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Happy Monday Tuesday!

We’re halfway through the year, and the benchmark has us intentionally avoiding whatever New Years resolutions we might’ve made — let’s just charge those losses to the game and all agree to collectively move on. Here’s to a wonderful 2nd half of 2023!

Today we’re talking about our love for natural textures, the art of getting over the procrastination hump, and sharing some favorites from around the web.

A Natural Look

One of the few (er, only) good things that’s come from the digital world’s endless onslaught of fashion trends and their abbreviated life cycle is — ironically enough — the emerging, contrarian idea that maybe we shouldn’t follow every trend. As a result, a lot of people are opting for quality over quantity, craftsmanship over mass production, and natural materials over synthetic.

If you’ve followed us here or on our blog the last couple of years, you know that in both our personal style and home decor sensibilities, we’ve been mostly favoring classics over trends. We love finding timeless pieces that pay homage to classic styles without feeling out of place in 2023.

Recently, we’ve found ourselves more drawn to natural textures, fabrics, and materials, which feels like a logical extension of our infatuation with a more traditional aesthetic. If you can layer different natural textures together? Even better!

This new pseudo-obsession has played out for us in various ways this year. Anna’s favorite purchase of the year is a handbag that combines a supple leather with a crocheted raffia material.  

We also just replaced our living room seating with two matching antique chairs that combine linen, floral patterns, and a rich, dark color of wood.  

Nathan’s favorite buys from this year have been a vintage Ralph Lauren hat that combines a brown leather bill with a cream canvas cap (found a good alternative here), a pair of linen and lace shirts, and a pair of loafers that — similar to Anna’s bag — bring together raffia and leather for a very natural, yet structured look.

Even while we’re writing this, it’s easy to look around our home and see natural materials — linen, cotton, wool, wood, and tile — as staples in our tastes. It may be stating the obvious, but there’s something about using these earthy materials in various combinations that feels classic and timeless, and yet also very put together. There’s a warmth to their textures that feels cozy and inviting in your home, or effortless and elevated in your wardrobe.

While some of our favorite mixed-textile pieces are either vintage, antique, or are no longer available, we wanted to share some other naturally textured pieces that we love.

The Start Is the Hard Part

A friend of ours used to say, “I’m not procrastinating, I’m simply waiting until I’m older — and therefore wiser — to get the job done.”  

It’s one of our favorite cheeky explanations of a concept we all engage with on the regular, which is — in lieu of the Webster’s definition — something we personally define as “putting off the process”.  

We recently read a refreshingly realistic insight into the concept of procrastination and why it’s something we all battle. The idea focused on a simple truth we don’t always realize or embrace:  

Procrastination isn’t about the work, it’s about the start.  

Ironically, the work isn’t the thing that keeps us from those projects we’re putting off. Once we do get rolling, we find momentum, progress, even joy in the work — or if nothing else, we find the relief of completing it.  

Now, it’s that pesky “start” that is the tricky part. In the same way that your car engine uses more fuel to crank than to idle, and in a similar vein to how our bodies stay at rest when they’ve been at rest, starting the work takes mental gymnastics of pushing yourself to the starting line — and depending on the work, maybe literally, physically getting  there.

Ironically, procrastination — this “putting off” of the process — is depriving us of the progress of the actual work we’ll detest less once we’re actively doing it. If we can just fool ourselves into starting, we’ll remember that reality soon enough.  

We’re not masters of “starting” or conquerors of procrastination by any means, but recognizing a simple insight — that most of us are delaying the opening gun, not the long haul — is a good place to start.  

Whatever it is you’re delaying doing today, remember that the start is the hard part. The work comes easy from there!

The Web Edit

Sponsored by Ritual

For us, a good multivitamin was one of the first things we looked for when we started working out and taking our nutrition more seriously a couple of years ago, and Ritual has by far been our favorite! Anna is currently taking their Essential for Women 18+ multivitamin, and Nathan takes their men’s multivitamin, too.

One of our favorite parts — beyond the fact that it’s a clean, high-quality, clinical-backed multivitamin — is that they use a delayed release capsule design, which means we can take any of their supplements with or without food.

Today we’re sharing our best deal with them yet: Use code ANNAPAGE30 for 30% off your first order! PLUS, if you decide EFW 18+ (the multivitamin Anna’s using) isn’t for you, then your first order is on them!  

The Nordstrom Sale is officially here, and we’ve highlighted some of our favorites for you in clothing, coats, beauty, shoes, as well as home and accessories!

The Summer I turned Pretty is back with a second season, and it has us feeling like high schoolers all over again (only, we didn’t have a sick summer house or 6 pack abs).  

We stumbled upon this webpage the other day, and while we haven’t read its accompanying book, the concept itself is worth your time and makes you think.

Before You Go

Most recently on the blog we discussed the long, winding journey on discovering your personal style, and we have a lot more on tap for the week ahead!

Lastly, if you ever wonder about something we’ve posted or are looking for some inspo yourself, checkout our Amazon Store Front and LTK below! We try to keep them updated and stocked with only pieces we either love ourselves or plan to use very soon.

Thank you so much for reading along with us and have a great weekend!

- Anna, Nathan, Sam, & Banks