Cheery November greetings to you, my lovely reader friends!
Oh, how wonderful it is to greet November with a welcome smile and a chill in the air...just how November ought to be welcomed. This is the month in which autumn really, truly feels like she has arrived in my corner of the world. In November, our temperatures are finally chilly and the nights even get somewhat cold feeling. The leaves are changing color where they may, and others just fall straight to the ground creating a blanket of brown crispness. They swirl and dance in the streets as if they are waltzing in merriment at the sheer delight of November's beauty. And I love every bit of it...while in some places November is a bleaker, duller month, in my corner of this grand world, November is autumn perfection. On top of nature's beauty on full display, this month also marks the official beginning of sweater weather for me, and of wearing thick socks and boots every single day, and makes me want to pull out my knitting needles to make a brand new cowl for the year.
Today, I am so excited to be joining in with a lovely seasonal teatime series that a fellow blogger is hosting.
This week is the first one and the theme is:
Getting to Know You · Pumpkins · Falling Leaves and Fading Light
So I invite you to come along, settle in, pour a cup of something warm and comforting and join me as I share some of my favorite things about November...
For today's tea, I am enjoying a cup of Cranberry Vanilla Tea. A couple weeks ago, we ordered a set of seasonal teas from Celestial Seasonings, which is one of our favorite tea brands. The set came with six seasonal flavors, but so far, I've only tried this one.
One of the teas I love most is the cranberry tea from Harney and Sons. I searched everywhere online, and in stores, for that particular tea and couldn't find it anywhere. This is the next best thing. It has a slight cinnamon spice undertone to the cranberry and vanilla flavors that really take the spotlight.
Herbal tea is my go-to. I can't drink caffeine because it makes me a bit nuts and feel off, so I love having a selection of herbal teas on hand. And like with most things, I am a seasonal tea drinker. So in the autumn and winter months, I want a cup of something with those seasonal flavors. Plus this tea just smells so darn good whilst it is steeping!
As you may know, I have a growing collection of mugs...but today's choice is one that describes me just about perfectly. Homebody. Yes, I am...unashamedly and wholeheartedly. While I do delight in exploring places away from home and sometimes across the Pond, I love home the best and desire to be at home most often. This mug was a Target find last year and is still one of my favorites in my collection.
For Halloween weekend, I baked up a batch of Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls. I made these for the first time last year and they were a real hit! And Halloween weekend seemed like just the time to make them again...we only make them once a year or so, so they are a special treat. And may I say that they pair so well with a cup of tea...or coffee if you fancy that like my mom does. This time, I added pumpkin spice into the frosting and it really took them over the top!
Pumpkin flavored baked goods are all over the place this time of year and I admit that I do enjoy pumpkin flavors in most sweet things. I've never had a pumpkin flavored coffee, so I can't speak to drinks, but breads, muffins, cookies, those kinds of things...yes, please. I'm sharing some of our favorites below, so do check them out!
Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls (photographed above)
Taking an idea from the hostess of this weekly teatime, I thought I would share five things about myself for the "Getting to Know You" part of this week's theme. So here I go...
1. I always thought I was a mountain girl and wouldn't care much for the beach. However, when the sea and I met for the first time in 2016, I was flabbergasted that I fell in love with the sound of crashing waves and and scent of sea air and the song of the seagulls and the peaceful quietness that I found on that empty beach in New Jersey on that freezing cold late March day. It was absolute magic and bliss and something out of a dream. So it turns out, I love the mountains and the sea.
2. Though I am what I would consider an extreme introvert, I hate being alone and by myself. The thing is, I just like being around "my people". I am a total introvert in every sense of the word, but I love being with my people and don't like nor do I need much alone time...I hate crowds, meeting new people and being surrounded by strangers, loud places, and chaotic, busy settings. They drain me quicker than I can say. But being with the right people fills me up immensely.
3. When I was in fifth grade, I attended a birthday party for a friend. While at the party, one of the adults went around asking all the children who their favorite actress was, and while all of the other children said actresses on Nickelodeon or Disney Channel, I said, very confidently, that my favorite actress was Julie Andrews. All the other ten-year-olds looked at me like I was an alien from Mars. That was just one of the times when I realized how different I was from most people my age, even at the age of ten.
4. And that being different thing has only gotten stronger as I've gotten older. Most of what I think on most topics is quite unconventional and definitely not the societal norm. I don't fit in with most my age...lots of times, I have found that I fit in more with the grandma-aged folks. Aside from that, I don't fit in with any particular circle or group of people either. There is no box that I fit into perfectly, so I don't even try anymore.
5. Finally, I am a lover of many things. I think that shows a lot with this blog, as just one example. I don't write about just one thing, because I simply cannot. I have a number of hobbies and interests and things that make my heart go pitter-patter. I am a jumble of many things and I think that's part of what makes life fun and magical. Just stick around a bit, and I'm sure you'll understand what I mean. If you like a blog about one thing and one thing only, you are in the wrong place. Ha!
Autumn Leaves
(by Angelina Wray)
In the hush and the lonely silence
Of the chill October night
Some wizard has worked his magic
With fairy fingers light.
The leaves of the sturdy oak trees
Are splendid with crimson and red.
And the golden flags of the maple
Are fluttering overhead.
Through the tangle of faded grasses
There are trailing vines ablaze,
And the glory of warmth and color
Gleams though the autumn haze.
Like banners of marching armies
That farther and farther go;
Down the winding roads and valleys
The boughs of the sumacs glow.
So open your eyes, little children,
And open your hearts as well,
Till the charm of the bright October
Shall fold you in its spell.
In November, the smell of food is different. It is an orange smell. A squash and pumpkin smell.
It tastes like cinnamon and can fill up a house in the morning.
~ Cynthia Rylant ~
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Pumpkins are all over the place these days. Literally. Houses have them on their front porches and doorsteps. Businesses, cafes, and small shops have them lining the walkway up to their entrance. And, yes, pumpkins are even in the kitchen and making appearances on our plates. I loved how the above quote said that November even smells orange, for that it certainly does. It's a funny thing, really. How can a month smell like a color? Well, how can snow feel white? Somethings in this world, I've learned, are just too extraordinary to explain. And that's what we call magic.
Autumn Market
(by Frances Gorman Risser)
Every autumn in the woods,
Falling leaves are burnished bright,
For in Fairy Markets there,
Jack Frost holds a sale, each night.
Fairies hurry 'round to buy
Crimson hose, a golden gown,
And, for sturdy working clothes,
Leaves are stained in shades of brown.
Then, beneath the big oak tree,
Fairies shop for kitchen ware;
Polished copper frying pans,
Pots and kettles are found there.
Autumn leaves the fairies use
In so many ways, you see--
Dresses, rugs, and blankets, too,
Even kettles for their tea!
There was a discernable chill in the air now, and wet leaves were everywhere- in yards, in the sidewalks, in the street, stuck on cars. It looked like the world was covered in a cobbler crust of brown sugar and cinnamon.
~ First Frost, Sarah Addison Allen ~
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Autumn often brings with her days and nights of rain and foggy mist. As you can well see in some of these photos that I've shared today, the ground has been covered in wet, brown leaves. We've had many rainy days and nights here lately, and the wind blows the leaves off the tree branches...along with twigs of all sizes. We awake each morning after a rainy night and find our yard covered in inches-deep of leaves and such...I don't know of anything that says "it's autumn" more than that, at least where I live.
The above quote describes this scene so beautifully. Best of all, those words are taken from one of my all-time favorite books! I just finished reading it over the weekend for the second time and it just overflowed with autumnal vibes and descriptions of this time of year that really can't be matched.
Over the last few weeks, we've taken special notice of the light and how much earlier the sun has been setting. When not too long ago, it was light outside until well after eight in the evening. Now, come six o'clock, the sun is nearly set and the moon is out. This coming weekend, we set our clocks back one hour, meaning that we will lose another hour of daylight. Evenings are longer and the call to home and hearth is stronger. Candles are lit more, lanterns get used nightly, and the flickering light on the porch glows earlier in the evening, welcoming us home again when we are out and about.
I love these earlier and longer evenings and how they feel so cozy. I love how they make home a desirable place. I love how these longer nights make me want to light candles and sit under the glow of twinkly fairy lights in bed as I read my novel. I love how they inspire me to cultivate my domestic interests and pursue the hobbies that I enjoy. I love how they encourage a slowness and a gentleness as the glow of the moon softly shines in the night sky. I love how these shorter days just feel like home, comfort, warmth and coziness.
The autumn shades are on the leaves,
The trees will soon be bare...
~ Cavan Girl ~
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As this week's teatime comes to an end, I would love to hear how you are enjoying these November days. What pumpkin flavored baked goods do you enjoy making? Do you like the shorter days and longer nights of this time of year? How are you welcoming November into your home? Do share your thoughts...
November
(by Esther M. Clark)
Summer was made for the wandering heart,
The changing beauty and wonderment
In the long, gray stretches of open road
With only the sky for a wayside tent.
Meadowlarks singing beyond the hedge,
Grass with the shimmer of dew still wet;
A noon day rest by the water's edge
Summer was marvelous sweet; and yet
November days and a bright wood fire;
A hearth and a home and the Heart's Desire.
Summer was kind to the wayfaring one,
Luring and beckoning, on and on,
Though new and untraveled, unweary ways
From dawn till night and from night till dawn.
Orchard and field in a veil of rain,
Blossoming beauty on every bough;
What more could the heart of a man contain?
Summer was wondrously kind; but now:
November nights and the open fire;
A hearth and a home and the Heart's Desire.
Thank you for joining me for this cozy teatime! I hope you found some quiet and calm gentleness in the moments you spent here today. May your day be beautiful in every day, sweet ones!
♥ ♥ ♥