September is here, and I am so ready for her. (But, y'all... this 90˚ weather can leave!)

Not in a rush-the-season kind of way.

More in a fresh notebook, tidy kitchen, dinner simmering, let's get our rhythms back kind of way.

This month at Chez Sweetpea, we're leaning into enjoying our homes, gathering people around the table, getting back into routines that support us, and quietly preparing ourselves for the busier months ahead.

Think:

🍎 Apple Country
🏡 enjoying home
🥘 cozy-but-not-too-cozy dinners
🏈 Game Day gatherings
✨ Future Me Approved prep
🥂 and plenty of reasons to invite people over

Before we get into today's email, though, I need to do a tiny bit of housekeeping.

A little housekeeping from me 🤍

Monday's email received more unsubscribes—and more unkind replies—than anything I've sent in a very long time.

And apparently, the offending act was…

selling a digital cookbook.

$12.00 🏈 The Game Day Table A Sweetpea Hosting Playbook 32 crowd-pleasing recipes + the Game Plan you need to actually enjoy your own party. Game... Read more Snag The Game Day Table

​

So I want to gently clarify something about how Sweetpea Lifestyle works.

For years, I have created an enormous amount of content that you can enjoy completely free: recipes, hosting ideas, newsletters, videos, tutorials, meal inspiration, and more.

But creating that free content isn't free for me.

There are website costs, email costs, software, photography, equipment, ingredients, and the time it takes to create all of it. And as the landscape of content creation continues to change, I am intentionally building additional ways for Sweetpea Lifestyle to earn income.

Sometimes, that means I'll offer something for sale.

A cookbook.

A Dinner Kit.

A subscription.

A resource I've spent time creating that I think might make your life easier.

You are never obligated to buy it.

Truly.

Enjoy the free recipe. Make the dinner. Read the email. Skip the product.

But if the fact that I occasionally sell something makes this newsletter no longer a good fit for you, you're absolutely welcome to unsubscribe.

You do not need to announce your departure on the way out; this is not an airport.

And you certainly don't need to send an unkind message to the person whose free work you've been receiving.

We're all human beings sitting behind these screens. (It really is ME writing and responding to you!)

I'm running a small business.

I have bills to pay, too.

And I want this little corner of the internet to remain a place where we can disagree, opt out, scroll past, and make different choices without being cruel to each other.

If that's your kind of place?

I'm very glad you're here.

Now.

Let's talk about something much more fun. (Did you feel my shoulders leave my ears?!)

✨ Sweetpea's Little Luxury

September's first Little Luxury is:

Give your everyday things a little ceremony.

🍹 Pour the iced tea into the pretty glass.

🍽️ Put dinner on a real plate—even if you're eating alone. Y'all might think I'm nuts, but this is my favorite dinner plate, currently. It's got a little lip to it, so nothing goes sloshing around. It makes a fantastic hosting gift when you bring the cheese plate. And it's CHEAP. $2.56.

💡 Turn on the lamp instead of the overhead light.

🕯️ Light the candle before the house is company-clean.

Use the cloth napkin.

I've been thinking so much lately about how easy it is to save our nicest things for some imaginary future occasion.

But your Thursday night counts.

Your scrambled eggs count.

Your ordinary life counts.

The whole idea behind Host Yourself First is that we stop waiting for company before we make our homes feel special.

🍎 Around Chez Sweetpea

September has officially become Apple Country month around here.

I love this particular time in Western North Carolina.

We're not quite into full fall yet.

It's still warm. Okay, it's down right hot hot hot.

Everything is still green.

But the apples begin showing up, the mornings feel just a tiny bit different, and you can sense that seasonal shift coming.

That is exactly the mood I want this month to have:

Fall is coming. We're not rushing her.

We're enjoying the in-between.

We're settling into our homes.

We're gathering around tables again.

And we're starting to make a few tiny preparations for the months ahead.

🛒 Future Me Approves

This weekend, I want you to make one thing easier for next week.

That's all.

Not a three-hour Sunday reset.

Not seventeen containers of meal prep.

One thing.

Wash and chop the vegetables.

Make the salad dressing.

Cook an extra pound of taco meat.

Restock your tea.

Choose Monday's outfit. Heck, go ahead and choose all 5 workdays' outfits!

Clear off the dining table.

Put something useful in the freezer.

The Future Me Approves philosophy is never about trying to control everything.

It's simply asking:

What could I do now that would make life feel a little kinder later?

Do that.

🥂 Your Weekend Assignment

I want you to enjoy your house this weekend.

Not improve it.

Not reorganize it.

Not deep clean it.

Enjoy it.

Make something delicious.

Turn on music.

Open the windows if the weather allows.

Sit somewhere you normally walk past.

Have a drink at your own table.

Invite somebody over if you feel like it.

Or don't.

Because before we host anyone else this fall, we're remembering how to be at home in our own lives.

That's where September begins.

From my table to yours,
Ashley | Chez Sweetpea