How to Have a Martha Stewart Autumn

As a British girl, I had never heard of Martha Stewart until about a month ago. Entrepreneur, TV chef, gardener, and all-around American icon, Martha Stewart is the queen of autumn, and I have since watched every single one of her autumn cooking episodes I could find. I fell in love with Martha because of her emphasis on seasonality, working with the change of seasons to celebrate the arrival of autumn, my favourite season, through recipes, hosting tips, and lifestyle changes that make room for the new flavours of October. For me, a Martha Stewart autumn means aligning with the changes in nature by making space in your life for little moments of hygge that makes the shorter days and darker evenings feel like an invitation for cosiness rather than gloom. Here are my favourite ways to welcome the new season and have your own Martha-inspired autumn. 

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, and More Pumpkins: Seasonal Cooking

One of the most effective yet simple ways you can incorporate the changing seasons into your diet is to eat seasonally. Not only is it fun to try new seasonal ingredients, there are also a plethora of health benefits to eating fresh seasonal produce. Working with the seasons, rather than against them, in your kitchen is also much easier than you might think. From Five Acres cafe in town, you can collect delicious weekly veg bags produced locally on East Neuk farm; for a reasonable price, you can expect seasonal, pesticide-free produce without the air miles, making their vegetables not only healthier for you, but also for the planet. Click here for a full list of seasonal fruit and veg.

Martha’s blog has many seasonal recipes for autumn, and I’ve listed a few of my favourites here:

Butternut squash soup

Apple oat muffins

Spiced pumpkin seeds

Pumpkin cupcakes  (if you’re looking for tinned pumpkin puree, i’ve spotted it at Naturity and Balgove Larder)

Roasted carrot and beet tart

Pumpkin snickerdoodles

Hosting the Perfect Autumn Girls Night In

One of my favourite things to do with my friends is to host a dinner or movie night at my flat, and autumn is the perfect time to start hosting cosy nights in with your girls. My advice is to set up a weekly night where you all go to one another’s flats as something to look forward to every week now that the days are getting shorter, combatting the winter blues with some yummy food and girlhood. As the queen of hosting, you can include some Martha-inspired tips for table setting, flower arranging, and turning your living room into a cosy, autumnal-inspired space. 

One of the easiest ways to transform your space for hosting, or for a more autumnal environment in general, is to grab some orange, white, red, or green flowers from Tesco and arrange your own bouquet. Check out Lily’s Martha-inspired flower arranging guide for some great tips on how to create a beautiful bouquet, and keep an eye out for seasonal flowers or colours. Dahlias, pansies, sunflowers, roses, and marigolds are some of my favourite seasonal flowers. 

I recently hosted an autumnal themed early birthday party at my flat, and I decorated with pumpkins everywhere! No amazon decor needed. Sainsburys has some adorable baby pumpkins and also medium sized ones too, which are perfect for hosting a pumpkin-carving party with your girls. The Cairnie farm, a 20min drive from St Andrews, has a pumpkin patch where you can go with your girls to pick pumpkins on a Sunday afternoon, then head back home for an evening of pumpkin carving and hot chocolate.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Martha-inspired hosting guide without mentioning Martha’s fall drink recipes. Check out this cider bourbon cocktail, or, for a non-alc version, this apple pie spiced cider sounds insaneeely good too. 

Martha also has a fun guide for how to host a murder mystery dinner party if you’re looking for a unique party idea. HC murder mystery dinner anyone?

Simmer Pot & Yogi Tea

This next Martha-inspired autumn feature has a double purpose of being a cosy tea recipe and a simmering scent pot to make your home smell unbelievably delicious. This yogi tea recipe that I make every week is inspired by traditional Indian medicine and Ayurvedic principles, and has many health benefits as well as tasting delicious. I get my recipe from Yoga with Adriene, and you can click here for the full guide. It’s super simple and involves putting some yummy spices in a large pot along with some black tea and simmering for as long as you like (I usually simmer for about 1-2 hours, but place on a very low heat and you can simmer for even longer). Serve with milk and honey for an autumnal tea that will make your entire home smell like an autumn candle. 

Bring the Outside In: Nature Inspired Autumnal Decor 

Decorating your home for a Martha-inspired autumn doesn’t have to break the bank or the planet. Ditch the plastic pumpkins and look to nature for some inspiration, bringing the colours of autumn into your home. Here’s a guide on how to make an adorable orange and cinnamon garland that would look adorable hanging in front of a window. 

Slice some large oranges thinly and use a paper towel to press out excess liquid before placing them in the oven on parchment paper (140 celsius for regular oven, 120 for fan oven). Bake for 45 min, turning halfway through, and cook for another 15 mins if they haven’t fully dried out yet. Take some twine, tie a knot near one end, and thread through the orange pieces, then tie a knot to keep it in place. Repeat for each orange slice, adding in cinnamon sticks between some of the slices. And voila! Not only do these look adorable and whimsical, they also smell amazing. 

Another one of my favourite ways to create a cosy autumn environment is a TV fireplace. Unless you’re lucky enough to have a real fireplace, Netflix has a ‘fireplace for your home’ that you can play and leave crackling in your living room. It’s surprisingly atmospheric, and I love to keep it on whilst I’m studying for some whimsical ambiance.

I hope you took some inspiration from this Martha-inspired autumnal guide, and that these tips make you excited for autumn and the beautiful changes that a new season can bring. Tag us on Instagram @hercampus.standrews if you make any of these foods, decor, or drinks, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of the season!

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