Looking for some fun activities to do this Autumn? I've got you covered. 

Personally, I love this time of year, there's something about the crisp air, crunchy leaves, and warm colours speaks to my soul. I've also learned that it's good to lean into the thing I love and make the most of my favourite time of year. Even if you're a summer baby, mourning the warmer days - these activities will get feeling the autumn love.

- Pick Pumpkins:

- Decorate Pumpkins 

Dedicate an evening (or afternoon, morning, or whenever takes your fancy really) to decorate your pumpkins. Have a pumpkin carving contest with the members of your household. Make an event of it. Not into the carving part? Some of the pumpkins we picked this year are on the smaller side, so we've decided to paint them instead. Who'd have thought one vegetable could provide so many fun autumn activities, and we haven't even discussed cooking with them.

- Making decor:

For me, each new season comes with a new colour palette and an excuse to mix things up in the home. This Autumn I decided to get a bit creative and make my own decor. I crocheted mini pumpkins and a black cat garland (I have both of which are also available to buy on my Etsy store If you don't fancy making but do fancy decorating). I found making my own bits felt really relaxing and it gave me something a bit different to do in the evenings. If you do want a creative project, I'd recommend Love Crafts (I worked with them in the past on this blog post, but I'm just sharing now because I think it's helpful!) They have tonnes of access to free knitting and crochet patterns on their website which you might want to try out. If crochet is not for you, why not give making an Autumn wreath a try? 

- Autumn walks:

- Castle visits:

- Watch Gilmore Girls:

Crochet/Knit:

- Cosy up with a blanket, some candles and an Autumn film:

An obviously one I know, but sometimes you can't beat the simple things. Netflix has a great selection of cheesy, autumnal rom-coms, which seems to be my new favourite genre of film (I've recently watched Harvest Moon and Falling Inn Love, both so bad but so good, you know?). Enjoying them with a hot chocolate and a blanket is sometimes all you need for the perfect autumn evening.

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What I've been up to:

Reading

Magazines/Online Articles

Vogue: What Company gets right about being single when everyone else is married by Sophie Heawood

Manrepeller: Vintage Shopping Could Make Your Whole Dang Outfit by Pandora Sykes

ID Magazine: Harry Styles in conversation with Timothée Chalamet

The Telegraph: Joe Sugg Strictly Diary honestly the part about his head looking like a conker was that got me reading this...

The Sunday Times: The Apps That Can Replace a Relationship by Dolly Alderton

Glamour Magazine: Soft Boy is the new F*ck Boy by Samantha McMeekin

Red December 2018 issue: A Very Schhmaltzy Christmas by Dolly Alderton

Red December 2018 issue: The Gift of the Grudge by Sophie Hannah

Red December 2018 issue: Scarlett Curtis on Christmas Traditions

Blogs

Steve Booker: Highs and Lows

What Olivia Did: Five Skincare Favourites

The Anna Edit: How to Budget for the Christmas Season



Books

- When We Collided by Emery Lord:  I've written a full review on this book, here.

- Playing Big by Tara Mohr: It's taken me a while to get through it, I know. I find this book brilliant with an edge, of boring, however, I do think there's a lot I can learn from it.

Watching

Netflix
Riverdale
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Gilmore Girls

Youtube
Zoella Vlogs
Jo and Dianne react to dances

Listening:

Podcasts
The Fringe of It
Nobody Panic on How To Be More Organised
Feminist Don't Wear Pink with Alison Sudol
CTRL ALT DELETE with Pandora Sykes

Music
LM5
Ariana Grande
One Direction (lol going old school)


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October has been a quiet month for me. I've not really done all that much, but I have found myself watching a little too much Netflix so this monthly round-up could be a tad TV-heavy.

What I've been up to:

- Watching too much: Somehow this has been the month I've realised I actually love binge watching new things, it's probably a sign I've had too much time on my hands. I have discovered some great Netflix series though (more details on what in the watching section of this post).

- Moving Bedrooms - My sister recently moved out, so now her old bedroom has had a spruce up, I've moved my things across the corridor, into the bigger bedroom. I've spent a lot of time organising my belonging, trying my make my new space feel like mine.

- Going for dinner with my friend Jess: My friend Jess and I have been for dinner a couple of times this month to try out new menus and catch up, so I've eaten a lot of yummy food and had many lovely, and hilarious chats.

- Taking myself for coffee: It's been nice to get out of the house and type away while sipping a delicious latte. I'm always more productive in a coffee shop, so taking myself out for coffee has been a nice way to break up my days and ensure I'm getting the work done.

- Writing. Because that's what I do.

- A Spontaneous Night Out: Dancing in a gay club with my friends, having only decided hours before that we were going turned out to be one of the best alcohol infused nights I've had in a while

- Pumpkin Carving: After complaining to my friend Matt about my lack of Halloween plans we decided to spend a Friday night carving pumpkins and drinking hot chocolates. I was over ambitious with my pumpkin design and decided to go for, so naturally, one of the bats looked like it had a broken wing - but I had a great time doing it, nonetheless.

Watching:

Riverdale: Oh, so Riverdale... I'm a little obsessed. I'm utterly confused about the genre, sometimes it is crime investigation, sometimes it's teen romance, sometimes it's supernatural and sometimes it's musical, however, this weird mash-up seems to work. As it has gone on, my opinion of Cheryl Blossom has changed and she is now my idol. Also, I think Jughead is kind of wonderful. I'll be honest, I think the new session may have gone a little too far down the supernatural route, but it's only on the second episode as I write this, so things could change.

A Typical: I love this Netflix series a lot. It's about the life of a teenage boy and his family. Sam the main character is on the autistic spectrum. They a normal family dynamic, each character with their own issues and story. It's just quite wholesome. It's funny at times and sad at other times and all it feels very real.

The Mind of Jake Paul: This series was great, unlike anything I'd ever watched on Youtube before. I know people have been complaining that it humanised Jake Paul too much... but he is a human, so why should be not be seen as one? Yeah, I get that he's messed up before and can be seen as problematic, but it was interesting to see another side to him, to find out more of what's made him, how he is. I just thought this was great tbh.

You Me Her: I have never heard of this Netflix series before I watched it, but honestly it's great. The series is based around a married couple who both fall in love with a college student. It explores sexuality, polyamorous relationships, societies expectations of relationships, family dynamics. It's just really interesting, a lot more happens in the series that you'd expect.

All I See is You: This film is starring Blake Lively tells the story of a blind woman who regains her vision and how that impacts her marriage. This film is very beautifully shot, and very thought-provoking, but also a little confusing at times.

The Kissing Booth: I rewatched this and remember how much I love this film. The is the story of how a kissing booth brings a relationship to life. It's just a feel-good teen rom-com.

Reading

Articles:
Dolly Alderton on Personality Types in The Sunday Times Style.
Dolly Alderton on Confronting the Man Who Ghosted Her in The Sunday Times Style
Sir Philip Green named in Parliament as businessman at centre of Britain's #MeToo scandal in The Telegraph
Vera Papisova on Why Breaking Up and Being SIngle is Actually the Best in Teen Vogue


Books:
Playing Big by Tara Mohr
The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord
Feminist Don't Wear Pink and Other Lies by Scarlett Curtis

Blogs:
Carly Rowena on Body Positivity
The Anna Edit: My Top Reads of 2018 so far
What Olivia Did: 5 Skincare Favourites

Listening:

Podcasts
Feminist Don't Wear Pink with Helen Fielding
On the Line with Eileen Kelly on Embracing Your Sexuality
Don't Panic on How to Host a Halloween Party


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If you follow me on Instagram (@chloehayfs), you'll know how much I love Autumn. Autumn is by far my favourite time of year, to the extent the excitement gives me butterflies in my stomach when I notice the first signs of leaves falling, and temperatures dropping. I love how colourful the world becomes, I love stepping on crisp autumn leaves, and feeling that crisp cold air against your face, I love the clothes, I love being cosy inside, and being chilly outside, I love wrapping up in jumpers and sitting by bonfires, and Halloween, and the oranges, and reds, and did I say I love autumn leaves?! As you can probably tell, everything about this time of year makes my heart happy - I just love everything about Autumn.

Lately, I've been enjoying appreciating Autumn and taking myself on some Autumn walks, along with my camera to get some snaps of how beautiful everything is this time of year.  So I thought I'd share my love for Autumn through the view of my camera...


You can probably tell I think Mother Nature is just a real babe this time of year by the excessive number of images (it took a lot of narrowing to get to this many!)

As I'm enjoying playing with my camera more than ever, one of my favourite things about Autumn this year is capturing the beauty of it through my camera lens, as you can probably tell!

What's your favourite thing about this time of year?