six things i learnt in september

i'm a sucker for beautiful stationary, pretty cards and notebooks.  I'm old school like that, I like to send mail alongside the instant gratification of email and i like to write in a notebook not just type a note into my phone. 

september brings the start of the new educational year. when i was a kid i used to love shopping for new school supplies - picking out which pencil case i was going to use for the year and the best part - selecting what was going to go into it. even now i can lose myself in a store dedicated to stationary.  september also brings a change of season and this year i was not ready to let go of summer - with its warm relaxed outdoor months i found myself craving more of the same. but the one thing you can rely on about change is that it comes at you regardless of if you are ready or not so here we go six things i learnt in september.

1. when you are not feeling the season - embrace the future season to pull yourself into the current one. i aired and washed favourite blankets and throws, lit candles fragranced with cloves, mandarin and cinnamon and ate tangerines. 

and speaking of eating:

2. if you want your souffle to rise perfectly straight go around the outside of the ramekin with your fingertip to create a clear clean edge. when chatting to a friend about this she told me it is a similar thing with scones - when you use a cutter to shape the scone do not wiggle it around in order to release it from the mixture - that action stops it from rising while it is baking. 

3. when you are baking if you get eggshell in your bowl don't rescue it using a spoon, dip another piece of shell into the bowl - they stick together like magnetic magic.

4. while embracing the new season using food this month this fish stew was the best recipe i tried.

caution was thrown to the wind and the anchovy and chili proportions were upped but i recommend you try increasing them too - you won't be disappointed - with monkfish it was beautiful.

5. something i learnt about myself this month - i get anxious when my camera battery is about to die - turns out my new camera needs to be switched on to charge. i had to remind myself to live in the moment and not always be the one capturing everything. just because there isn't a picture doesn't mean it didn't happen.

6. something i learnt about hairdressers - they only suggest a total change of hair colour to clients they think will be able to carry it off citing my personality and "quirky" dress sense as their reasons. after a quick confab with those who know me well i concurred. 

i work in an office dominated by men as yet no one has talked to me about the change - i'm not sure if that's down to lack of observation or the fact i am now grey. six days in and i love it - of course half my wardrobe now doesn't suit me but that's a problem i will have to address next month.

this is the fourth month i have linked with emily freeman over at chatting at the sky sharing the things we've learnt in the month. emily's new book a million little ways is released next week and in october she is writing a series entitled - made for this - 31 days of artful living.  she's insightful, honest, a great storyteller and funny too - click here to check it out.

Emma