On a Personal Note—September and Slower Living
September has swept in like a quiet breeze. A slow goodbye to summer as we anxiously await a fresh start and a new season. We’re coming into my favorite time of year. With what’s hopefully only a few more weeks of heat and then a swift welcome of crisp air, changing leaves, cozier days, and darker evenings. I yearn for autumn.
It’s always September that feels like a fresh start for me. Perhaps it’s the lingering feeling of many years past starting school again after a summer break. We can never really shake those thoughts of starting over, reorganizing, and freshening up for the fall season. I simply love it. And after what has been quite a busy and fabulous summer, I’m ready to nestle in for the cooler months.
August has been packed with so many trips, big and small, I managed to skip grocery shopping for five weeks because of how little I was home. From beach trips, to helping my mom with her big move to the bay, and a fabulous end to summer overseas in England celebrating my best friend’s wedding and frolicking through Cornwall and the Cotswolds… it was a good month! Now that I’ve been back and finally able to really settle in to my routine again, I’ve been thinking about how to get back into the swing of things.
It seems I often start and have to stop again because life gets in the way or because my creative energy is simply soaked up during my work day. But know that I’m making every effort to set aside time to create for fun and for myself and for you all! I have so many photos I want to share over on Instagram from my trip. I’m adding new items to my shop pages. And I’ve rebuilt my newsletter and cannot wait to get that out regularly moving forward—planning to share these personal notes, what’s bringing me joy, playlists, film lists, and more! A great way to keep up with the blog if you’re not always able to check in here. Overall, it’s a great time of year to sit back and relax.
Slower living is high on my priority list these days. In my 30s, I’ve really come to love quieter days and evenings in, just simply reveling in a good movie, reading, cooking, listening to music, taking walks, nesting, and enjoying time with myself. It’s always fall that snaps me back into these quieter things. Like a slow deep breath after the craze of summer. There’s so much I’m looking forward to in the next couple months…
Mostly autumn weather. It’s my favorite time to be outside, and sartorially speaking, the best time of year for styling clothes. There’s nothing I love more than stepping out in the morning to a cool, crisp welcome of a fall day, layered up in a sweater. I’m thinking about what gardens around the city I want to spend time in on weekends, the coffee shops I’ll want to work from with a warm drink, and all the afternoon neighborhood walks I can take without breaking a sweat, crunching through colored leaves and capturing the golden light of day. And those little nostalgic moments walking past homes and getting a whiff of campfire or burning wood in someone’s backyard or the way fallen, dried leaves smell.
And I love my home in fall. I get the best light as the sun drops lower in the sky and our days become shorter. And decorating. While I’m a fan of little spooky touches here and there, what I really love to do is bring in warmer colors through pillows and blankets, and natural elements like branches, feathers, and dried flowers. Plus, you know I love my candles. It’s taking everything in me to hold off a bit longer on fall scents.
I’ve also started getting some invitations to bonfire parties, Oktoberfest, and fall dinners and they have me so excited for the coming months. Chats with friends around a crackling outdoor fire pit, pumpkin patches, fall festivals, haunted houses and cornfields, and my little dinner party I love to throw every October. And there’s also the quiet things I enjoy for myself, like reading under a blanket outside, lighting candles and watching my autumn movie list (don’t worry it’s coming!), baking cookies, making soups, cool mornings at the farmer’s market, country drives to my favorite antiquing towns, the list goes on.
So much to look forward to! Can’t wait to chat more over here and in your inbox. Hope you all have had a fabulous summer yourselves and take the time to pause and slow down and do all the little, quiet things that bring you joy this time of year. Cheers to the new season!
