This summer I've really into the cottagecore aesthetic more than ever before, it helps that cottagecore basically aligns with my ideal lifestyle--a quiet life in the country appreciating nature and foraging a bit in the woods. Even if you don't have elderflower and damsons on your doorstep you can still get the cottagecore look with a few strategic outfit choices. So often it's not about changing every item in your wardrobe but getting a few key items and mixing what you already own in an earthy, natural way. Cottagecore is pretty synonymous with farmcore or countrycore, so it's all about being close to nature and more traditional handicrafts. Fashion-wise this usually translates to a more vintage inspired wardrobe, but leave the 1950s prom dresses behind and instead focus on dressing like a homesteader. While it's a very cute look, ultimately cottagecore pieces tend to be very practical; natural fabrics and comfortable silhouettes, clothes people used to wear to work in their gardens or around the farm. Here are some of the staple pieces to start dressing more cottagecore.

We spotted these foxgloves across a stream while out walking with Solomon and made a mental note to go back and try to get a few pictures of them--most of my locations these days are found while walking Solomon! I've been wanting to get pictures with foxgloves for awhile since they grow wild in the woods here and they're a flower with fairy lore. I wrote a Patreon post last month about flowers with fairy lore and foxgloves have a few legends surrounding them. One of the sweetest stories is that foxgloves were seen as fairy homes and the little dots inside were the footprints from the fairies! This patch of foxgloves looked idyllic for a few photographs...only the stream ended up being wider and deeper than anticipated. I was hardly dressed to get across it in my vintage dress and Emmy Design Sweden cardigan and even Thomas struggled to get across since the ground of the stream was silty making it incredibly deep and mucky. We tested the depth with a stick and the depth of the water ended up being above my waist making wading through not an option! However, we were determined and the pretty foxgloves on the other side kept seeming to beckon to us. Thomas found some large branches to put down as a temporary bridge; one was actually more of a large stump and I do think one passerby who witnessed him rolling it towards the creek was quite bemused. Still temporary bridge in place, holding on to a vine of ivy dangling from a nearby tree for support, we finally made it across! Just one of the many wee adventures that happens behind a relatively peaceful looking photograph.
Most of my Emmy Design cardigans are in rich, autumnal tones so I don't wear them as much in spring and summer, although the Irish weather often calls for a few layers! So I was delighted when Emmy released their new spring collection of knits filled with the prettiest pastel shades and offered to send me one. This sage green color is perfect for spring and summer and so delightfully soft. People often ask me what they should pack for visits to Ireland and I do have to say no matter what season you come in, bring layers. The Irish weather is incredibly unpredictable and being an island there's often a breeze, especially if you go near the coast. So even in summer, a knit like this is essential and a raincoat wouldn't be a bad bet either. I don't usually show my layers in photographs in summer, but as this one suits my summer wardrobe so perfectly you might be seeing a lot more of it! I really love how Emmy's designs suit actual vintage pieces. Her knits are based on vintage patterns, so they are perfect complements to real vintage pieces, like the dress I'm wearing today. They actually look as if they were made for each other, with the colors mimicking perfectly, but no, it's two pieces made decades apart.
P.S. This is from Emmy's new spring collection, but her previous collections are on sale right now!

I have a thing for pretty books. I mean I don't buy a book by it's cover, but a pretty cover is definitely a plus. If I already know I love a book, then I'll usually try to buy a nice edition of it. One of my favorite shops for beautiful books is Folio Society. When I lost my copy of Anne of Green Gables I bought this gorgeous edition from Folio Society and thus became hooked on all Folio Society books. Folio Society was founded in 1947 and creates special editions of fine literature. Each book is carefully crafted with attention to detail from typography, unique covers, original illustrations. They're having a summer sale right now with various copies for 50% off and I couldn't resist doing a bit of dream book shopping for fun. (P.S. I'm not working with Folio Society, nor ever have, this post is merely shared for fun to show some of the lovely editions they create.)
The Writer's Map: This looks both like a beautiful book and a must-have for aspiring authors and zealous bookworms. The Writer's Map is a collection of maps that inspired different famous writers build their worlds and the maps that writers created for their fictional lands. I love when books include maps that explain the layout of the places the characters are living or traveling through. I feel like this book would be a wonderful resource if you're working to craft your own fictional land and so inspiring too to see all the creativity and detail that goes into creating your own world!
Peter Pan & Wendy: One of the reasons to invest in a quality book is to think of it as an heirloom piece; something your family can enjoy and pass down for generations. Some of the best books in my opinion for multi-generational thing are classic fairytales. The stories you loved as a child will probably be loved by your children too. So many stories are still inspired by those original fairytales that were told hundreds of years ago. One of my favorites is J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan and this cloth-bound version looks gorgeous; it also features more than 20 pages of illustrations.
The Pre-Raphaelite Tragedy: If you're a patron you know I've been having a Pre-Raphaelite moment, I've been talking about Pre-Raphaelite artists and style inspired by their paintings for two months now. So this book looks like a dream to me! I've only been a very casual student of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, reading up here and there about different pieces of art that inspire me personally, and this book would be a perfect opportunity to do a deeper dive and more serious look at the art style that inspires me so much. This is definitely the book I'm most tempted to buy in the sale!
The Artist's Garden: Another beautiful-looking book that would be a wonderful reference for artists and authors, the Artist's Garden features 20 real gardens that inspired some of the greatest artists in history. A perfect way to bring a bit of inspiring nature and an idyllic garden into your home if you can't access nature and a chance to learn a bit more about the gardens behind some of the most well-known paintings of all time. I feel like it would be a very soothing book to have around; something to browse through whenever things feel a bit grey. There's a lovely quote by William Morris, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." The beauty itself is sometimes the useful part, reminding us about how lovely nature is and giving us a moment to pause and admire.
Anne of Avonlea: I already have this version of the book, as you might recall from my post last autumn re-creating the cover. But I thought I would include it in this post in case anyone else also loved the look of this book but was put off by the price tag; it's half it's original price and a truly lovely book. LM Montgomery was a beautiful writer who describes nature in a really magical way; her Anne series makes for a perfect heart-warming and comforting read in the most trying of times. Because they are quite clean and wholesome they often get lumped into the children's section, but these books don't have to be for children and the quality of the writing and language is far above the average children or even young adult book. So don't be put off from trying the series if you're an adult; it's a lovely story and the writing is excellent.

I've had this vintage dirndl dress for ages, but I hadn't worn it because I could never find the right blouse to style it with. Dirndls are designed to be worn with blouses (and often aprons too--there's actually a little clip on the front of mine where an apron is meant to go), but when you buy vintage ones the original set has been broken into separate pieces so you typically only get the dress. The way they're cut makes them virtually impossible to wear without a blouse unless you do some alterations, which I wasn't interested in doing to this dress, but none of my white blouses (and I do have several) fit the style of the dress. Most of mine are very high-necked or buttoned blouses, which doesn't look quite right with a dirndl. So when I saw Miss Patina's new Isadora top I got quite excited because it looked like the perfect piece for all the "cottagecore" layering I'm coveting this summer. It's a crop top which I personally wouldn't pair with trousers, on the rare occasion I do wear trousers, but it's the perfect length for tucking into high waisted skirts or styling underneath pinafore dresses and dirndls like this one. I love the lace detailing along the neckline and the full sleeves. How lovely are the flowers in these pictures? This flower is called fireweed or willow herb. It likes to grow in disturbed ground and seems to be blooming in all the forests near us. Usually it's a smaller patch of a dozen plants or so, but this area had such a large spread of fireweed it almost looks like a field of pink. I plucked a few flowers to make a flower crown with and I'm sharing the tutorial for how I make flower crowns with my patrons today. There's more than a hundred exclusive posts on topics like this one (I also recently shared a recipe for elderflower cordial) on my Patreon. You can become a patron by clicking here. And fireweed is apparently edible, so now I'm tempted to return to this patch to forage some more flowers for fireweed jelly. Doesn't the name of that sound so fun? I want to try fireweed jelly just because of the way it sounds!

This past weekend was marked by the longest day of the year; midsummer. Now the sun doesn't set on our village until after ten at night and it begins rising just before four in the morning. Fishermen are camping by our lake and the village store is filling again with local produce and neighbors have put out honesty boxes to sell their eggs and flowers and handmade wooden chitting trays. Many of our woodland wildflowers are fading; the garlic and wild parsley giving way to daisies and buttercups in the fields, while elderflowers bloom in the hedge in place of hawthorn. Our own humble garden grows day by day with nasturtium leaves as big as your hand hiding shy little flowers of orange and yellow and red in their shade. On sunny days the grassy meadows near our house are filled ringlet, speckled wood, and meadow brown butterflies and the air is filled with the scent of elderflowers and the sound of swooping swifts and chattering sparrows.
Summer is quiet, but not always golden as storms chase across the skies. In the evenings I sit on the porch with Solomon by my side, watching rain or listening to distant thunder. On quieter nights I have a book in hat and try to spy a few bats swooping in the fading twilight against the silhouette of the nearby church ruins. Solomon lingers mostly by my side, leaving occasionally for a sniff around the gates or a low, suspicious bark into the dark woods just beyond our door. Some nights you can see little eyes glinting back at in the darkness. Foxes or badgers or even the occasional hedgehog. You can hear them yipping in the distance, but aside from those faint noises and the rustle of trees against one another in the night, the village is still and quiet. The only light a few lanterns along the main street and our little golden porch light casting a glow off the front steps.