The October Edition
All the leaves are brown and the sky is...
Welcome to the October edition, I hope you’ve had a great start to the new month and new season. There is no denying we are ensconced in Autumn now, it’s time to hunker down.
The leaves are swirling and turning, the petals on the last of the garden cosmos are being lifted by the wind and battered by the rain, the pine cones are falling; log stores are stacked, chimneys are swept, and candles are lit. It’s cosy season and I’m actually ok about it… Time to watch some great telly, sort my seeds, read those books, and write my book!
I dare not say the ‘C’ word or how many weeks left but we are very excited to launch our Festive Collection for Thanksgiving and Christmas in a few weeks and share details of my one-day-only Christmas wreath workshop - stay tuned!
In this edition, I am excited to share our first In My Studio feature where we will visit a creative’s studio. This month, it’s my friends, Barneby Gates in their beautiful new studio barn in Wiltshire.
For flowering this month, I encourage you to harvest your hydrangeas and consider bare root roses for planting. I share my Willow Loves - colour, comfort and some sparkly treats too; and there’s more in our 6 extra’s for our paid community. I also share my beauty buys for the new season and what I’m loving for my skin and general wellbeing as the weather turns. And I round up 9 of my footwear essentials to invest in now for this season and years ahead - cowboy boots are not optional but essential in my opinion!; as are short wellies, for the garden, and the puddles.
Our Recipe is the Epic Tarragon Roast Chicken from Julius Roberts - if you haven’t made it you must, it’s reliably good and perfect autumnal fare, and finally, we round up some cultural things to do this month…
This is my Monthly Free Edition, but every week, I send out emails to my paid subscribers with flowery, fashion, food and wellness content - ideas to inspire, create and nurture - with my goal being to share as much as I can so we can all find joy everyday. I hope you will join our growing community, we have so much planned and I’m so excited to connect with you all.
Happy October!
With Love,
Willow
PS. this is a long read so might be best to read in app/web browser (just in case it cuts off in your email).
PPS. A note on our edits - all brands are lovingly chosen or approved by me. For some, we may receive a small affiliate commission if you purchase an item.
Willow Loves
What I’m loving this month…
Top row, left to right
My Sezane Will jacket collection grows - resistance is useless with this one
Praying for this Heavenly constellation ring
Colour? Stripes? Cashmere? The perfect Autumn knit from Susie Kondi
Double espresso in liquid trouser form from Me+Em
Imagine these Cabochon Hoops from Veronica Beard with pony tail & denim!
An LBD for party season, with embellished flowers! Yes pls, Self Portrait
Willow Loves… (6 more!)
(scroll to the end for paid subscribers)
Hydrangea Harvesting
I’ve just done a mass binning of all my dried hydrangeas. It feels a bit bare and a bit sad but they’ve been around for three or so years and probably actually peaked about six months ago. If you love a hydrangea and want to dry some, now is the time; they want picking before the frost arrives and turns them brown.
I do very little to them, nothing fancy; just pick them and put them in a vase of water like a normal cut flower. I actually find, they’re so late in their season now that you can just pick them and they’ll happily dry without even putting in water. The only thing to remember is to keep them somewhere dry. One year, I’d done a big raid at my parents home in Wales one October half term, left them outside - undercover but open to the atmosphere - and they turned instantly brown. I lost the whole lot. So keep them dry is the only rule!
Autumn Beauty Buys
I feel all I’ve been doing for my skin since the end of the summer is damage repair. Despite slathering myself in factor 50 all day every day, my pigment and sun damage is dire so I’ve turned to tech to try and fix it! I was very kindly sent the Ziip Halo a couple of months ago and I’m hooked. It looks like a small vibrating, shiny pebble that you rub, in upwards movements, all over your face for four minutes at a time. The science is that it uses a mix of nano and microcurrents to help sculpt, lift and glow - there is an app that talks you through different routines based on what you need - lifting/ smoothing/ de-wrinkling etc - I genuinely do feel glowier and less liney each time I use it and am starting to panic when I get into bed and realise I’ve forgotten to do it! (Use code WILLOW for 10% off if you’re keen too).
For cleansing, I alternate between Eve Lom’s Cleansing Balm; (for me, the best for actual deep cleaning and also nice and gentle at the same time) and in the evenings, I use the Cowshed Lavender Cleanser - smells and feels delicious and super-calming - also perfect when I can’t face the faff of a hot cloth; and then for luxury spa-like vibes, Votary’s Cleansing Oil is sheer bliss.
Serum wise, more Votary and more Eve Lom. Votary's Brightening Hylauronic Serum as my ‘every day’ and then mixed up with Eve Lom's Radiance Retinol Repair a couple of times a week. My Votary is about to finish and when it does I’ve got a little bottle of Vintners Daughter Active Botanical Serum waiting patiently in my cupboard that I’m told is ‘life changing’. Watch this space!
Moisturisers. My gorgeous facialist friend Jeanie Scott prescribed this Dermalogica one and it works really well for me. SFP50, non greasy, anti-aging and sits well under make up. In the evenings, I’m less militant and flit between MV Rose Oil Instant Reviver, Eve Lom's Time Retreat, Emma Lewisham’s Supernatural Sleeping Face Mask and Barbara Sturm’s Super Anti Ageing Cream.
For Makeup, MAC face and body in C2 mixed in with a drop of Chanel Les Beiges highlighting fluid. In the evening or if I need more coverage, Laura Mercier’s tinted moisturiser, in Maple 2N. Jones Road for mascara, still the only one that doesn't drop down my face. My most exciting recent find is a lip oil I got in a party bag from Rodial - the perfect mix of balm and gloss thats non sticky and a very pretty pink. I’m also feeling like a proper grown up now that I own this eye base.
I’m on a supplement hiatus at the moment. Not for any reason other than I’m finding it all a bit overwhelming knowing which ones to be taking. So instead I’m trying to do ten minutes a day of guided meditation on the Deliciously Ella app - (also brilliant for yoga, breath work, pilates & recipes ) journaling and practicing gratitude. The latter I find helps more than anything else I do to keep me calm(ish) and present(ish) with the daily mayhem.
What are you loving for beauty and wellbeing this season?
In My Studio
With Barneby Gates…
In a new series, In My Studio, we peak inside the working spaces of creatives we admire to find out what inspired their studio and how it now nurtures their creativity. To kick it off, we turned to wallpaper and fabric studio, Barneby Gates to talk through their beautiful new barn studio in Wiltshire…
Here, Vanessa talks us through the inspiration and their favourite parts of studio life…
In My Studio
In a new series, In My Studio, we peak inside the working spaces of creatives we admire to find out what inspired their studio and how it now nurtures their creativity. To kick it off, we turned to wallpaper and fabric studio, Barneby Gates to talk through their beautiful new barn studio in Wiltshire…
Bare Root Planting
With David Austen Roses…
October marks the beginning of bare root rose planting season. Naturally dormant throughout the winter months, bare root roses can be planted from autumn through to April, before they emerge and bloom for their first summer. Often overlooked, due to its earthy twiggy appearance, the unassuming bare root rose produces just the same vibrant, beautiful flowers as any potted rose, with many added benefits. A more sustainable alternative to their potted counterparts, bare root roses are delivered without soil, in plastic-free, compostable packaging. Once rehydrated, bare root roses can be planted in flower beds or pots.
David Austin Roses recommend their Mycorrhizal Fungi, good-quality soil and careful watering to ensure the bare root rose will develop a deep, healthy network of roots, growing at its own pace. Using the colder winter months to settle into the soil naturally, by spring, the rose is well anchored, encouraging a stronger and fuller flourish. In this cycle, winter does not mark the end, but the beginning.
David Austin Bare Root Roses are available to purchase at www.davidaustinroses.co.uk, with prices starting at £23.
New Season Shoes
Hot to Trot this Autumn…
9 essential for new season style and substance…
Top row, left to right
Burgundy Ponyskin Samba Trainers
Scarossa Fringe Clogs
Merry People Chunky Shorts Wellies
Sezane Brown Suede Lena Low Boots
Le Monde Beryl Dolomite Suede Lace Up Boots
Sezane Jill Cowboy Boots
Shearling Suede Ankle Boots
Penelope Chilvers Incredible Boot, White
Caroline Hu Red Satin Sambas
Create - Epic Tarragon Roast Chicken
From his wonderful book, ‘The Farm Table’, Julius Roberts - the Dorset-based Cook and Farmer, shared a heartening Autumn recipe for the perfect weekend lunch. This is a recipe I return to, it works every time…
serves 5
Ingredients
1 organic chicken
3 tbsp olive oil
1 whole head of garlic
250ml quality double cream
a 20g bunch of fresh tarragon, stalks removed, roughly chopped
1 large heaped tbsp Dijon mustard
a glass of dry white wine
Preheat your oven to 220°C fan and start by spatchcocking the chicken. To do this, turn it over and cut along one side of the spine from the tail to the neck. Then turn it over, open out the two sides and press down hard to flatten it. Your butcher will gladly do this for you. Lay the chicken in a large, high-sided roasting tray, season generously with salt on both sides and leave for an hour at room temperature so it loses the chill of the fridge.
When ready, generously drizzle the skin with olive oil and work it into all the nooks and crannies. Smash the head of garlic and hide the cloves underneath the chicken, then roast in the oven for 20–30 minutes, until the skin begins to turn golden brown.
Meanwhile, mix the cream, tarragon and mustard in a bowl and season well with salt and pepper. After 20–30 minutes, turn the oven down to 140°C fan, take out the chicken and pour a generous glass of white wine into the tray. Then pour the tarragon cream all over the chicken and place back in the oven for 30–40 minutes until it’s ready.
October Arts & Culture
What to see, visit & plan this month…
Book a trip to Paris to see the Louis Vuitton LV Dream Art Deco Exhibition
Get your popcorn ready for the Victoria Beckham documentary on Netflix starting 9 October
Visit Cecil Beaton’s Fashionable World exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery starting 9 October
See the Emily Kam Kngwarray exhibition at the Tate Modern until January
Take the family in half term holidays to the newly revamped Science Museum and the interactive galleries
Visit the Marie Antoinette Style exhibition at the V&A, open until March 22
Watch Susan Sarandon’s stage debut with Mary Page Marlowe at the Old Vic theatre until 1 November
Go to the Amanu Pop Up in Selfridges this month where you can design your own belt
Watch Robin Wright in The Girlfriend on Amazon Prime at home
Visit Frieze Sculpture in Regents Park until 2 November
Clocks go back in the UK on Sunday 26 October, light some candles to make the long evenings inviting
Watch my Advanced Floral Design course with Create Academy from the comfort of home
PS. Willow Loves (6 more!)
6 more Willow Loves just for our paid subscribers…