Lacy Phillips of Free and Native is a breath of fresh air, a huge light, and one of the most generous people I’ve ever met.  She is also incredibly talented, and I continue to do the work she puts out because it truly works.  She has helped me to shift major blocks in my life through working on her method (in both private sessions and workshops).   I urge you to read her enlightening blog and sign up for one of her offerings - she is a gifted woman.  

I had the pleasure of staying in her beautiful home for a few weeks over the summer.  Part of my journey right now while living without a home includes traveling from place-to-place (read more about that here).  Lacy’s has been my absolute favorite home to stay in.   Partly because her home feels like a sanctuary, but also because it is full of intentional objects.  From her grandmother’s vase in her powder room to the ceramic bowl that holds salt in her kitchen - everything has a place.  She gets it.  Her home reeks of her.  Well, it doesn’t actually reek, because this would imply unpleasantness, which is the opposite of how her home feels and smells (it smells of the most delicious blend of essential oils, palo santo, and incense).  But her space feels like her.  It exudes her energy.  Lacy obviously does not acquire things for status or vanity because she feels whole within herself.  Everything in her home aids in her lifestyle, carries a meaningful story, or simply is there to being warmth and joy.   

We can all live this way, and we all deserve to live this way.  It’s why I do the work that I do.  To help people to transform and/or curate their spaces to reflect who they are and to assist in how they live.  To me, beauty without intention really isn’t beautiful.  It feels empty.  We can emphasize the marriage of beauty and intention by realizing that they are the same.  That beauty comes from mindfulness, from nature, from slowing down, from our hearts.  How do you intend to live?  To be?  Sit with these questions.  Keep them in your awareness.  Allow your decisions around what you bring into your home and your life to reflect your answers to these questions.  

I recently read Wabi-Sabi For Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers by Leonard Koren.  I zoomed through the book while staying in Joshua Tree, in between work and activities, in one day.  I was already familiar with wabi-sabi as an aesthetic, but I didn’t fully know about its history or the depth in which it can permeate the spiritual or intangible world.  In the beginning of the book, Leonard writes: “Wabi-sabi can in its fullest expression be a way of life.  At the very least, it is a particular type of beauty.”  I felt an overwhelming sense of synchronicity and thought “yes, this, in a sense, is what I am trying to teach.”  What I love about wabi-sabi is that it embraces the irregularities, the oddities, the qualities that society may deem as “ugly” - and observes the beauty in these characteristics - essentially by practicing mindfulness and observation.  

Here’s an excerpt from the book:

“In wabi-sabi, there is no ‘valuable,’ since that would imply ‘not valuable.’  An object obtains the state of wabi-sabi only for the moment it is appreciated as such.  In the tea room, therefore, things come into existence only when they express their wabi-sabi qualities,  Outside of the tea room, they return to their ordinary reality, and their wabi-sabi existence fades away.”

Think of yourself as the tea room.  You are imperfect.  Your objects are imperfect.  Your relationship with your objects is as such - imperfect.  It just is.  You are the one who gets to implement this way of life.  You create the energy in your home, in your objects, in your relationships.  In wabi-sabi “every single object seems to expand in importance in inverse proportion to its actual size.”  If we create a relationship with our objects in this way, we will require less because we will be fed more by what we do have.  I like to think of this as “cherished detachment.”  We get to appreciate and love our things, while knowing that they do not make us whole, but aid us in our quest to living mindfully.  

“Things wabi-sabi are appreciated only during direct contact and use; they are never locked away in a museum.  Things wabi-sabi have no need for the reassurance of status or the validation of market culture.”  Use this as your guide.  There’s no need to have a storage unit or a closet full of unnecessary items that we may someday use (and probably never touch).  I want to get rid of this model entirely.  When acquiring objects, forget about what’s trending or new or cool.  Go with what speaks to you, in your soul.  You can tap into your intuition by really getting into your physical body in order to be more in touch with what you are naturally dawn to.  Seriously, meditate before you shop.  Get grounded.  Close your eyes.  Imagine your feet are on the dirt or in the sand.  Take deep breaths (as many as you need).  Do this before stepping foot into a store, before looking for items, and let your body guide you. 

Temperatures were very high well into Fall here in Los Angeles.  Last week we had a heat wave in the hundreds - it was maddening!  It's finally cooling off, thankfully.  I've curated objects for a soft transition to Fall (even though we are well into the season) with a playlist to go along.

This beautiful rug, sold by Jean Palmer Home, has a blend of harmonious yet moody hues for an overcast day.  I would cuddle up on the floor with some pillows and journal, to reflect from within.  

A new spin on the classic Mary-Jane's, I'm obsessed with these green stunners.  Wear with tights for warmth, and you will spruce up any outfit this season.  They are by designer, Suzanne Rae, and you can buy them here.

I love brass, and I love statement earrings.  These Nandi Naya gems are simple, yet bold.  Her new website is coming soon.  In the meantime, you can shop her collaboration with Subrina Heyink.

My acupuncturist introduced me to Snow Lotus, a line of essential oils and blends.  My absolute favorite blend is "Spirit Lift."  When I feel like staying inside and being cozy but need to be out in the world, I always roll this on my wrists, neck, and a tad under my nostrils.  On the website, they list the Chinese medicine function as follows:  "nourishes heart blood and yin, clears heat and glosses the shen."  In other words, it relieves anxiety and calms the spirit - it is very grounding, yet also uplifting.  Purchase here.

Twenty One Tonnes is one of my favorite shops for sustainably crafted objects.  They have a beautifully curated selection of goods and work with artisans and family businesses.  Therefore, no two products are identical.  Shop their baskets.  

I'm really excited about this new brand, Return To Sender Collective, with a line designed and made in Los Angeles.  Browse the collections on their website, including this comfy jumpsuit. 

Listen while browsing - it will set the mood for a "soft Fall."   

When I discovered Rachel Saunders on Instagram, I was immediately captivated by not only her work, but also her.  I felt a very real quality from her (yes, through social media) - a vulnerability and an openness along with a nuanced sense of humor.  Her aesthetic is classic, yet refreshing.  There is an ethereal lightness to her ceramics, yet they are made of the earth and therefore feel very grounding.  All of her pieces are handmade and wheel-thrown in her Vancouver Island studio.  I feel very fortunate to have photographed and styled her work in the stunning home of Lacy Phillips.  You can find more of Rachel’s beautiful work here.

When we choose to spend a little more on objects made by independent artists, we are investing in each other.  In connection.  We are also embracing our worthiness - that we deserve something custom and special.  This creates an energy of creativity, interconnectedness, and consciousness.