I love fall. I love the changing leaves and the crisp air and cozy sweaters. Fall means football and cider and homemade loaves of bread. Unfortunately, living in the South also means that sometimes you just have pretend it’s fall weather outside when the heat of summer lingers far beyond Labor Day. So for now I’m going to light my candles and cuddle in heavy blankets and as soon as the temperature drops below 75˚, I’m going to sport flannels and my favorite cashmere sweater.

Here are a few more of my fall essentials (Also, when something as comfortable as semi-fitted sweatpants comes back in style, you buy two pairs and don’t question it):

Sources: Flannel // Lounge Pants // Blankets // Boots // Candles

And these fun fan necklaces can be worn year-round. Below are three examples of how you can style them!

For more information on the fan necklaces, head over to the shop.

When I was younger, I fell more into the tomboy category. After I turned eight, all things pink and sparkly disgusted me. I played soccer constantly and refused to wear frilly dresses and my hair was always in a ponytail.

It wasn’t until high school when I realized being girly wasn’t a crime and I could wear makeup without signing my fuchsia-hating soul away. In college I learned to walk in heels and how to curl my hair, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I broke down and bought glitter.

I wanted to take a few pictures of the glitter for promoting sales and various things around the new website. It seemed festive and fun. So I pulled out my white backdrop, poured out a good bit of glitter, and arranged it for pictures. I snapped some photos and they looked decent enough, so I cleaned up the workspace and started to think about my next task. I realized a few minutes later that glitter is not so easy to dispose of.  Somehow the pesky sparkles appeared in my hair, on my laptop, and even on the unsuspecting dog. I am still noticing glitter in the cracks of the kitchen table when we eat dinner, and Kevin complained about finding some on his clothes just last week. The stuff spread like wildfire.

After vowing never to play with glitter again, I reflected on how the small ornaments so quickly and intricately weaved themselves into our lives. And isn’t the gospel meant to be spread the same way?  We should be so affected by the gospel that we can’t escape it. We see the gospel everywhere because the gospel is everywhere. It has weaved itself so deeply into every part of our lives; we can’t distance one section of our lives from his saving grace and mercy. It has profoundly affected us.

And how much we reflect the gospel should coincide with how much we are affected by it.

I was dead in my sins, and now I rejoice because I am alive in Christ. The gospel has greatly affected me. It has affected me so deeply that I see the gospel metaphor in glitter (weird as it may be). Which means I should reflect the gospel with everything I am, with everything I have. But I am an imperfect creature living an imperfect life, and I am especially grateful for His grace in my failures. For his mercy in my messiness. And for his sovereignty despite my selfishness.

When I visit someone’s house for the first time, one of the first things I notice is their pile of books (or lack thereof). I don’t take note of their books to be judgmental or make mental comparisons, but because I think people’s books reveal a lot about themselves and I have a weirdly fanatic, deep love for all types of literature. I’m the type of person who spends hours in Barnes & Noble (to Kevin’s dismay) and reads every word printed in her magazines and spends an entire Anthropologie gift card on coffee table books. And because I believe books are beautiful, magical manifestos, I love the idea that books should be displayed.

A good coffee table book is a combination of the best things. Art, writing, photography, fashion, and home décor are often wrapped up into the wonderful, glossy bound pages. It is both aesthetically pleasing and useful and I can’t think of a better object to display on a coffee table than a big, beautiful book. While I am still trying to master the art of coffee table décor, I have found that charming and good books are the foundations of my ideal coffee table: the coffee table that I would like to sit next to when I have deep conversations and cry happy tears and watch Friends reruns.

And since I feel the innate need to share my finds with other coffee table book lovers (if that’s not a real thing, then it should be), here are five favorites that I would proudly display on my coffee table (if I don’t already):

1. Ralph Lauren // Ralph Lauren

2. The Nesting Place // Myquillyn Smith

3. Vivian Maier: Street Photographer // Vivian Maier, John Maloof

4. A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of a Misspent Life // Mary R. Carter

5. The Americans // Robert Frank, Jack Kerouac

Also, keep these little Bible verse cards on your coffee table to act as encouraging reminders or as favors handed out to guests! 

Here's a behind-the-scenes peek at my branding inspiration board for the logo's makeover. I wanted to keep it simple and timeless, but also wanted the script to be unique and lovely with an extra touch of texture. The charcoal strokes and handwritten calligraphy balanced out my contrasting wishes!

Sources: 1/2/3/4

I also wanted to share a glimpse of the brand new packaging. With linen ribbon and brown paper packages (I hope you invoked your inner Julie Andrews just now), it will feel like Christmas morning when you receive your products!

I have an infatuation with linen. Its look and texture is natural and wonderful. It makes me think of my favorite shirt and clean sheets and warm sunny days with gentle breezes. 

The boxes are also marvelously useful. I use several to store stationery in my office and consolidate jewelry on my dresser. One can never have too many boxes (a lesson from my nomadic life).

Texture has been a focus not only in the new branding and packaging, but also in the new designs. In this gold necklace and bracelet, I decided to add some texture just for the sake of texture. I love the small textures on the necklace because it adds a little bit of edge to an otherwise simple piece, and I love the chaotic textures on the bracelet because it reminds me of hieroglyphs and abstract art. Now I think of adding texture as adding a little bit more personality into the object. Kind of like wearing winged eyeliner or red lipstick. 

Here's to adding a little more texture in our lives with the new branding, packaging and designs!

There’s this little old man who is always at the gym the same time as I am. He wears bright colors and walks on the same treadmill every day and has a slightly hunched back. I don’t know his name or anything about him outside of the gym, but I imagine his name to be Ed. In my weird imagination, Ed reads the newspaper every morning and relaxes on his front porch swing in the evening and plays with his grandkids, who live just down the street.

Back to actual facts about Ed (Other than the fact that his real name is probably not Ed). He has thin white hair and is never without his glasses. Ed doesn’t wear any headphones or watch t.v., but he just stares straight ahead and walks with determination in his gait.

One day, while I am on my second mile in the row behind him, Ed finishes his walk and his excitement is apparent. I glance over to see his workout summary because I’m nosy and want to know why he’s so excited. To my astonishment, Ed just finished a six-mile walk. I make a mental note to run a few more miles than normal because if this little old man can finish six miles, well then a perfectly healthy 20-something should be able to complete a four-mile run without heaving. I quickly focus my attention back on Ed and his excitement. Promptly after stepping off his treadmill, he walks over to a man on my row and points to his treadmill with a smile, obviously speaking about his accomplishment. The younger man nods and congratulates him before Ed makes his way to the other side of the gym and continues the same routine, pointing to his treadmill with gusto. Before he leaves, Ed talks to a few more people who seem genuinely excited for the little old man and his achievement.

And it strikes me that I want to be like Ed.

But I rarely talk to strangers and I don’t wear bright colors. 

I am too comfortable in my bubble and in my routines; I like drinking my coffee the same way every morning and working at the same times and wearing neutral colors. I smile at strangers but don’t make excessive conversation, I never run without my headphones and I don’t like trying new foods.

And God so often calls us out of our comfort zones and I so often pretend that he doesn’t.

Right now I can feel the Lord drawing me out from behind my headphones and securities, pulling at my very soul to be more open and honest and authentic. So I am determined to embrace uneasiness and inconveniences. I am determined for this space to be free of masks and pretenses. I feel kind of like a tiny rowboat sailing out into the vast ocean, full of anticipation and excitement and a little bit of horror at the possibilities. But for the first time in a long time, I am purposefully pursuing vulnerability. I am out of comfort zone and I am right where I’m supposed to be.

I think Ed would be proud.

Growing up, when the end of the summer seemed to spring up out of nowhere and the vacations came to an end, there was always a little bit of excitement amongst the sadness about summer's finality. And the reason for that excitement was not just the cooler weather on the horizon, but also because I loved going back to school shopping. It took me hours to pick out new notebooks, pens, binders, pencils, and planners because these were important decisions. Oh and let's not leave out the highlighters...wonderful, magical things that they are. I loved organizing the supplies and labeling notebooks for each class and it makes me think of the line from You've Got Mail about a bouquet of sharpened pencils. 

It's weird not going back to school shopping anymore, so as the buses began running again and Target had it's annual school supplies sale, I headed out in search of filling the void. I ended up with a few new notebooks, pens and pencils, and excitement about the upcoming season. And I think office supply shopping should be a regular thing.

So as fall rapidly approaches and school is in full swing, there are also a few additions of paper goods in this space. Hand-drawn, whimsical, and simple, these notecards are perfect for any occasion. So sharpen a few pencils and add this stationery to your office/school supply stash!

For more information about the new notecards & additional photos, head over to the shop.

Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms. -Joe Fox, You've Got Mail