Once Around the Sun: Seasonal Rituals, Food, and Stories from a House Upstate

A richly textured celebration and guide to the deeply rooted, passionately inspired rituals connecting us to nature’s rhythms

Once Around the Sun is a love letter to the seasons. This thoughtful celebration of nature’s beauty year-round reveals how to find inspiration in your surroundings and craft meaningful moments with your home as a canvas.

Author Lisa Przystup invites readers into her own home in the Western Catskills, where she has created rituals that reflect her environment: decorating with found materials, savoring seasonal ingredients, and gathering with loved ones around thoughtfully set tables. Using the four seasons as a framework, she provides a mindful guide to cultivating your own rituals across winter, spring, summer, and fall.

Each chapter features four immersive sections: “What’s in Season” revels in the abundance of each moment, with creative ways to showcase flowers, fruits, and vegetables at their peak; “At the Table” offers inspiration for artful gatherings, including down-to-earth ideas or creating soulful seasonal arrangements and enchanting tablescapes; “Celebrating the Season” features simple, beautiful DIY projects; and the final section, a to-do list, provides gentle prompts and ideas for slowing down and fully inhabiting each season.

Rounding out the book are contributions from an array of creative voices, including chef, author, and First Bloom proprietor Alison Roman; Sarah and Sohail Zandi of Brushland Eating House; April Valencia of Masa Memory; and others who share their practices for embracing the seasons.

Filled with lush, atmospheric photography and hand-drawn illustrations that capture the quiet magic of life in the country, Once Around the Sun reveals how to find delight in the marking of time, and how to make every season one’s own.