September 2025

A Toast to September

September has always held my heart—
a bridge between seasons,
where summer’s laughter still lingers
and autumn whispers at the door.

In the Pacific Northwest,
this month is a quiet enchantment:
the skies still dry,
the air still generous,
while the leaves blush shyly,
from the palest pink to the deepest red,
like the earth itself learning to glow.

This week, Gather Around returns—
and I marvel at how swiftly time has carried us here again.
I once thought to bring dishes of Israel,
to recall the flavors of my travels.
But September’s golden light
beckoned me elsewhere—
toward warmth,
toward comfort.

So the table will welcome
fruit caramelized in butter and sugar,
meats roasted tender with a bright kiss of balsamic,
and, of course, the sweetness of cake,
the amber fire of Armagnac.

But more than the feast,
it is the company that matters:
dear friends,
some familiar, some new,
all drawn together by the magic of gathering.
Around food,
around stories,
around the simple hope
that we might grow closer
in these days when connection feels too rare.

So here’s to September—
a month of beauty,
of friendship,
of promise.

Cheers,
Julia