On November arriving too fast, a surprise Halloween conversion, a fire with my mom, Skye McAlpine’s Christmas Companion, and autumn in Scotland
It is November. How is it November? It feels like yesterday we were singing Auld Lang Syne, and now here we are with Thanksgiving around the corner, Christmas right behind it, and New Year’s two months away. I am going to need a minute, this year has gone by in a blur.
We had a full weekend. Halloween started with me going, if not literally kicking and screaming, then certainly not skipping toward the car. I am just not a Halloween person. You know this about me. And then we got there and there was a bluegrass band and more candy than I have ever seen in one place in my life. A tiny Dolly Parton. A whole flock of dinosaurs. An airplane. Fairies and ghosts and things I could not begin to identify. The children were dancing. I loved every minute of it, and I may even have a trunk next year.
My mom was here for the weekend, which is always a gift. Last night the two of us sat by the fire for hours, talking and laughing. I go to bed after those evenings feeling full. I have always loved that time with her, but I am more aware of it now, more intentional about it. We are both getting older, and the easy, ordinary evenings that used to seem like they would always be there are the ones I want to hold onto most.
And with that, on to the musings.
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On the Nightstand
The Christmas Companion by Skye McAlpine. Skye McAlpine wrote A Table for Friends, and she splits her time between Venice and London, which tells you everything you need to know about how she sets a table. This book is her love letter to Christmas: Italian-leaning recipes (ginger and apricot glazed ham, panettone woodland cake, chocolate salami, marzipan fruits), menus from an intimate dinner for two all the way up to a cocktail party for twenty, candy cane heart ornaments, Christmas crackers, and the most beautiful table ideas I have seen in a long time.
I got this book last year and pulled it out this weekend to thumb through. I spent the entire weekend with it. The recipes, the photographs, the whole feeling of it. If you are looking for a Christmas gift for someone who loves to cook and entertain, or if you want to give yourself something wonderful before the season begins, this is it. Add it to your collection and you will reach for it every year.
If you have already read these books or missed something I have featured before on the blog check out My Bookshop on Amazon.
On the Screen
Slow and Cozy Autumn Days in Scotland from Poetry of Slow Life. Glen Lyon, the Birks of Aberfeldy, Dunkeld, the Hermitage, Killiekrankie, and Pitlochry. The last day was Edinburgh, which she describes as her favorite city in the entire world, and autumn in Scotland looks exactly like this. Golden and misty and beautiful. The very end is my favorite part. There is something in those last few minutes that puts into pictures what I have never quite been able to put into words: that feeling, every single time I visit Scotland, that I have not arrived somewhere new but come back to somewhere I already belong. If Scotland is on your list to visit, or even just on your dream list, watch this and enjoy.
Outfit of the Day
A simple, elegant dress can take you from the office to lunch to a party without missing a beat. This week I paired a beautiful blue pleated dress with the most fabulous embellished red plaid heels. A brooch or earrings that pick up the rhinestones on the shoes, a double-breasted wool coat, a classic handbag, and a spritz of your favorite perfume, and you are ready for whatever the day or the evening throws at you.
November is here, friends, and I find I am ready for it. Grateful for a full weekend, a fire, my mom, a bluegrass band, and a book that I have already earmarked a list of recipes from.
Tell me: what is the first thing you do in November to make the house feel ready for the season?
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On My Radar
Hi! What is your favorite perfume for fall?