Stuff We’re Into June 2026
This month I’ve been practicing something a little out of character for myself.
In the biz, I like to call it…
restraint.
There are a few things on this list that I’ve been holding onto and truly contemplating purchasing. From an Instagram post earlier this month and some things featured here, you’ll quickly notice that this challenge exists most heavily in the category I love shopping for most:
Antiques.
I’d like to tell you this has all been a display of strong willpower.
But I’d be lying if I told you that.
My husband and I have a rule when we’re antiquing.
We both have to say yes to an item for it to come home with us.
If one person isn’t sold, it stays behind.
We’ve both inherited and accepted plenty of things from each other’s lives before we met, but once our worlds blended together, we decided moving forward that home decisions would be made together.
An absolutely devastating rule for someone like me.
This month it’s been pretty dang hot and, unfortunately, to get to the good antique stores, you usually have to make a bit of a destination out of it.
If we’re traveling, we bring the dogs.
And with the heat, that means one of us inevitably waits in the car while the other goes inside.
One piece in particular, which also appeared in an earlier Instagram post, was acquired under these exact circumstances.
I snapped a picture and sent it to my husband while he waited in the car.
His response?
He liked it.
But not the price.
So according to the rule…
I walked away.
The picture of this painting sat in my camera roll for over two weeks.
I have to admit, I thought about it every single day afterward.
I also talked about it.
Probably far more than necessary.
After a few weeks, I finally asked:
“Do you think it’s still there?”
My husband, lovingly exhausted by this point, responded:
“Oh gosh. If you’re still thinking about it this much, call them.”
“Let’s just go get it so you’ll be happy.”
I’m very happy to report that not only was it still there…
The shop owner gave me a lower price.
A small victory for patience everywhere.
Which brings us to two additional items currently sitting in my camera roll.
A vintage model sailboat.
And a framed embroidered American flag.
Both currently living rent free in my brain.
I’m thinking if, after the holiday weekend, they’re still there…
One or both of these beauties may be making their way home with me.
Alongside antique restraint, I’ve apparently been practicing shopping restraint elsewhere too.
The Cole Haan fisherman sandals?
Perfect.
Necessary?
Debatable according to my husband, who lovingly reminded me:
“Don’t you already own a few fisherman sandals?”
The short answer is yes.
The longer answer is yes…
But none of them are this exact thickness.
Or this exact color.
Technically true.
Emotionally irrelevant.
Summer Finds
This month I also stumbled across a few smaller brands that feel like summer personified.
To founder Danny…
Bravo.
Their About section genuinely made me so happy because I’m a sucker for small town gift shops and vintage Americana.
The brand started with hand-screen printing on vintage clothing designed to look like pieces found in old coastal souvenir shops.
Fast forward two years and they’re now stocking vintage blank sweatshirts and some of the cutest packaging I’ve seen in a long time.
I have a real dilemma brewing.
Do I buy something representing my West Coast era?
I lived in Beverly Hills and worked in Malibu.
Or do I choose something East Coast, where life has been for over fifteen years now?
This remains firmly on the future purchase list.
This Australian brand has so many beautiful things it was hard to narrow down.
But for this month’s exercise in self-control, I landed on their Winnie Initial Woven Bag.
It’s summer and nearly every brand has some version of a woven tote.
I have never seen it done quite like this.
I love the natural woven monogram element paired with the playful whimsy of the handkerchief handles.
Owning this bag would also force another lesson in restraint.
Mostly because I wouldn’t be able to carry nearly as much unnecessary stuff as I normally do.
Finishing Old Projects
I have officially deemed 2026 the year I finish projects sitting around before allowing myself to dive headfirst into new creative endeavors.
I’m currently a good chunk into my second needlepoint project of the year.
Both originally purchased back in 2020.
Nothing quite like finishing pandemic hobbies six years later.
Am I right?
This one is teaching me patience.
The colors all read eerily similar in this neutral palette, so stitching becomes a dangerous game when I’m not sitting in very bright light.
I knocked out a solid three hours outside this weekend in the sunshine.
Time flew by beautifully.
The forgetting to apply enough sunscreen did not.
I suspect my sunburn may last exactly as long as it takes me to finish this piece.
Now that I’m deep in my needlepoint era and only have one more remaining from the original 2020 pile…
I’ve entered dangerous territory.
Vintage needlepoint shoes started appearing on my feed.
Am I now considering custom needlepoint shoes as a future project?
Possibly.
Galette Girl Summer™
While entering peak summer, another lesson in delayed gratification burned me a little too.
There’s a clever brand called The Ack Sack and every single bag they make is painfully adorable.
Unfortunately…
I missed the boat.
The canvas version sold out and now I’m patiently waiting for a restock.
I’ve recently started collecting different Nantucket baskets and also need to repair one purse after my dog ate the closure.
Sigh.
Another brand I continue to adore is Stovall Collection.
They recently launched semi-custom letterpress stationery sets and they are almost offensively cute.
Birdhouses.
Lucky stars.
Snails.
Clovers.
Honestly impossible to choose.
In my house, I’ve officially deemed this:
Galette Girl Summer™
Boys can participate as well.
While I usually don’t like to brag…
I’m going to brag.
As each galette is made, my pie dough keeps getting better and better.
I recently bought a vintage copy of Bubby's Homemade Pies cookbook and have fully embraced this phase of life.
If you know…
You know.
I’d like to pretend my use of a box grater for butter was some secret technique I independently developed on my own and heroically discovered.
It was not.
But I refuse to gatekeep.
So if you’d like to join me on this galette journey…
Here is my current method.
Pie Dough (Brynn Version™)
• 1 ½ cups flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup butter grated on the thick side of a box grater
• start with 5 tablespoons ice water, though you’ll absolutely need more once you begin working the dough
So far we’ve gone:
• Strawberry
• Peach
• Blackberry
But I’m ready to get a little wild soon and start experimenting with savory options.
This now certainly wasn’t the first galette you’ve seen from me.
And it definitely won’t be the last.
Looking Ahead
Taking you on the journey of completed 2020 project number one.
The lovely fish needlepoint from Sara Fitz Studio
I absolutely adore The Kensington Paperie and think their new wrapping papers might become the background for framing this little fish in a vintage Adirondack frame I’ve had sitting around for years. I’m leaning towards the Ikat Azure as the background.
Lulu and Georgia is currently teasing me with a holiday sale.
I absolutely adore this home site.
These wonderfully primitive-feeling dishes immediately caught my attention.
How cute would this horse pitcher be as a flower vase?
And lastly…
Because I seem permanently incapable of simply living in the present.
Why am I already dreaming about sweater weather?
More specifically:
Beautiful English, Irish, and Scottish sweaters.
I spent entirely too much time admiring pieces from Campbells of Beauly and have convinced myself my future somehow permanently involves Fair Isle knits, Liberty prints, and pretending I live in the English countryside.
There is also a sweater featuring a goat.
I would like both the sweater.
And eventually the goat.
For now…
I’ll continue holding Gus and pretending it’s basically the same thing.
I hope everyone is staying cool, especially if you’re suffering through the heat wave we’ve been enduring this week.
And please…
For the love of summer.
Make a galette this Fourth of July.
XX,
B 🌿
