This post is part of the 100 Days ’til Christmas Challenge — one small step each day to make the holiday season less stressful and a lot more fun.
** This Post Contains Affiliate Links**
We’ve wrapped up another busy week in the 100 Days to Christmas challenge! From handmade gift ideas to planning fall traditions and even mapping out holiday entertaining, it’s been full of good stuff. If you missed anything, you can catch up on all the posts inside the Holiday Hub. (sign up for the newsletter to gain access)
But before we charge into another week, let’s hit pause for Self-Care Sunday — my spin on the classic “4 things gift list.” Instead of shopping for everyone else, this is a cozy little wish list just for you. And since fall is the perfect season to curl up with a good cozy mystery, that’s our theme today.
🍎 First, a Quick Follow-Up From Last Week…
Remember the apple cake I shared in Self-Care Sunday #1? Well, I made it — and it was wonderful. Around here, it’s officially become a “fork cake,” which means there’s always a fork in the pan and every family member grabs a bite whenever they walk through the kitchen. It was the carmelly icing for me, that sent the whole cake to another level. I think there is only crumbs left in the pan at this point.
📚 Something to Read: A Cozy Mystery Pick
A Secret, Book and Scone Society Nove
I actually started this book a couple of days ago, and it grabs you right from the start. The way it opens up about Nora, you can’t wait to learn more about her and her bibliotherapy. It’s the first in a cozy mystery series set in a small-town bookshop, with friendship, comfort food, and a little whodunit twist woven in. Basically, the perfect fall cozy mystery read — especially if you love a story with bookish charm.
Something to Create Coziness
WoodWick Large Hourglass Candle Autumn Harvest Trilogy
This is not just a candle — it’s an experience. The wooden wick gives off that soft crackling sound, like a tiny fireplace, and the Harvest Trilogy blends three fall scents in one candle as it burns. Light this while you read your cozy mystery novel and it’s instant autumn coziness.
🎉 Something for Fun
Cozy Bookstore Café Ambiance Video on YouTube
If you’ve never tried these, trust me — they’re magic. Picture this: soft café chatter, the sound of pages turning, and light jazz music in the background. It feels like you’re tucked into a corner bookstore, sipping something warm, even if you’re just sitting at your kitchen table. Perfect background noise while reading your new cozy mystery or baking pumpkin bread.
🍫 Something to Treat Yourself With
Cori’s Family Famous Pumpkin Bread (not to be confused with World Famous!)
This is the very first thing I bake every fall — and the last thing I bake when spring starts creeping in. It’s cozy, perfectly spiced, and fills the house with the best smell.
Here’s the recipe, with my family’s little tweaks: Believe it or not, I DO NOT have a picture of this recipe. For as many times as I have made it, I guess I never took the time to take a pic)
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 can (15 oz) 100% pure pumpkin
- 4 eggs
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour five 5×3-inch mini loaf pans.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt.
- In another large mixing bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, and orange juice. Beat until just blended.
- Add pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture. Stir gently until just moistened.
- Tip: If using a mixer, fold the batter by hand at the end — the oil has a sneaky way of pooling at the bottom.
- Spoon batter into prepared pans.
- Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes, then remove loaves to wire racks to cool completely.
💡 Extra indulgence tip: Add chocolate chips — measured with your heart ❤️ — for a cozy, sweet twist that never lasts long in my house.
💬 Something to Remember
That’s your Self-Care Sunday mini wish list for Week 2: a cozy mystery to read, a crackling candle to burn, a bookstore café video for the perfect fall background, and pumpkin bread fresh from the oven. Pick one, pick them all, or just take this as your reminder to pause and enjoy the season you’re in. 💛
See you tomorrow when we kick off Week 3 of the 100 Days to Christmas challenge!
