This is part of the Well-Designed Life series, a framework for creating & inhabiting your dream life. Think of this as a field guide for self-discovery, style excavation, and living with intentionality, creativity, and joy.
It’s mid-August, which means we’ve officially entered that weird in-between time where you can buy bathing suits AND Halloween candy in one Target trip. I’m very much an autumn person, so this is always the time of year when I start feeling the pull for all things fall, despite what the weather is doing outside (currently: 95% humidity, thanks for asking).
But the last several years, it seems like corporate holiday timelines have really ramped up. Fall & halloween get put out the minute the Fourth of July weekend ends. By the time Halloween actually rolls around, Target’s been playing Christmas music for weeks. Personally, by the time it’s actually Christmas I’m burnt out, stressed, and over the entire holiday experience.
I’ve started almost dreading the season that is usually my favorite time of year, because I know between social media influencers and corporate retail displays, I’m going to feel the FOMO of decorating for fall and the holidays weeks before most normal people are evening thinking about it. And it finally hit me that this is what happens when seasonal shifts get all messed up.
So this month’s Well-Designed Life focus is seasonal living: what it is, why it matters, and how to actually work it into your life without turning it into another aesthetic to perform for social media.
By the end of this month’s post, you’ll have your own Seasonal Wheel — a personal map of what each season is for in your life, complete with rituals, rhythms, recipes, books, scents, and more. Let’s get into it!
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In this issue:
What is seasonal living?
The transitions I make every season.
A rhythms & rituals primer broken down by season.
A fill-in-the-blank seasonal playbook template.