The September Edit

Parisian baskets, fennel bolognese, my Autumn mood board reveal, and a nude museum exhibit.

Sep 27, 2024

The Monthly Edits are a casual curation of my consumptions from the past few weeks including: books I read, delicious eats, fun finds, and personal meanderings. Buon appetito!

attended a French container sale, and let the creative energy of the season fuel some projects around the house. September is always a fresh change of pace after the luxuriously slow days of summer. The autumn equinox often stirs up a focused energy that I like to spend on setting goals, updating my environment, and being a little more independent.

I spent the majority of last weekend tinkering around my office—embracing the magic that sparkles through mundane moments. I absolutely loved this article by Christene Barberich about the art of puttering and the sense of knowing that like us, our living spaces are never finished. “It’s strange, but our homes can be like these divine sages in our lives, or oracles, with the uncanny ability to grow and change with us and also for us.” Small tweaks have the possibility to lead to big shifts. I hope you’ve been riding the creative currents of September and letting them lead you wherever you need to be. Alright, here’s how the month went:

Earlier this month I went to a really cool event! A ‘French Container Sale’ put on by one of the antique shops in town. The owner spends time in Europe each year—shopping through Parisian flea markets and antique goods in Portugal. Then she fills an entire shipping container with her finds and sends them on a slow boat to Vancouver Island. Pretty much my dream job! For one Sunday a year, her country estate (an hour drive out of town) is filled with linens, stoneware, art, baskets, nightstands, and all sorts of beautiful furniture for purchase. The staff wore red berets, a man was playing French classics on the accordion, and hundreds of locals dove through her inventory in search of European treasures. I brought home a darling French market basket that I’m currently displaying in the kitchen and excited to march around town with come Spring.

My lovely friend Emma sent me Alison Ronan’s superb fennel bolognese recipe. Scott and I ended up talking about this meal for days, so I made another batch and froze a few portions. I tweaked the recipe (as I always do) and honestly think this is the perfect fall dinner to impress your guests! We used a mix of organic beef and shiitake mushrooms for meat (no ground pork), and swapped out the yellow onions for market carrots and celery. With local chicken broth and organic 3% milk, the ingredients were all top shelf. Paired with a light spaghetti noodle and freshly grated parmesan, I cannot recommend this nourishing and delicious dish enough. 🍝
On that note: pumpkin pies are back at Wholefoods and they are actually the best in town. It’s slightly alarming how many of these pies go through our house between the months of October to December…

These make yoga and pilates more fun.
This bookshelf edition of scrabble is lovely.
73 healthy soup recipes!
Is it better to experience an art gallery in the nude?
Have you been to sock school? I like these, these, and these.
Great interviews: Maya Rudolph & Florence Pugh.
Lovely wooden clothes horse, a short trench, chocolate pecan milk, a worry stone pendant, & this scent.
A stunning home + this cheerful kitchen.
A great guide on how to annotate your books.

This month in reading:

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. There’s no way around it—this plot is devastatingly morbid. But if you’re able to put that aside, the words are so beautifully written in this 1993 classic. A nostalgic and haunting coming-of-age tale. Told through the minds of the neighbourhood boys as they obsessively watch the five Lisbon sisters in their small suburban town. As someone who grew up in the 90s, parts of this book felt like a portal to yesteryears. Hypnotic and memorable.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. This one popped up in a free book box by our house so I had to scoop it up. I’m late to the Ottessa Moshfegh party, but nevertheless I’m here now. The main character was impossible to like, and not someone I could relate with at all, but I totally loved this bizarre story! Our girl is committed to sleeping through a year of her life and basically goes to all extremes necessary to make that happen (many, many pharmaceuticals). It’s dark humour with a touch of tenderness—a fun trip for a rainy weekend.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe. This was a really good read! Margo Miller, the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler, finds herself unemployed, single, and pregnant in her early 20s. As she struggles to make ends meet, the launch of an OnlyFans account leads her to unexpected success and a very sweet development. I hear AppleTV+ is making this into a mini series with Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer. I’m all for that and would recommend a read before it launches.
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. This memoir shares the very personal story of Joan losing her husband unexpectedly and watching her daughter struggle with a life threatening illness all within the same year. I appreciated her honest tellings but didn’t connect with this book as much as I had hoped. I felt she saved face and didn’t go into as much grit and grime as I imagined (or have come to expect?). I’m still looking forward to reading one of her fiction pieces and a collection of her essays in the coming months though. If you’re interested in the work of this icon, don’t miss The Joan Didion Group Project put on by my brilliant friend Petya during the month of October!

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

At the start of each season, I update the large mood board in my office with new art. It’s wild how the whole vibe of the room can change so drastically with the swap of a few images. Last weekend I carefully filed away all my vibrant summer photos and picked up my latest order from the printers. I have to say, this might be my favourite one so far! Palo santo, Italian nonnas in fur coats, dalmatian horses, and piles of unread books. I love the warmth and earthiness of this collection. What do you think?
If you haven’t already, check out my DIY canvas-wrapped mood board guide (with lots of tips on where to source great images!). It was very simple and affordable to make this—and allows you to have revolving art galleries in your own space.

Along with an updated wall of artwork, my office also got a new book cabinet this month. I’ve been holding off on this purchase until I could find something absolutely *perfect*—and I do believe I found it. An antique solid wood with glass doors and brass hardware gem from fb marketplace. This little relic brings me so much joy. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning every time I walk into the room and see it filled with my growing book collection.

Notice all the space I have for more books!

I started watching the first season of Only Murders in the Building. It’s fun and feel-good with enough mystery and light drama to keep my attention. A sweet evening ritual that Scott and I have been enjoying together with hot tea and cookies.
Need a good movie recommendation? Check out my favourite feel-good films and the best weird-girl films for fall!

Scott and I searching through all the bookstores in town.

I hope you’ve had a lovely September. It’s a long weekend up here in Canada! We have some family visiting and a few other things going on. Hopefully it doesn’t rain the whole time—tis the season. Thank you so much for reading and as always, I would love to hear from you!