Despite the fact that a calendar year is really an arbitrary block of time, there is something about an impending new year that gets me motivated to check things off the list. Be it a sewing project or the never ending To Do list at work, I always try to make that final push to put projects behind me, add one more tick in the Done Column. Almost as if, in doing so, I will truly feel as if I deserve a break. (Note to self: You deserve a break anyway)
With the Turkey in the oven and the sounds of family swirling around my house, I sat down during a quick lull to put together my annual list of Black Friday Deals! I love shopping small around the holidays, and have really embraced getting huge chunks of Christmas shopping done before December even starts, when I can snag some amazing deals!
I’m not sure where you guys live, but here in North Carolina, there is an autumnal inevitability: regardless of whether you are smack in the middle of October or November and have busted out all manner of light coats and tights, there is always a day where you step outside in all of your glorious layers to feel a bit like Dorothy when she comes out of the house after the tornado. Except instead of walking from a world of black and white into one of color, you emerge from a presupposed expectation of the autumnal chill into a veritable…
Well, it’s officially September. And even though we are still experiencing pretty sweltering temps some days here in NC, I’m already dreaming of layers and hot chocolate and leaves crunching underfoot. What can I say? I’m almost always in an autumn frame of mind.
I think, no matter how daring you are, you can always get stuck in a bit of a rut. While I have a reputation for being somewhat fashionably “You Do You“, I’ll be the first to admit that I have my comfort zone. Without fail, day or night, you can be sure you’ll see me in a full skirt cinched within an inch of its life and as many crinolines as I can conceivably stack beneath some manner of glitter.
There are certain kinds of fabric that just call to you. As someone who is all about the clash of geometrics and florals, with a particular penchant for border prints, it should come as no surprise that Gertie’s latest Hopscotch Gingham in cotton sateen would steal my heart. The tricky part: which color to choose??
Things have certainly been pretty busy of late. And whenever this time of year rolls around, my eye can’t help but cast to some sort of greener pasture. Be it next week once that paper has been submitted or that deadline has been met. Next month, once the semester has passed and there are no longer undergraduates flooding my inbox. Or next year, when we might see the end of this long line of bone chilling weariness at the state of the world.
There is nothing more important than self-care. After the kind of semester I’ve just had (and let’s face it, the kind of 2 years we’ve all just had), I’m looking for it more than ever. And self care can take a variety of forms: either spending some time to yourself getting lost in a good book, heading to the beach for a girl’s weekend, or a splurge on the cutest new handbag range from Vendula London.
There is something truly captivating about a city skyline at night. Looking out across the sea of buildings, feeling so far away from the world, but somehow still seeming connected to everyone and everything. I always loved how the lights blinked on slowly as the sun set, hinting of the lives within those windows. Both mundane and magical.
I’ve never had much of a green thumb. Without ever meaning to, I am an enemy to all plant life, a horticultural assassin. Your ferns and rosebushes aren’t safe around me. I even killed a cactus in my pitiful gardening history (a feat I’m told you actually have to work at). And while basil plants wilt and grass shrivels in my presence, a flourishing wardrobe: Now, that I can cultivate…