in with the new — leave a little sparkle

I guess fall really is here. I wore my first pair of tights + boots combo for the season last weekend, and as I walked down the leaf littered sidewalk, it really felt like it cemented in my brain: “Okay. We’re in fall”. We really are ushering in a new season.

Fall has always been my favorite season. Not only for the reprieve that it feels like we New Yorkers deserve after increasingly sweltering summers, but also because I’m a big fan of fall fashion. I mean, who doesn’t love chunky sweaters, button downs, thigh high boots. Sue me- I love a good layering moment.

Fall also feels like the beginning of a new chapter. Almost like that feeling you get when you go back to school and get to start a clean slate with new notebooks and binders. (Do the kids these days even take notes on looseleaf? Or is it all on their laptops now?) Maybe it's that fall is also what transitions us from a summer of gallivanting to cozy vibes as we head into the holidays?

Anyways, as we start off the new season, I wanted to share some things that have me feeling rejuvenated- the turning of a new page.

The crisp pages in my latest copy of Vogue: Like any other fashion obsessed teenager from the early aughts, after wearing my parents down, they paid so I could subscribe to Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Cosmo Girl (RIP). It felt so special to get these treats in the mail. Each month, when they would arrive, I would run up to my room and devour them- cover to cover, page after page. I remember getting some print issues in college, and even some after graduation, but somewhere along the way I dropped off (as more titles stopped offering print, I suspect). As of late, I‘ve just been missing that sort of visual inspiration; scrolling IG can only do so much. And so, I decided to re-subscribe to the print version of Vogue [this time no parent groveling necessary]. Funnily enough, there actually isn't an option to get print only, so I had to opt for the print + digital bundle. Last week, I got my first print September issue (the fashion girlies know) in years, and I’ve gotta say, I just flat out love it. It feels so indulgent to look through all of the spreads, read through all of the editorial, and just savor the creativity at my fingertips, the same way I did all those years ago as a teenager in my room.

The joy of collaging for the pure fun of it: I mentioned in a previous post that C and I have committed to “Monday Musings,” where we commit our time to creating. We're still going strong here, often opting to just shuffle to a different day of the week [a la “Martes Musings”]. While C completes paintings for our gallery wall, I've been spending the time collaging. This too was how I would spend weekends as a kid, cutting out from those magazines and creating collages on poster boards that I would then hang in my room. I've thoroughly loved picking up this hobby again. Makes me wonder what made me stop. I crowdsourced magazines via my local Buy Nothing Group, and have been following prompts via Martina Calvi's Crafty Club. Needless to say, I'm hooked. I’m discovering that there’s a whole “junk journal” community, and I guess I just love that there are these pockets of communities for creatives to, well, create. Wanna see my latest collage? DM me and I’ll show you my first one.

Being a student again: I guess class really is in session. A couple of months ago, as part of programming with our team's womens’ ERG, I attended a sewing class at the New York Sewing Center. This was my first time using a sewing machine since summer camp in 6th grade. I realized I haven't been a fish out of water like this in a minute, but I truly had so much fun at the class. So much so, that I decided to sign up for their sewing bootcamp a couple weeks ago. I have lots of thoughts since completing the bootcamp, that I think I’ll turn into its own blog post. But for now, I’ll say this: doing things you're not good at…is no easy feat. And I can’t help but think about how as we become adults and get older, it gets tougher and tougher to “fail” and do things we know we aren’t experts at. As for progress on my sewing: I have to book a follow up session to complete the skirt I was making. I’m definitely still a novice, but I want to keep at it.

Frequenting new spots I’ve been meaning to try: What’s a New York round up without a shoutout to some of the spots that I've saved and finally visited that have now earned a “heart” on my Google Maps.

A recent visit to Liz’s Book Bar was one of the most wholesome Thursday evenings I’ve had in a minute. IRL community + a love for reading? I’ll definitely be back.
If I’m being honest, I’m rarely in northern Brooklyn. The subway situation from Cobble Hill is just too precarious, so I usually more quickly venture to Soho, LES or East Village. This weekend, I stopped by Roberta’s for the first time, and let me tell you it hit. We also tried a new spot Panzon for dinner, and I was actually very impressed. We ended the night at Little Rascal Bar, and a time was certainly had.

How are you savoring this new season? I’d love to know!