February '26 Notes

The last exhale of winter, the first inhale of spring.

Welcome to Notes — a visual journal of what’s inspiring me right now. February has always felt like the beginning of my quiet turning point. Even though the weather is still unreliable — snow one day, sun the next — something in me starts to shift toward spring. I begin noticing the light again. It rises a little earlier, lingers just a bit longer, and softens corners of the home that felt heavy all winter. The house starts to feel different without anything really changing at all.

This is usually when I slowly begin to pull back the layers that carried us through the colder months. A few less textiles, fewer objects gathered on surfaces, a little more breathing room. Winter asks for coziness; February hints at air. I start decorating with fresh flowers this time of year — on the kitchen counter, beside the bed, tucked into small bud vases in the bathrooms. Candles shift to lighter scents. And on the warmer afternoons, I’ll crack a window just enough to let that early-season air move through the rooms. It’s a small reset, but it changes everything for me.

Outside, my mind begins to wander to the garden. I imagine what might grow where, what will climb, what will soften the edges. Even before anything is planted, the planning and anticipation itself feels like a season.

February lives in that in-between — the last exhale of winter and the first quiet inhale of what’s next. By the time March arrives, I’m ready to fully lean toward the light.

Questions about what has been inspiring me lately? Drop a comment and I’ll answer any of your questions!