How I Spend My Autumn Sundays

People who know me, know that I get deliriously happy once autumn comes around and overtakes tedious, hot summer. I cannot wait to snuggle up on my sofa with a hot cup of tea or hot chocolate and read or watch a Christmas movie while rain is pouring down the window and I think it is by far the best season of all, and these are my favourite things to do in the cold season.  

As I am keenly interested in country house style designs and interiors, I love perusing my country house magazines (currently in German, as I live in Vienna). I absolutely love Country Homes and Die schönsten Landhäuser (The Most Beautiful Country Houses), and my heart aches when I realise I am not currently living in such a house, but can’t wait to get my hands on one, so I can go crazy with my interior designs.
 
Also, in case you’re wondering where the lovely wooden lantern comes from, it’s from a shop in Mölln, the Möllner Gewürz Kontor, which is a cosy interior and spice shop in the medieval town centre, so I don’t think it is available anymore, but you can read more on the shop in my travel diary of Mölln here.
 
Back to autumn traditions, there has been a weird Sunday tradition going on in our household. In Austria, all shops are closed on Sundays, apart from a few at the train stations. My man and I live about five tube stops from Westbahnhof and there is a Press & Books, which features a huge selection of magazines for every taste and flavour – and they are usually the only ones who also offer my special country home magazines, so Sunday now usually sees us travelling to Westbahnhof where I get magazines and my man a burger (McDonald’s is adjacent) before going back home.
 
This may seem silly, but I can tell you there is no greater bliss than a Sunday, nestled on the sofa with two magazines filled with beautiful houses and decor pieces, a cup of tea slowly steaming on the coffee table and nothing but a lazy and long afternoon stretched ahead of you - perfect bliss. 

Another thing I love to do on Sundays is planning my autumnal wardrobe for the upcoming week. Truth be told, as I work from home there is not often the occasion to really dress up BUT, especially when you work from home it is essential to pretend you're still going to work to get your head into the right mood, so I always dress properly and put makeup on, even when I could work in my pyjamas from the sofa (let me know if you're interested in a blog post about how to get organised when working from home, one is planned anyway, I think). 

Autumn is by far the coolest season to dress because you can bundle up your body well enough to squeeze all unpleasant parts into the right attire, but not so cold that you just choose the warmest coat to defy the freezing cold wind and snow. I love combining longer skirts with like the one from H&M with the violet jumper from Primark and everything looks instantaneously more autumnal with my burgundy S.Oliver boots. The gelee from C&A is also among my autumn favourites, even though I already got it last year. 

When you're freelancing, time is literally money. Any second you don't work is a second you don't earn money. This also means that Sundays, yes, you will find me working as well. While blogging, youtubing or catering to one of my clients (this sounds like hooker-ville, but you know what I mean - writing content for them), I also like to take care of my skin. Recently, I tried one of these cloth masks and I loved it. It was entirely refreshing and I have adopted it as a regular part of my skin care now (I don't use a special brand for now, just the home brand of dm, a German drugstore). As, especially blogging and writing fiction don't feel like work but are my personal babies I love to dedicate my time to, it does not feel like "work" in the traditional sense (and how sad is it that "work" is usually associated with something unpleasant even though everyone has to do it for most of their day?). Especially when I have a holiday coming up like now (my man and I will go to Tirol for our engagement party and then relax in my dad's 4-star hotel), I need to work in advance, so I still get the same monthly payment, but can take days off, so some Sundays, it's simply back to work, but sitting on the sofa with a cup of cocoa and a mask on makes it immediately a soothing experience (as on Sunday I allow myself to work from bed or the sofa). 

On Sundays, my man and I enjoy a hearty breakfast, either a full-on continental breakfast with bread, butter, jam and, of course, tea. Sometimes we go the extra mile and have french toast or pancakes. Either way, it is a great way to start into the day, also because you don't really need to make lunch as we only eat at around 10 or 11 (before that we cuddle in bed or I watch some telly while he plays computer games). Time on your hand allows for an elaborate breakfast and my man usually gets up earlier and starts preparing a scrumptious breakfast while I...

...read. Weekends are made for reading and I find myself much more relaxed after reading than watching TV. At the moment, I am really into children's books and am currently reading The Uncommoners book 2 after having read various other children's classics and new releases over the summer. Nestled on the sofa or in bed, I love indulging in getting lost in other worlds or reading up on how to improve my writing (at the moment, it's Sol Stein's work on writing). Sundays instantaneously get better with a good book, may it be on my Kindle or a real paper book and when I don't feel like picking up anything new, Harry Potter is always worth a re-read...