What I did Last Weekend: The First Day of Autumn

Last Friday was the Autumn Equinox, officially the first day of Autumn – which is exactly what I told the bloke in the lift on the ride up from the car park in John Lewis when he mentioned how lovely the weather was (I totally looked like I knew my stuff, but the truth is I was as oblivious as he was until I saw people tweeting about it over breakfast).  It really was nice out – and having been stuck inside all week feeling a bit ill, I’d decided earlier that morning to get out, enjoy it and feel a bit more like myself again. 🙂

Every day (…and not just the lovely sunny days) starts off with a walk in the field with Bungle.   We’ve had some off-lead trust issues until recently, when he snapped his fifth lead in as many months.  He’s getting too strong for me to walk him!  What used to be a tug-of-war around the field every morning has become so much nicer now that I can trust him to come back!

I left Bungle snoozing in the kitchen and drove into Cardiff, which was looking stunning in the sunshine.  At the moment there are lots of big painted dogs – “Snow Dogs” – guarding various spots across the city.  Each one is different and you can download a trail map to find them all and raise money for  Tŷ Hafan in the process!  I found this very Autumny one outside the library on The Hayes.  It’s such a lovely idea and reminds me of something similar I saw in Berlin, but with bears instead.

Popped into my fave, H&M, to visit the clothes.  I love Autumnal Fashion, and came away with a couple of jumpers to replace some shrunken, moth-eaten ones hanging around at the back of my cupboard.

Headed to Barker Tea House in the arcade for a pit stop.  I can’t rave about Barker enough, everything about it is cosy – from the candles, blankets and wing back chairs, to the food and drink.  I snuggled up with a book, a brownie and a coconut hot chocolate with cream, marshmallows and a flake (although the flake had drowned by the time I sat down…).

Sang along to Paramore’s new album all the way home to see this guy (…and the present he’d left for me on the kitchen floor…).

Had a lazy afternoon catching up with some housework (and Youtube…) until Sunny came home, then I cooked up a red pepper risotto for us for dinner.  It’s not Sunny’s favourite, it has to be said, but I love eating risotto this time of year – it’s warm and gloopy and satisfying.

What did you get up to last weekend?  ♡