An Autumnal Weekend Morning Routine

I usually wake up on a Saturday morning the way I imagine a bear emerges in the Spring after a long winter of hibernation - absolutely no idea where I am, what day it is, what time it is, or what my name is. After I manage to get my bearings (ha!) and establish it's 2015 and I'm wearing pajamas, I fumble around to find my iPad to check the time. It always seems to be around 7:50am, which means one of two things: 1) It's the weekend 2) My alarm failed me and I'm extremely late for work.

Thankfully, today it is the former; so I grab my phone, unplug the charger and observe my SleepCycle statistics for that night. Normally it tells me I haven't slept well. Shock. Then it's onto Timehop where I mentally curse the person I was on Twitter six years ago (one of today's hop highlights was "damn you wizards of waverly place and hannah montana, i need to revise!". Admittedly, if we remove the revision part, that sounds like something I'd post even today... but I digress). Then I check my mailbox; I tend to read my Quartz Daily Brief on my iPhone because I'm way too impatient to load up my laptop to check the latest news.

Time for a good stretch to put all those bones back into place and head to the bathroom; I'm one of those people who can't function unless they have a clean face (anyone else the same?). Once that's done it's on with my warm cosy slippers and down the stairs to chug a glass of water and boil up some coffee (one spoon of Douwe Egberts Pure Gold + skimmed milk + three teaspoons of Starbucks Vanilla Syrup + hot water = perfection).

I then attempt to precariously carry my mug back upstairs without spilling anything, light a scented candle (lately my candle of choice is Rain Washed Linen from Urban Market Candles), snuggle under my duvet and catch up on the latest episode of How to Get Away With Murder. This show is tantalizingly good!

Once I'm all caught up on various TV shows, what's been going down on social media and I've established there's no other way for me to procrastinate getting up properly, I head back to the bathroom and jump in a steamy hot shower; hair care and skin care inclusive, obvs.

Picking an outfit for the day takes a stupidly long amount of time, especially considering I usually end up wearing the same thing. Recently it's been my favourite Gap girlfriend jeans, a basic tee and an oversized grandpa cardigan. Simple, comfy, cosy, fab.

With very few exceptions, I go make-up free at the weekend to give my skin and eyes a well deserved break, so the only thing going on my face is moisturiser... and an array of other products that help protect my entire body from the cold.

Until finally, it's time for some breakfast! (whew!) I can never resist my favourite bitesize Honey Nut Shredded Wheat with blueberries, and on this occasion, a chopped plum (aren't I fancy). I tend to eat at the dining room table so I can catch up with my parents and plan the day ahead. My Saturdays of late tend to include running errands in my trusty Fiat 500, buying copious amounts of fresh produce and baking with spelt. It is marvelous!

You'll probably have clocked onto the running theme of things being "my favourite", that's because I am a firm believer that weekends should include nothing but your favourite things.
~ Eleanor xo

Things To Do Now it's Autumn

The clocks are mere days from "falling back", meaning it's no longer BST (that's 'British Summer Time' for those of you who aren't down with clock lingo), and we're barrelling head first into long evenings, seasonal movie marathons and heated versions of every kind of beverage (warm Ribena drinkers, I'm looking at you). So wrap up cosy and venture with me...

1. Buy an entire new wardrobe

Autumn fashion is hands down the best of the year. Flannel shirts, knitted scarfs and boots galore - it's enough to make your mouth water, am I right? A girl's gotta keep on trend, after all.

2. Eat all the food

It's the season of layering and if you're not fully embracing it by allowing puffer jackets to cover your expanding waistline then WHO ARE YOU?! Remember what Aristotle once said, "we only regret the snacks we didn't eat". (he never actually said that).

3. Take long hot baths

The kind of ones where you don't realise quite how BOILING HOT the water is until you attempt to get up and very nearly pass out (while your heart tries not to explode). Still, if you use your fanciest Jo Malone goodies, at least if someone finds you overheated and spread eagle on the bathroom floor, you'll smell DIVINE. Priorities, I am right?.

4. Start planning for Christmas

I've started using my lunch breaks to browse the Christmas sections of various high street stores. So far Marks and Spencer is my favourite, but attempting to resist the chocolate coins is only getting more difficult... (See point 2)

5. Bake all the things
(Or at least, tell yourself you're going to bake things). Embrace the pumpkin obsession that's seemingly cropped out of nowhere and get spicy! Or alternatively, try my blackberry compote recipe. *shameless self promotion*

6. Consider possible 2016 New Years resolutions and vow you will absolutely stick to them. Like, totally seriously this time.

Come January first I'll be waking up at 5am and heading to the gym. (Ha! Just another cracker from a game I like to call: #ThingsEleanorWillNeverDo)

7. Spice up your beverage order (ha! Get it? #SeasonalHumour)

I mean, hot chocolates are an OBVIOUS addition but I hear Starbucks are introducing mulled drinks (oh the perks of being a Rewards member). Why not give them a try? Sure, they may end up being gross, but at least you'll have embraced the merriment.

8. Spend time with your family 

In summer you're too busy parading around in skimpy clothes to pay your relatives too many visits, but don't you find autumnal days are the perfect time to see family, drink copious amounts of tea and chit-chat about life since your last encounter? Of course, this is usually where you find out your aunt's cousin's brother-in-law popped his clogs and you aren't sure how to react because you can't recall if you ever met them... But hey, the elderly always have their heating set to five-thousand-degrees so at least you'll be toasty warm for a few hours.

And of course, don't forget to Instagram the entire thing. It's all about the #aesthetic.
~ Eleanor xo

(Don't forget to set your clocks back by one hour on Sunday 25th!)

An ode to Autumn

*Picks up handful of crisp golden oak tree leaves and throws them in the air*. Oh autumn, you are my favourite. Admittedly, autumn rarely looks like those idyllic photos on Pinterest (you know the ones), but I love it nonetheless. I mean, I love wearing flip flops and applying after-sun like it's nobody's business as much as the next girl, but my heart really lies with Autumn. Why, you ask? Well, for these very reasons:

• Freshly made soups. When you're not even ill!
• That light layer of frost on your car. Until you remember you have to scrape it off.
• Hot chocolate all day every day. Without feeling even remotely weird about it.
• Blanket scarves. Or in fact, any type of scarf. I pine for scarf wearing weather all year round.
• Boots. Knee high, ankle, heeled, unheeled, black, brown, grey; you name it, they're in.
• Baths. Because why stand up in a shower when you can wallow in bubbles?
• Candles. Absolutely and unapologetically necessary. 
• Knitwear. And totally owning the 'my grandma made this for me' look.
• Cinnamon spiced EVERYTHING.
• GINGERBREAD.
• FOOD IN GENERAL. I'm not ok.
• Being able to cancel plans and blame it on the weather.
• The fact it's socially acceptable to stay in bed and watch films all day.
• Casseroles. Yes, we're back on the food bandwagon.
• The colours. Who wants to wear brights when you've got earth tones?
• Bundling up. I'm a lover of layers. There's far too much exposing of limbs during Summertime.
• Being able to see your breath. Because I'm actually still a child.
• Strictly Come Dancing. Because I'm also eighty.
• The return of all your favourite shows. I'm looking specifically at you, Once Upon A Time...
• Having the heating on. And feeling like a toasty burrito at night.
• Everyone starts getting a bit festive. *hums quietly* Holidays are coming, holidays are coming...
• Constantly using the phrase "I don't know where this year's gone!". Because time passes and we're always so surprised...
• Constantly using the phrase "Gosh, isn't it dark!". Because even at midday, this comment still stands.
• The return of those really strange and unintentionally humorous Bonfire Night safety adverts.
• Fireworks. And seeing pictures of them all over Instagram.
• Waving farewell to leg shaving season. Feel free not to hurry back!
• Conkers. They remind me of my youth. And that one time I threaded a load onto a piece of string and made a snake. 
• The foliage in general. And how great it looks on Instagram.
• That cool chill in the air. And always being told when your nose has gone bright red.
• The ever-growing desire to bake things or make dishes from scratch. Well, why not?
• Wellies. Because who doesn't want to jump in puddles on a rainy afternoon?

Well this list ended up being longer than I anticipated... turns out I really do love autumn.

~ Eleanor xo