Heads up: I co-published a Tuckernuck Sample Sale post this morning in case you’re in a shopping mood! Ulla, La Double J, Agua Bendita, etc at like 80% off! My picks here.
Over the years, I’ve pruned the items I keep around me during my writing hours so that everything in my line of sight courts inspiration. Desktop helicon! (I like this provocation: does your everyday life, as it’s lived out in its smallest increments — what’s on your desk, what you’re eating for lunch, how you’ve spent your Saturday — reflect your values? If not, don’t panic – but start editing!) On my desk, I keep framed pictures of my beautiful grandmother, my son’s first attempts at writing my name (in crayon!), and myself at 6. The initial intent with the latter was to remind myself: look how far we’ve come, girl — but I find her presence is less about self-celebration and more about gentle self-talk. I would never speak harshly to that six year old. I’d be cheering her on! A little note to self to do the same, even now, at 41. (I’m still that girl!) I also love that I’m careening around a beach in a Minnie swimsuit, arms wide like a plane. A secondary reminder to lean into whimsy; protect it. Also on my desk: a little glass bird my friend brought me back from abroad, a picture of our departed Tilly girl, a beautiful acrylic coaster so my morning coffee or afternoon Spindrift have a place to live and not condensate on my already water-warped desk, a desk calendar that feel like a fresh slate every time I get to switch out months (also highly functional for quick reference while mapping out appointments, deadlines, dates, etc) and my trusty habit tracker.
Sharing these and a few other items I keep close at hand in my studio. Would love to know what’s scattered across your desk. (More of your signatures! More confessions of your weird and wondrous spirit!)
DESK CHAIR // LAMP // HABIT TRACKER // NOTEBOOK // GEL PENS // CANDLE // DESK CALENDAR (ON SALE!) // COASTER // LIP MASK
These and every last thing I keep close at hand in my studio below —
01. A great desk sweater. So soft and wears perfectly over anything. I keep her draped over the back of my chair. See me in mine this week (new bangs and all!) here.
02. My favorite 2026 desktop calendar. (26% off!)
03. The frames I use for everything! Another option here.
04. Julep vase as a way to store pens (see above) ā look for less here.
05. Sweatpant-level comfortable jeans, more often than not.
06. My ride-or-die notebooks. I only use these!
07. Gel ink pens. I love the ultra-fine-tip.
08. A pretty coaster. Everything in its own place!
09. I use these highlighters! I actually find I use them a lot — I’ll highlight TOP priority items in my daily planning pad, use while reading, use to cross out days I’ve exercised, etc.
10. The habit tracker I use and created in collaboration with Mamey. I also use this planning pad + this notepad from the collection every single week.
11. A five-year journal. My SIL gave me this for Christmas and I like to use it in a whimsical way. I try not to put any onus on myself to come up with some big breakthrough or thought for each day and instead simply jot down a fun word I like, something I’ve come across in my reading or that’s been a part of my daily thought process.
12. Weekly planner. Inexpensive and perfect. I’ve used this for years.
13. A good lip product.
14. I always keep a luxe candle at my desk ā a little thing that makes life better.
15. Wireless noise-cancelling headphones. For when I’m Writing Seriously. I started using them while working on my book — I’d turn off the overhead lights, slip these on, and put on my Jo March playlist, and each of these actions was like a helpful cue to clip into my most focused writing state.
16. Headphone stand for aforementioned! Again, everything in its own place! So helpful for reducing visual clutter / visual noise.
17. My exact lamp is old Jonathan Adler, but I love its squat shape. Similar options I like: here; here; here; here; here.
18. Best, chicest, most comfortable (and reasonably priced) desk chair. I also got one for Landon’s office.
20. Office scissors. More than you think you need!
Not on my desk, but two recent office purchases I am eagerly anticipating in the mail:
+This pinboard — for inspiration! Got these gold thumbtacks for it.
And, not seen here, but the unsung heroes of my daily work:
+My electric heating pad (obsessed; her name is Heidi);
+This Mary Oliver poetry book and this Greek mythology book — endless inspiration;
+The companionship of the trees outside my window.
Desktop Essentials.
HIGHLIGHTERS // SCISSORS* // LIP MASK // NOTEBOOK // HABIT TRACKER // NOTEPAD // DESK CALENDAR // COASTER // CANDLE // PENS
*Along the lines of things I didn’t know I always needed: more scissors. I swear mine sprout legs and walk away. Last year, I bought like six pairs of these and spread them throughout the house and it’s been such a godsend to have them close at hand at all times!
P.S. (To Landon): when did you hang the moon?
P.P.S. A place for all your organizational strategies.
P.P.P.S. Sage list (things I want to let go of in 2026).
Magpie promo codes here + my recommended products here. You can preorder my book, Small Wonders, here!
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After a few years of a hard-earned desk minimalism (in highschool/college I kept so. much. stuff. on my desk that it really was counterproductive), my current desk situation has veered back toward a creative maximalism: on the windowsill rather than the actual work surface I have tins of different kinds of pens, washi tape, scratch paper; a Delft-inspired mug of pencils, a timer, a photo of Richard Wilbur (a muse for diligent work!), a few photos of myself as a child (inspired by yours). Currently on the desk itself I have a shoebox of old printed photos, a stack of up-next books to read, a stack of tactile creative projects (sewing patterns, yarn, watercolor) to remind me to play in the real world, and some scrapbooking material. Also a copy of Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit, which I am slowly working through. My actual workspace right now is a joyful clutter of stationery/stamps/address book/etc. as I’m writing a backlog of thank you notes. The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations for note inspiration. And two empty mugs, ha. There’s practically no space for working at the moment but it feels nice to just sit and sift through things.
Also! I bought an Appointed weekly planning pad for this year which I found through your repeated mention of them, and I LOVE it. Just right for processing what’s going on, and I love that they separate “to dos” and “reminders” – for some reason this is mentally really helpful.
And your roses remind me of one year that my husband bought a big bouquet of HOT pink roses on New Year’s (not a color I would gravitate toward usually) and they lasted for a couple of weeks and were such a midwinter delight.
“it feels nice to just sit and sift through things” — this could be the subheader for this entire blog! I feel this so deeply!! Sounds like a lovely, generative, colorful space š
xx
Way too many post-its, a family photo, a trailing philodendron, a stack of notebooks in various states of use, and thank you notes/cards from various colleagues.
Fellow post-it fiend!! Love this post card from your desk — thanks for sharing.
xx
I no longer have a desk! I write from my balcony, a park bench, my bed. Each location has its own character! New writing out in the world or in my bed, editing and research on the balcony with notebooks or printouts spread around me. I was avoiding writing because Iām fundamentally not a desk person, and this shift (plus Dropbox syncing my scrivener account) has made all the difference. That said, I love the idea of talismans or stuff to drop you back into a world. I usually browse my Pinterest board for the book and try to eat something that reminds me of the place before I dive in truly. I also take a brisk walk immediately before planned writing sessions, which seems to drop me in faster.
Love the note about a brisk walk before writing! I was just thinking today that every other morning, after I exercise, I take a shower, and SO MUCH of my pre-writing takes shape there. I’m often dripping wet, running to my computer or the nearest note pad to get things down just after. Funny how those sensory experiences trigger the writing instinct for us.
xx