T I S   T H E   S E A S O N   T O   B E   P I C K Y . . .

Pumpkin picky, syrup shot coffee picky, jumper picky, all things picky is how I’d describe Autumn. It’s a common feeling but it’s one of thee best seasons to explore. The air is that little bit crisper, the evenings that little lot bit darker & you can forgive yourself a few pounds over a pumpkin spice latte (still not sure it matches up to gingerbread). However, the reason I fall in love with Autumn each and every year is that it becomes incredibly romantic. Only in this season would Jason make me travel an hour to the coast in the pitch black on a Monday night after my first 10 hour shift in 5 weeks because we didn’t have anything out for tea and make us sit on a bench looking at the black sea eating expensive fish and chips whilst it rains – if your wondering why I didn’t say no, it’s because the idea and his excitement was too cute to refuse. Truthfully, we re-gain the buzz to visit the coastline at this time of year which I completely avoid in the summer, leaving that for the families with kids who have to suffer the packed sands as they battle their wet children (and probably dog) into the car with half a crab-bucket full of seashells and washed up seaweed. I also find there is no better feeling than taking my husband, family or friend to a cosy pub, preferably with an open fire after a long walk doing nothing when your lips are a little numb and fingers suffering the white-tipped lack of circulation. To top it off we’ll throw in a board game or maybe just a round of “don’t show Keith ya teeth” without the worry of belly laughs showing off your muffin top because it’s acceptable to wear chunky knit jumpers.

So to summarise my waffling yet again, we get out of the house more. Other seasons have a habit of making us feel guilty; sunshine means gardening and painting whilst the windows can remain open, Winter struggles to wake us up in the mornings and the wind blowing umbrella’s inside out becomes a regular dread, Spring is a pretty close runner up but Autumn makes you feel absolutely indulgent; you’ve saved on your gas bill for the past 6 months so you whack those notches up and light candles to emphasise the heat further, go shopping because you have to of course.. christmas is around the corner, there’s a TV drama likely to have you hooked for a few weeks & we all start to want to see each other a bit more as we prepare for upcoming festivities and traditions. Bonfire night is one of my favourite times of year, primarily because it involves my whole family & a bonfire without fail, the simplicity of it is beautiful. However, before we reach bonfire night we’ve all tackled halloween…

You can’t tell me hog roast stuffed faces aren’t glamorous right? For the first year ever we went to pick our own pump’s along with some friends and their little girl which really was a lovely day out. It’s not long before a new attraction makes itself known to the community and before you know it, everyone and their distant cousins have visited, however it’s easy to see why when there’s money to be made in exchange for a day out entertaining the kids. So, we’re giving Undley’s Pumpkin Patch & Maize Maze a big thumbs up, purely for the fact it didn’t just entertain the kids. Cost wise, it’s an affordable trip and has plenty of acres worth of carving and decorative squash to choose from, inflatables to fulfil your inner child, a huge maze to tackle & of-course locally sourced food to get your chops around. There’s a few Eeyore’s for the kids to ride too. Unfortunately our visit was so last minute that we attended on it’s last few days so this is one to note down in the 2018 diary that you’ll get at christmas.

Today’s motto; ‘Enjoy every moment as it takes place in the picture of your life together‘. Courtesy of my grandad who wrote this to us on our wedding day.