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!
On a Personal Note—June Awakening
June has swept in like a breath of fresh air. Summer is around the corner and the days have been filled with sunshine and the most perfect breeze—I couldn’t dream up better weather. Aren’t we lucky to have the changing of the seasons? Always something to look forward to. A reason to feel revitalized and inspired.
To say we’ve been blessed with amazing spring weather is an understatement. I cannot remember the last time DC saw such a great spring. It has me feeling good. There’s always so much to look forward to this time of year, even if most of my days are filled with ease and slower living. I’ve been getting out and about as much as possible for walks around my favorite neighborhoods—all covered in lush greens. I’ve been actually getting dressed each day, even if just working from home… tossing on fresh linens and easy tops and slipping on sandals over tanned skin. And I’ve just generally felt more shiny and carefree.
I cannot wait to spend summer days with dinners and drinks al fresco, rooftop hangs, Saturdays at the farmers markets, reading in my favorite gardens, and cannot forget, sunbathing by the sea! In case you missed my recent stories, my mom is selling our Maryland family home and bought an adorable little cottage-y type bay house in Delaware. I cannot express how excited I am to have this little piece of home by the water just a couple hours away from DC. I’m such a beach girl. There’s nothing I love more than toes in the sand, looking out at the sparkling water, and the warmth of the sun across my face. I love it.
Anyways… I don’t have too much to update you all on. Just happy to be stepping into the summer months! And have a fresh batch of blog posts coming your way. I took some time over the weekend to make updates to the site. I’ve been meaning to edit my search function and just make it much easier for you all to browse through posts, so you’ll notice a bit of newness under the Journal page. On a similar note, something I really miss about freelance graphic/website design is all the fun I use to have adding playful elements to sites. I had some fun creating a new homepage moodboard with a funky effect. And you may also notice my sweet little updated cursor. A little neoclassical moment. I always love adding subtle touches to this site—it makes me so happy! And I hope you all love escaping to this little piece of the internet as well. That’s all for now!!!
On a Personal Note—Let’s Try This Again
After a rough and unexpected start to the year… spring has sprung, DC is in bloom, I’ve turned 33, and am feeling so revitalized moving into April.
If you haven’t been following along on Instagram, you may have missed that early February was met with a traumatic incident involving my dog, Millie. Long story short, I had woken up one day to her slowly losing mobility in her back legs and within hours going completely lame. After a tortuous weekend of the unknown, we found that she had a slipped disk and needed emergency spine surgery. It was a very emotional and mentally exhausting month trying to get her to stand and walk again after being paralyzed, but with lots of work, we had turned things around by March. Dogs really are such a huge part of our lives and I cannot express how horribly this affected me, but I’m so happy to see how much progress she’s made and how happy she is just doing dog things again! Though it’s still a long road to being normal again—if that’s even in the cards for her.
This month, I’ve really focused on getting myself back on track. I started seeing friends again and going out… doing little, simple things for myself, like buying flowers, going on walks, visiting my favorite places, reuniting with family, and starting a new project at work. It’s crazy how life can come at you so hard and really throw everything off track. I basically dropped it all in that moment—it’s been so hard to focus on anything else (hence my silence over here and on social—though I really enjoyed being offline).
With March came spring in DC and my birthday… and I’m feeling like a new woman! I’ve been so inspired by the world around me, and after such a dormant two months, my creative brain is bursting at the seams. Every spring I feel like I come alive. And if my 33rd birthday week is any indication of how the rest of the year will go, it’s gonna be good. I had a really great annual career discussion and received an amazing (and unexpectedly large) raise. Millie was able to go on her first real walk since before surgery. I’m onto a fresh new project at work that I’m really excited about. I finished booking and planning a trip to England this summer to celebrate a best friend’s wedding. Solidified plans with my mom to spend some time at my favorite place by the sea in April. I’m just feeling good! And celebrating all the little and big wins that I know I deserve.
And with the warmer weather showing its face here and there, I’m excited about spring plans in the city. DC is so gorgeous this time of year, lit up in pink cherry blossoms and tulips and people out and about. I’m ready for dining al fresco, long neighborhood walks, green trees, sunshine, entertaining and making plans, rooftop hangs. I’m excited about new recipes and planting little herbs for the window. I’m ready for easy, breezy clothes, a fresh palette, and slides. Perhaps an apartment update here and there.
So, cheers to a new season and a new age! I’m so ready to relish in it and get back to bringing myself joy.