Lovin' Lately no. 19
back-to-school (without the going back-to-school part) and fall vibes galore
Imagine we’re catching up over coffee and I’m gushing over what I’ve been Lovin’ Lately…
September has arrived! It’s my very favorite month of the year and it also happens to be my birthday month. The past week has delivered the most gorgeous sunny and cool crisp weather (my favorite combo after summer’s hazy humid heat) and it’s been impossible not to lean into fall. Now that it’s September, all bets are off! Here’s some of the good stuff as of late…
My husband and I celebrated our 10th anniversary on August 30th, which felt extra special since we also got married on Labor Day weekend. He’s so good at keeping up with the traditional anniversary gifts, so this year, he surprised me with a pair of aluminum wrist cuffs (one for him, one for me) engraved with lines from each of our vows. He also writes me a poem every anniversary, and this year, he compiled all the anniversary poems he’s written over the past 10 years into a Google doc. It was a joy to read through the entire compilation of our marriage through his eyes. We had a little getaway in late July to celebrate, but on Friday night, we marked the occasion with a sunset drink by the lake, dinner at our favorite restaurant followed by (impromptu) karaoke at a downtown dive bar. It was the best way to kick off Labor Day weekend.
My current favorite indulgence is Coops vegan hot fudge (I find it at my local natural grocer), and I kid you not it is better than any fudge I’ve ever had in my life. I love it over vanilla ice cream.
Every time this song by The Japanese House comes on I get nostalgic back-to-school feelings. Next week, I’ll be sharing a fall-themed read/watch/listen list, including a playlist that captures all the back-to-school vibes because some songs just take me there.
*hyper fixation alert*—salads with dumplings! I’ll be sharing two recipes in my upcoming Sunday Menu that I cannot get enough of, both featuring dumplings. In the meantime, head to your local Asian market and grab a bag or two of frozen dumplings (trust me, they’re way better than the Trader Joe’s options).
This fall reset is one of my favorite things I’ve created on my Substack yet! Last week I printed out the accompanying kit for myself and started drafting some of my own key lists and ideas—it feels so good to have everything out of my head and on paper. Bring on the crunchy leaves and all things apple!
P.S. Which team are you?
After a few years of experimenting with the bullet journal method (fail… I just don’t have time for that in this season of life) and the “keep it all in my head” method (even bigger fail, I don’t have the mental capacity for that!), I finally got a paper planner, and it’s glorious. I need three key things in my planners—monthly overviews (to see everything coming up), weekly planning spaces (to map out tasks and appointments), and to-do list spaces (this one has both monthly and weekly spaces, which I love!). This planner delivers on all fronts with a beautiful, clean layout. I feel very back-to-school ready even though I won’t be in a classroom.
And of course, with a new planner, you need a new pen! I’ve been using these pens for years, I love the color options. Your local craft store likely has them available to test out too.
For years, the French pin has been my go-to tool for updos and my secret to overnight voluminous hair (I wrap my dry or freshly blowdried hair in a top knot, secure it with a pin, and in the morning, I have tons of root volume and curl at the ends). Recently I started using a claw clip, but as we head into fall, I’m excited to get back to more relaxed chignons. The secret to using French pins is to create a “W” shape as you push the pin in and across your low bun to help attach it to your head. The more you do it, the easier it gets. I’ve been using a set of these pins from Target for years, and they’ve held up beautifully.
I’ve got big new season energy right now which is perfect for curating a mood board that reflects the intentions, experiences, and overall vibe I want to embrace this autumn. Part of what makes an upcoming season so exciting is the anticipation of all that is to come. I love to use mood boards as a tool for envisioning what I want my home to feel like, how I want to nourish my body, ways I want to reflect and grow, outfits I want to wear, and activities I want to enjoy with my family. Capturing these things via a Pinterest board makes it easy to add to and revisit throughout the season, providing a steady stream of inspiration whenever I need it.
With creating a mood board, I find it most rewarding to let my subconscious take the lead. As I scroll through Pinterest, I pin anything that resonates with me and aligns with the energy I’m cultivating for the season ahead, even if I cant always articulate why. This approach often leads to delightful surprises—shifts I might be craving in my home’s interior, colors I wouldn’t normally gravitate to, or quotes that perfectly capture thoughts and feelings simmering beneath the surface. I also love pinning outfits that inspire me to shop my closet in new ways, crafts to create, and recipes I’m eager to try. It’s almost like creating my own personal seasonal magazine publication.
Once I’ve gathered a good collection of pins, I like to take a step back and look for emerging themes—perhaps an appetite for comforting pastries, a rediscovered love for the color mustard, a craving for quiet moments, or a fondness for warm lighting. These themes help guide how I want to spend my time and offer a deeper understanding of what sparks joy for me in a current season so that I can look forward to what’s ahead.
I use a simple naming convention: “mood: season year.” This keeps all my mood boards neatly grouped and organized by season and year. It also makes it fun to look back at past years and see how my tastes and interests have evolved.
Have you done anything like this? Give it a try this week and let me know what you think. It’s such a simple but delightful activity that’s all too similar to the magazine collages my friends and I made religiously in middle and high school. :)
😎 Have you heard about dopamine menus? (I’m always embarrassingly late to the TikTok trends so you probably have) Such a fun idea. My friend
shared hers if you need some inspo.🌎 Thank you
for sending me this positive article about how we have united and helped heal our planet before and how we can do it again. I remember having a similar takeaway after watching the docuseries One Strange Rock (NatGeo/Disney+) a few years back.📖 Give them books. What can a parent do in this modern screen saturated environment? The age old answer, books have our backs!
has excellent tips here, especially for older readers.🥤 I’ve leaned into the prebiotic soda trend for the simpler ingredient list but this article about the effect of the probiotic claims was interesting and a reminder we aren’t hearing enough of, don’t forget your fiber!
🛒 Two new additions to my wishlist— this Lego set for the whole fam and this new bean focused cookbook.
😣 I’m still trying to sort out how I feel about the recent warning from the U.S. surgeon general about the dire state of parental stress. But I think it’s important to understand, discuss and work through these modern day stressors, we don’t have to succumb to them.
🫶 My pal Mattie shared this couples therapist insight, I enjoyed reading and reflecting on these with my husband.
📚 6 books to get you into literary fiction— I like that this includes some out-there books, not just the consistently hyped variety.
🛋 With a new basement to setup (soon!) and a desire to do some thrifting and shuffling in the rest of our home I’ve been big on studying Nancy Meyers set layouts. I recently watched It’s Complicated for the first time and have been scouring the internet for Nancy Meyers imagery and commentary. Lived in and cozy is it!
📱 I don’t bring my phone with me to the toilet anymore. This was excellent food for thought.
🏠 This 52 week home maintenance creator offers a free weekly home checklist and support— this kind of stuff overwhelms me so I love that he breaks it down into a single weekly task.
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Happy September to all!!
So much good stuff here! I'm very intrigued by the salads with dumplings! I started journaling this year, and appreciate the pen rec, a good one makes all the difference. I've been cooking a lot with beans and added the bean cookbook to my list. And Nancy Myers style is the best, happy thrifting!
Happy anniversary, what a sweet tradition of writing a poem! I love that. You also reminded me of the joys of the french pin. I cut my hair short two years ago but I'm growing it out again and have been playing around with more pulled back styles so I'll have to dig my pins out of their hiding place for fall. I love how low maintenance the hair style is but how pulled together it looks!