"I'm so glad to live in a world where there are Octobers." L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
September has passed in a flash! Rafferty is settled into his first term at school and the girls are happily back into the routine. We’ve had birthday celebrations and parties, work events and trips down to London and lots of progress on the house. And now October rolls around with everything autumnal to enjoy.
This month I’m wearing
I have just started working with this gorgeous brand Love and Roses. They are a boutique-inspired clothes company born in London who aim to “celebrate life’s little moments with modern, feminine pieces, thoughtful details and feel-good prints”; you can browse and buy their clothes on the Next website. They have just sent me lots of fabulous items from their new collection and in the coming weeks I will be showing you some of their clothes on my Instagram and YouTube accounts.
This month I’m looking forward to
With all the children at school, it is time for me to start planning half-term and some fun activities. In half-term, we will be visiting family in Norfolk, visiting National Trust places we love and enjoying Halloween festivities. In the past, I have left buying Halloween outfits too late and ended up with disappointed children. So, this is your reminder; get everything early before they sell out! I recently popped into Morrisons who have a fantastic selection and my kids are going to be a happy scary assorted bunch!
One of our favourite autumnal activities, which I make sure we do every year, is pumpkin picking! We love going to Spilman’s in Thirsk, who have a 25-acre pumpkin patch in the middle of their family-run farm. Be sure to book a time slot and your 2022 ticket also includes entrance to watch their new ‘Last Pumpkin’ musical theatre show!
Every year, although I have never managed to do it, I always want to paint our pumpkins. For some incredible inspiration, take a look at these amazing ideas from Good Housekeeping; might 2022 be the year that I actually manage to get my paintbrushes out!?!
This month I’m eating
And after all that pumpkin picking and decorating, there is also of course pumpkin eating! I absolutely love pumpkin; it is low calorie, delicious and perfect for this time of year. Put it into soups, stews, pies or have a go at this incredible stuffed pumpkin recipe from BBC Good Food, which I recently made and highly recommend; this dish looks just fabulous and with wild rice, fennel, apple and pecans it is simply autumn on a plate. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/stuffed-pumpkin
This month I’m loving
And to complement all the pumpkin eats and decorations, are beautiful autumnal flowers. As you know, I absolutely love flower arranging, even more so now that I have my dream kitchen island for those big, beautiful bouquets. This month I will be using seasonal cosmos, rosehip, zinnia, dahlia, amaranthus, delphinium and hydrangea blooms to bring some of that gorgeous autumn colour inside. My vase is from CharlesTed Interiors
This month I’m organising
At the end of September, I hosted a networking lunch at the fabulous 63rd+1st Cocktail Bar and Restaurant in Harrogate. I organised and ran this event with Lucy from Harrogate Mama; we invited all the local influencers and bloggers we know to try the amazing food and cocktails at 63rd + 1st. This newly opened bar and restaurant is part of a small chain that has three other locations in the UK and is a fantastic addition to Harrogate. We all loved the delicious cocktails and food and had a wonderful afternoon together.
This month I’m working on
As you all know from my updates and Youtube channel, our house renovations are still in full swing! After completing our fabulous new kitchen in the large upstairs room and ripping out the old kitchen downstairs, we are currently turning this space into a new lounge and study. James, my handy husband, is doing all the work which means that it mostly happens when he gets home late in the evenings and on a Sunday. Nonetheless, we have made excellent progress and excitingly the rooms are really starting to come together.
All the paint is AD/PR and has been given to us by Splat Decorating Supplies, who are an independent British company with over 40 years experience. The brilliant thing about Splat is that they can help you with your colour scheme and also match your chosen colours. In the study, we have opted for a very bright yellow from Little Greene Paint called Mister David, which I feel very excited about. I normally go for muted and neutral colours, so this is a bold change, and I can’t wait to see how it will look.
The skirting boards, which in the study will be painted in the bright yellow(!), are all AD/PR and come from Skirting Worlds who are a great company to work with. We used them for the kitchen upstairs and were so impressed that we’ve gone back for more.
In the study, we have also decided to go for some wood panelling, which we got from The Wood Veneer Hub, who gave me a small discount. This has just been put up and is looking great.
The bold and bright choices are continuing in the lounge by using wallpaper from Pierre Frey. Because I feel I am being brave and daring with this wallpaper (and because of the hefty price tag!), we are only going to use it to cover one wall but are so excited to see how it turns out!
To complement this amazing wallpaper, I have decided on pink sofas. After lots of searching, we have ordered them from The Cotswold Company. Compared to so many other companies, they are very reasonably priced, and I was able to go and try them in the shop in Harrogate.
Although initially I was very unsure about the tv that we have bought, I have been won over and now think it is very cool. We have gone with a 32" The Frame Art Mode QLED Full HD HDR Smart TV. Have a look at my Youtube channel to see my need to be convinced about this one!
Finally, for the utility room we have gone back to DIY Kitchens. After such a positive experience with our new kitchen, we couldn’t think of a reason to go anywhere else! We have gone for their most simple range, Luca Graphite. We wanted to keep this quite basic and plain so have gone for white handle-less units and, as with the kitchen and most of our house, James has fitted it all.
Hopefully October will be the month that our new rooms are finished. I still need to get some wall lights and the carpets are soon to be laid, but it feels amazing that we are now so close to being finished.
Hope you are all enjoying the shifting seasons and gearing up for all those autumnal events. Don’t forget to take a peek at my Instagram and Youtube channel to see how the house renovations and other happenings are coming along! Oh and don't forget to come and follow me on Pinterest, I am trying to make more effort on there.
Love Caroline xxx
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