MOOD BOARD: THE SEASON OF STORY & SPICE

By Val White

There’s something about this time of year that feels like returning to an old photograph — soft edges, warm tones, a memory you can almost smell. The canopy of an Oktoberfest tent, the gleam of lantern light, the flicker of gold against green — it’s the palette of comfort and connection.

This month’s mood is steeped in ritual: the clink of mugs, the hum of friends gathering close, chrysanthemums bursting from vases on damask cloth, the gentle slide from summer’s heat into the hush of fall.

It’s a season of texture and tenderness — velvet greens, burnished brass, worn leather, candlelight. It asks us to slow down, savor what’s been harvested, and remember where we come from.

The colors of homecoming. The scent of something baking. The promise of another story beginning.