Mimi Takes Five - #371

ONE // Spicy Cardigan

This is THE sweater of the season in my wardrobe. It's the perfect shade of rust/brick red that I simply refer to as pumpkin spice. I think that's the right name for its colour. I'm a sucker for a classic cable-knit style and love the V-neck button down cardigan silhouette. This makes it the ideal sweater to layer to my heart's content and makes it a very versatile option for all of my autumnal outfit stylings. It was such a great find at a great price point. I've already worn it a handful of times and plan on wearing it on repeat for the remainder of the season.

 

TWO // Red Soup

This past weekend, I made a huge roasted red pepper and tomato soup. We bought a case of red peppers at the grocery store and loaded up on tomatoes too because it was clearly time to make our favourite red soup! When stumped as to what to cook, look to see what is in season for inspiration. The sign could not have been clearer for use when we saw cases of red peppers for sale. This is very unusual for our grocery store! I got busy chopping all of the necessary vegetables and proceeded to roast three baking sheets worth of them! It's simple, just red peppers, tomatoes, onion and garlic. Once well roasted, I blend the lot and transfer to a pot to let it simmer. I balance the flavour with spices and that's it! It's such a perfect soup to have this time of year and making a triple batch means I get to freeze some for the upcoming months. For those keeping count, this was soup number 3 so far this fall. I love soup season!

THREE // Leather Pumpkin

Every year, I add a few bits and bobs to my autumnal décor. I was hanging onto a Homesense gift card since last Christmas for this very reason. I knew I'd treat myself to some new fall things with the gift card. And that's exactly what I did! I bought three things. The first was the acorn brie baker and the second is this brown leather pumpkin with metallic stem. I loved the rustic simplicity of it and the fact it was a colour and fabric I didn't already have in my collection. It's giving a masculine earthy energy and I love how well it integrated with my other fall décor. It's a simple item but when you already have an entire patch of pumpkins it becomes harder to find the unique ones that will stand out. I'm so pleased with this leather option! Stay tuned for the third item I got!

FOUR // Tap Class

It's September and that means that it's back to class - tap class that is! I signed up as soon as the schedule was posted in August. I had such a blast last year that it was an easy decision to sign up again. We had our first class of the term this week and it felt good to put on my tap shoes once more. Three of us came back from last year, so it was great to see familiar faces! We have such a great group of dancers and our teacher is so energetic! You can tell that he truly enjoys tap and his spirit is contagious. I've been part of the Ottawa tap dance community for many years now and I love that they offer classes of all levels just for the fun of dancing. Each teacher truly has a passion for the subject and they share their endless knowledge with us. It's such a great format!

FIVE // Countdown to Christmas

We have the schedule for this year's Countdown to Christmas! Watching the new Hallmark Christmas movies every year is one of my favourite traditions. Are they a little cheesy? Yes! But I love their predictable format and feel-good festive feel. They just help keep the magic of Christmas alive and well, what's not to love about that? According to the schedule, there will be 24 new movies and a trilogy that premiered on Hallmark+ last year. I particularly enjoyed this three-part story set on Cherry Lane and am looking forward to watching it again! The format this year differs from years past because we'll be getting some episodic series - Mistletoe Murders, Finding Mr. Christmas, Baked with Love: Holiday, and Twelve Dates 'Til Christmas! Normally, there is also a selection of movies on the Mystery channel called Miracles of Christmas but no word yet if that is happening this year. Either way, there should be plenty to keep us entertained all season long. Be sure to print your schedule and have it handy for the kick-off on October 17!