Dear reader, it’s officially Fall! or Autumn? I find that I say Fall but I actually think Autumn is a prettier and more evocative word for the season. In any case, I hope this newsletter finds you in a cozy spot this month. I like this early part of the season where we still have sunshine, a cool breeze is coming through, and the leaves are still crunchy on the ground, but the end of summer kind of bums me out. It’s dark, it’s rainy, and winter is coming. Fall/Autumn things that I am looking forward to: soups, sweaters, quilts (of course) hiding my weird hair under all the hats, and Halloween!!
👻🎃🦇
Food!
I am definitely in a food rut. I have been mainly relying on old favorite standby recipes that I have probably already posted here in months previous. I did make this bean salad that was pretty tasty!
Do you have any favorite fall recipes??? Please share them with me so I can get inspired!!!
Books/TV/Movies!
Fall is the ultimate season for reading. Snuggling under a blanket with a good book and a warm cup of tea or coffee is a great way to spend an entire Sunday if you ask me!!! I read a few good books in September:
If you like stories about cults, you might want to pick up The Burning Season by Alison Wisdom. It’s kind of slow, but has a great feeling of dread throughout and builds to a pretty perfect ending, in my opinion.
Pomegranate by Helen Elaine Lee is a really wonderful book. It sort of reads like a memoir, very emotional and raw, but hopeful, too. Following a woman recently released from prison, trying to get her life together, make good choices, build back her relationship with her kids, while also grieving, sorting through memories that pop up all the time, and avoiding falling into old patterns. I really liked the structure, which alternated between current day, current struggle or experience or feeling, and then a story or incident from the past that was essentially triggered during the current day part. Really a great book!
A non-fiction book that I put off reading for a very long time because I was afraid it would just destroy me: What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo. I was not wrong about this book, it was a tough one. The author tells her story of childhood abuse unflinchingly, and her determination to understand her diagnosis fully is admirable. I found myself sobbing towards the end of listening to this audiobook and highly recommend it to anyone who has experienced any sort of childhood trauma, or wants to understand more about childhood trauma.
We watched Unbelievable (2019) on Netflix, and I am not sure why I avoided it for so long. Based on a true story, it was really good and interesting, maddening and frustrating, and thankfully has a happy ending!! If you like true crime stories, definitely watch this one. TW: sexual assault and injustice within the criminal justice system!!
How To with John Wilson on HBO is one of my favorite shows and if you haven’t watched it yet, I highly suggest you do so! It’s just so wild, funny, and unique! If you like Nathan Fielder/Nathan For You, you will probably like this, but it’s less making fun of specific people, and more of making fun of people/the world/himself in general.
We watched Across the Spiderverse and it was incredible! We don’t watch any of the other Marvel movies, but these recent animated Spiderman movies are just so amazing, visually. I think this one was even more stunning than the previous one!
Projects!
I have a quilt project almost done that I decided is going to be a gift for my sister, so I don’t want to show it off yet (it will appear in my December newsletter)! It was fun, used lots of scraps, and was pretty fast to put together!
I want to make more quilts that use up scraps, so if you are interested in commissioning a one of a kind quilt (or pillowcase/s) of your very own to snuggle under, please send me a message!!!
Miscellaneous!
Matthew and I went to the coast for a few days over Labor Day, staying at the Adrift Hotel in Long Beach, WA. We love the Adrift Hotel because they have a pretty good restaurant on site, they are pet friendly, they have a heated pool, sauna, and a little spa, where we each treated ourselves to a 90-minute massage (one of the best massages I’ve had!). Remi did pretty well, though she hates the wide open space of the actual beach. She loves every trail and will gladly walk and sniff for hours, but as soon as we go down to the actual beach, she just turns immediately back towards the path! Such a little weirdo. We had a good restful time overall and lucked out with pretty good weather!
Had a great night out at Hopscotch PDX which was really fun! An immersive experiential art gallery/exhibit space. I loved it! If you’re in the Portland area, definitely go check it out! I am not sure how long it’s going to be here, but probably not forever.
Matthew and I also took a quick trip to Bremerton, WA this month to visit friends for a weekend, and had a lovely time eating our way around water towns, and even saw one of the NW Trolls in Bainbridge which was pretty neat!
Oktoberfest! I decided to invest in an dirndl costume since my lovely friends have this Oktoberfest party every year. I had a great time, they are lovely hosts (and so cute as you can see!), and even though I look weird in this picture, I wanted to share it with you! Prost!
Remi!
Remi and I see this little orange cat on our walk almost every morning, and it runs right up to us to say hi. Remi gets a little spooked by it because it is so sneaky and quiet when it runs up initially, but they are both curious and say their little hello and then Remi wants to get on with her usual sniffing down the block. It’s so cute every time!!!
Bonus glamour shot of Remi because she’s just so cute:
Goodbye, until next month!
xoM