Happy Sunday everyone! But most importantly HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY HENDERSON!!!! We’ve proclaimed our endless love and gratitude for our boss many times over the years but it bears repeating. She is kind, generous, supportive, and A LOT of fun. We are so grateful to get to work for someone who truly cares about people. Hope this next trip around the sun is filled with love, adventure, happiness, and really fun design:) Happy birthday Em! Now onto the links.

This week’s house tour is going to get you ready and excited for the cooler season. It’s an Australian chalet in Victoria’s Mount Hotham that’s been plucked from a dream. It’s a not boring neutral retreat that has a beautiful soft modern traditional style. Come see it all for yourself!

From Emily: I finally caved and bought the schlepping bag that everybody was telling me to get. It’s basically like having a bag that looks like a big Croc. It’s super lightweight made of plastic very structural and can seemingly carry anything. I use it for all of my props and tons of fabric samples and paint swatches, but I know a lot of people use it for camping, for groceries, for anything. We just want to take stuff from one place to another and not have to deal with a big wobbly cloth bag. It’s pretty rad.

From Arlyn: Look, I love my 32 oz Hydroflask and it’s my shadow. It comes with me everywhere, and when I leave it around the house, my toddler (also my shadow) chases me down with it saying “Mama, your water!” The problem with it, however, is that it doesn’t fit in my car cup holder very well. Plus, it’s not really iced coffee- (or hot coffee-) friendly in my opinion. I’m about to enter a season that includes preschool drop-offs (lord how did that happen so fast?) as well as days where I’ll be volunteering at said preschool and going to board meetings (I guess I’m that person now??), and I find that I can’t always get to my caffeine fix in the morning and need a way to transport it. We’re a Hydroflask and Yeti family (don’t even say that other “S” word to me) so I bit the bullet and picked up this 20oz “rambler” whatever that is. It has a handle so it won’t slip, fits great in my cup holder, and holds my perfect amount of coffee beverage.

From: Caitlin: I’m 8 months removed from my life-changing trip to Antarctica and happy to report that the lessons I took back REALLY sunk in. To that end – and in light of the recent discovery that all of our brains have microplastics in them! – I’d like to recommend this book on the plastic industry. It’s educational without being abstruse (read: you can understand it even if your last science class was decades ago, like me!) and it’s pretty jarring! (PS. A plea for help: I’ve eliminated pretty much all of the single-use plastics in my home, but I’m struggling to find good, well-vetted, plastic-free alternatives for some other daily-use pieces, like our Brita pitcher. Does anyone have any water filtration recs that are totally plastic-free? Maybe I can write a post about all of our swaps once we’ve lived with them a bit!)

Curious what the best Labor Day sales are? Click right this way!

From Mallory: Need better, more calming lighting?? I was tired of the big light (sorry Arlyn) so I snagged this $20 candelabra which totally looks vintage and cool but surprise it’s from Target! It’s an antique brass and looks like a real patina (they nailed it) plus I love that it has 3 lil candle stick holders for ample lighting without taking up too much space. I lit it for the first time when I flipped on The Bachelorette (I love this season) and the cozy vibes were through the roof, my dudes.

From Jess: Guess who bought expensive Lululemon no-show ankle socks and somehow lost all three pairs?? That would be me. Clearly, I wasn’t going to spend that kind of money again so I searched for the best dupes and y’all these are them! They are $14 for 6 pairs so I bought 2 packs and couldn’t be happier. They are slightly thicker than the Lululemon ones but not in a bad way and they have that anti-slide patch on the back heel to keep them from sliding down. I love them, have worn them for a few weeks, and highly recommend them.

From Gretchen: I popped into Target to drop off some returns and like clockwork, left with some new finds! That place just gets me, I can’t help it. The best thing I snagged was a black, oversized cardigan that is sooo soft I could cry. It’s perfectly slouchy and pretty lightweight, making it a great transition piece heading into fall. I really appreciate that the buttons are solid black, too, instead of the splotchy brown ones I usually see on cardigans like this. Just makes it look nicer overall. The sweaters also came in cream and brown, complete with matching cream and brown buttons–both were so cute, but I feel like the black will be more of a staple for me. Can’t wait to cozy up in this!

Hope you have a wonderful first day of September, a great long weekend, happy birthday to Emily, and see y’all tomorrow! xx

Opening Image Credits: Design and Styled by Rebekah Poppen | Photo courtesy Creekwoodhill | From: A Gender Neutral Nursery Reveal Filled With Vintage And A Bold DIY You’ll LOVE