“Hi. What’s your name? What do you do?” It’s inescapable, this pressure to define exactly what it is we “do” in life. We attempt to sort out our own identities according to what we learn, and where, the jobs and responsibilities we take on and careers we pursue, and we perceive others as trying to figure out who we are in the same way. Who am I? What satisfies me? How can I be true to myself? What pays the bills? How can I be successful? How can I appear successful? For me, until EyeSwoon, defining and re-defining what I “do” in life has been exhilarating, confusing, hopeful and exhausting.
After many years of swirling around various so-called “careers”, in creating EyeSwoon I’ve come to celebrate embracing all that drives me rather than defining myself by any single pursuit. You don’t have to be just one thing. So when I came to know lifestyle blogger, author, and Renaissance woman Anne Sage, the parallels were immediate. Much like myself, she has an obvious love for cooking and interiors — and take one look at her site and Instagram feed and it’s clear she is highly capable in both arenas. The other commonality: Anne’s life has been filled with experimentation. Among other things, she has tried out interior design school, worked as a chef at a tech startup, launched lifestyle publication Rue Magazine, created and continues to evolve annesage.com, written decor book “Sage Living“, and recently launched event space and creative studio Light Lab with Caroline and Jayden Lee of Woodnote Photography. As far as I can tell, there is just no mold Anne fits within.
Anne has slowly, steadily carved out a life for herself by doing all the things she enjoys. And while her inspiring, meticulously-curated Instagram feed is proof of her well-defined point of view and command of aesthetics, she still manages to let us in on her life, even–and especially–when it feels far from tidy. The result is visually-pleasing and completely human. In short, it’s beautiful. Here Anne shares the recipe for her kale and quinoa salad in her brand-new Light Lab studio and answers everything we’ve been dying to know about her personal journey and what makes her swoon. Sneak preview–besides Anne’s life mantra, you can also look forward to learning more than you ever wanted to know about the origins of the word “squirrel” — she’s a complete word nerd!