SEASONAL LIVING AT ARCADIAN REVIVAL

August, a month of incredible beauty, a month when we linger. In the northeast, the season feels like it is at its true peak. Something bittersweet in the air lingers of the pace of the summer months coming to a close in the weeks ahead. The gentle whisper of the crisp leaves rustling, worn from the touch of the summer sun, signals us to soak up this fleeting final stretch.

We squeeze in as many meals al fresco as we’re able, more focused on the simplicity of fresh dishes and hours spent outside than on elaborate spreads from the kitchen. We maximize our time in the backyard with our children until dusk sets in and often revert to a favorite game of “catch the dog” where we chase our dog Hudson in and out of the apple trees, around the fountain, back to the garden, and then all over again…a final effort to expand our lungs full of the summer air and to wear out our muscles before retreating to our beds for a good night’s rest.

For me, August is when I feel the most beautiful. The sun has touched my shoulders and face regularly for months, and I generally feel the healthiest thanks to a wide spread of fresh local foods and my love of running the most during the warm weather. My list of design projects for inside our home grows as I make the effort to stay outdoors while the weather is nice. After all, it is during this time spent outdoors that ignites so much of my interior inspirations.

My husband and I chose to be married in the heart of August. We orchestrated our entire wedding celebration around an immersion in nature: holding our ceremony in the woods and our reception in the back of the field of my family’s property. To call that day magical hardly does justice to the ambiance that the trees provided as a backdrop for us to share with our loved ones.

Our daughter Natalie was born toward the end of the month. For her first birthday I planted an entire garden of dwarf sunflowers so that they would bloom around this special milestone, and also at a height that she could fully enjoy. I cannot think of a more special way to celebrate a person than with planting something and plan to continue the tradition of her sunflower garden in the years ahead. I’ve already become better with each passing year at weaving her celebration into the season itself rather than it feeling like an early end cap before preparing for summer’s close. In fact, her birthday has come to serve as more of a final summer soiree, something to look forward to that brings us together with others at least one more time before we shift gears into the autumn months ahead.