Small Things - The Cozy October Edition

"Life is not, for most of us, a pageant of splendor, but is made up of many small things, rather like an old-fashioned piecework quilt. No two people have the same, but we all have our own, whether it be listening to Beethoven's fifth with a beloved friend, or seeing a neighbor at the back door with a basket of white dahlias. Or after a long, hard day, having the family say, "That was a good supper." 

- GLADYS TABER 

In no particular order, here are six small things that inspired me this week.

1. Homemade Vanilla Room Spray

I've been making my own room sprays for about a year now, and I love them! Just yesterday I walked through the house after I'd finished cleaning it and spritzed every room with the delightful scent of Snickerdoodle Cookies! One thing I would let you know is that the scent doesn't last very long, but probably not a lot less time than commercially purchased air fresheners and without the harmful added chemicals! I like that it's clean and that there are so many variations of scents I can try by adding different essential oils.

2. Fall Tea Recipes

Now that the temps are dropping into the 40's and they are calling for our first frost this week, I've been making myself a warm cup of tea most afternoons. In the past I've kept a number of store bought brands on hand in this season, and right now I have a box of Yogi Pumpkin Spice Tea. But recently I've noticed that several of my favorite influencers across social media, mix up their own blends and I've been considering trying out a few recipes myself. Wouldn't it be nice, rather than having a dozen bags of the same flavor, to have a nice selection of herbs and loose leaf teas to mix up a number of different flavors? I'm excited to see how it turns out!

3. The Seasonal Table

The Seasonal Table is a lovely account that I follow on Instagram. I always enjoy their posts, but one of the things I like most are their season supplements. They are offered for free if you provide them with your email, and the autumn edition is due to arrive tomorrow! Hop on over and sign up to get a copy!

4. Cozy Autumn Illustrations

Another thing I love about Instagram are all the cozy autumn scenes that begin to pop up in my feed from the various illustrators I follow. One of my favorites is @robinelisedraws. If you like cozy seasonal depictions, be sure to check out here works.

5. Dedication To A Fire Place

Ahh, a fire place! It's something I've longed for since childhood but so far have only had in one house I've lived in.  Our current house had one when we moved in, but it wasn't a true fire place. I detest fake logs and push button flames! So we took it out. We do have a chimney, though, so maybe someday I'll get the wood stove I've always dreamed of to warm us. But regardless of the type of fireplace you may have in your home, I came across this cute little poem and added it to Autumn/Winter commplace book.

This hearth was built for thy delight, 

For thee the logs were sawn, 

For thee the largest chair, at night, 

Is to the chimney drawn. 

For thee, dear lass, the match was lit 

To yield the ruddy blaze- 

May Jack Frost give us joy of it 

For many, many days.

- CHRISTOPHER MORLEY

6. Vintage You Tube Autumn Playlists

And finally, my husband and I purchased an old antique radio last weekend. It doesn't work, but it's a lovely piece, and we loved it from the first moment we laid eyes on it! We both enjoy listening to oldies music from the 1940's - 60's and we decided that since it didn't work, we would simply place our blue tooth speaker inside the cabinet and stream music from our phone.  We've sat and enjoyed it several times already this week, including some old radio shows we found, as well!  Here are a few of our favorites.

- Vintage Autumn Music Playlist

- Vintage Autumn Playlist - Volume II

- Vintage Autumn in the Rain Playlist

- Old Time Radio Shows - The Comedy Collection

And there you have it friends, I hope you've enjoyed this edition of Small Things! I'll visit with you here again soon!

❈