Autumn Feeling

I got the first real autumn feeling today, when I was out in the garden and discovered that the leaves on the trees are starting to turn yellow. The air felt cold in a way that makes you want a thick woolly jumper and warm socks.

The desire came over me to snuggle up in a comfy armchair in front of the fireplace with a rug and a cup of hot chocolate.

There was even some cake left over from the weekend. Flake Cake made from my Mother in law’s recipe. It may not look too impressive, but it’s absolutely scrumptious. It’s rich and tasty, and goes perfect with hot chocolate. The lovely big cup is Ego from the Finish designer Iittala. I only have one, so it’s perfect for indulging on one’s own.

Hubby has taught me how to make a delicious hot chocolate: Just warm the milk, break up a few pieces of chocolate in the blender, pour over the milk and blast it for a few seconds. Then you get lovely frothy chocolate. A couple of marshmallows are the Pièce de résistance.

Here I have used Rausch Plantagen chocolate, which is absolutely gorgeous. You can get it with different degrees of cocoa content, so you’re able to pick your favourite. After extensive testing (It was hard work, I can tell you.), I finally concluded that 43% is right for me. I'm not so fond of this rock hard dark chocolate with a high cocoa content. Mostly I've only eaten it because it’s supposed to be healthier than other chocolate. However, I read in the newspaper last week that milk chocolate was healthy as well, so now it’s happy days.

I don’t know why, but it’s like I am addicted to flames at this time of the year. I just have to burn candles all the time, and keep the fire going, even if it's really warm enough without it. The urge to make the house feel cosy, snug and comfy must be due to a need to comfort myself for the fact that summer is over and we have a long cold winter ahead.

I designed and made the sheoak tray, as well as the knitted rug. I think I have bragged about it on the blog before, but I rarely manage to finish a knitting project, so I just have to show off a little.

The embroidered linen cushion is new. I think it fits the chair perfectly, especially with a sheepskin rug to set it off. The amphora is something I brought back from Spain a few years ago. It is very brittle, so I wrapped it up as best I could and actually managed to get it home in one piece. When I put it in the holder though, the silly thing cracked. Now it's artfully glued back together, and really doesn’t look too bad.

Eddie grows bigger every day, and is starting to resemble a real standard poodle. He is seven months old today, and has learned to appreciate the pleasures of autumn. After frolicking around in the autumn leaves, he thinks it's really nice to doze in front of the fireplace.