Weeknight TV rituals and Go-To Dinners, cozy season essentials, a work-from-home upgrade, and the rest of what I’m Loving this October.
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September was a blur. I was gone every single weekend, and our refrigerator spent most of the month stocked with Trader Joe's frozen entrées and the remnants of takeout I'd rather not itemize. October has been the opposite. We've been home, I started a fully remote job, and for the first time in a while I've had room to settle into a rhythm. Nearly everything on this month's list comes from that: a few small rituals, a few upgrades, and one wildcard I did not see coming.
1. Dancing With the Stars
I had never watched a single episode until last season when it became a total cultural moment that was impossible to opt out of. What eventually hooked me wasn't even the dancing, it was the mid-week ritual. Tuesday is the worst day of the week (Monday at least has the excuse of going first), and the show gave Kevin and me something to look forward to. Now on Tuesday nights we look forward to cooking something a little special and watching DWTS together.
This year's cast isn't quite as electric, I'll admit. We're watching anyway. The show is relentlessly uplifting, and it serves as a nice, reliable midweek reset heading into hump day.
2. Ina Garten's Go-To Dinners
I love fall cooking, and after a busy September of leaning on prepared food more than I'd like to admit, I've been deliberate about cooking during the week. I'd heard good things about this book for a while and finally pulled the trigger. It is exactly what you'd expect from Ina: elevated but genuinely doable, the kind of recipe that makes a Wednesday night feel intentional without costing you an afternoon.
Working from home has given me back my evenings, and I've been spending a lot of them in this book. I love learning to cook new things, and I'm nowhere near done with it.
3. Homemade Chicken Cutlets
Credit goes to Rita (@cucinapalermo), an Italian home cook on TikTok whose cutlet recipe has gone thoroughly viral. I've always avoided anything that involves frying on the stovetop, but this is a shallow fry, and the cutlets are pounded so thin they cook in minutes. No second-guessing whether the chicken is done. The breading process is foolproof.
The real argument for them is how well they keep. I’ve been making a big batch at the start of the week, and they reheat in the air fryer in about five minutes, which makes them a perfect cozy fall dinner that doubles as meal prep (and real protein). Kevin requests them constantly. In our house, that’s the highest rating available.
4. HP Conferencing Monitor
Starting a fully remote job this month forced a reckoning with my work-from-home setup. Until now, "office" has been a generous word for it: I work out of a cupboard under the stairs off our kitchen, at a 38-inch desk with a monitor I plugged my laptop into. I believe pretty firmly that your mental state reflects your environment, so if this is going to be my permanent workspace, it needs to be right.
My first upgrade has been a 27-inch conferencing monitor with its own webcam and speakers built in. I hate cords, and in a space this small every one of them is visible. This monitor works as a single, self-contained screen: I plug my laptop in, put it away, and the monitor is the only thing on my desk. Definitely more to come on the full setup once it's finished.
5. Glossier You Candle
I bought this by accident, more or less. I was restocking Glossier You perfume, a longtime favorite, got curious about the candle, and signed up for a subscription to get 15% off with every intention of canceling. I did not cancel. (I have since. It's handled.) The result is a small stockpile, which I've been burning through all fall.
The scent is clean and fresh without ever being overwhelming, the kind of thing you can burn while working without it demanding your attention. The vessel is a bonus. My decor runs neutral and coastal, but I am a FIRM believer in the unexpected red theory. This candle has forced me to commit to unexpected red in every room.
6. Black Wool Boatneck
This wool top is a near-perfect dupe for the Intimissimi cashmere boat neck. It's a fine-knit merino blend, closer in weight to a cotton tee than a sweater, and unlike the original it isn't sheer, so it works on its own. I bought it on impulse. It has since become the most worn thing in my closet this fall.
Fall doesn't call for summer's color and texture. There's something chic about a simple, well-fitted outfit, and this top is the backbone of that look: cut well enough to read polished when you dress it up, comfortable enough to wear when you don't. The price makes it easy to justify. Think of it as one step above a plain tee.
7. Skims Pajamas
I've owned Skims lingerie for a while but had never ventured into loungewear. This month I placed a big order for a handful of things I actually needed and added a pair of pajamas as an afterthought. I got them in white. They are now the most comfortable pajamas I own, well fitted, and cute enough that spending a whole day in them around the house doesn't feel sloppy. That last quality is rare and crucial in the cozy fall months.
8. DAE Hair Oil
I somehow also acquired this by accident, bundled with a hair cream I actually wanted, and it sat untouched for over a year. Then I ran out of my usual oil and gave it a shot, and now I'm annoyed at myself for waiting so long. It's thicker than most hair oils, almost tacky right out of the bottle, but it sinks in completely and leaves no residue. I use it on my ends specifically because the texture holds a curl shape in a way lighter oils don't, and it makes my hair look shinier without looking greasy.
9. The Owala FreeSip Sway
I've been loyal to Owala for years, and the lid is the reason: one opening for sipping through a straw, another for tipping it back and chugging, and a seal tight enough to toss in a bag without a second thought. My one complaint was that my three-year-old FreeSip didn't fit in a car cup holder, so it spent most drives rolling around the floor.
This month Kevin stole my Owala. He offered to buy me a replacement, and while shopping I learned Owala now makes the FreeSip Sway, which has every feature I love and actually fits in a cup holder. I was annoyed about the theft for about a day. Now I consider the theft a favor.
10. FM Radio
The wildcard you definitely weren’t expecting. I grew up in the era when music in the car meant AM, FM, or whatever CD was in my mom’s Land Rover, but I honestly haven’t listened to the radio since I got my own car in college. Lately I've rediscovered it. When life is moving fast and decision fatigue sets in, there's real relief in getting in the car and just turning it on: no song to pick, no playlist, no podcast.
You're at the mercy of the station, and on a short drive that is exactly the right amount of control to surrender. Mine stays tuned to a classic rock station in Dallas.
