These lilac-colored beeswax candles, which my daughter picked out at the shop. I wouldn’t have chosen purple—I always pick natural or ivory—but it’s given our cottage a touch of faerie whimsy and now I’m thinking of more ways to bring the color in; that’s why it’s fun to live with other people and let them pick sometimes.

This Tulsi green tea, because everything tea tastes better with holy basil in it.

This basket, because it’s helping to wrangle some of the toys, which got out of control over the holidays. It’s the first storage item I’ve purchased in eleven years and I was pretty excited about it. I grew up in a house with a lot of stuff, so picking out storage solutions for my parents used to be a hobby! I think another large basket or two would suffice to subdue the rest of the toys. One of my friends keeps her son’s toys impressively pared down to one laundry basket, but my girl is older and has strong feelings about what to keep. So I’m starting to acquire pretty storage.

This happily curated collection, featuring a portrait of our rosy-cheeked family.

This elegant block structure, because I’m always impressed with what she comes up with. Also, the princess dress, because it’s currently in heavy rotation and, even though it’s gaudy, it seems to bring a smile to everyone we pass on the street.

Plus:

These boots, because we got them at the consignment store this week and she adores them and she asked me to take a picture of them “for the blog.”