Summer-Autumn Update (2025) + Happy Samhain/Hallowe'en!

I normally post on Sundays or Mondays but didn't manage to get this post finished yesterday, so it's on a Tuesday instead. :) 

 

We're now in October, so it's time for my summer-autumn update! :) You can see my previous updates for 2025 below: 

Winter-Spring Update (2025):  https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/04/winter-spring-update-2025-easter-baking.html

Spring-Summer Update (2025): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/07/spring-summer-update-2025.html

Plus, Samhain/Hallowe'en is coming up), so I've included a section with inspiration for celebrating (scroll down to the bottom of the post).

In mid-July, I went to Yallabina, a belly dance event that I also went to last year. It was at a different venue this time (still in Brighton). Afterwards I got a mocha frappe from Hellenic Bakery, which I really liked. 

In late July, I met up with my belly dance friends to celebrate a birthday. We went to a pub in Woodingdean (Brighton). It was nice to see them all after a while. 

Then at the beginning of August, I celebrated Lammas. You can see my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/08/lammas-2025.html

I also met up with family members that month, who were visiting the UK. It was the first time I'd ever met them, so it was good. We had lunch in Harry Ramsden's (fish and chips restaurant in Brighton), then went on the pier. I've had takeaway from Harry Ramsden's but hadn't eaten in the restaurant before and I also hadn't been on the pier in years, so it made a change!

I shared a couple of pictures from that day in my Late Summer Photos + Happy Madron/Autumn! post, which you can see here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/09/late-summer-photos-happy-madronautumn.html

Here's a pic of my meal at Harry Ramsden's:

 

Madron 2025

Two weeks ago (Monday 22nd September) it was Madron, also known as Mabon/the Autumn Equinox. I normally bake for this sabbat as my main celebration. For the past few years I've made some form of ginger cake (although in 2022 I baked pumpkin spice bars) but this year I decided to go for something differrent, a buttermilk spice cake. The recipe is from Mix and Match Mama: https://mixandmatchmama.com/2018/09/buttermilk-spice-cake/

I thought it fit the theme because it has spices in (also any type of baked goods are suitable for Madron because it's a harvest festival). I didn't use nutmeg because I didn't have any and don't use it much, but I used some mixed spice instead. 

The cake was quite nice. I liked the cream cheese frosting too. (I like it in general but don't normally put maple syrup in it). You can bake it as a sheet cake or a layer cake and I chose to do a sheet cake. Here's a pic: 

Late Summer Photos + Happy Madron/Autumn!

Back in 2019, I wrote a post called Summer Photos + Preparing for Autumn, where I shared some pictures from the summer and also wrote about getting ready for the new season. You can see it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/09/summer-photos-preparing-for-autumn.html

This year, I thought I'd something similar, but since Madron aka Mabon/the Autumn Equinox is tomorrow (Monday 22nd September), I'm doing a combined post with some photos from my summer and some inspiration for celebrating Madron and the autumn season. :)

 

Late Summer Photos 

First up, here are some pics from the end of summer. 

Here are some photos I took when I met up with some family members in Brighton in August:

View from Brighton Palace Pier.

Lammas 2025

The Friday before last it was Lammas (1st August). Although some people may celebrate on 31st July or 2nd August. My usual celebration for this sabbat is baking. This year I made gingerbread and also bread (using a mix).

The gingerbread recipe is the BBC Good Food one that I've used for the past several years: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/gingerbread_men_99096

This Lammas I made standard "men" shapes and a couple of other ones. Last year I used ready made icing but this year I made up my own again (icing sugar mixed with water). I iced some of them completely. lol. Here's a pic: 

 

Summer Salads + Happy Lammas!

Back in April, I wrote a post sharing some salads to make during mid-late spring. I also did two posts last year featuring salads to make for the seasonal festivals of Beltane and Litha (and summer in general). 

The Spring Salads post was also a double post for this year's Beltane, sharing some ideas for celebrating. You can see it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/04/spring-salads-happy-beltane.html

 

Since we're now in summer, I'm sharing some more salads to make during the rest of the season. Plus, Lammas is coming up this week (Friday 1st August or around the 1st, depending on when you celebrate). So, while I'm no longer writing more in-depth posts with ideas for celebrating the sabbats, I thought I'd include a few links with some info and inspiration (like the Spring Salads + Happy Beltane! post).

 

Summer Salads

Spring-Summer Update (2025)

We've just over halfway through the year, so it's time for my 2nd quarterly update (spring-summer) of 2025! You can see my winter-spring update here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/04/winter-spring-update-2025-easter-baking.html

 

Easter was later this year (Easter Sunday was 20th April). I made a Birdies Perch Malteser slice with Cadbury's mini eggs on top and also got a couple of chocolate eggs, lol. I didn't have a big meal this year due to personal circumstances.  

At the beginning of May I celebrated Beltane. You can see my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/05/beltane-2025.html  

In mid-May I went to the park. As I mentioned in my May Gratitude List on on my self-help/spiritual blog Falling Petals (I post monthly gratitude lists there), I was feeling down and wanted to do something to feel better. After I read an email from Diana of The Chic Life about making a Joy List and doing what brings you joy, I decided I'd like to go to the park around sunset. I also went to Burger King and got a double bacon cheeseburger, latte and a Coke.

I shared a picture in my Gratitude List post but here are a couple more photos: 

View from by Hove Park.

Litha 2025

The Saturday before last it was Litha aka Midsummer/the Summer Solstice (21st June). (Or Sunday 20th depending on your timezone). My usual celebration for this sabbat is making salad and lemonade.

This year I made tomato and onion salad again and "Hello Kitty lemonade" (the recipe is from a Hello Kitty book). I most often use a salad recipe from The Kitchen Witch book by Soraya, but I've lost the book at the moment! I basically remember the recipe anyway, but I also based it on this Italian tomato and onion salad one from This Italian Kitchen: https://thisitaliankitchen.com/italian-tomato-onion-salad/

I came across the recipe a couple of years ago and linked to it in past posts (including last year's Salads for Litha/Summer + Extra Ideas! post. It was the first time I'd made it though.

The salad was quite nice. It's pretty similar to The Kitchen Witch one, except for a couple of things. It uses red onion but I've sometimes made my Litha salad with red onion anyway, which makes it a bit like kachumbari which I like to make for Beltane. Also it requires balsamic vinegar but I didn't have that, so I used lemon juice instead (I think my normal recipe has lemon juice in). And if I don't have olive oil (which I didn't this time) I use vegetable oil instead.

I had it for lunch with a Fitzgeralds bake at home sourdough baguette, sea salt and vinegar crisps, gucamole, chicken fillets and roasted garlic and aioli potato salad. Also the lemonade. Here are a couple of pics:

 

Food