The Nested Bee

09/22/2026

There’s something beautiful about the changing of the seasons. Each one brings its own rhythm, its own traditions, and its own memories—but fall has always felt a little extra special. 🍂

Maybe it’s the first cool breeze through an open window, pulling out a favorite sweater, simmering something warm on the stove, or watching the trees slowly turn shades of gold and amber. Fall seems to invite us to slow down, gather close, and return to the simple things that make a house feel like home.

Here in Tennessee, we’ve been living under what feels like an endless heat dome, so that first hint of fall is especially welcome this year! We are more than ready for crisp mornings, cozy evenings, changing leaves, Sunday suppers, and all those little traditions that remind us of simpler times.

So today, on the first day of fall, I’m happily welcoming a new season—and everything that comes with it. 🍁

Here’s to a season of gathering, nesting, making memories, and finding beauty in the everyday.

Happy Fall, friends! 🤎✨️

09/19/2026

Yesterday was our wedding anniversary. Every year we try to spend the day supporting small businesses. This year we went to check out Leipers Fork. I have followed Patina Home & Garden for many years but hadn't had a chance to go in person. So we built a day around it and had a great time. We made sure to come back through Franklin and then stop at our friend Stacey's shop and our friend Matthew's shop.

Locally owned businesses always provide a personalized and fun experience. I hope you'll head out this weekend to support some in your area.

These are the places we went yesterday:

Patina Home & Garden
Dwell and Den
The Country Boy
GraceWorks Thrift VIPs
TOUS les JOURS 📍 Franklin, TN
Welcome to Mercantile 1858!
Stacey Harris-Fish

Have a great weekend!

09/17/2026

The best part was never the stuff.
It was always the people.

Here's to old treasures, new chapters, and friendships that continue long after the shop doors close.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

09/16/2026

Touches of Fall. Hints of Halloween. They're all arriving regularly in the booth. Come check out what's new. 🍂

Booth A26 thecollectiveboutiquesboro

09/14/2026

I’ve never believed beautiful vintage and antique pieces should be saved for display only. I love finding ways to actually live with them.

An old marmalade crock can hold makeup brushes. A vintage coffee pot can become a utensil holder. Antique art can hang above a very modern chest. And yes, the security camera can sit right there among the antiques too—because this is a real home, not a museum.

For me, great design isn’t about making everything match or recreating a particular period. It’s about blending old and new, beautiful and practical, inherited and discovered until your home begins to tell your story.

Before you pass over an old piece because you don’t need it for its original purpose, ask yourself: What else could this become?

That’s where some of the most interesting decorating begins. 🐝

09/12/2026

Fresh finds in our booth thecollectiveboutiquesboro 🍂🧡 They are open daily from 10-8 ✨️

09/11/2026

09/11/2026

I was going into work late that morning because I had a doctor’s appointment, so I was still at home when the phone started ringing. I was brushing my teeth, so my fiancé answered. His mother was on the other end telling him that our country was under attack and to turn on the news.

He switched on the television, and we watched in disbelief as the second tower was hit. I remember dropping my toothbrush on the floor.

We watched in horror as both towers eventually came down. Everything seemed to come to a standstill. We didn’t know if the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were where the attacks would end, or if we should expect more attacks across the country. We were only 23, and we wondered if people our age would be drafted because surely we would be going to war after this.

It was almost impossible to comprehend that what we were watching was real.

We watched people trapped in the towers make unimaginable choices. We watched first responders run toward buildings while everyone else was trying to escape—some entering only moments before those buildings collapsed.

We watched all day and into the night as we learned about another plane that had crashed before reaching its intended target because of the extraordinary courage of the passengers aboard.

And we thought about all the people who had lost their lives. All the families who had suddenly lost someone they loved. All the people desperately waiting for a phone call that would never come.

It was the most tragic day of my lifetime.

But in the days that followed, we witnessed something else.... Continued in comments.

Art by G. Quidell

❤️