It's really fall now. We've had a string of perfect autumn days, with bright sun, clear blue skies, crisp air, and lots of leaves on the ground to crunch on after some Halloween rain and wind. Today, we brought all of our plants in from the fire escape after a spring and summer outdoors - our plant bench is looking especially lush right now.
This month, it's time to turn my focus back inward, cozy up at home, and look to fill my days with hygge.
Vase Practice
When I’m not working on orders, I’d like to make more vases this month. Vases have become my preferred type of object to make for the moment as they are functional but leave a lot of room for creative license.
My Odette vase practice is one that I think will be with me for a long time. These are the ones I work on exclusively when the rest of the house has gone off to bed and it’s just me at my work table. Making vases after moonrise in a quiet home has an especially meditative quality to it.
Last month, I began working on a new series: Aleta vases. Also made from porcelain, these are simple shapes with a piscine ruffle winding down its length. I have a few more designs in mind that I'm looking forward to bringing to life.
Bundle Up
It's starting to get chilly in the northeast. I've never been great at keeping warm in in-between weather. I tend to get overheated when I'm out and about as I'm a fast and impatient walker, so in fall weather I find that over dressing tends to work against me. However, I'm trying to heed my acupuncturist's (and my mom's) advice to boa nuan, which means to keep warm or, more literally, to protect [your] warmth.
To do so, I'm putting all of my sweaters into heavy rotation, bring blazers back into the mix, keeping gloves in my bag at all times, and learning to reach for scarves more often.
Donate!
We donate throughout the year whenever we can, predominantly to dog shelters. Among our family, we've become the people who collect everyone's unwanted linens and towels for donations. We have a current stock of a dog bed, steps for old dogs, and linens that we're going to drop off at the ACC this month.
We also send boxes of gently used clothing out using Give Back Box. This month, I'm making it my goal to pack up at least two large clothing donations to send out.
Over the summer, I bought a new camera for product pictures and travel. I’m on the hunt for a way to donate my previous camera, still fully functional, to a program that will get some use out of it. I’ve looked online and so far found a couple of leads.
Read Up on Astrology
This New Yorker article about the growing acceptance of astrology in popular culture really struck a chord with me. I’ve long been a lover of celestial imagery in art and print. The planets and many constellations' names have roots in my beloved classical mythology. I’ve also been a casual follower of my Aquarian horoscope on and off throughout my life.
It’s so interesting that astrology is now more widely accepted and embraced than at any time in recent years since the 70’s, and people are making business out of it.
Through the article, I learned about birth charts and astrology apps, and found a renewed curiosity for reading up on the subject, more for its history and lore than for explicit practice. Back to the library I go!
Celebrate Best Friends
This month, I’m attending the bridal shower of one of my oldest, best friends. We met in elementary school and stayed thick as thieves since, growing up together despite never attending another shared school since the sixth grade. I’m so happy that she’s found her person, and that she can enjoy all the happy craziness of wedding events in these months leading up to her big day on Leap Day 2020 (so cool, right?!).
I’m also heading to Boston for a girls weekend with college best friends to visit the newest member of our girl gang. I love that this group of friends is now entering yet another phase of life, parenthood. I also love that although we’re far flung, we can decide to fly and drive and take days off to see each other via casual group text, decisively confirming dates and booking travel within an hour of the idea being floated.
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