An autumn bucket list (from someone who is not a fan of 'cosy season')
Plus what I'm doing with this newsletter
Hello!
Long time no email. It’s September!! Over the last couple of months, I’ve:
Settled into my new job (LOVE IT)
Dropped most of the summer childcare balls I was trying to juggle
Swum in the lido most weeks
Swum in the sea
Visited friends that feel like family in New York and showed my kids around the city I got to live in as a teenager
If you’re here for the bucket list, scroll down. But first, I wanted to share a couple of big changes I’m making to this newsletter.
Now that I’m back in house and no longer marketing myself as a marketing person, I’d rather not spend my time off writing about marketing. So, if you’re here for book marketing tips, you’re not going to get a lot of them!
Please please unsubscribe, if that’s you. The link is at the bottom of this email.
But I do want to keep writing and sharing something, because I enjoy doing this. My newsletter used to be a fun hobby I’d send out once or twice a month and that’s what it’s going back to.
I’ll share what’s inspiring me, the things bringing me joy, books I’ve read, etc. I hope it’ll still be a good email to read, but it’s not going to fit into a tidy niche, and it probably won’t be on a regular schedule.
Again, if that’s not your vibe, please unsubscribe. I won’t be offended, I promise!
My autumn bucket list
(from someone who is not a fan of ‘cosy season’)
Pre-S: If you like fall, I’m SO happy for you. But please don’t comment to tell me that I’m wrong. Our internal temperatures are likely different! I can’t wear wool without breaking out into hives! I sleep with a full winter duvet unless it’s over 30 degrees! It’s okay for us to like different things! :)
Ah the ‘ber months. All summer long, the autumn lovers wish away the long, hot days, telling me they can’t wait to get into their jumpers and drink their pumpkin spice lattes and be cosy. Friends of mine have been sharing reels of rainy days as something to look forward to!
Listen: I love being cosy! But I can be cosy in the summer.
The best thing about autumn is when there are beautiful sunny days and the temperature is lovely and warm. Ie: the best bit of autumn is when it’s a bit like summer.
Autumn is dark. It’s cold. It involves layers, and umbrellas, and having to take layers off on the tube, and always getting the layer level wrong for my children, and standing outside for 90 minutes on a cold football pitch every weekend, and the pool being closed, and I could become a member and swim year round but I don’t want to because it’s outdoor and unheated and I love a cold swim in the summer when the air is hot but when it’s cold out? That’s just not for me.
Unfortunately, as much as I try to cling on to warmer weather, summer always goes away and autumn always comes. Last year I made a Very Concerted Effort to enjoy autumn more, and I didn’t quite manage enjoyment, but I did manage to not hate it as much as I have in previous years.
This year I’m making a little list of things to make it feel more bearable, including:
Exploring a new cafe every week. My Friday morning lido swim has come to an end (unless we have a heat wave before it closes at the end of September, in which case, I’ll be there!). This was SUCH a treat to look forward to every week. I have been looking for a new thing to get excited about on a Friday and this suggestion from
, to explore a different cafe each week, feels like the one. I’m also going to combine this with:Going to hot yoga once or twice a month. There are a couple of good studios near me and while I don’t really want to commit myself to going every week, I would like to test a few of them out. I’m aiming to go once or twice a month, and if I really like one of them, I’ll get a membership or block of passes.
Having a yes day with the kids. We haven’t done this for ages, but the idea is that whatever the kids want to do, I’ll say yes to. Obviously there are limits for health and financial reasons, but the ones we’ve done so far have brought the kids SO much joy, which brings me joy, and the things they want to do are always pretty basic.
Visiting the National Portrait Gallery. I have tried and failed to get the kids to go here with me in the past, but I have an idea! When we were in New York, we went to Moma, and they had an art trail for kids. This was great for getting the kids to explore more floors than I thought they would. Turns out, the NPG also has a family trail, so hopefully I can get them on board with that. If not, I will go to their cafe on a Friday morning and head around the gallery alone! I’ve actually never been, and it’s been on my list of places I want to go for ages.
Buying more warm clothing. Last year I bought some heattech socks and jumpers from Uniqlo, and they made a difference to my general comfort levels. So, although this isn’t particularly joyful (I would really really rather spend my money on other, more fun things), it does make life more bearable as the weather gets colder, so needs must.
Getting back into junk journaling. I’ve got into quite a good habit of journaling every evening over the summer, but haven’t done much painting or collaging since starting the new job. This is something I’d definitely like to get back into this season.
Getting back on my vitamin D tablets. I really suffer from SAD and a couple of years ago I realised that taking supplements as the days got shorter made a huge difference to my mental health. (See also: using a Lumie alarm clock and brushing my teeth in front of a window to get “sun” (or whatever you call it when there’s weak light coming from behind the clouds) on my face first thing in the morning, both habits I now have year round)
What else should I add to the list? If there’s something that you particularly love about this season that isn’t blankets (yuck!) or jumpers (no!), please share!
Katie x
PS: I hope you enjoyed this email. If you did, please let me know! If you didn’t, you don’t need to tell me! Again — I won’t be offended if you unsubscribe.
100%. Cannot stand the 'ber months. Im always cold and have quite serious SAD from late September to March most years. Being 'cosy' makes no difference to the amount of light and serotonin in my body! A bucket list is a good idea though....
Big mood. I began checking sunrise & sunset times midway through August and realized that between Aug 1 and Aug 31, we'll have lost 2 hours of daylight, sob. I'm already pretty cut up about not seeing the sun as much bc the weather is so moody, but the reducing daylight is like another dark cloud looming over us.
Glad to hear your new job's going well, and good on you for changing the newsletter to whatever works best for you! Will be around for all the recommendations and fun glimpses you share. :)