Beating the autumn gloom with fluffy coats and flowers

Fluffy coat and flowers

So far, I’ve been embracing everything about the change in the seasons. In fact, you might as well just call me Little Miss Autumn.

But last week, the seasonal shift suddenly didn’t feel so good. One by one, we’d all caught a cold. The mornings felt darker and colder – and getting out of bed wasn’t fun. Slowly, but surely, morale had begun to sink.

I felt like I’d come up against a brick wall creatively and I spent most of last week creeping around feeling as glum as the leaden grey skies. But on Thursday the sun came out and a couple of simple things reminded that, actually, autumn might just be ok again…

Fluffy coat and flowers

I wore my new teddy-bear coat for the first time. Fluffy coats, shearling coats…they’re all big this season and I urge you to try one. Wearing it is like getting a giant bear hug. If gloomy mornings are the downside of autumn, then getting to wear a snuggly coat is definitely the upside.

And I felt even happier about the fact that I bought it in the charity shop. Sure, I had to spend more than I paid for it getting it dry cleaned, but it was still a very virtuous purchase – and a reminder that I can still occasionally win the charity shop lottery.

Then I went to market and bought the brightest pink flowers I could find. Buying a massive bunch of flowers, and still having change from a fiver, is my weekly pleasure. Carrying them home not only made me happy, it also made a few passers-by smile too.

Buying flowers from Ely market

Of course, just buying a bunch of flowers doesn’t automatically make life peachy again, but it certainly helps. It also proves that when the gloom hits, you shouldn’t always follow your instincts and hibernate. Put on a favourite autumn coat, drag yourself out of the door and indulge in the little things that make you happy – whether it’s wearing a fluffy coat, meeting a friend or buying a new magazine.

Fluffy coat and flowers