Autumn at The Attic with Eliza Campbell
Indulging in our favorite months of the year — the golden leaves, the crisp air, the food, the smells, the comforting memories and sources of warmth and coziness — we open our own doors and welcome you into our homes, as members of The Attic On Eighth share their favorite methods, items, and rituals to welcome the season. In this edition, Attic Culture Editor Eliza Campbell takes a step back and embraces her first academia-free autumn.
Photos by Eliza Campbell.
“I’m moving at a slower pace, leaning less on my overexerted brain and more on the part of me that loves long hours cooking in the kitchen and clambering over moors. ”
From a young age I’ve always loved the freshness of autumn. There’s a kind of new-year feeling about this season that every academically-inclined person gets as the leaves turn golden and we ready ourselves for another stretch of learning. For the three years of my degree I grabbed this feeling with both hands and threw myself headlong into books, London libraries, and university seminar rooms, practically bouncing with the energy of knowing so much and yet having so much more to learn. This year is a bit different for me though, as I’ve not joined the hordes of bright young things on their way to school and university. Instead, I’m moving at a slower pace, leaning less on my overexerted brain and more on the part of me that loves long hours cooking in the kitchen and clambering over moors. This autumn is still a season of learning, in a sense, it’s just a season of re-learning what I truly love and the life that exists beyond university walls.
Fashion & Beauty
As the weather turns I’m breaking out my (considerable) high-neck jumper collection. I love pairing my favourite big burgundy jumper with black culottes or black jeans and a pair of doc martens. I’m also really into big jumpers over summer dresses with tights and boots this season. I hardly wore make-up over summer and intend to continue with that into the colder months but I might break out my red lipstick and dark eyeshadows for special occasions.
Food
Like I said, I’m learning to listen to what my body really wants and loves and apparently that is hours in the kitchen making different soups, lasagnes, pies, and curries. I’m currently loving a vegetarian coconut and lemongrass curry with peppers, spring onions and tofu, and my mum’s recipe for a deconstructed lasagne which is basically just a chili (we use Quorn’s mince) with lasagne sheets cracked into small pieces and cooked into it.
Home & Books
After a summer of reading practically all the time I suddenly hit a mental block in September and I couldn’t read at all. I’d been struggling to even read a few pages at a time and couldn’t find any book that kept me interested even though I tried and tried. Thankfully, in the last week of October the fog seems to have lifted and I’m back on track reading some distinctly unseasonal books (The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker and Find Me by André Aciman). However, there’s nothing unseasonal about curling up on the sofa with a cat (if you’re lucky) and a scalding hot mug of cinnamon tea. I’m enjoying candles in warming scents like cinnamon, orange, and clove (even though you might make your home prematurely smell like Christmas).
Eliza Campbell is Culture Editor at the Attic on Eighth. When she’s not reading, writing, or in a rehearsal room she loves to sit in galleries, libraries, and coffee shops listening to period drama soundtracks and watching the world go by.
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