Fall is our favorite time to feel cozy, and October is simply peak perfection—for fall colors and for sweater weather! With stunning foliage, crisp sunny days announcing the first frost, spiced cider, and pumpkin picking, we’re ready to let that fall feeling inspire our gatherings and fill us with shivers of cozy joy.
Entertaining with a Crisp Fall Twist
After a long hot summer, that chill in the air and those early frosts can be as exciting as the first glimpse of fall foliage. October means leaf peeping, apple picking, pumpkin carving, and maybe even some brilliant costume engineering. It's a time to bring joy through warmth, hosting cozy gatherings, and creating a tranquil retreat for you and your loved ones at home.
Outdoor fireside gatherings — October gives us shortening days and lengthening nights, so grab your warm sweaters and cozy blankets and celebrate October 9th’s Hunter Moon (or the arrival of chilly weather in general) with an outdoor fireside cocktail gathering or dinner with friends.
Get all worked up for the game—It’s also football season! But even if you’re not a devotee of the game, it’s a great excuse to host a tailgate party. If you’ve got student athletes starting up their season in any sport, you could plan a soirée to celebrate their first home game—a great occasion to visit their college town, if your kids have flown the coop. If you plan to host a game day at home, set the stage for your most-anticipated weekend game by preparing some sweet and savory snacks and planning a picnic-style tailgate in your backyard.
Halloween—Whether or not you love Halloween parties or have children who trick or treat, the evening lends itself to an opportunity to get together with neighbors, family, friends. So why not plan a casual, fall-inspired gathering? Warm cider, homemade pizzas and some spirited sips and bites are all that is needed to make the most of a festive farewell to the month of October. Don’t forget to stock up on fun candies for those little ghouls who’ll come knocking! Visit our epicure for recipe inspiration.
Keep Wellness on your Fall Agenda
Make it a restful night
Over the past few months we’ve been highlighting the importance of maintaining balance and living a healthy lifestyle as it relates to longevity. (Remember our “Blue Zone” investigations in previous blogs?) Getting a good night’s sleep is a significant way to increase life expectancy—and to enjoy a better, more energized quality of life, too! Time to be honest now. Do you ever toss and turn? Stay up too late with a good movie or book and feel way too groggy in the morning? Wake for no reason and stress out about falling back asleep? We sure do! So we’ve decided to look at our sleep schedule as an opportunity to inspire better, more restful habits. Here’s what we found.
First, create a sleep routine. Set a pattern so your body and mind know when it’s time to unplug. As you know, we love lavender for its relaxing properties, and it’s one of our favorite sleep aids. Use the oil in a diffuser, add a few drops to a warm bath or a candle in your bedroom (and if lavender doesn’t work for you choose a calming scent you love). Next, make a soothing herbal infusion (avoid caffeinated teas near bedtime, for best results!). Calming music and soft lighting are also helpful to promote relaxation. If reading or journaling helps you unwind, this quiet time is ideal. Try to avoid using your laptop, tablet, or phone, since the light from our screens sends signals to the brain that it’s time to be awake! Even a bedtime phone conversation might be too stimulating. Finding ways to quiet our minds seems to be an integral part of a restful night. If you lie awake or wake up thinking of something you have to do, try keeping a small notebook next to your bed and simply jot down those thoughts. Put them to rest so you can get to sleep.
Also, think about texture—wear soft, comfortable loungewear and layer soft, breathable linens on your bed. Body temperature tends to fluctuate during sleep, so be mindful of layers—make sure they can be easily added or removed. Finally, we find it helpful to keep a small tray on a nightstand or bedside table with a few sleep essentials: a small pitcher of water with a glass, a soothing scented hand cream and/or foot lotion, lip balm, and a simple bud vase with a flower (a little plj 🤍).
Rooted in cozy for autumn
Spruce up your outdoor space by adding fall plantings to your containers. Bring on the cozy by scattering warm blankets around your fireplace or patio, hanging string lights, and putting lanterns and fall-scented candles in place. Outdoor heaters are also a great idea if you’d like to extend your outdoor gathering time for weeks to come. Greet your guests with an autumn inspired cocktail(see our epicure for the Gold Rush recipe). Warm spiced cider with cinnamon sticks, a seasonal grazing or charcuterie board will certainly be a welcomed seasonal treat! Remember, keep plans simple so the focus is sharing time and connection with friends and family.
Fall for family dinners —We love family dinners all year round, but especially right now—cooler temperatures and comfort foods lend these autumnal gatherings a coziness that we just can’t get enough of❤️
The fall foliage vibe shift
Add this brightness to your outdoor greenery with vibrant chrysanthemums, sedum, and a variety of wispy wheat grasses. Mini pumpkins and gourds bring a seasonal accent to window boxes and outdoor planters. Fill your vases with combinations of dahlias, hydrangeas, alstroemeria, sunflowers, delphinium, and a variety of textured and ornamental greens and branches. Try adding woven containers or a new vessel for your flowers. Sometimes the simplest change can create an entirely new design look for your blooms.
Setting your harvest table
Use natural elements like pumpkins, gourds, mini hay bales, wheat sheaves, and cornstalks in combination with the deep hues of your autumn arrangements to add a seasonal flare to your table. Shop our home collection for relaxed linen and cotton napkins in neutral tones, luxurious olive wood tapas boards, and woven dinnerware to add texture and compliment all your fall entertaining plans. Adorn your fall table with our marble charcuterie boards and seasonal scented candles. Shop home
Holidays on the horizon
It’s not too early to start getting your home holiday-ready! That end-of-year holiday stretch is just around the corner, and taking a little time out now for some advance planning on home design and gatherings will go a long way to allowing you to relax and relish the holiday spirit when you’re in the thick of it.
As you edit your home for fall, try to envision how you can adapt your design for the holiday with simple edits or a layer of holiday cheer. We find that using natural elements—like greenery and branches along with a neutral color base for your tables and home decor—make it much easier to streamline the holiday transition. Still unsure, or want advice? At partager la joie we’re here to help guide you along the way. Let us inspire you in thinking ahead to design a gathering that suits and showcases your style! Learn more about our Inspiration Workshops.
Stylish living for the season
We’re excited about getting cozy with our berber fleece loungewear and our extra-soft blankets. Give gifts of comfort from our wellness collection—lavender neck wraps and eye pillows, travel scarves and accessories, and luxurious bath and body essentials. Planning to travel this season? Check out our chic style finds to highlight your look no matter your destination!
Time to Gather and Graze
The changing of the seasons is all about infusing some coziness into your menus. Comfort food can be both healthy and hearty when you team up with autumnal allies like pumpkin, fall squash, and apples! Have a favorite you’d like to share with us? Tag us in your recipe post on IG—we’d love to give it a try and pass it along to our readers. Definitely a form ofLike joy, foodie goodness is best enjoyed when it’s shared!
Here are some of our autumn epicure favorites:
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Spiced Cider
Butternut Squash Soup
Cinnamon French Toast
Personalized Pizzas
Brown Butter Pumpkin Seed Granola
Autumn Roasted Vegetables
Pumpkin Bread
Roasted Minestrone
Chicken Barley and Spinach Soup
Autumn Apple Galette
Customized Movie Night Popcorn
The Gold Rush Cocktail
What We Love Most About October
We love the changing of the seasons for that cozy, contented, restful feeling of being home. We’re taking comfort in the mindset that who we are is enough and that what’s most important is the time we spend with the people we care about most. And the temperatures couldn’t be more perfect for our mood—beautiful sunny days and cool, crisp evenings.
A friend once said the more we are grateful, the more we have to be grateful for. This really hits home this time of year, and gratitude is our guiding meditation this month at plj. We’d like to invite you to share in it with us. (And ifIf you share your thoughts about gratitude and sharing joy on IG, tag us! That’s what this community is all about.)
Look back on everything you’ve already done this year with a deep breath of satisfaction. Sweeten the season with all the goodness that autumn has to offer and by turning your gratitude into kindness.
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