Set the Tone: Soft Summer

A soft summer isn’t about perfection or luxury. It isn’t about escaping your life for two weeks on vacation, though that’s fun too! It’s about creating small rituals that slow you down, help you notice your surroundings, and make ordinary days feel beautiful. It’s creating a life that feels like summer even on a Wednesday morning.

It's not a boring summer. it's a soft one.

Instead of asking “What should I do this weekend?” I’m asking “How do I want today to feel?”

The answer is almost always the same.

Slow.

Light.

Beautiful.

Intentional.

Here’s what I’m embracing this season:

• Linen that wrinkles beautifully. Cotton skirts. Light, natural fabrics. Beautiful pieces instead of athletic clothes, even if I’m only working from home.

• Bare feet around the house.

• The oversized cardigan you always reach for when mornings are still crisp.

• Morning pages before checking my phone. Sketching an idea, recording a conversation, writing what inspires. Collecting little moments in the pages.

• Windows open while the house fills with morning air.

• Fresh flowers whenever I find them. Arranged in beautiful glass vases that capture the light. A little greenery instantly makes a home feel lived in and loved.

• Simple dinners outside.

• A bowl of lemons on the counter.

• Good olive oil. Fresh herbs. Seasonal vegetables. Crusty bread. Even better if it’s served on wood boards and ceramic handmade pottery.

• Branches clipped from the backyard.

• Aperitivo on the patio instead of scrolling.

• Books with folded corners and creased spines.

• Natural textures that invite you to slow down.

• Scents that remind me of Mediterranean afternoons. Figs, tomato leaves, and fresh herbs.

• Small cafés over crowded patios.

• Never turning on the overhead light. Little lamps, sconces and sunsets only.

• Quiet confidence instead of urgency.

• Saying no without guilt.

Summer doesn’t have to be extraordinary to be unforgettable. It doesn’t need a full calendar to be special.

What's so special about summer, and why I think we long for it so much every year is who you become when it comes around. You simply become someone who notices. You become someone who notices he light through the curtains, waters the flowers before breakfast, writes a little more, rushes a little less, and realizes that this, all along, was the life you were trying to create.

Here’s to a soft summer! -Emilee