autumn

Press pause

~ Fridgesays ~ Leave a comment

Fridgesays quote

A pause can last a moment or a lifetime.

As we head in to the last quarter of 2026, as the seasons alter- it makes sense to pause, if we don’t we might miss the beauty around us.

The pause I’m suggesting isn’t a lifetime and perhaps it only lasts an hour or over a weekend, but before the social calendar of Halloween, bonfire nights and Christmas calls…have a pause.

In this pause I recommend you ignore thoughts to the future, reflecting on the past or any time of setting goals. In fact, I recommend you do absolutely nothing.

For some this looks like a duvet, snacks and a movie, marinading yourself in not socialising and dressing to not leave the house, for others it looks like leaving the technology behind and going for a long walk. Undisturbed in nature is my personal favourite, the Mr and I have been doing this on a Sunday for the last few weeks. We walk for about four hours and go through forests, live stock fields and follow public pathways exploring the countryside and ignoring any conversations that involve anything other than right where we are. We don’t take phones and knowing we won’t be disturbed is part of the joy.

Back to the pause…I’m recommending doing very little as the modern world often requires high levels of engagement and attention. To pause is to fill your own cup up and take a break from the world. To notice the season change or like I mentioned earlier to snuggle down and watch a movie that doesn’t require anything in return.

Stay in pause and you’ve become stagnant and that doesn’t serve anyone, mostly yourself. The world will move on without you and when you need to move you’ll find the process hard and daunting. That said, I think most people move so quickly trying to reach goals in their careers, social lives, exercise and many other aspects that they miss all the beauty in the in between moments, so take a leaf from Autumn, slow it down for a moment, look around and soak up the now – pause is a moment in time you never regret.

I can smell Autumn dancing in the breeze

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Quote Anon

This week I’ve been teaching my year seven pupils (aged 11) about developing and sustaining a positive mindset. It was also national mental health awareness day (10th October) and so I thought I’d bring the two together and create a gratitude list for Autumn.

I keep a daily journal in which I write down three things I’m grateful for and three intentions for the day. Personally, I find it helps focus my day and it starts my day in a good vibration.

My favourite season is spring, but that shouldn’t stop an Autumn list from occurring, in fact it’s often more beneficial to dig a little deeper when it comes to gratitude, that said I’m often surprised at how simple pleasures usually are? *Sorry if most of my list is food based.

Autumn gratitude

  • The crunch of the leaves as they fall under my feet
  • Cosy evenings in with pyjamas and hot chocolate
  • The colours of the trees that seem to change daily through Autumn
  • Searching for conkers (seriously it’s like discovering buried treasure)
  • An excuse to wear a cardigan
  • Smell of Crock pot dinners – it’s like coming home to my Mums cooking at the end of a working day, except I did it whilst I was at work!
  • Wearing wellies on walks
  • Homemade soup and fresh bread
  • Cups of tea on the sofa whilst it rains outside
  • Autumn seems slower and so I find more time to read
  • Bonfires (marshmallows on bonfires)
  • Fireworks in our village
  • Watching the stars
  • Empty beach walks wrapped up warm

…your turn, what are you grateful for as we step into Autumn? Comment below.

I never met a meal I didn’t like

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Quote by the amazing Miss Piggy

Following on from a blog I posted back in July called Priorities the team at  Schwartz got in touch and sent me a gorgeous bundle of goodies – slow cooker style!

 Regular readers will know that as a full time working Mummy – my slow cooker is how I get some evening time. By the time my heels totter through the front door, I put my little man to bed…I’m done for the day, the slow cooker allows me much needed couple time, pamper time and ‘not preparing dinner time’

So lifting the lid of the slow cooker to a wholesome cooked meal is divine.

There are 2 other things I love and particularly using the Schwartz slow cooker sachets…

1). Using the sachet makes it even quicker to throw in the ingredients and go. I do this twice a week before work and when I walk through the the door – particularly on an Autumnal evening, it reminds me of being a little girl home from School to Mums home cooking…my house smells better than pop corn at the cinema! Even better I remember that it’s me that cooked it! For those of you that have never used the sachets before, the ingredients are all listed on the back – you just chop it up, wack it in and leave the slow cooker on low and walk away…get home from work 6 hours later ‘ta-da’ dinner is ready.

2). My other love is that the slow cooker sachets are all under a £1 and all seem to work as well with if not better on cheap cuts of meat, like chicken thighs / drumsticks, so not only is it amazing for time management, my purse and bank manager love them too. When I recently cooked the Beef and Ale Stew I some how made enough for the entire road, so in the freezer it went – cutting costs further 🙂

 Above is the chicken Provençal recipe before I left for work: pop in the chicken thighs, a red and yellow pepper…mix the Schwartz sachet into a tin or chopped tomatoes, a squeeze of Tommy purée and wack into the slow cooker, leave on low…
 Hello dinner! We had ours with wholemeal rice, broccoli and peas (I have an obsession about peas) some of the sachets, like the chicken curry have potatoes already in it, so you don’t even need to boil a pan of water for your carbs, winner.

I promise you this is generally something I would feed to guests, in fact my best friend recently stayed and we went out for a days adventures (to the beach) and returned home to the scents of slow cooker delight. This meant I never had to disappear to the depths of my kitchen.

Whatmyfridgesays gives the team at Schwartz 10/10 and I can’t wait to try the pulled pork next weekend, so thank you to them and I hope it inspires you to eat healthy, tasty and at little cost with loads of flavour.

*PR collaboration