Happy “La Rentrée” from enmarie®

Today is the first day of school in our parts. We sent off our Junior and Senior. It was bittersweet, marking the end to a great summer and the beginning of the school-year routine. “La Rentrée" in French means the start of the school year or the beginning of the term, and the return to work after the summer/August holidays during the first week of September.

In France, La Rentrée is much more of a celebration, sending children back to school, reconnecting with friends and family you’ve missed over the summer, returning to your favorite restaurant that has been closed for the month of August.

A re-entry of sorts, La Rentrée is recognized as a return to a rhythm. For me, it feels much like New Year’s Day, but only much better in that the days are still warm and the sky is blue with some late sunshine. It feels full of optimism, new plans, and goals, with the changing of the leaves. Everything seems achievable.
It is a great time to initiate new routines and rituals and revisit old ones as well. Here are some of my favorite rituals to revisit for La Rentrée:

1) Grab a new planner….Whether it’s being a former school teacher or perhaps I prefer the more freeing time-frames of a mid-year planner instead of a January to December calendar. My two favorites are the practical and lovely Moleskine mid-year planner and the luxe Smythson. 

The Moleskine 18-Month Planner comes in both soft and hardcover.

For a splurge, the Smythson is lovely, with monogram available.

2) I break-in my planner by writing a favorite quote.

3) School children always begin the school year with a new pair of sneakers, aren't we allowed, too?  The above pair were seen at Free People; Need Supply is a great resource, as well. 

4) After years of making lunches for the kids every day, the custom of making a huge batch of cookies is a tough one to shake. Recipe to follow in the next blog post. Stay tuned! Trust me, it's worth the wait. 

5) It is the perfect time to learn something new or sign up for a yoga, ballet, or knitting class. They frequently are scheduled to match the school year, September-June.

6) With summer winding down, and harvest setting in, September and early October mark the end of Farmer’s Market. But sometimes you can still find those late-season tomatoes!

7) Celebrate with a bouquet of sunflowers.

8) Pull out a few sweaters to have on hand for the chilly mornings. (Above pictures: Jcrew. Love their sweaters!)

9) And it’s the perfect time to treat yourself to a new fall scarf, an inexpensive way to freshen the wardrobe. Above shown is Madewell. 

10) Latch on to a new TV series. We just finished TURN, about Washington’s spies during the American Revolution. (ok, yes, we’re a bit behind on things). Someone recommended Yellowstone up next. What might you suggest?


11) And of course, if you haven’t already built dry brushing into your daily routine, this is a perfect time. As Jean Godfrey-June the beauty editor at Goop says,

"I dry-brush just before I take a shower, and I swear it makes the entire day go better." And we couldn’t agree more. We recommend the enmarie® Dry Brush.


What are some of your favorite customs for La Rentree?