a cozy teatime ♥ thankfulness, the blessing of home, & apple cake

Happy Tuesday evening, lovelies!

Today is another festive seasonal teatime, so I invite you to grab a cup of something warm and delicious and perhaps a little treat and settle in for awhile...let's get cozy!

This past week has absolutely been gorgeous! It seems at though all the leaves in town decided to turn color at the exact same time. Driving down the streets is quite like driving through an autumnal postcard...trees on either side of the road bursting with leaves of gold and crimson and sometimes even pumpkin orange, though that is the least common color. As soon as I think I like one color best, another color becomes my new favorite, only to happen again several more times before I return home again. Leaves are piling up on the roadsides and the sidewalks are basically a carpet of crunchiness.

For my tea today I'm enjoying a mug full of blueberry tea, one of my absolute favorites. I love the gentle flavor of this tea and the beautiful color inside my mug getting deeper as it steeps makes me smile. Of course, with most herbal teas, the scent is blissful, too! And I'm using a bright and colorful mug in the Pioneer Woman's line. I received this mug in a teacup and mug exchange that I participated in numerous times hosted by a dear blogger. Sadly, she is no longer blogging but that event is such a fun memory of mine. {{smiles}}

Seeing as how this was "apple week" in the teatime series I had already planned on making an apple dessert this weekend, so the timing was perfect. Our tart apples were sitting on the counter just waiting to be included as the star ingredient in a scrumptious seasonal dessert.

This apple skillet cake recipe was found in a cookbook that I dearly love for several reasons. Honey and Jam by Hannah Queen is a gorgeous cookbook that can easily be read from cover to cover. It is divided up into four seasons with all the recipes featuring ingredients that are in season at that specific time of year. I love sitting down with this book at the start of each season and choosing one or two special desserts to bake during the upcoming months to truly celebrate that season. I first made this apple skillet cake our first autumn here at Shady Cottage, three years ago. It was such a fun cake to make because it is baked in one of our cast iron skillets...these things are so versatile and useful, we just love them! 

The cake is soft and filled with apples. I always use tart apples and I really think it makes the flavor really stand out. The crumble topping is perhaps my favorite part as I am a lover of anything with a crumble on top. Though I must say, I think that the next time I make this recipe instead of using cold butter like the recipe calls for in the crumble, I'm going to use melted butter. I think that will give more of the texture that I prefer in a crumbly topping. Also, I left out the rosemary in the topping...I just wasn't in the mood for that flavor. Next time I’ll also add some spices, too! 

This week's theme is thankful hearts and home blessing. While I could write about gentle homemaking rhythms that we incorporate in our home or how we are preparing our home for Thanksgiving or share the things I'm most grateful for, I thought I would combine the two themes into one. And how I wish to share that is through a few specially selected excerpts on the blessing of home from a couple of my favorite novels. These passages that I've chosen are, in my opinion, absolutely beautiful descriptions of home and of the blessing that home is. These words warmed my heart and I found a kindred spirit within their message, and I hope you do, too.

The two books I'll be sharing from in this blog post are:

Pilgrim's Inn (I shared about this novel here.)

The Tale of Hill Top Farm (I shared about this novel here.)

And both of them I heartily recommend!

In Pilgrim's Inn, this is how the author described the home in the story...

It looked immensely strong, as strong as a fortress, glowing and safe, friendly and warm and most deeply alive...The beauty of this place had laid a spell upon them. It seemed too good to be true...It seemed gathering them in, holding them close...It was like a strong stone fortress and it welcomed you with a mighty laugh.

It was wonderful driving home with the last glow of the sunset lingering in the west and the hedges black and mysterious on either side. There were lights in the cottage windows, and sometimes they had forgotten to draw the curtains and one saw the flicker of firelight, the bright heads of children sitting round a table munching their 'cooked tea', a man reading a paper with a pipe in his mouth, or a woman with head bent over her darning. This, too, was new to Caroline, used to the years of blackout. It was lovely and most magical, like turning the pages of a storybook, each fresh window a fresh story.

~ both excerpts taken from Pilgrim's Inn ~

Here are some of my family's favorite apple recipes...

Apple Herb Roasted Chicken

Apple Spice Bread

Autumn Apple Granola Muffins

Apple Spice Scones with Cider cinnamon Glaze

Simple Apple Butter 

Instead of the lap of the water against the river wall, they heard the whisper of the flames, and instead of the flowers in the garden they smelled the roasting chestnuts, burning apple logs, coffee, the oil lamps, polish, all the house smells. This intimacy with the house was deepening; when winter came it would be deeper still.

There were some fine bits of Bristol ware upon the mantlepiece, flowered chintz curtains at the windows, strips of plain matting upon the floor, and pots of geraniums upon the window sills. The table was laid for tea with a blue-and-white-check tablecloth, willow-pattern china, a homemade cake, scones, and honey. The room was gracious, lived in, warm, glowing, and altogether glorious...And extraordinarily familiar...Standing there in the sunlight and firelight George and the children felt as though they had come home. They looked at each other, but they could not speak.

~ both excerpts from Pilgrim's Inn ~

What Beatrix loved more than anything else were tiny cottages with crooked roofs, their stone-flagged floors brightened by rag rugs, the ceilings hung with braids of onions and fragrant herbs, the rooms furnished with old-fashioned oak sideboards and grandfather clocks and chairs with woven rush seats. Farm houses with no pretensions to grandeur, with mullioned windows and thick walls and narrow passages turning and twisting every which way...Homes that made her want to reach for her pencil and draw.

Perhaps it was her artist's heart that coveted the warm glow of firelight reflected from copper-bottomed pans, or her artist's soul that longed for shafts of dusty sunlight falling through windows bright with blooming flowers. She sketched these whenever she could, and in a way, these sketches of cozy rooms and sunlit windows and comfortable furniture, peopled with cats and mice and little dogs, substituted for a home of her own and a family that didn't sulk and glower at her. But Beatrix knew that she could never be entirely happy until she lived in her own house, a real house, exactly the right house.

~ both excerpts taken from The Tale of Hill Top Farm ~

Some of my previously written posts on gentle homemaking...

Homemaking & Domesticity ♥ An Artist's Life

Mission: Making a Cozy Atmosphere

Cultivating a Haven of Peace & Comfort

Gentle Homemaking Rhythms & Routines

Slow & Simple Homemaking ♥ Gently Tending to Your Home

She could make Hill Top into her own domain, a house of her own, with everything in it just as she wanted it. The house would be the house of her dreams, the house where she belonged, where she could imagine herself leading the kind of life that would make her, at last, content. And all around her would lie her own land, fold and fallow, garden and green meadows and pretty patches of woods. And on it she would have own animals: cows and pigs and chickens and sheep, yes, Herdwick sheep, those sheep who instinctively knew their own heaf.

~  taken from The Tale of Hill Top Farm ~

I don't know about you, but those passages remind me of the beauty, importance, and most of all, the blessing of home. I am reminded of just how thankful I am for home and family and for the life lived within our four walls. I'm grateful even for the tasks done in order to make a house a home and for the creativity and art that homemaking really, truly is. How warm, comforting, cozy, snuggly and settled in our home feels...I hope you have that, too.

May your week be a blissful one, dear friends! 

Savour the beauty of November and cherish the world of home...today, tomorrow and forever! 

♥

cranberry orange nutty bread ♥ my baking diary

Good morning, dear readers!

I'm back today after promising to share this recipe last Friday. That did not happen...obviously. We ended up getting a new internet service on Thursday night and didn't get it fully hooked up until Friday evening. Then the weekend just kind of got away with me...so here I am. Finally sharing this yummy recipe!

As I mentioned in my teatime post last week, this truly is the perfect autumnal bread. The combination of orange and cranberry really can't be beaten and the addition of pecans (or walnuts if you prefer) really sends it over the top. We love quick breads in our home...both the baking and eating of them. So this recipe is a well-loved favorite for our family. I also love giving a loaf of quick bread as part of a Christmas gift, or a "just because" gift in the autumn or winter months. Nothing says cozy and comfort like a loaf of home-baked scrumptious bread. And the flecks of red sprinkled throughout this bread makes it feel extra special and festive! 

So I do hope you'll give this one a go!

Life is not a science, but an art.

This used to be better understood.

~ E.H. Looney ~

Cranberry Orange Nutty Bread

1 bag of fresh cranberries

zest of 2 oranges

4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3/4 cups pure cane sugar

3/4 cups brown sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

3 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup canola oil

1 1/2 cups orange juice

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

In a food processor, pour the entire package of fresh cranberries and pulse until it ends up in tiny bits. You could also do this by hand, but it is so much easier and less messy with a food processor. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add in the pure cane sugar and brown sugar and mix again. In a measuring cup, combine the orange juice, eggs, oil and orange zest. Pour into the dry ingredients and be sure to mix thoroughly, scraping the bottom of the bowl well. Gently fold in the cranberry bits and chopped nuts until everything is completely mixed together.

Pour into mini loaf tins that have been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake at 350*F for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the loaves to cool a bit before turning them out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Slice and serve just as they are...nothing extra is needed, except a cup of tea or coffee, of course.

And do be sure to share with your dearest ones, too!

(Note: You can freeze these for a later date, just simply double wrap in plastic wrap and stick several loaves in a gallon size baggie.)

Happy baking, friends!

Do let me know what you've been baking in your kitchens...I would love to hear!

See you all on Wednesday for this week's seasonal teatime!

♥

a cozy teatime ♥ cranberries, first frost, & loving yourself in autumn

A warm hello, my dear reader friends!

Oh, how delighted I am to be back this week for yet another seasonal teatime...I just love this sort of thing. As the second week of November is here, so are the true autumnal feelings...and preparations for the grand Thanksgiving feast. Our days have been filled with cups of flavorful, spiced tea and novels, usually more than one in hand at once, movie watching in the eveings along with bread making and comforting dinners eaten round the dinner table. Over the weekend I made chili for the first time this season...this is quite late for me to make chili for the first time. Usually I have a pot of it on the stove just as soon as September comes around, but this year, I have had other recipes I've been making. But the chili tasted extra good because we hadn't had it since last year, and we always eat it with plenty of buttered saltines.

Seeing as how rain is on the way for my little corner of the world, our days have warmed up ever so slightly, but the nights are still quite chilly. Chilly enough to finally turn the heat on, which I waited until November second to do this year. It's always a fun little challenge to see how long we can wait until we need a bit of warmth in the house. First frost hasn't quite made it our way yet, but hopefully, in the next week or so, we will get our first visit from Jack Frost. And that is always a wonderfully magical indication of a glorious season coming...winter!

Friends, this week I have discovered a remarkably scrumptious treasure! 

Shall I tell you what it is?

Okay, okay...

This Sugar Plum Spice tea. When I first smelled this tea I knew it was going to be amazing, but it wasn't until I had my first sip that I realized what a treasure it was. It is the perfect blend of fruity sweetness with a very subtle tartness and a spiced backdrop. Truly the perfect mingling of flavors and I do believe I am obsessed now. So if you see this in a shop near you, do pick up a box. I don't think you'll be sorry! 

And can we just take a moment to appreciate the absolute beauty and whimsy that Celestial Seasonings puts into their tea box designs. Seriously, if a box is that pretty, I'm all over it!

The mug I've chosen for today is another favorite...but then again, all my mugs are favorites for different reasons. My mom picked this one out for me for last Valentine's Day because she knows how much I love home...as does she. I especially love the delicate leafy vine wreath in a soft sage green color. And it fits ever so perfectly in my hand as well...any mug collectors and lovers know how important the handle design and shape is.

For my baked treat this week, I decided on a quick bread recipe that I've only made once before. I remembered it a couple weeks ago and placed it on my seasonal baking list. And this past weekend was declared the weekend to get to baking it!

I first found the recipe for this Cranberry Orange Nutty Bread several years ago. The original recipe had a ridiculous amount of sugar and so I cut that down quite a bit. I also made a couple other small changes and the end result is literally one of the best quick breads we make. I'll be sharing the recipe on Friday, so do be sure to pop back over for a visit if you fancy baking up a batch for your family. I must say this bread also make a lovely gift at Christmas time...just wrap a bit of plastic wrap over the bread and attach some baker's twine in festive colors and a cute gift tag. 

We always, always make our quick breads in mini loaves. That's just how we've done it since I was little and the tradition continues...same pans all these years and everything. They are cute and sweet to give as gifts and also easy to freeze for ourselves for a later date. We can also make a variety of breads and since the loaves are small, one doesn't last but just a couple days. Then we can move on to the next flavor a few days later and so on...so yes, it's more fun that way, too! {{smiles}}

Some more of our family's favorite cranberry recipes are below, so do check them out!

Cranberry Chicken

Cranberry Date Balls

Autumn Stuffed Acorn Squash

Cranberry Orange Scones

Have you ever celebrated first frost? It was never something I even considered until last autumn when I first read First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen. This is one of the books that I dearly, dearly love and one that I think could easily be reread every year...during the last week of October to be precise, which is exactly what I did this year. And a first frost celebration is something that the story centers around. I am terrible about giving an overview synopsis of a book without just spilling all the good stuff, so I won't say too much more. But I was mesmerized by just how delightfully magical a first frost party sounded, especially as described in the book. I thought I would share a little description of the feast that the Waverly family enjoyed on the night of their first frost party...which they ate outside in their garden under the magic apple tree that blooms on first frost.

Loaves of fig and pepper bread, of course. But there was also lasagna cooked in miniature pumpkins, and pumpkin-seed brittle. Roasted red pepper soup, and spiced caramel potato cakes. Corn muffins and brown sugar popcorn balls and a dozen cupcakes, each with a different frosting, because what was first frost without frosting? Pear beer and clove ginger ale in dark bottles sat in the icy beverage tub. They ate well into the afternoon, and the more they ate, the more food there seemed to be. Pretzel buns and cranberry cheese and walnuts appearing, just when they thought they'd tasted everything...

The family brought out lanterns and halogen heaters when it got dark, and put them all around the garden. They lit candles on the table, all while the apple tree shook and blossoms continued to fall. When the petals hit the flames of the candles, they hissed and popped into ash, leaving behind a scent that was so beautiful and sweet that it smelled like both yesterday and tomorrow.

First Frost

(by Christine A. Kysely)

There is a certain magic

To the first frost of the year

When autumn's golden halo

Has been kissed by winter's cheer.

As the sun climbs over the horizon

Your breath's vapors become unfurled

Like plumes of steam rising from within

Its warmth in the chill revealed.

Every twig, every branch, every blade of grass

Every surface that one can see

Has been adorned as though from high above

As though diamonds are now given for free.

Every surface has been delightfully adorned

With a million gems thrown from the sky

Having been touched with Jack Frost's icy caress

Winter's love of autumn cannot be denied.

One of the themes for this week's teatime is autumn apothecary and self-care. I've shared about this topic in the past and I'll share some links below to some past posts I've written. In fact, just last month for my October series I shared a post on this exact topic.

Autumn and winter are the months of hibernation and home and slowing down and gathering in. They are the times of comfort and gentleness. And while I think these things are important all year long, during all four seasons, there's just something about the colder months, when the light fades earlier in the evening, that makes them all the more desirable. I think our bodies need times of rest and hibernation of sorts and I think that is something we need in order to be healthy...physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. We aren't meant to go, go, go, all the time. It's just not good for our minds and bodies. And these months whisper to us ever so gently to slow down, to gather in and to settle in.

My favorite ways to practice self-care are quite simple. I am not a person who likes expensive or showy things, nor do I care to participate in those kinds of activities. So going to a spa or to get my nails done or even going out among crowds of people... that to me is an utter nightmare. I prefer home and if I'm going to "get out", which I do enjoy, it's not quite what lots may have in mind. Getting out to me means going for a drive in the countryside with my camera and a warm drink or stopping for ice cream or other treats...yes, even in the winter, ice cream is still yummy. It's going to peruse a small bookshop at the library or walking through Whole Foods before the workday ends and I can avoid the heavy crowds of people. And oddly enough, sometimes it's going to a concert, play, musical or other performance. I know that doesn't really make sense because I don't like crowds, but the performances I attend, well, let's just say they attract a certain type of crowd that isn't rowdy or overwhelming. I haven't done that in a couple years, though, because of the current situation, but how I do miss those times!

At home, self-care looks like making time for hobbies and fun things...a bit each day. Whether it be reading a novel before bed, watching a favorite movie or TV show, listening to music whilst cooking dinner or cleaning, knitting or working on some hand embroidery, looking at my cookbooks and planning out meals, working on a seasonal craft, journaling or writing, even reorganizing my bookshelves or other cupboards in the house, making my bed, lighting candles and using my diffuser, always making sure I apply my essential oil blends twice a day, wearing a pretty headband, wearing clothes that make me feel comfortable and like "me", reading a favorite magazine. Self-care is really about all the things that fill you up, that are lifegiving and soul-filling. 

Those are the sorts of things I do as "self-care". And to be honest, lots of them, I do all day long or throughout the day as I am getting my things done. Self-care doesn't always have to mean setting aside special time to do one thing, though I do think quiet times or times of "just" relaxing are important. But as you go about your day, there are opportunities for self-care all over the place. Light a candle and play music whilst you get your domestic work done and as you cook dinner. I think one big thing, perhaps the main thing for me, about self-care is creating a peaceful atmosphere. And that can be done no matter what!  

 Another last thing I want to mention is that we need to get over the idea and feeling that we are wasting time by not always doing something that is so-called "productive". Not every minute of every day needs to be productive. Maybe the times we consider unproductive are in fact some of the most productive, though one may not see it on the surface. I think of a mother who is busy cleaning her house whilst her children are begging her to come play with them. Her "productive" work is cleaning her house, and just playing with her children for a few hours is seen as unproductive. But really, what is truly productive here? A mother who plays with her children is investing in her relationship with them, growing their imagination and in the meantime, reawakening hers, allowing her children to share and talk and just be with their mother. That is just one example, but I truly feel that our ideas of productivity and of what's truly important is seriously messed up and backwards. Maybe if we stopped and asked ourselves what we've been conditioned to believe and think thanks to society or whatever other sources, we will find what it means to truly live. 

I wrote about this topic in the following blog posts in more depth, so I'd love to have you check them out:

The Lost Art of Wasting Time (this post has tons of links to my older posts as well)

Cozy Rituals and Traditions

The Lost Art of Living Slowly & Gently

When Daylight Grows Shorter

Gently & Mindfully Tending Your Heart, Body, & Soul

Loving Yourself Through Daily Rituals

The Song of the Wind and the Leaves

(by Ed Blair) 

There's a beautiful song that is sung every day

When the wind and the leaves play together.

And I hear the sweet notes as I wander along,

From my low cottage home to the heather.

As I fain would express the sweet sentiment there,

The sweet songs of love and devotion,

When the wind sighs to stay but must go on its way

On its journey o'er land and the ocean.

Oh, the songs yet to sing of the beautiful woods,

Oh, the songs that old Nature is singing,

I hear them each day as I wander away

Where the gay summer birds are awinging.

'Neath the dark shady leaves the soft winds take a peep

Where the birdlings are nestled together,

And say: "Fly away," for the leaves cannot stay,

To shelter in bleak autumn weather.

Oh, soft summer winds; oh, beautiful woods,

Sing on for the children yet coming,

Sing sweet songs of love while the young turtle doves

Are cradled to sleep with your humming.

And when in the autumn the leaves turn to gold,

And sigh for the wind that will sever,

They'll sing once again your sweet plaintive strain,

And the music will go on forever.

November is gracing us with sprinkles of autumnal color here and there, bits of rusty red and gold on the leaves. Thanksgiving plans are underway, as are the very beginnings of Christmas planning. Autumn is here...the time for home, for coziness and warmth and comfort, the time of slowing down and gathering in, and of hibernating. Tis the season of all the good things in life!

Thank you, dear ones, for joining me for this cozy teatime...

please feel free to share your recent cozy ramblings below. I love hearing from you each week!

And don't forget to come by on Friday for the Cranberry Orange Nutty Bread recipe!

May your day be a beauty!

♥

a cozy teatime ♥ pumpkins, falling leaves, and autumnal light

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 Chocolate Chip Bread

Scrumptious Pumpkin Spice Bread

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

Pumpkin Maple Scones

Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls (photographed above)

Pumpkin Spice Streusel Muffins

Autumn Spiced Cheesecake

 

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 ~

...................................................................................................................................................................

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!

♥ ♥ ♥ 

a cozy halloween

 

Happy Halloween, friends! 

Yesterday was the day of tricks and treats and spooky fun and I thought I would show you how my family celebrated the day... 

Our garden became the home to several decorative ghosts for the month of October and our little Caspers really livened up the yard. They were a wonderful dollar store find this year and I think they may even last for another few years as well...can't beat that for just $1! And pumpkins were placed by the front porch with care, in hopes that trick-or-treaters soon would be there. This year we were visited by several groups of little fairies, monsters, and even a hot dog. It was a lovely sight to see children still enjoying the old-fashioned delight of going around for candy in the neighborhood, a tradition my sister and I enjoyed all through our childhood.

In the evening, after we all had nibbled on a bit of candy ourselves because one is never too old for Halloween fun, we enjoyed a delicious dinner. Our tradition each year is to have a cozy meal and festive dessert on Halloween. Each year the menu is different simply because we love trying new recipes. This year we stuck to some old favorites, though. We enjoyed chicken and kale pot pies with cheddar biscuits (see below for the recipes), and for dessert, my mom made some fun Halloween cupcakes...vanilla funfetti cupcakes with chocolate frosting and crispy chocolate eyeballs on top. They were scrumptious!

Click on the links below for the recipes...

Chicken and Kale Pot Pies

Homemade Cheddar Biscuits 

Our evening ended as we curled up on the couch to watch one of our favorite Halloween movies...Double, Double, Toil and Trouble. It was one that we loved in our childhood in the late nineties, and it honestly is still so fun to watch. It has that spooky and fun vibe and just feels like a Halloween movie should. Plus it's very nostalgic and sentimental as well. {{smiles}}

What were your Halloween celebrations this year? Do share below!

This also concludes the October series for 2021. It is hard to believe that November is actually here now and soon, it will be Thanksgiving...then Christmas...then another new year! My, how time flies!

 

Thank you so much for joining me here this month for some posts on coziness and home and bookish delights. I had oodles of fun sharing the posts with you and hope you enjoyed them as well...

Now onto November and more fun.

May your week be a magical one...

I do hope you're enjoying some delicious autumnal weather where you live!

♥