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:
In late August I went to Five Guys at Brighton Marina (which I go to about once a year). I also shared a couple of photos from there in the Late Summer Photos post linked above.
Then in mid-late September I celebrated Madron. You can see my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/10/madron-2025.html
Here's another photo I took when I went to Hove Park that day, that I didn't share in the post:
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| View of area near the park, Hove. |
Apart from that, I've mainly been going to Happy Café (Action for Happiness' Meetup events.
I didn't make many Vietnamese style iced coffees at home this summer but tried some new ones from shops. Now that the weather is colder, I've started making hot chocolate at home, such as my favourite French hot chocolate.
I didn't do much baking, only for sabbats, just been cooking really. I tried a couple of new recipes, such as one based on a recipe for lemon dill salmon and smashed potatoes (A Healthy Slice of Life) and Mix and Mama's beef and rice skillet supper. In my spring-summer update, I had a new section called Meals I'm Making but I didn't feel like there was much new to share in this update.
The weather was varied, we had some heatwaves (as mentioned in my Lammas 2025 post) but also cooler, rainy weather. It got colder in September but was still fairly pleasant weather. This past week it's been feeling quite cold some nights. It's about 16C (60F) during the day and 13C (55F) at night in my area currently, but some nights it's colder, about 7C (43F).
Also the clocks just went back on Sunday, so now sunset is 4.41pm, which is a bit depressing!
So that's it for the update! :) The next sabbat is Samhain; see below for some inspiration for celebraing. I will also write about my celebrations later.
Read: The Narrows by Ronald Malfi, A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales, The Unrecovered by Richard Strachan.
Links I found useful during summer and autumn:
How I Add Joy to my Life (post from Michelle of Daisybutter: https://daisybutter.com/2025/07/how-i-add-joy-to-my-life/
I enjoyed Adriana's Autumn Coundown series: https://yrstudio.co.uk/blogs/adriana-tudorache-blog/september-eve-welcoming-autumn-slow-living
Posts on Bry Jaimea's manifesting blog: https://yourmanifestationera.com
Happy Samhain/Hallowe'en!
And it's Samhain on Friday (31st October), one of my favourite sabbats. I also celebrate Hallowe'en. As with last year, I thought I'd share a few links with ideas for celebrating at the bottom of this update post. :)
Here are some links with info and inspiration for celebrating:
Samhain/Hallowe'en Round-up (my round-up post from 2021): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/10/samhainhalloween-round-up.html
Happy Samhain/Hallowe'en! (2022): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/10/happy-samhainhalloween.html
Summer-Autumn Update (2024) + Happy Samhain/Hallowe'en! (see section at the bottom of the post): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2024/10/summer-autumn-update-2024-happy.html
Hallowe'en Round-up 3 (this year's post from my entertainment blog): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2025/10/halloween-round-up-3.html
10 Ways to Celebrate Samhain (Tess Whitehurst): https://tesswhitehurst.com/10-ways-to-celebrate-samhain-2/
Seasonal Living For The Samhain/ Scorpio Season (podcast from Afura Nertiri): https://writingwitch.com/2024/10/19/samhain-scorpio-season/
5 Simple Samhain Spells for a Magical Halloween (Tess Whitehurst): https://tesswhitehurst.com/5-simple-samhain-spells-for-a-magical-halloween
Post from Lavendar and Lovage with recipes for All Hallow's Eve and Bonfire Night (coming up on 5th Nov): https://www.lavenderandlovage.com/2025/10/autumn-recipes-for-all-hallows-eve-and-bonfire-night.html
Or if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, here are some of my most recent Beltane posts:
Happy Beltane! (2022 post): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/04/happy-beltane.html
Salads for Beltane + Extra Ideas!: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2024/04/salads-for-beltane-extra-ideas.html
Spring Salads + Happy Beltane!: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/04/spring-salads-happy-beltane.html
Hope that you gave you some inspiration for Samhain (or Beltane)! :) I'm planning to do my usual decorating, bake gingerbread skeletons and make some other food and drink. I also want to go to the park for sunset but not on Halloween itself, because it gets quite busy for me that day.
Happy Samhain! (Or Happy Beltane!) :)
Photo: Squashes and pumpkins in Marks & Spencer, Holmbush, Shoreham-by-sea.
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