As I walked Samson along Brooklyn Bridge Park the other day, I saw a squirrel, mouth full of acorns, burying his treasures inside a little hole, a quiet urgency in the air.
Nature does what we should be doing, often before we even catch on.
Cold weather is coming. And as soon as September hits, I can’t help but turn to my own little rituals; my own little symbolic nuts and seeds. Routines. Rituals. Soft layers. Little things that will carry me through the winter.
I used to dread the winter so much so that I left the East Coast for the eternal summer that is Los Angeles (shocker: they have a winter too; and true growth comes from facing the thing you’re running from, etc. etc.)
But now, I crave it. After summer’s hectic energy, winter is a welcome time of reinvigoration. I use this time to rest, plant seeds for next year, tackle indoor projects, and rebalance so I can return to warmer months with fresh energy.
Behold my list of ways I’m preparing for the cooler months ahead, organized by Closet, Kitchen, body, home, and miscellaneous things, both tangible and non-tangible. It includes:
My fall/winter reading list
My rustic Chemex pumpkin coffee trick that adds .2 seconds to your A.M. routine
How I tackle “fall wardrobe refreshes” (hint: it doesn’t include impulsive spending)
My cold-weather grocery list
and so much more