Five Little Things: Fall Edition
I brought the last of my tomatoes inside this week, set the green ones on the windowsill, and have been watching them slowly turn yellow, then orange, and finally red.
The hummingbirds have all flown south now, and yesterday brought us our first frosty morning. So, I’ve gathered up the red-flowered feeders, brought them all inside, scrubbed them clean, and stored them under the kitchen sink.
Sunrise is happening later and later each morning. Sunset coming earlier and earlier. The sun’s path over our house drastically lower and lower each day.
I’m pushing my favorite summer outfits farther and farther to the back of my closet, pulling the cardigans, chunky knits, and long-sleeved everything all the way to the front.
The change feels like such a relief.
Especially since it’s coming in the midst of dark personal days. Especially since it’s brought five little things — all good, all bright, all beautiful — into my world quite suddenly. A bit of bookish magic I thought I’d share with you this morning. . .
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#1 — I found a treat waiting for me at the post office a few mornings ago, a small package with a sweet hand-written card from a friend & the cutest paint set I’ve ever seen ⤵
I’ve been using the tiny set each morning this week as part of a new commitment to myself called “start with art”, and it’s bringing me so much joy. It’s truly the little things, hey? And such a testament to how big every small kindness we act on truly can be. (thank you, Maggs!)
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#2 — Another surprise showed up on my doorstep just a few days later in the form of an extremely bookish Lego-flavored luxury that perfectly nestles into my dreamy bookcase. An incredibly thoughtful human scoured the interwebs to find it, and I’m so glad he did. It’s like looking in a Lego mirror 😂.
Another small kindness giving me so, so much joy right now.
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#3 — The undeniable desire to re-read something one of my past selves has deeply loved is one of my favorite fall feels. And it’s come on quite suddenly this week. As a result, I’ve lost myself for hours several evenings and early mornings this week re-reading Katherine May’s gorgeous book Wintering.
I remember loving this book the first time I read it years ago, but not nearly as much as I’m loving it this time around. Instead of dreading the downward slope to the colder, darker winter days this year, I’m actually looking forward to its coziness, extra rest, and the way it beckons me to a lower-key existence. After all, “Life goes on abundantly in winter—changes made here will usher us into future glories.” ~KM
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#4 — I’m also re-reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. It’s the book that first taught me how to live a creative life in the middle of my regular life. An instruction manual for learning to call oneself an artist (yes, even you and me). A workbook that brings artistic magic into my life every time I open its pages.
To quote another favorite re-read of mine, “There is more value in re-reading a book you already know has strategies that can improve your life than there is in reading a new book before you’ve mastered the strategies in the first.” I couldn’t agree more.
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#5 — Mornings have been absolutely breathtaking lately in my corner of the world. Stepping out onto the porch in the early morning light literally feels like walking around in a watercolor painting. (Here’s a link to a little video I put on IG in case you don’t believe me)
Truth be told, the sunrise hours have probably looked like this here since we moved into our new home back in May, but sunrise is coming a full two hours later these days, so I’m a bit more conscious and able to appreciate it now.
Nature. I highly recommend it.
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I hope this week has been good to you too, my friend. I hope you see beauty everywhere. I hope you can make time to breathe it in deeply. And should you need a friend, I’m only an email away.
Always.
💛
Celeste
