All things Autumn / Fall

Apparently, today is the first day of fall. Even though seasons starting on a random date is confusing to me, I can get behind talking about Autumn things. Excited to link up with Pinky and Katie today.

I feel like I'm in the minority in blogland, I'm not super obsessed with all things fall like I feel other people are. I don't like (sweet) pumpkin things, I don't own a vest or any plaid (oops, now I own some plaid), I'm not a huge fan of thanksgiving (gasp) or football.. am I going to be ostracised? Also, Autumn basically means one thing to me: it's about to get cold.

But, there is a sweet spot. Where the weather is cool but not cold, where my husband lets me open the doors and windows, where the fashion trends are new and exciting and different, where cold weather comfort food is new and more exciting than a salad, where I don't almost pass out after a hot bath, where I can run in the middle of the day and not worry about dying.

In addition to the above, here are some things I like / am excited about for Autumn:

Soup.

Tomato soup and pumpkin soup are my faves. At home, pumpkin is not something that is ever 'sweet' like pumpkin spice lattes or pumpkin pie, it is always savoury. I have not yet mastered making either soup on my own, but I do want to try. The best part about America loving sweet pumpkin things is that you can get canned pumpkin, so I can hopefully make this super easy recipe without dealing with an actual pumpkin, and alter it to taste like my mum's.

When I was at home, my favourite canned soup was Campbells, but you can't get it here. I've tried other 'pre-made' ones but honestly, the spices and flavouring are different than what I'm after. My favourite tomato soup off the shelf is from TJs, of course.

Other comfort food.

I love a good bowl of soup and some chunky bread (or grilled cheese) to go with it, but my favourite thing about cold weather is alllll of the comfort food.

Butter chickpeas / chicken. I'll eat this year round, but there is no denying it tastes a little bit better when it's cold out.

Butter chickpeas for dinner - and this qualifies for #thirstythursday because I would totally drink this sauce if it were appropriate #31photosinbetween #foodstagram #vegetarian

A photo posted by Kristen (@seeyouinaporridge) on Jul 16, 2015 at 3:19pm PDT

Mashed potatoes and gravy. I actually do not know how to make mashed potatoes and gravy from scratch, don't judge me. Maybe I will try the below recipe this year. Also, maybe not thanks Betty Crocker.

Vegan Porcini Mushroom Gravy

Mac n cheese. Would you believe I had never had mac n cheese before I moved here? Cheese and pasta sounded so gross, and I definitely have had a lot of gross ones. For KC's birthday party I finally made it myself and it was so good I wanted to eat the whole thing myself.. and I made enough for 20 people so... that's a lot of mac n cheese.

Miracle Mac n Cheese

Shepherd's Pie. I first made this last year and it was such a hit that I make it regularly now. The below is a pretty similar recipe to what I do, but for KC I add turkey. Also, mine is only vegetarian, not vegan. It's not a quick recipe (I'm slow in the kitchen) but it makes so much and freezes SO well. I also made it for my friend when she had her baby and they loved it. I'd be happy to share my recipe if anyone is interested...

1 Hour Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Clothes.

and of course, with all that comfort food comes a few extra pounds that can be hidden under chunky sweaters. Also, I love a good scarf and some ankle booties too. I really love olive items, but don't own any anymore.

via On The Daily Express

via Southern Curls and Pearls

hey that's me

via Outfit Posts

via The Londoner

via Babble / Merrick's Art

via On The Daily Express

via Outfit Posts (original blog gone)

via Polyvore

Things I don't like about Autumn:

Apart from the whole winter is coming.. leaves. Leaves looked so fun and happy in movies but ugh they are such a pain in the butt.

The Australian's expectation of leaves falling:

My reaction when KC says we need to rake leaves again:

Someone please tell me why we bought a house with not one, two or three but four big trees that think it's their job to drop their leaves every-damn-where.

Anyway, I am not against autumn in any way, and I can recognise why so many people love it. I will enjoy it until winter is around the corner, and then I will be counting down the days until summer again. But clearly I like quite a lot about Autumn, so it's not all bad.

What's your favourite thing about Autumn?