Hello Autumn

It's here, it's finally here; my most favourite season of all - autumn. I left Mr Maggie May gaping with shock when I casually said back in July, "I don't really like the summer - I can't wait until autumn!" But it's true... So many things make this time of year the best for me.

It's not just that autumnal fashion is so much more comfortable and stylish than summer clothing (woolly jumpers, boots and scarves are my October staples), but also you can bake and cook some beautiful recipes with all those typical autumnal flavourings that make us feel cosy - I'm thinking cloves, cinnamon and mixed spices for example! I started off my seasonal baking this week with these damson and cinnamon muffins. They were pretty tasty.

Finally, the colours during these months are just perfection. When I see the leaves on the trees changing to reds, oranges and golds, I am filled with excitement as I rush to grab my camera and take as many snaps as possible.

This weekend was the ideal opportunity for some relaxation time, and to start to appreciate autumn once again. After a beautiful lie in on the Saturday morning, Mr MM whipped up his famous scrambled eggs (they are unbelievably creamy) which we feasted on in our PJs while slurping fresh coffee. Waking up to the sound of our machine gurgling and spluttering in the kitchen is one of my beloved weekend moments!

After a quick shower, I dithered about for ages trying to decide what to wear; it may be late September, but surprisingly the sun was out and it was actually quite warm! I opted for my old favourite H&M jumper, with my Next skinny jeans and black ankle boots from New Look. With a splash of red lipstick to match my new leather bag and a quick spritz of perfume, I was good to go.

We decided to spend the afternoon doing some shopping; October is a busy month for us in terms of birthdays, so we stopped off to buy a handful of cards as well as some books in Waterstones (we are both guilty of spending hours in there every time!)

It wasn't long before we fancied a sit down (weekends are for taking it easy after all) so we headed to Starbucks to get our first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the year - or PSL, as us regulars like to call it.

It was as good as I remembered it from last year; the pumpkin flavouring blends beautifully with the cinnamon, and with a slice of Pumpkin Loaf on the side, you can't go wrong.

After picking up a few more gifts, as well as a cheeky bottle of Cava for my birthday celebrations in a few weeks time, we dashed home to start preparing dinner - we wanted to be in time to catch the rugby!

Mr MM cooked a chilli com carne that was to die for (maybe he'll let me share the recipe with you some time), whilst I made some fresh guacamole. We greedily filled some tacos with our creations, and sat back to watch England vs. Wales whilst stuffing our faces happily. Shame about the final result...

^ Sorry about the blurriness of this picture. I was in quite a hurry to get eating. Whoops...

The next day we were up and straight into the kitchen; my parents were coming for a Sunday roast!

I started off by making an apple, blackberry and damson crumble - this is a recipe which I will definitely be sharing with you all soon. The apples and damsons came from my boyfriend's parents' garden, whilst the blackberries came from the lane in their village - you don't get more homegrown than that!

With the crumble ready to go in the oven, we worked hard over the next hour to produce a hearty lunch for the four of us; free range chicken, with roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, peas, sage and onion stuffing and Yorkshire puddings. It's times like these when I just LOVE being British.

My parents arrived bearing gifts; chocolate biscuits, a gorgeous bunch of sunflowers, as well as a big bag full of apples and pears from their fruit trees (remember me examining the pears earlier in the summer? Well now they're ready!) We all sat down together and ate as much as we could - a wonderful Sunday lunch.

The only thing that was missing over the weekend was a long walk in the countryside; we love to do this, both to get some exercise and to blow the cobwebs away. However, after spending last weekend walking in stunning Shropshire, and with a few good walks planned over the next couple of weeks, I'll let us off this time.

Do you all feel ready for autumn? What are your favourite things to do at this time of year? You can leave me a comment below, or send me a tweet with your thoughts!