenings walk this time of year is catching glimpses of people winding down for the evening in their homes. I like to imagine what they’re cooking for dinner, what music might be playing, conversation being had or perhaps what show they’re settling into. As I strolled this evening, I could smell what I think was someone cooking an herb roasted chicken. Note to self: roast a chicken this month. There were many people out raking the leaves in their yard. I’m savouring the last weeks (days?) of Fall colours here in Vancouver and slowly starting to think about the upcoming holidays. November is one of those funny months, where Summer felt like practically last week and Halloween just yesterday, yet Christmas is basically tomorrow. I’m not quite ready to embrace Christmas just yet but I’m starting to get a little giddy thinking about it. In an attempt to not rush into the holidays but also not wait too long that it ends up feeling rushed, I’ve thought about how I want to spend the second to last month of the year.
On the docket this month:
- Sneaking in a couple last pumpkin and apple recipes. I’ve been wanting to make this dutch apple baby and this weekend might just be the time. I recently made this apple cider recipe and it brought all the autumnal vibes. This pumpkin steamer recipe is perfect for using up any leftover pumpkin you may have.
- Reading through all my saved holiday issue magazines and cookbooks and making a baking list. I’ll be sure to share what I’m making this year here.
- Puzzling! I recently bought this puzzle and it’s the perfect “transitional” puzzle if that’s a thing. You’ve got autumnal leaves and colours, pumpkins, but also holiday wreaths and garland. It’s basically November in a puzzle. Instead of watching tv after dinner, I’ve been settling into the dining table with a hot mug of cider or tea and chipping away at it. So relaxing and meditative.
- I was having mixed feelings about putting together any sort of gift guides this year. The pressure to “buy buy buy” has never felt more intense. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such early Black Friday sales?? But it had me thinking that more than ever it’s important to shop intentionally and I think I will put together some very curated, thoughtful guides. I’m thinking of doing a “best of holiday decor” guide too.
- I’m in a bit of a spending hiatus right now but I feel the need to continue working on our home. One of my favourite inexpensive ways to do that is updating art using downloadable prints. I’ve saved a couple favourite resources for this over the years and will share them in a post here soon.
- While I don’t pull out the holiday decor until the first week of December, I do want to start adding in some winter-y pieces. Foliage is my go-to for seasonal decor. Even better when you forage it yourself.
- I bought a couple new products from the Sephora sale this week that I’m excited to try (re above mentioned shopping hiatus: I had gift cards). I was on a cream blush spree during the summer but was feeling the powder blushes for the winter and picked up this one. The perfect I-just-came-in-from-the-cold rosy cheek situation.
Thank you for reading and wishing you a cozy November!
Image sources: one | two | three | four | five
