Autumn awakens souls. Is an education in fullness, then death. This collection of Sweater Season Vibes reflects glimmers of autumn goodness. Will we snap photos of fall leaves, pumpkin patches, and foxes in the yard? But will we dare to simply be in the moments? But will we attend to them nakedly for their inherent purity without a need to “own” beauty or spend it as content currency? Oh, I hope so. A culture of smart phone addicts yields a planet of influencers collecting content and calling it creation. What does a world of siloed, scrolling, under the influence influencers absorbed in separate personal algorithmic realities become? I plan to: step back, creatively savor a fleeting season’s abundant beauty, sip quietly, and log unprecedented unplugged hours with nature.
Lovely Sweater Season Vibes
More than a bit random today, we’ll simply allow glimpses (from inspiring creatives as well as my own humble home) to speak the beauty of change outdoors and inside.
Psst. Have all of the seasons and holidays felt more rushed on social media than now? Apparently the whole craptastic capitalist enterprise falls apart should consumers wait until the day before Halloween to purchase candy corn. 🙂 For corn’s sake, wouldn’t we remember it is Halloween with less skeletons dangling from every store shelf?
It’s Fall! We Need More Robots!
Yesterday, I studied shoppers (mostly 20-somethings) at Home Depot mesmerized and filming the giant mechanical Halloween zombies, dragons, and Chuckies at the front of the store. Robots running the internet (while hijacking artists) and chatGPT writing emails and office reports are simply not enough artificial. More bugged-out eyes robots swinging axes in the hardware aisle, please, sir, the spectacle is thrilling.
Will this be a commentary on systems in which we’re all entangled? I don’t need to repeat what you already know. Entanglement with BEAUTY is more interesting.
Ya know?
Beauty arising from the earth and from secret places in the heart.
Beauty flowing in your backyard, from mouths of children, from twinkling eyes of aging pets.
Beauty blooming in friendship when it’s the most imperfectly unrobotic real thing.
The Question of Beauty
There’s a question never too far from my mind.
Will beauty save the world?
As I approach age 60, my hunch is…maybe. As long as it begins as an inside job. So much work and attentiveness to our interior landscapes of beauty are needed. Nurturing it involves what gardeners understand well: excavation, sowing seeds of hope, pruning to create room for new growth, and surrender to seasons bringing sunshine, bringing rain.
There’s a reliance–a sweet surrendered reliance–on grace in a quest for beauty. When we align with Divine Mystery and aspire to grow, the ground softens. We become partners in a Conspiracy of Beauty, and the universe responds. Systems rearrange; relationships repair. Divisions shrink, and purpose swells. Collaboration and cooperation become meaningful movements inviting more beauty to root, to bloom.
Are you waiting for circumstances, systems, and civility to change? toward such change? I start at the mirror (as opposed to a screen in my hands). I often ask two questions. Who are you, and where are you?
The answers move me into the holy ordinary of the everyday and to everyday beauty. I turn to the mastery of creation. To dappled light. The fresh taste of autumn apples. A kitten’s purr. My beloved’s laughter.
It’s all sacred. Do you love the light in fall? Its golden quality on the prairie injects everything with majesty. Makes nature feel cozier like this storybook cottage in Tennessee we stayed a few years ago.
Adding Layers in Autumn
So many simple textural details to admire and learn from in this French interior by Lucinda Chambers. It has that in-between summer and autumn look with neutrals. I want to curl up on the sofa under a throw but also feel the warm sunlight on my face.
Copper’s Glow in a Provence Kitchen
I love noticing how cool, summery spaces manage to still feel cozy and welcoming in the fall. Natural elements, whether it’s a collection of copper or a branch from the yard, are timeless touches that do the trick. You must simply discover what natural elements speak to you personally.
French blues harmonize with copper so magnificently…what a collection (from E. Dehllerin in Paris) at Le Mas des Poiriers!
Country Cottage Charm in France
I would love to have window boxes again someday. My husband built custom ones for our first home, a tiny white cottage where our family thrived. There is something utterly friendly and welcoming about a house wearing flowers.
Sometimes a harvest dinner is as simple as seasonal vegetables, fruit, cheese and cured meats on a board.
Oh–and a baguette! I still bake sourdough weekly and share loaves. Our younger son has begun the tradition as well. My nieces and nephews are learning about its charms.
Serene Fall Beauty in a French Chateau Sill
The colors and quality of the light here just take my breath away.
And the cremone bolt on the window! Oh, fairy hardware vendors of my dreams…sprinkle them on every hungry-for-beauty window here!?! (Will homemade sourdough baguettes be accepted for payment?)
South of France View
Copper Pots & Pears
I can smell the lavender right through the screen!
French Cat in a Window Box
Would your cat also lounge here?
One of Our Past Renovations in Early Fall
I remember taking video of this home three falls ago as if it were last week! Where does the time even go? For us? DIY project by DIY project.
Rustic Cozy in France
I have added several similar mirrors to my life since glimpsing this one:
Does this color pairing inspire you as it does me? Why should orange and crimson hoard all the love in fall?
French Climbing Vines
I’ll never forget Paris in October and feeling awestruck by ivy covered Old World buildings. Vivid moments when my husband desired to walk swiftly, and I wanted to swoon stare for long stretches. We don’t have excessive photos of the beauty of those days, so lost was I in moments of bliss. I seem to be all work or all play. And in Paris? Goodness gracious, it is a playground.
Fallen Leaves at Petit Trianon
Pears and Brown Paper
Colorful Autumn Leaves in Doremy, France
What a transcendent photo by Cassie Berube on a visit to Joan of Arc’s birthplace! How I would love to go on one of her splendid retreats for women!
Understated Color in Provence
Oh this image! First of all, maybe it will inspire you to search forgotten boxes in the attic for mismatched china for a wall. And that lantern sconce with the art below. I feel as though I need such a moment in my home too. Finally, a bobbin leg console used as a buffet…isn’t the narrow scale of it divine?
The warmth of wood, plates hung simply on the wall, French fabrics, and gentle blue…it all speaks to my soul and feels welcoming across any season.
Cozy Comfy Finds for Fall
These cozy slipper slides below are on my feet as I type this!
The Scent I Wear in Fall
Thinking of each of you and so grateful if you made it here to the end. Thank you for journeying with me as we dream, create, connect and grow. I don’t want to rush into any season. Rather, I want to be awake enough to notice subtle changes and fill with wonder as new beauty is birthing.
I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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