2017 Gift Guide
I had a lot of fun putting together this year’s gift guide. My inspiration was rooted in the guiding principle that influences almost every purchase I make: versatility. Each of these gift ideas can serve multiple purposes, and some can even satisfy multiple people on your list.
Dried Orange Garland
I wanted to share an easy DIY holiday decoration that will put you in the festive spirit and make your home smell divine. Now that’s what I call a win-win. I was inspired by a picture in House & Home magazine of a dried orange garland hanging on a mantle; there was just something simple and sweet about it that made me think of an old-fashioned Christmas. I wondered to myself, how hard could it be to make? As it turns out, not hard at all.
Thanksgiving Tablescape
Thanksgiving is hands down my favorite holiday. I’m not hosting this year, but my mind is still dreaming about menus and decorations and tablescapes. When Patanjali suggests in sutra 1.40 that we can settle the mind by focusing on whatever we want so long as it’s elevating, I take that to mean that it’s cool to plan parties while I meditate. For better or for worse, I try to encourage my imagination because I spend way too much time being careful and deliberate, worrying about logical, rational stuff that makes me feel heavy and boring. I need more imagination in my life! And so, I decided to let myself go a little crazy with my faux Thanksgiving preparations, to the point of actually setting my own Thanksgiving table. It was glorious. I told myself it was for the blog, but that was just the convenient excuse I used to justify my creative shenanigans.
Endless Summer
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m not ready to let summer go. That includes saying goodbye (for now) to my favorite summer pieces. I don’t usually invest in summer fashion, but this year was different; I found a few accessories that I have just loved the heck out of and will definitely be storing for next year.
My Haven
I recently had the pleasure of hosting lunch at my home for the team at Haven Collective. It was such a great day! We did a photo shoot and interview for a feature on their website, I led them through a little meditation practice, and then we opened a bottle of rosé and sat down at my farm table to enjoy a meal.
No-Makeup Makeup
I don’t wear a lot of makeup. My beauty philosophy is simple: less is more. I have a basic make-up ritual I follow most days. It’s always the same thing: curl my eyelashes, mascara, some definition for my brows, a little blush, and maybe some foundation to even out my skin tone. I like my makeup to look natural because I want to see my skin, but really I want to see me, underneath.
California Style
This East Coast gal has a confession to make: I’ve got a major crush on California. My heart may belong to a white clapboard saltbox home, but I could really get behind a bogevelia-covered beach bungalow. Don’t worry, I’m not moving, even if the weather is perfect and they have an unlimited supply of ripe avocados.
A Happy Fourth
I hope everyone had a great holiday! What a gorgeous day it was! Billy and I headed over to my parents’ boat for our annual Fourth of July festivities, except this year it was just the two of us because my family was off having their own adventures. We spent the whole day (and night) on the boat by ourselves and had a great time.
Impromptu Entertaining
One of my biggest inspirations for entertaining comes from a scene in Breakfast at Tiffany’s where Holly slips a handwritten note under Paul’s door inviting him over for drinks. I love everything about it—the personal note, the impromptu invite, the throw-it-all-together-at-the-last-minute attitude. As a recovering perfectionist and a chronic over thinker, spontaneous entertaining is one of the sharpest tools in my h(om)e practice because it asks me to go with the flow.