Ready for Fall

I don't know about you, but every year at about this time I start to crave fall. The middle of August feels tantalizingly close to September and I am ready for the crisp and cool weather of the upcoming months. And right now we are in the middle of a heat wave. Although the weather continues to be hot here in September, the month brings shorter days and with that comes a sense of the changing seasons. So even in Los Angeles we start dreaming about pumpkins and apple pie.

But in my opinion, there is no place more beautiful in autumn than New England. One of my favorite things to do in October is travel to the east coast and stay at a country hotel such as The Pitcher Inn in Warren, Vermont. This year we are going to New York -- we got tickets for Hamilton! -- and then on to rural Litchfield, Connecticut for some leaf peeping and all the other things that go into a New England fall. We were there many years ago and loved it. I remember gorgeous gardens, antique stores, great restaurants, Federal style architecture and country walks. Every porch is decorated with chrysanthemums and pumpkins. I can hardly wait!

With fall on my mind, I began to think of my favorite things to do at this time of the year.

So here goes:  

Ten Things About Fall That Make Me Very Happy

1. Traveling to New England

Historic Deerfield, Massachusetts
Photo via here

One of my favorite places to visit in New England, especially when we are staying in the Berkshires, is Historic Deerfield, Massachusetts. The village consists of one street lined with 18th and 19th century houses that have all been restored to their original condition. Each one is like a little museum.

Here are some other things I like to see and do in New England in the fall. The list is far from exhaustive and in no particular order, but includes some of my favorites.

Shop at the antique stores in Woodbury, CT

Visit the covered bridge in Kent, CT

 Go to The Mount, Edith Wharton's home, in Lenox, Mass

Drive the beautiful Mohawk trail in Western Massachusetts and admire the stunning fall foliage of the Berkshire mountains

 See art in Williamstown, Mass. The Williams College Museum of Art and the Sterling and Francine Clark Museum have stellar art collections

  Visit Stockbridge, the idyllic Berkshire village painted by Norman Rockwell

 While in Stockbridge, stop at the Norman Rockwell Museum
Explore Woodstock, VT, one of the prettiest towns you'll ever see 

Go to nurseries in the area, such as the White Flower Farm in CT
Visit my alma mater Bates College in Maine and walk on the Quad which is carpeted with fall leaves
Eat a bowl of clam chowder at M.C. Perkins Cove in Ogunquit, Maine

 Admire the fall displays of mums and pumpkins that are everywhere!

2. Fall Cooking

There's nothing like cooking up a Wild Mushroom Risotto such as this one from Judith Jones' The Pleasures of Cooking for One to get you into nesting mode. This is a great dish for a cozy night at home. Go here for the recipe.

3. Flowers

I love the colors of fall flowers. These are from a flower arranging class I took last year. 

4. The beach

I have always thought that the beach is at its most beautiful in the fall and winter months. This photo was taken on a gorgeous day in November. There is something about the light at this time of year that makes the air crystal clear and the water glisten.

5. Sinking into a classic novel

I have just started rereading "To the Lighthouse" and am swept away by the beauty of the writing.

6. Adding some tartan to the house

I think that tartan looks especially good in the fall. It has the same crisp and tailored feeling of the season. These dishes finally arrived from Scotland and they remind me of my wonderful trip in June and my visit to the Anta store in Edinburgh, which has to be the the mother lode for all things tartan. I love the way the dishes look on the kitchen table!

7. Pulling out my favorite cookbooks

There are certain cookbooks that do seasonal recipes really well and Nigel Slater's Notes From The Larder is one of them. His pork chops with pears and cream is one of my favorites. Go here for the recipe.

8. Taking out fall table accessories

I have been collecting table ware with fall motifs forever and it's so much fun to take them out once October arrives. This table runner is from Italy and the leaf candle holder from a trip to Paris almost 20 years ago. The amber tea lights I bought in bulk one year for a party.

9. Lighting the candles at dusk on a fall night

As the days get shorter, candlelit tables bring a glow to the house and make staying inside feel very  cozy!

10. Wearing my Bloomsbury poncho

 Having lived on the east coast for so many years, I have been guilty of buying too many sweaters and coats for L.A. But it does eventually get cool enough here to wear some of them. This year I can't wait to bundle up in the Bloomsbury-inspired poncho I bought from Burberry last year. It was part of the Fall/Winter 2014 The Bloomsbury Girls collection and I got it on sale. After learning about the literary and artistic heritage behind this collection and Burberry's support of Charleston, the country retreat of the Bloomsbury Group, I was so happy to have one of these pieces. It will be perfect for a crisp day in October.

Have you travelled to any of the beautiful New England Inns during the fall months? 

I would love to know your favorites!

The Bloomsbury Girls

Duncan Grant's studio at Charleston Farmhouse

Photo via here

Be still my heart. As most of you know, I am a big fan of the Bloomsbury Group. Last week as I was looking through the Style section of the New York Times I was stopped in my tracks by an article that almost leapt off the page. You don't often hear the names Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf mentioned in a piece about high fashion. It was a review of Fashion Week in London where the biggest star was the Burberry Autumn/Winter collection inspired by the art of the Bloomsbury Group. This article was a review of the collection which is called "The Bloomsbury Girls." Fashion and Bloomsbury have come together at last. 

A door painted by Duncan Grant at Charleston

Image source unknown

The garden room at Charleston

Photo via here

I have often thought that the imagery and style of the Bloomsbury Group, a collection of friends made up of some very famous English writers and artists working in the early 20th century, would be a great muse for fashion. After all, the country retreat where some of them lived and most of them hung out -- Charleston Farmhouse in Sussex -- is literally bursting with sunny and garden-inspired art which happens to be very pretty. Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant moved there in 1916 and lived together for fifty years; during that time they covered the walls, furniture, bookcases, doors, and ceramics with their own decorations. Their friends (who spent a lot of time there) included Clive Bell, Roger Fry, Lytton Strachey, Maynard Keynes, E.M. Forster, and Vanessa's sister Virginia Woolf and her husband Leonard. It was a happy, bohemian, and messy kind of place, a hive of creativity and friendship, and one that so obviously contained artistic and unconventional souls. Their style has inspired interior decorators for years and I am so happy that the fashion world has taken notice. 

A painting by Duncan Grant

Image source unknown

The Burberry fashions from this collection capture the exuberant feeling and the loose and fluid brushstrokes of Bloomsbury art, its recognizable shapes and patterns, and the delightful decorations that fill Charleston. They hark back to an era when very exciting things were happening in art and literature. I learned that all of the items in the collection -- shoes, handbags, dresses, shawls, etc. -- were in some way hand-painted. Christopher Bailey, the designer for Burberry, decided to go back to a time when things were being done by hand. He was inspired by the romantic vision of nature and flowers that he found at Charleston. Take a look at these beautiful clothes. They will remind you of an English country garden with a distinctly Bloomsbury twist. Go here to see the entire collection.

These clothes are eccentric and beautiful with a quirkiness that feels very British. All of the items  capture the bohemian, handmade and crafty feeling of Charleston. The designer has done an amazing job. Rarely has high fashion felt so cozy, domestic and romantic.

After doing a little research I learned that this isn't the first time that Christopher Bailey of Burberry has been inspired by Bloomsbury. His Autumn 2009 collection was inspired by Virginia Woolf. (How did I not know this!) But this time the connection will be made official. In the fall Burberry will become a  patron of The Charleston Trust to help protect its creative and cultural heritage for the public. What a boon for Charleston! If you ever find yourself in this beautiful part of England where the house is located, be sure to visit. You will be amazed to see a place in which the inhabitants painted everything -- bookcases, doors, fireplaces, you name it. As Christopher Bailey said, "It has this beautiful effect, as if all these objects have a little bit of soul." And there is also a lovely garden and pond. I have never been to an historic home that reflected its owners more vividly than this joyous and magical place in the Sussex countryside of England.