Every time I am in Georgetown, I encounter a kaleidoscope of versions of myself. The newlywed Jen, the grad school Jen, the high school Jen, and half-versions, too: the 11.5, the 12.5. The decimal me. I wave at the 24-year-old Jen living with her college best friend in a garden apartment on R Street, shout-singing “Murder on the Dance Floor” at 1 a.m.; the 14-year-old Jen running to Sugar’s for a milkshake with her high school best friend, not knowing she would leave this earth too soon a decade later. The Jen burrowed in the stacks at Lauinger Library, groping after Ezra Pound’s cantos; the Jen wheeling two toddlers in a red wagon to Volta Park as a summertime nanny. The Jen falling in love; the Jen stammering through her first attempt at T.A.-ing a writing class. The Jen drinking Wild Turkey with the Georgetown boys, the Jen crying at her locker with her Visitation girls. Oh, she’s a blur of red brick and stained glass and trees in the fall scraping their bare branches across the wet and fogged windows. She’s all first attempts: she’s mid-swing, and too-wobbly. She’s “there is no frigate like a book,” she’s Mrs. Mattingly’s English class and her “verboten word” list (never trot out the word “utilize” when “use” will suffice — the mark of the pompous). She’s Strunk and White and plaid skirts rolled up to indecent heights and book bags as heavy as her 90-lb high school frame. She’s “Allons Voir Si La Rose” by memory, the words tucked tenderly beneath her tongue; she’s “Hail Mary” by rote. She’s Chopin etudes and “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglio. She’s maiden voyages, first-time crushes, Sir-Mix-a-Lot and a spaghetti strap dress at the Snowball dance. She’s 9/11 and her friend Molly crying in the gym lounge because her dad was an army general at the Pentagon and we didn’t know what was what. She is realizing her taste far outstripped her talent. She is shaky drafts and bad art, an inept college essay in which she used the phrase “my goals lined up like porcelain dolls” with humiliating flourish. She is hospital visits and slow-close friendships. She is loss and losing. She is also the sunrise of her future self: each fawn and flailing step nothing but ingredient. She is born and re-born.

So friends —

When you find your past selves collecting, thank them; bless them;

because of them, and their gawky and inelegant firstling tries and missteps, you have today.

Post-Scripts.

+We are always raising future versions of ourselves.

+Gifts for our future selves.

+More on the versions of me in Georgetown.

Shopping Break.

+This plaid dress just launched and is nearly sold out – so good. Also obsessed with this plaid wool jacket. The shape reminded me of the Ann Mashburn jacket so many of us ordered.

+Been seeing a lot of balaclavas this year — love Gap’s take.

+These inexpensive scalloped frames come in such great colors.

+This Diptyque holiday candle carousel sells out every year. So charming. We have some similar candle carousels for tea lights that I bring out at the holidays. I just added this scented oval to my cart to keep in my closet!

+25% off sitewide at HHH! A perfect time to snag a last-minute Thanksgiving dress (will also work for holiday) or grab this quilted coat I’ve been loving so much this season.

+Just went running for the first time in a few weeks (I’ve been really into Peloton — I ride with my sisters and dad several times a week!), and was reminded of how incredible these “open ear” airpods are. I know I’ve yapped about these so many times before, but they’ve definitively improved my running experience. They never fall out, are appropriately touch-sensitive (i.e., I’ve had to run with regular airpods in the past and I feel like I always accidentally pause/skip/pull them out when I’m trying to resituate them!), and let in enough ambient noise that it’s safer to run. (You can hear cars/people approaching.) This, along with the Tracksmith Brighton base layer, have been the biggest upgrades to my running life. The airpods are $100 off in select colors. I love the moonstone blue or sunset iridescent.

+These labeled king/queen/full straps for organizing sheets into sets is actually brilliant. I try to keep mine on different shelves (king on the top shelf, queen next, etc) but they do routinely get mixed up!

+Wow – this kitchen table set (table and chairs) is 50% off. A great time to buy the entire kit and kaboodle. My pinecone wreath is also on sale, and I also love this deeply discounted side table (in powder blue, perfect for right next to a glider in a nursery)!

+Goyard-inspired.

+Fab new arrival from VB. So gorgeous!

+So many of you advised me to wait until late fall / winter to read Claire Keegan. Just got my hands on this and I can’t wait to read by the fire.

+Beis is offering 25% off sitewide with code EARLY25. I love giving luggage as a holiday gift, or maybe you just want a refresh for yourself. They sent me this gorgeous atlas pink carry-on earlier this month and it sparks such joy! Isn’t it fun to pick a bold color when the world wants you to carry black or gray? Anyhow, I was just investigating it as I prepare for a couple of ski trips this winter, and it is so cleverly designed! It has two zippered interior pockets for things like underwear, belt, socks, and is expandable (the website description: the carry-on size is for “Overpackers forced to bring only a carry-on” — lol, it’s me). I love that it comes with a dirty laundry bag. For me, the dirty laundry bag is more important than packing cubes. (The carry-on is also super chic in this maple color!)

+Related: one of my gifts to my future self is pre-loading cosmetics/toiletry items in my bag so that everything is stocked and ready to go. I just restocked mine with these St. Jane skincare minis (the mucin cream is a 10/10) and my Biossance set, and refilled my Cadence capsules with my favorite moisturizer and hair care products. I generally like to buy minis of all my favorite products because then they come in the correct applicator / bottle / etc, but I do decant body moisturizer, shampoo, and conditioner because it’s a cinch. The Cadence capsules are magnetic and leak-proof; I really like this size. They’re on sale right now!

+A puzzle to put out after Thanksgiving.

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