Magnolia

This winter, Magnolia Journal is making space for connection—and all the shared experiences that deepen our understanding of ourselves and one another. Find a guide to Christmas lights, gather around fondue, and design a dining room that invites everyone to stay awhile.

The Magnolia Journal

A Letter from the Editor

Magnolia Post: Forward Motion

Together We Can Make Kindness Loud

Walking the Earth • DAY BY DAY. STEP BY STEP.

The Simple Art of Caramelizing

A Note from Jo: A Time for Forward Motion

Lasting Beauties • Dried flowers and foliage offer constancy and unfading beauty through the change of the seasons.

Make a Great Day • MARY CELESTE BEALL’S LIFE CHANGED IN AN INSTANT WHEN SHE LOST HER HUSBAND AND BEST FRIEND. WHAT SHE LEARNED ABOUT COPING WITH GRIEF AND FINDING PURPOSE IN LIFE CAN BE GUIDEPOSTS FOR ANYONE MAKING THEIR WAY THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES.

Into Fall with Crisps & Crumbles • WHEN THE COOL BEGINNINGS OF FALL SPARK A SEARCH FOR WARM COMFORTS, SIMPLE PLEASURES REMIND US THAT LIFE’S SWEETEST MOMENTS ARE MEANT TO BE SHARED. FALL-FORWARD SPICES AND SEASONAL FRUITS SHINE IN THIS TRIO OF SOUL-NOURISHING DESSERTS—BEST PAIRED WITH SPOONS AND LINGERING CONVERSATION.

Gather Around the Light • Bundling up around a fire can feel almost magical. What often starts for us as children, a love for s’mores and storytelling, remains even as we age. With the accessibility and ease of a firepit, the campfire experience can be ours anytime the mood strikes. Gathered around the flames, we can revel in the dance of firelight and the warmth that wards off the night’s chill. Conversation feels that much more special, and the atmosphere is just as comforting and inviting as your living room—with all the goodness of the great outdoors.

Chip’s Fall Favorites

Joanna’s Fall Favorites

Shine On • FINDING YOUR OWN UNIQUE AND RADIANT GLOW

Year After Year, Autumn Returns to the World in Her Own Good Time.

A Place for Pears • Signs of the season changing are all around us—the proof is in the pear. What was a source of summer refreshment now finds its place as a complement for comforting fall dishes from down-home desserts to pork chops and pasta.

Everyday Abundance • It’s time: to offer the invitation, make the meaningful connection, and set generosity loose on your street.

A Solo Venture • Whether we stay close or go far, setting aside time to explore on our own offers a unique type of discovery.

Nature’s Colors • Naturally dyed fabric brings renewed meaning to the ordinary. With color results that are vibrant and alive, these unique dyes offer us ways to make cloth our own.

On Forward Motion

Five Fundamentals of Styling a Room

The Winding Way Forward • The power of moving from point A to point B isn’t simply the arrival. It’s that “to” stuck in the middle—the vast unnavigated space between where we start and where we’re determined to land. Because in real life and off-paper, forward movement is no tidy feat. It’s often interrupted by daunting pitfalls, rerouted paths, maybe a few achingly long standstills. The discomfort in the middle of the journey can either derail us or push us on. Let’s learn from others who didn’t give up—who became more brave, adaptive, and resilient as they went forth.

Unlikely Spaces • Elle Kemp and Martin Gane are drawn to old and unique things. Partners in life and work, they specialize in creating spaces that, as Elle says, “feel as if they’ve been that way forever.” Their most meticulous project to date is their own residence, an 1850s pig barn that they’ve converted into a two-bedroom home—complete with lime plaster walls, reclaimed timber floors, and a cozy woodstove.

Chip Gets the Last Word

Sourcebook • For information...