a cosy autumn day decorating my cottage 🍂 pecan cookies, country walks & cute bakeries

Good morning! I am so happy to be talking to you this morning, honestly for so many different reasons. I hated missing last week and I will catch up on the last couple of weeks in a second but I want to start this vlog on a positive note because I feel really positive this morning. I actually feel really really in the autumn spirit as well I think because multiple reasons. Firstly because of the last couple of weeks I basically spent two weeks watching everybody's like decorate for autumn with me and first September vlogs of the year. I love them so much. Whenever I talk about YouTube I know it's probably really annoying that I never say who I watch but honestly it's because I don't feel like I watch channels that are similar to mine so I never know whether they'd be your thing or not. For example I tell you whose videos I've been watching on repeat, Molly Mae. I have been watching Molly Mae's like autumn and Christmas vlogs just on a loop for the last week or so. Then I've also been watching, I did pick back up Downton Abbey. I feel like we talked about that in the last video. I had I think just the last season to watch and I'm now well and truly almost at the end of that. I feel like that's quite a good autumn watch because it's all, I don't know, there's just a feeling to it isn't it? I think there's something cozy about Downton Abbey so I've been watching a lot of Downton Abbey. I've been reading a lot, that's been getting me in the autumn spirit and then this morning I have been around and I have collected together all of my autumn bits and pieces and they're actually right behind you. They're sat on a table here because I've gathered them all together because that's what we're going to do today. We're going to decorate for autumn so that definitely helps and then also I actually brought them upstairs to show you. Nespresso have now released or launched their autumn menu. So we've got pumpkin spice cake and maple pecan and I can honestly say this morning I've made pumpkin spice cake, so good. One of them actually fell out somewhere. So good, like actually genuinely really does that you can really taste the pumpkin so I'm feeling very in the autumn spirit today. We're decorating for autumn today, can't wait, one of my favourite things to do all year. We are also doing baking, we're doing some cooking, we'll go for a walk, I'll talk to you about books. I've got some new bits to show you actually, I've got some new clothes, I've done a little bit of autumn shopping because honestly what was a girl to do? So let me tell you about the last couple of weeks because then you'll understand why I've basically just been on the sofa watching YouTube and online shopping. So if you saw the end of last week's vlog then you will have seen me saying that I felt like I was maybe coming down with something and I was saying in that vlog that there might not be a vlog last week which obviously there wasn't because I only had a couple of days until I flew to Greece for one of my best friend's weddings. So I was thinking if I did wake up the morning after feeling not very well I wouldn't have time to film, edit, upload a video in time for last week. Well as I'm sure you can guess I was in fact correct, I was definitely coming down with something and do you know what I came down with? Really perfect timing for a huge wedding in Greece, laryngitis. I was mute, mute. Can you imagine being at a really huge big Greek wedding where basically everyone on the island is almost there for this one same wedding? Nothing. First night of the um of the wedding I'm on the head table, I'm opposite bride and groom, opposite bride and groom, obviously they're like some of my best friends so they didn't care at all but could I communicate in any possible way other than sign language? No. I've never fully lost my voice like that before, like I've had a slightly, you know when you lose it a bit when you're ill? No no, zero voice. It was actually really horrible I will say, you don't realise, it sounds silly but you don't realise how much you need your voice until you don't have it. I just felt really left out which was nobody leaving me out, it was just I physically could not join in in any conversations because there was nothing so unless yeah honestly could the timing have been worse and obviously because I was in basically the most social setting you could ever find yourself in I was constantly trying to talk when I should have been on complete vocal rest so that was making it worse so I ended up basically having no voice for probably the best part of a week with no voice so hence not being here last week because I actually would not have been able to communicate with you, it would have been a silent vlog so I'm very very happy. I don't think my voice is quite right still but it's definitely, it's almost back, we're almost back and I am extremely grateful to feel healthy, to be able to speak and communicate again and that we've got such a gorgeous like autumn day planned, the perfect kind of easy transition back into hopefully next week just completely normal life. We're actually popping out really quickly this morning mostly because I've got really boring adult errands to do like returns and things but while we're out I thought we would go to Chalbury because Dalesford have done, it's like a pop-up bakery van, it's the cutest thing in the whole world, you'll see when we get there and I've not been yet. I think they only have it open on Saturday mornings and it's at their pub in Chalbury at the Bell. I thought we'd go get some bread, maybe get some pastries, I'll get all my jobs done and then we can come home and obviously decorate so I'm going to go and get myself dressed. Good morning, um could I please get a seeded sourdough and then can I also get a cinnamon swirl please, thank you. Okay we're back at home, sorry for having my sunglasses on in the house but you're in the and the sun directly directly into my retinas so the sunglasses are on um but I wanted to put you in the window because I wanted to show you my outfit that I'm wearing today. A lady actually at the bakery complimented me on my boots, I do love these boots and I have seen that they do make them in a dark brown which is also very nice but I thought I'd show you my outfit and then also take the opportunity to show you the clothes that I bought recently that I was talking about this morning. So jeans that I wear every single day, when do I not have these on, I never take them off, I'll make sure that I've linked absolutely everything. These are Massimo Duty but they have loads of jeans, I feel like I say this every time but they have so many so I'll link these exact ones because they all look the same on the internet don't they. And then these are my boots that the lady very kindly complimented, you've seen these before as well um but I really want the chocolate brown ones, I love them. And then my jumper was actually very kindly sent to me, I'm so chuffed with this, I got it in a parcel a couple of days ago with some other bits I'm going to show you um and I am so pleased with it, I think it's gorgeous. It's from the brand Hush, it's the most gorgeous colour, it's so warm, I think it's wool and it's so easy to wear and the crop's really flattering, the sleeves, one thing I love on a jumper is a slightly longer sleeve, it's got that, so I'm really chuffed with it. So this is the most gorgeous, again 100% wool blazer, the colour's gorgeous, it's so soft, it's obviously going to be so unbelievably warm, I'm so pleased with this, I just know I'm going to wear it all the time. And then I think these are the thing this year everybody, I've seen them on every single website, you know the scarves that you just sort of tie, the triangle scarves that just tie at the front just to give a bit of warmth but also just a bit of like layering to your outfit. I've already got one in brown that I showed you a few weeks ago but this one in grey is so gorgeous, I mean I don't know whether all these colours and everything go together but let me show you. I feel ridiculous in sunglasses but honestly look how sunny it is, I've got no choice. And then obviously minus the labels this is what it looks like at the back and minus my messy hair. I'm so so happy with it and obviously so so grateful to have been sent it all. Gorgeous! I also want to show you some of the bits that I've been shopping for myself so let me just grab them. Okay first and foremost, obsessed with this, also side note, can I just say when I put these jeans on this morning I was like god they feel very tight, like much tighter than they usually feel and then I just got a notification from Flo that I'm about to start my next step basically my period. Is it not insane how much water retention, well I don't but I have so much water retention before my period, even putting my rings on this morning they were all so tight on my fingers and now it makes perfect sense, it's because my period's coming but it's made my jeans tight and normally these are quite loose, that's how much water retention, maybe because I've been ill as well I don't know but anyway side note just a joy of being a woman. I talk with my hands so much and I always get comments about it, I need to like lock them in my back pocket but how nice is this top, I feel like this is so me, it hurts, I love the fact that it's kind of like it's almost rugby top, rugby top, rugby shirt, rugby jumper, what's it called, you know like a rugby, rugby shirt, I don't know I'm clearly, I can't get my words right today but it's kind of like a rugby shirt, that doesn't sound right but we're going with that because I know you'll know what I mean but it's made, it's like jumper material so it's really, really warm and it's in tones of brown that I love as well so I just think it's very me because it's kind of casual, a little bit on the sporty side, not that I'm sporty at all, at all but it's kind of sporty, casual but also very warm and I also love the brown tones so I absolutely love this. I can't remember what size I got but I'll put all of that information in my description. Okay final thing, I just know that you're going to love this and also when mum came round I tried all of this on for mum, does anyone else do that? I still do, you know when you're a kid and you come back from like a shopping day with your mum and you make your dad and your siblings sit through a fashion show of everything that you bought, I'm still doing that at my big age, still doing that so I made mum sit through a fashion show, everything I got mum said oh maybe I could just, can I just try that on so I know she's going to be borrowing all of it. What I love about this is the velton scarf, is that not the chicest thing you've ever seen? It is so easy to wear and it's kind of the coat is the outfit so you just need jeans, boots, coat, doesn't really matter what you've got underneath. I think it is gorgeous, I love the print, I love the scarf built in, I love the way that it's just a very simple straight cut, you just throw it on and you look so put together. I am in love with this coat, you will be absolutely sick of this by the end of winter because I won't be taking it off, I know I'm going to get so much wear out of this so I'll make sure like I said I've linked it, sizes, all of that. Anyway that's what I've been buying, I'm sorry about the sunglasses, they make me feel ridiculous wearing them in the house but I just had to show you those bits because I feel like there's some really good bits in there. So I'm going to put my jumper back on, I'm going to move you away from the window so I can take my sunglasses off and then we can actually talk about decorating for autumn. I feel like you've actually seen most of it in the background of this but yeah let me get changed. Okay bear with me, I promise we're about to decorate for autumn but I was just thinking you know what would really set the tone, you know what would really really set the tone for decorating for autumn? A big cup of tea and some maple pecan cookies. I got the ingredients to make these cookies earlier in the week and then I've been waiting, I've wanted them every single day, they're like maple butter, pecan, cinnamon-y, nutmeg-y kind of cookies and I've been thinking about them every single day but I wanted to wait until my voice was back so then we could make them together. So today is finally the day, I just thought let's make them now and then like I said I can have a cup of tea and a cookie when we decorate. Do you know what I will be skipping today is the refrigerating the cookie dough thing. You're meant to obviously put it in the fridge for like multiple hours but we didn't have time for that today so I will be skipping that, don't know what that will do, to be honest I always skip that part because I'm too impatient. Once I've got the cookie dough either I'm going to eat the whole cookie dough raw from the thing or it needs to go straight in the oven so we're just going with that today and fingers crossed they still work but we will find out. Let me get all the ingredients together and then I will show you what we're using. Okay we've got plain flour, coconut sugar, pecans, we have got our butter, this is unsalted butter obviously you can use regular butter, this is plant-based butter, we've got our eggs, we have got maple syrup obviously, then we also have some cinnamon, we have some nutmeg, vanilla bean extract and then bicarb of soda. We need salt and I think that's it, I think that's everything but obviously what I'll do is we're winging it as always so I will put the recipe in the description. I think that's everything for now. Okay so I think to start with we just combine all of the, that's not going to fit, all of the dry ingredients. So I'm using an American recipe so it's two and a half cups, this is very approximate, we're going to call that two and a half. A teaspoon of baking soda, teaspoon, half a teaspoon of cinnamon, a little bit more, I've got it on my jumper. I'm going to put a tiny bit more cinnamon because I love cinnamon. Okay we're just winging it with the nutmeg, hopefully that's a good amount and then I'm just going to do like that much salt. Combine this. Okay I've chopped up the pecans and the first thing I'm going to do is just butter them. So I'm just going to take a little bit of this butter and melt it in the pan and then I'm going to kind of toast all of these bits of pecan in there. Okay I'm just going to throw these in. I've just added in a little bit more butter. I want them to be really nicely caramelised. It smells so good. Okay they're coming off the heat and I'm going to put them to one side and now pretty much the rest of the butter goes in. Again I'm just making this up as I go. I never really measure anything which is not that helpful when I try and give you recipes and I'm just waiting again for the butter to, do you call it caramelise? You know when it goes that really gorgeous kind of brown colour. Okay butter. I'm going to do half coconut sugar and half maple. Vanilla extract. Then we need to do the eggs. This is a risky way of putting eggs in because if one of the eggs is off but we're going for it. So two large eggs and now a bit at a time. Look how good that looks. It's absolutely pouring with rain which is perfect. The recipe says scoop them into three tablespoon sized balls but that seems a lot to me. So I think I'm going to do two. These are tablespoons. So I mean that looks big doesn't it but it seems big to me. This one I think is too big. Can you hear the storm? Listen to the storm. Is that not perfect? Okay I'm going to do them in two batches because they seem really big to me. Actually do you know what we need to do? I know it's got raw egg in but you only live once. Oh I think that's the best cookie dough I've ever made. Oh my gosh that's delicious. I think these are going to be so good. Okay let's get these in the oven. I think just 10 minutes should do. So I'm going to put the timer on. Okay the first batch. Oh they're so big. I knew they were chunky. Oh Rose barking at something. They are chunky cookies. I'm going to let these cool. I probably should have put them in a flat plate. Okay that is so good. Cheers to autumn. Let's go and decorate this house. Okay I've just propped you up because we need a really quick chat before I show you all the autumn bits because this living room is honestly I cannot describe to you the amount of back and forward I've had about this living room from the day I moved in and bearing in mind I've lived here for almost a year now. I feel like I should give this the context. I've obviously said this before but just for those of you that might not have seen that video or might be new here I don't own this house so obviously there's so many things that I would love to do with this living room. It needs paint, it needs, there's just so many things that I would do differently but I don't own this house so I can't really do any of those big changes so all that's really in my control is like furniture and things like that. For those of you that have been here for the whole trying to buy a house saga that's not something that we've put on pause it's just something that it's going to happen when it happens I'm not stressing about it anymore because we've looked. I want to say we've been looking for 18 months I think because it's been so long I'm even fussier now than I was at the start and also we've seen so many houses so I know the good bits of some houses and I don't know it's just the whole process but it will happen when it's meant to happen and the good news is I absolutely love this house I feel so comfortable and so at home here so there's no real urgent rush but anyway that was a massive side story again I'm loving a side story today but honestly the sobering room has just been a headache from the start. I have had some new bits delivered, the table that you're currently sitting on is new, I've got new curtains and bits and pieces like that but I have now ordered two bookcases that have both had to go back because they can't get into the room so the first one was very ambitious and actually completely my fault I was just a bit stupid I ordered this enormous solid oak triple bookshelf it was beautiful and I'm devastated I've got the perfect wall behind you I've got a huge blank kind of wall behind you that it would have been perfect on and in my mind I'd like decorated it all especially for autumn and Christmas and I just anyway it couldn't get into the room but then I tried to order a smaller bookshelf also a gorgeous solid oak one that was going to be beautiful and again I was planning to decorate for autumn and that one also couldn't get into the house despite being at least half the size of the first one it's just there's so many difficult like sloping ceilings and angles and stuff in this house and it just couldn't get here so that's been disappointing and then don't talk to me about sofas, sofas is like a you know the word Voldemort it's like that in this household don't utter the word sofa to me because I have tried again so many different options had sofas ordered cancelled and at this point I'd just rather sit on the floor and honestly I might I might um no I'm just being silly I still have my old sofas in here so yeah lots still to do but also lots to show you so let's do that let me show you some of the new bits okay I'm not entirely convinced that this is everything in fact I'm pretty certain that it's not everything this is a definite mix of old and new because I keep everything in an autumn box which by the way I had to drive all the way to Cheshire to get my autumn box because of course I'd forgotten it so it's a mix of old and new some of this you'll have seen before but I thought I'd quickly run through some bits I will link it also if I miss anything or if you can't find anything online it will be in my description so these just got some floral bits I've got loads of these actually but I didn't want to put them all on the table so they will be around the house in various places Zara Home I did a good bit of shopping on Zara Home recently I got this tea towel I mean I'm not sure that it's particularly autumnal but I love the chicken on it it's so cute and then these are also Zara Home could not love these more if I tried again they were actually in my autumn London shopping video there were loads of good bits in that so if you've not seen it maybe go back and have a look at that but this is just a set of towels I've got a face towel a hand towel and then a bath towel are they not gorgeous so gorgeous I've got my massive array of pumpkins most of them are from a shop in Cheshire called Home Bird so if you live up north there's a few across like the Manchester area so most of them are from there they might have an online shop I'm not sure and then including this big pumpkin actually that's also from there and then I did treat myself this year to a big diptyque candle I'll unbox this later but it's like a gorgeous ceramic candle that I'll show you which is going to look so nice I've got various different jugs and things I like to bring out the darker ones for autumn I've got lots and lots of new cushions and new cushion covers so these two are both from Zara Home but these are all cushion covers I've got two of each of these I could not love these more these are definitely my favourites they're 50 by 50 cushions which I actually need to buy inserts for so I don't know what we're going to do today but I had to show you them they're so gorgeous so I got this beautiful striped one this one which is kind of like a corduroy suede finish so nice and then this one I do have on a cushion so I'll show you properly later I've got some coffee table books this is my classic autumn one that I always bring out oh and then this is also Zara Home it's like a big gorgeous soft throw that Roo has already taken a massive liking to so they're the main bits that I've got out but I know I'm missing things so I guess we'll see as we get into it I just love Roo's cosy little corner underneath the table okay my cushion inserts like I said haven't arrived but this will hopefully give you an idea they don't really fit but I'm going to do one two three three like this two three and then same again on that side once they've arrived but for now until my cushion inserts I'm just going to pop this on the end which probably doesn't go and then my pumpkin in the middle I just realised you've probably never seen or you might have done I don't know but I have so many exposed beams in this house but because they're on the ceiling and the ceilings are actually really high in this house um you never see them they're all there they're all through my hallway into my bathroom um yeah I don't think you've ever seen them not too much to do in terms of autumn in my bedroom because I've actually already put on my autumn bed sheets which I could not love more if I tried aren't they just the coziest bed sheets in the world every morning I wake up in these and they just bring me so much happiness I also randomly have my spring um ones behind I quite like the I don't know the different patterns even though they definitely clash but I absolutely love these bed covers I'll make sure I link them any other thing that I do is I just layer a couple of these on the end it's all a bit messy at the moment actually um but I put this darker throw there as well if you're wondering what these are on the floor when I moved in here there was an absolutely huge um wardrobe here which was way too big for the space really and it actually made it feel quite cramped and dark in here even though it's a really good size room um with really good ceiling height like I said so finally finally I got around to replacing that with this chest of drawers which I really really like and obviously I need to do something with it also funny story this is a hat and there was a random kind of old cable it's not a live cable don't panic which I needed to cover so I put a hat there and I'm going to put another hat here so it looks more intentional um but I wanted to show you them because I'm really happy with them I haven't thought about what I'm going to do with them because obviously it needs something a lamp etc but I haven't been that organized so I'll have to do that in another vlog but I did just want to come in and show you and also show you my bed sheets I've got a couple of bits actually that I might just put on my bedside tables so let's do that together now that's a bit cosier and my gingham pumpkin goes with my bed sheets as well and then I'm just going to put these here for now I need to cut all the labels off and they could probably be folded a bit more nicely than this but I just thought they might soften this area in the short term and then two absolute autumn necessities my hot water bottle and two of Rue's favorite toys because she sleeps in this bed with me every night we've got her little fox and then her kangaroo she's named after a kangaroo that's the cutest thing I've ever seen now I'm gonna cry house is decorated candles are lit it feels so cozy I'm so happy with how it came together because I did think this year because I'm missing whole pieces of furniture and loads of little bits I wasn't sure but it feels so cozy it feels like a brand new house which is why I love decorating for the seasons because it feels like you get a whole new house at the end of it I just love it so I'm feeling very cozy and I'm feeling very very excited to curl up on my sofa tonight put something cozy on Harry Potter Downton Abbey Gilmore Girls something like that and just really relax I can't wait but as for now I need to make some food so we are making what can only be described as an absolute autumn classic an autumn essential an autumn staple it must be made in the autumn and in this household it's honestly made an unacceptable amount of times throughout the autumn it's basically all that I eat so we are of course making roast tomato and red pepper soup with cheese on toast so normally when I make my tomato soup I do it kind of the lazy quick way which is all on the hob but it does make such a difference if you actually roast everything in the oven it just gives it a whole new kind of depth of flavor so if you have time really recommend making it this way it's so easy as well you literally just shove everything into the oven roast it all and then blitz it all up you'll see obviously when we make it in a second and then this is a bread that I picked up from the little Dalesford bakery van this morning it's just a seeded sourdough so let me pull together all the ingredients and then I'll show you okay this is the easiest thing in the entire world to make I actually if I'm feeling like I want to do it really quickly I don't even roast this I just do it all in a pan um but all you basically need to do is roughly chop everything so sorry I've got one red pepper which I'm going to throw in this is definitely not a precise recipe I kind of just end up doing whatever I've got in my house sometimes I'll add beans into this sometimes I will add quinoa into this um but yeah you're just roughly chopping up all of your tomatoes your red pepper garlic and then you just season it so salt pepper I'm going to put some chili flakes because I like that in mine and then mixed Italian herbs and then while it's roasting in the oven you can prepare your stock and then once it's done in the oven you basically just add it to the stock herbs so loads of herbs chili flakes pepper because these are actually empty so I need to fill them up so black pepper and then I'm only going to do I'm only doing a tiny bit of salt because um the stock is quite salty and then just so it doesn't burn I'm just going to add half a centimeter of water to the bottom and then we're good to go I'm just going to put it into the oven obviously I'm only making enough for a couple of bolts that you could fill this with tomatoes and then you'd have enough for you know the week while we're waiting for the soup in the I thought we could quickly do this week's autumn book of the week my autumn book recommendation of the week um but before I tell you about this week's I just wanted to update you on the one we talked about last time which is the one that I'm currently reading which is Rebecca I am only about halfway through this because I was away for a week otherwise I think I would have finished it because I am enjoying this so much it is definitely autumnal would highly recommend it's really beautifully written I mean I feel like nobody probably needs my opinion on Rebecca because it is a classic and everyone knows it's so good but if you haven't read it I would highly recommend but the autumn book of the week this week was actually recommended by you this one came up so many times I would honestly say when I popped a question thing on Instagram I think and also under the video last week I can't remember which one it was but this came up the most so this is the secret history by Donna Tartt have to say didn't really know much about this at all still actually don't so let's read the back together under the influence of their charismatic classics a group of clever eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries but when they go beyond the boundaries of normal of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever I mean that doesn't really give much away does it I'm just reading the reviews it takes my breath away it's so accomplished at the top it says truly deserving of the accolade modern classic Donna Tartt's novel is remarkable is a remarkable achievement both compelling and elegant dramatic and playful but everybody said that this is autumnal and I think that's because maybe it follows the college year then I guess it will start in September pretty sure all schools and all colleges start in September but that could be made up so maybe that's why it's autumnal the reviews of this is so good and like I said this honestly came up the most this was recommended to me I can't even tell you how many times so it has to be good and I guess it has to be autumnal because I definitely asked for autumnal books but I just wanted to share as this week's little autumn book of the week I'm actually going to sit and read Rebecca for a bit while I wait it's only about half an hour 40 minutes max that we need to roast the tomatoes but I may as well use the time to read my book and I've obviously got my support cup of tea that comes with me everywhere I go okay this has been roasting for about half an hour 40 minutes hot 40 minutes something like that and I'm just going to transfer all of this into this pan add in the stock then literally just hand blend it and I think we're good to go I'm going to make some cheese toast to go with it and then with this it's really hot ouch this is way too hot to be doing this but you just squeeze out all of the garlic cloves like this I mean ideally you would let it cool down first but here we are done all of that in there okay okay I'm gonna blend so good honestly beyond delicious hello everyone from my table that I promised I would show you I also promised myself I would decorate for autumn but apparently I completely forgot that I owned it um so I'll have to show you that next week it's the most beautiful table but I'm just sat using one of my dining chairs from downstairs because we don't have the chairs for it yet at the moment it's obviously just makeshift got all sorts of things on it and also this mug on the table here I just know that dad is going to spot that from a mile away and tell me off because he went to great length to explain to me that if I spill anything on this table before it's being treated um it will permanently be ruined and here I am with the mug but it does have a coaster dad if you're watching um but anyway let me just zoom you back out a bit there yeah I'm just sat doing some work I've got down to now be on the tv in the background I've just muted it so that I could chat to you very cozy in here it's a really nice place actually just to sit and chill and work Ru is somewhere around as well can't see her on the floor she's somewhere in here I'm gonna leave this week's video here um I hope you enjoyed decorating for autumn with me it feels like a very autumn cozy kind of vlog which is fingers crossed what they're all going to be from now until Christmas I'm trying to remember to link everything if I've forgotten anything that I talked about today just let me know in the comments and I will link it but otherwise it should all hopefully be in my description um and I feel like that's it for me this week I just said instead of saying thank you so much for being here I said thank me so much for being here so honestly just thank you to all of us for being here I guess um no but genuinely thank you so much for being here thanks for spending your Sunday morning or whatever day it is um with me and I cannot wait to catch up with you next week but also just for all of the videos basically for the rest of the entire year so I hope you have the best week ever and I will catch up with you next weekend