R-Rated | An Autumn Mood

Nesting, accessorizing and couch potatoeing my way into a new season

While it’s true I feel most myself barefoot on a beach somewhere, this time of year is actually my favourite in London. I love leaning into being at home more, cooking, going to favourite pubs and markets, lighting the fire, de-cluttering and pottering to my heart’s content. Ironically this last month has been my busiest yet work-wise so the time I do get at home has been even more precious. I’ve suddenly had a renewed burst of energy for doing stuff in the house, moving things around, adding new bits of furniture and guess what, my office/dressing room that’s been in the works for nearly 9 months is actually going to be taking shape at the end of the month!

Sofa snuggles, vintage French baubles in the market, lamplight at home, Remotely!!, wax-topped pears, homemade 10-miniute blueberry jam

Watching
I promise I’m actually quite social and do like a lot of people, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit TV is the highlight of my day. Of course I binged Nobody Wants This and loved every second of it. Proof that girls do in fact love a good boy too, as Adam Brody’s character continually does everything we want a man to do. ‘Go after her!’ I internally wailed at the screen and he always, always did. Endless green flags and fizzing chemistry alongside real-life relationship issues including nightmare mother in laws, incompatible careers and different religions and cultures. A joy.

Swapping green flags for red and good boys for very, very bad (think Othello’s Iago at a frat party), season two of steamy (one of my friends thanked me for the ‘soft porn’ recommendation) college psychodrama Tell Me Lies is probably my favourite thing to watch right now. I feel like no one is really watching it but it’s honestly great drama with amazing, messy characters that make you scream at the screen but also want to give them a hug and a cup of tea (most of them anyway). Imagine a darker, grittier, less glamorous Gossip Girl and you’re half way there. Secrets, scandals and lies galore, it’s always one slip of the tongue (figuratively and literally) away from ruining someone’s life. I’ve realised I love a TV formula that goes between two very different times and subsequent realities so you’re constantly being fed new titbits of where people are in life but no idea as of yet how they got there. Addictive and just trashy enough stuff.

In our element

I only recently discovered the joys of Brassic too with the first 4 seasons of the Brit comedy dropping on Netflix. I’d seen it advertised on Sky One but never thought it looked that good. Turns out it’s the rarest of rare gems; a show that’s actually infinitely better than it makes itself out to be in trailers. Hilarious and charming in equal measure, I couldn’t love this bunch of loveable Northern reprobates more.

Lastly, if you are after something meaty to get stuck into for spooky season, we’ve just started From which seems to have slid under the radar a bit until recently, despite being 2 seasons in. Maybe because it’s been aired on Sky Sci-Fi rather than Atlantic - (it’s also on Now TV). It’s definitely got it’s fair share of jump scares with some *very* gory bits (imagine the worst of The Last of Us or The Walking Dead maybe) but if you can deal with that, it’s hooked us in from the first episiode and I can really tell the writers have a plan rather than figuring it out as they go along - essential for a Lost-style saga. I’m getting more and more into good horror of late, I think because for scary to also be objectively good it has to be executed really, really well. Plus really good horror and sci-fi is normally rooted in our deep anthropological anxities which I love seeing played out and explored. In From’s case this means playing on our human fear or being trapped, lost and hunted all at once. Yikes.

I hope you’ve all got your alarms set for the new TV adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s Rivals on Disney+ that drops today. Apparently, and I say this very tentatively, it’s actually perfect and truly captures the brilliance of Jilly Coopers’ writing…. So despite Rupert Campbell-Black not being blonde, it seems as though it’s going to be worth a watch.

Wearing
Animal print is everywhere but I just can’t seem to embrace that warm, orange-y breed of leopard and tiger print I used to love in the same way I once did. Far too much time throughout my twenties spent in a polyester faux fur leopard coat has tainted it for me perhaps. I’m definitely not immune to a resurgence though and have succumbed to not one but two vintage animal print bags via Ebay and Vinted respectively. This feels exactly how I want to do animal print this time around; vintage, textured and timeless. I like the fact it adds a little something that speaks volumes to all-black outfits. I really like the idea of these Tods loafers too for a pop of zebra with an otherwise low key look.

Vintage Alaia bag | Coat | Glasses | Phone case