Originally I had intended to christen my Substack with a lengthy post on finding and evolving your personal style, but it feels more fitting to start with a monthly “mood”. Typically I’ve reserved these for my blog, but I’ve longed for a format where I can share them and have them delivered straight to your inbox for you to peruse while sipping your morning coffee. I like to think of these as a monthly check-in, a letter from the editor if you will, with quick hits on what’s got my attention as it pertains to style, beauty, wellness and life in general.
With that…
I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that it’s October. I feel like summer (along with our euro trip) came and went in the blink of an eye! I already miss the kiss of the warm Mediterranean sun on my skin, also my tan lol. At the same time, I’m very excited for fall, and the rest of the year. A sentiment that I’m not sure I would have agreed with 4 months ago.
Backing up though, a few reflections re: above travel. I went into the trip ready for a break from our life in the States – where we were going to live, when we were going to start a family and how it was all going to affect my career. (A few of you may recall this post about it.) I really wanted to soak in living in Paris for 2 months, truly relax on vacation and just stop worrying so much about how life was going to unfold. I was ready to throw caution to the wind and let go of any preconceived ideas of how the trip would play out or how I would feel about life after it. For once, I just wanted to be where I was.
I’d say I was pretty successful (I’m still learning how to truly relax on vacation). I don’t know if it’s because we left parts of our trip unplanned (unintentionally – this was both fun and a headache) or if I was just actually thriving in the moment, but as the trip unfolded, I found myself relinquishing the death grip that I had on “figuring things” out. As the months passed I could feel myself start to trust that things would unfold as they will and, perhaps more importantly, that I would have the confidence and trust in my intuition to know what is right for me when it is right (a practice I am forever working on!). Travel has always done that for me; given me space to see where the chips have fallen and decide how I want to pick them up, or not pick them up at all.
All that’s to say, it was a good trip. Of course it had its stressful, less glamorous moments (hello lugging 6 pieces of luggage across France, Italy, Spain and London), but all-in-all, it was definitely one for the scrapbook. Now I am ready to recalibrate for the rest of the year, start working on several projects that I’ve been sitting on (this being one!) and perhaps maybe slow down a bit as the year comes to a close? Idk, we’ll see about that!
Before I go, I just want to note – I’m so glad you’re here. The more time I spend on here the more excited I get about this space. In a way, it feels like the version of Instagram I miss most combined with the early days of blogging. I can’t wait to spend more time diving into fashion, style and some of life’s moments and sharing it all with you.
Things I’m Looking Forward To
- Getting healthy and getting back into the swing of things
- A little trip to wine country to pick up our wine club shipment from Soter
- Pulling out all my favorite fall items!
- Hot chocolate – I’ve been making this recipe for years.
- Seeing friends and family that I haven’t seen since June
- Getting back to hot yoga and Tracy Anderson – my body is craving it at this point
Things of Note
Wellness
My Mom gifted me a 60 day NuCalm subscription last year and I’ve missed it ever since it expired. After getting COVID I recently signed up for a monthly Core membership to help my recovery (they have a 7-day free trial as well). It’s like meditation meets sound bathing meets binaural beats – simple right? To put it very, very, simply NuCalm targets the autonomic nervous system – the part of our nervous system that regulates involuntary physiological responses like heart rate, blood pressure, respiration and digestion. (If you’ve heard the term parasympathetic or sympathetic system, they live here). It does so by “oscillating your brain waves (using their fancy-smancy patented neuroacoustic software) in the ‘healing zone’ of theta brain wave dominance”. To cut to the chase, this maximizes oxygenation throughout the brain and body which removes lactic acid, lowers inflammation, and increases focus. Depending on your mood and wellness needs you select your program, pop on some headphones and an eye patch and just let the brain wave frequencies do their thing.
If you’ve been around for a bit, then you probably know that I love to dabble in Human Design. I discovered it several years ago through this Lacy Philips podcast and have been a student ever since. For those unfamiliar, Human Design is almost like a blueprint to your own unique gifts, traits, and way you exchange energy in the world. In a way it’s a self-discovery and acceptance tool, at least that’s how I’ve enjoyed using it. Over the years it’s helped me not only navigate some very difficult times in my career, but also empowered me in a way to truly accept who I am regardless of societal norms or pressures.
Anywho, one of my favorite ways to dive deeper into Human Design and my chart is via Jenna Zoe and the MyHumanDesign App (she also has a bevy of podcast episodes). I simply love her take on it (it’s a much more feminine approach than a lot of traditional Human Design rhetoric) and how she provides tangible actions to experiment with it in real life. Highly recommend! I’ve also had readings with Day Luna and Amy Lea and would highly recommend both as well if a one-to-one reading is more your style.
Beauty
Goop recently launched their Colorblur Glow Balms and sent them over to try and I’m so excited to incorporate them into my routine! I’ve always been a big fan of creme blushes (I can’t tell you the last time I used a pressed blush). Right off the bat they feel super light-weight and nourishing and the color looks very natural, very “lit from within” if you will.
Ok normally I like to give things a good 2-week test run before I endorse them, but after a handful of uses I can confidently say that I’m beyond impressed with Oak Essentials. I’m not going to lie, I was incredibly skeptical of their products, but kept an open mind when they offered to send over a few products. So far their Ritual Oil is the hero product for me. It works wonders for soothing the irritation I’ve been struggling with lately and evening my skin tone. I also really love the mask – I’ve only used it once so take this with a grain of salt, but love how soothing the honey is and that it’s mixed with one of my favorite ingredients: sea buckthorn oil. I do wish that they didn’t have phenoxyethanol in them (it’s a hard one to avoid sometimes), but all of their other ingredients are very straight-forward and clean. Will continue to report back, but in the meantime feel free to use the code SRP15 should you want to try any yourself!
If you were a victim on the 90s brow – let me introduce you to RevitaLash. This brow serum has single handedly rekindled my dreams of big fluffy brows. I used VeraBrow for years, but feel like I hit a plateau with it. You must be diligent with it, but imo the price is 100% worth it.
Style
I was going to save these Cos finds for an upcoming Eyeing and Buying post, but they are selling fast so time is of the essence! I continue to be impressed with the value (even higher imo if you can shop them oversees) of Cos pieces. I had the opportunity to peruse their fall pieces irl in London and their outerwear and knitwear is goooood. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t order this coat before it sold out in my size (praying for a restock) – it’s like my Joseph coat, but a bit more oversized. (For my wool and cashmere sensitive folk this could be a great option!) This coat is giving Raey vibes at a fraction of the price. I just ordered this jacket – it’s an unlined wool/cashmere blend and very oversized. Perfect for layering over a tee or chunky sweater. A very good transitional coat and a great option if you run hot (see wool-tencel blend) in a shade of brown you don’t see often (similar double-breast option in wool). Lastly, idk why more people aren’t talking about this double-breasted chocolate leather goodness – it’s dreamy.
On the topic of chocolate leather goodness, this trench has been sitting in my cart all week. I tried it on in Paris and was v impressed with the leather given the price point.
These Flattered boots caught my eye re: the fall/winter boots (p.s. added a few more options!) we were discussing in stories. The heel height is perfect imo – just enough height to give a little lift without being difficult to walk in, and the heel and toe shape have a much more elevated, slightly edgier feel to it. All under $300 – I’m a fan!
Chat soon! xx, Sarah
