I can’t believe there is anyone who is not madly in love with fall. She is the most wonderful and certainly most beautiful season there is. By the end of October most of us have long since bid a fond farewell to summer, and we’ve come to embrace the cooling temperatures. While most of us would prefer not to have the sun setting before 5:00 pm for the next several months, and the long, dark days ahead, let’s take a look at the upside of these shorter, cooler days. We tend to be home more. We tend to be able to really enjoy our homes more. Many of us hunker down when the weather cools and the days get shorter. Our lives are not necessarily less busy, but we are more apt to want to come home. We look forward to enjoying our homes and all they have to offer. We look forward to their warmth and comfort. We welcome the wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen – homemade soups and stocks, freshly baked pies and cookies, turkeys roasting in the oven. We listen to the wonderful sounds – of music, crackling fireplaces, children laughing (and yes, bickering too!) and the winds and rains rapping on our windows, making us ever so grateful to be home safe and sound with our families and loved ones.
We gather round the fireplace, and share stories, or simply enjoy the peace and quiet as we lose ourselves in books and magazines while basking in the warmth. We’ll dim lights and perhaps light some candles to cast a warm, comforting glow. We’ll sit around the kitchen table telling stories and doing homework at the end of the day, perhaps lucky enough to get a sample of whatever delectable dish is being prepared. Those of us who are lucky can tiptoe out of the room and sneak into the bathroom and luxuriate in a long, hot, drawn out bath, filled with bubbles… and maybe we’ll even sneak in a glass of red wine while no one’s looking!
We’ll have our neighbors and friends and family over and we’ll eat good food and have a celebratory drink. We’ll laugh and be merry and hope that our dear ones will feel as at home in our home as they do in theirs.
As the weather gets colder and we switch our wines from whites to reds, why not try something a little different – a little warmer and heartier, like a rich and intense soul warming mulled wine? This is the perfect aperitif to serve to friends and family over the next few months. Jamie Oliver’s recipe is simple and yet tastes very complex. Click here for the recipe.
And as the decor, both indoors as well as outdoors, changes so will the sounds and the smells. And as we look around at all that we have, and all we are with, we’ll truly think to ourselves, “there’s no place like home!’
Images via: 1. The Ardmore, 2. The Budget Decorator, 3. Pinterest – original source unknown, 4. Better Homes and Gardens, 5. A Country Farmhouse, 6. Jamie Oliver
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