Happy Halloween! Don’t you love this time of year? It’s been raining almost non-stop every day since October started. The streets are full of colourful fallen leaves, there are pumpkins everywhere, and I finally got to wear my winter coat.
I’m writing this post surrounded by pumpkin spice candles, pumpkin twinkle lights and while listening to Taylor Swift’s new album, Midnights. It’s the perfect afternoon. I’ve had my tea and a Halloween-themed cupcake, and I’m wearing one of my favourite cosy sweatshirts. What else could a girl want?
This post is mostly a collection of little things that decorate my home and what I’ve been doing to get into the mood for Halloween.
Pumpkin cross-stitch
I found this cute pattern for free on Pinterest, and I knew I had to stitch it right away. I’ve been taking a break from embroidering and stitching this year after so many incomplete projects from 2021, but this cross-stitch called my name as it was so easy and cute.
I love the pumpkin with the black cats, the original design has three cats, but I like it better with just two. I spent two days cross-stitching this hoop while rewatching Gilmore Girls for the fiftieth time because I have no shame. I’m in season 3 now, one of the best. The autumnal atmosphere in that show is just so perfect.
Witchy oil painting
I took an oil painting class during the summer, and this is the final result. It’s inspired by a Halloween photoshoot I found on Pinterest (where I spend most of my time).
The orange hair and yellow leaves go really well with my pumpkins and autumnal decor. My next project is creating a series of autumn witches. I’ll post them here if they’re any good.
Halloween decor
I recently moved into a new house in a small English town, and everyone here has their Halloween decorations up for the whole street to see. I prefer decorating my space and the rooms I occupy the most, so I’ve focused on decorating my living room and my windowsill in the bedroom.
This year I decided to carve two pumpkins as I had plenty of supply after visiting a pumpkin patch. My designs are usually pretty basic as my carving abilities are quite limited, so I went for the typical happy pumpkin and a cute vampire.
I also spent this month reading lots of romance witchy books set in small towns to the point I’m starting to hate this trend. It seems to have started last year with Erin Sterling’s The Ex Hex, and since then, so many “cosy witchy books” have appeared. And I should love this trend, but sadly, most of the books I’ve read have been disappointing. They all melt into each other because they’re so similar.
So what are my plans for Halloween this year? Mostly just eating my favourite pumpkin spice cupcakes and rewatching Hocus Pocus 1 and 2. I know, what a crazy night! But it’s too cold and rainy to go outside, plus I still have another small-town cosy witchy book to finish…yay!
Willow in Winter 