Fluff Stuff Friday #63: October's Last Gasp

🍁 A seasonal living recap, plus a lentil soup, Rivals, and two fluffy books of the week.

Oct 25, 2024

Welcome to the Seasonalist, a happy place to land, where you’ll find all things seasonal and seasonal-adjacent (fluffy books, movies, food, and fun) from Austin, Texas. If you’d like to subscribe, click below.

Small Pleasures sent to me from my family this week.

“October is crisp days and cool nights, a time to curl up around the dancing flames and sink into a good book.” ~John Sinor

Welcome to the Fluff Stuff Friday, y’all!

Each Friday I recap how I lived seasonally the week prior, and I encourage you to do the same. Why? Your life can be so much better if you follow the formula. It’s about putting something on the calendar, looking forward to it, and experiencing it.

This week, various members of my family sent me the above pictures. And that is why I do this friends—for me, and for others. Look around and see and experience what’s seasonal.

How my family lived seasonally this week (as pictured above):

My eldest college son sent me this text.
The husband sent this pic of pumpkins in a hotel in Chicago.
My youngest college son went so far as to decorate his dorm room with Halloween lights.
The leaves changing colors in Kansas (another trip).

Happy.

On to the Fluff Stuff!

🥣 Soup of the Week

Fresh off my Ina Garten successful turkey meatloaf meal, as a soup expert, I realized Ina is an untapped resource for soup recipes. This week, behold the Barefoot Contessa’s Lentil Vegetable Soup. I halved the recipe (cuz Ina’s PORTIONS); otherwise I made the recipe as directed. I ate two bowls last night. That’s a lot of lentils. I give this soup a 5 ⭐️ rating.

📺 Television Stuff

You may have heard about the release of Rivals on Hulu this week. CONTENT WARNING—it’s racy. Starring David Tennant ❤️ and Aidan Henry ❤️—summed up nicely by Watchtowatch.com:

Set in the fictional British county of Rutshire, the story centers around a long-term rivalry between ex-Olympic rider turned politician Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and TV station controller Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant), who, along with their friends, family and neighbors, drip with ambition, lust and power.

It’s an homage to the 80s, including fashion and music (and a racy trip on the Concorde), and it’s an off the rails television show. I watched the first episode and plan on watching the entire season.

📚 Two Fluffy Books of the Week

First off, I read the GOAT Sophie Kinsella’s short novella, loosely based on her life and brain cancer journey. What Does It Feel Like? is a short, sweet, and funny tale and required reading for all. When discussing the possibility of a bucket list with her husband, the heroine states:

I’ve done a lot of exciting, bucket-listy stuff in my life. I’ve done glamorous travel and I’ve walked the red carpet and I’ve swum with dolphins. I don’t need to do any more of that stuff. I just need to be around. Have fun with the children, Have fun with you. See friends. Small pleasures.

And with that, she buys herself some “posh marmalade.”

The second fluffy book of the week is from Rainbow Rowell, Slow Dance. A second chance romance, high school besties reconnect years later—will they or won’t they? This was a wonderful read, with some frustrating communication issues, and well-developed side characters, and was unputdownable. Will they finally…slow dance?

🎶 Spooky Music