Ideas For A Cozy Autumn Day

This is not what I look like right now. Pretty dress, though.

Dress (similar) | Blazer (similar)

See that? That photo was chosen because it’s a nice autumn-ish image (from a photo shoot I did for TJ Maxx), and not because it in any way resembles what I look like right now.

No no: right now, I am laying on my bed with my computer on my lap, typing up a script. I am wearing my dorky tourist shirt from Ogunquit and a pair of leggings that I’m pretty sure I’ve been wearing for three days straight (the only reason I’m not absolutely sure of this is that I’m in such an I-don’t-care mood that I haven’t really noticed). I have two snoring dogs and a wool blanket on top of my legs, and I am still chilly. It’s raining outside – or…not exactly “raining,” more like the sky is leaking; that kind of miserable drip-drip-drip that makes even your bones feel cold and gets you dreaming about things like hot chocolate and fireplaces.

This weather we’ve been having the past couple of days is very weird; certainly not something I’ve experienced since we moved here (prior to this week, I think it rained once – for about three minutes – since we moved in June). But it’s also great because a) god do we need rain, and b) I love when the weather gives me an excuse to wear sweatpants and eat stew and do a whole lot of nothing. So in celebration of all this, I thought I’d do a roundup of some of my favorite autumn-themed stuff: just a few things to wear and eat and do to make drippy, grey days feel warm and cozy.

1. POM POM HATS

(The first hat pictured is nearly a grand, which is obviously insanity, but if you click through there are bunch of totally affordable ones.)

I don’t know what is going on with me and pom-pom hats. I don’t especially need a pom-pom hat, living, as I do, in California, but every time I see one in a store I start petting it.

Maybe I just want a kitten.

2. BAKED ZITI

One of my major comfort foods is baked ziti – and specifically the cheesy, tomato-y, slightly sweet baked ziti at this random place in Little Italy that my parents used to take me to when I was a kid. This recipe is it, pretty much exactly.

(For real: you have to make this, it’s ridiculous.)

3. FALL SCENTS

From November on, I would really like my house to smell like pine needles one hundred percent of the time, please. Except I’m a total fake tree lover (if you had pets who loved eating pine needles, you would be, too – trust me), which means I stock up on these. Yurrrrrm.

(And if you’d like to try a different – but equally autumnal – scent, above is a video I made showing how to create five super-simple home fragrances using stuff from your kitchen. Also I am aware that there is a typo in “vanilla,” which I am also aware is spelled with an “a.” Mortified.)

4. MULLED WINE

via

First, clearly mulled wine is delicious. But it also has this lovely side-effect of making your house smell (and feel) warm and cozy and wonderful, especially if you leave it simmering in a slow cooker set to low all day long. I did this the other day with a brand-new mulled wine recipe that I’ll be posting in a couple of days (here’s my old go-to recipe if you’d like some right this very minute), and it was phenomenal. A perfect pairing with sweatpants, a camp blanket, and Botched if I do say so myself. (Also I have developed a crush on Terry Dubrow. I recognize that this is weird. Anyone get where I’m coming from with this one? …Anyone?)

P.S. If you’re feeling crafty and want to get a head-start on your holiday gifts, I love the idea of making little personalized mulling sachets and giving them to friends along with a bottle of fruity red.

5. ALL PLAID, ALL THE TIME

I wear all plaid, all the time in my regular (e.g. non-fall) life. But fall’s an excellent time to do this and seem like I’m doing this deliberately, rather than because when I reach my hand into my closet there is a 99% chance that it will land on a plaid shirt. But let’s not stop at shirts: let’s do scarves! Pajamas! Blankets! All plaid is good plaid.

6. SWEATERS AND BUNS