Q: Unique 30th birthday gift for my fashionable sister. Budget $1000.
A: WOW. What a generous sister you are! I love this. A tiny bit over, but these Olympia Le Tan book clutches are iconic and the type of piece that she will treasure forever. These beautiful handmade Milanese bags would also be a beautiful, unique gift. Lizzie Fortunato has some incredible, small-batch jewelry to consider, too – I love this because the brand is run by two sisters. Finally, a dress by Mi Golondrina would be spectacular!
Q: If you could buy one statement dress this summer, what would it be. Under $500.
A: This is really hard for me, but I would say this Rhode mini. It’s my front-runner for my birthday in June. I don’t own anything like it in my closet and it makes me feel happy.
Q: English luncheon with something feathered. Everything I see is black tie.
A: This top! It sold out this past winter it was so popular. You could pair with a skirt, trousers, even dark denim (if appropriate at the venue)? I also think you could dress down this feathered mini with some black pointed toe flats!
Q: Midi white dress with sleeves (not puff) for 4th of July at the lake.
A: This Boden! Stunning. I like the idea of pairing with a leather belt or woven belt for a different look. This is also crazy chic, but it feels a bit dressy for the lake? Maybe you could reimagine by pairing with navy Supergas or simple leather flats? I’m not sure if these sleeves are too “puffed” but I also love this Hunter Bell dress, and this may be too beachy (or just right) but this Xirena would be a dream. Last but not least, I feel like this Daphne Wilde is a worthy investment you could style a million ways.
Q: Maternity bathing suits!
A: I tended to go inexpensive on this front given how infrequently I used them, so would look at H&M or Target. I have heard that Hunza G suits work while pregnant and then post-partum / not pregnant, too — very stretchy material. Finally, Summersalt makes a maternity suit — I know so many of you love this brand.
Q: Rehearsal dinner dress!
A: I can’t stop thinking about this Alexis — it’s both sophisticated and boho in the best way. I feel like it’s what a chic New York woman would wear to her rehearsal dinner. I also love this Lug Von Siga, this lace number from Likely, this flirty Aje, this timeless linen sheath, and this smocked poplin Rebecca Taylor (one of the nine things I am currently obsessed with).
A stunning selection of sale finds that are an extra 25% off with code BREEZY until June 10th! Most of these are in-season, with the exception of my beloved No. 6 clog boots that I have worn for several seasons straight, and are currently only $150 (!!!) — a deal too good to pass up. Also note that my fisherman sandals are included! (You can see me in them here.)
STUNNING LIGHT BLUE MIDI DRESS WITH SWEETHEART NECKLINE AND INTRICATE LACE TRIM
TWO-TONE TAN LEATHER PLATFORM BOOTIES WITH SHEARLING LINING — THESE ARE SUCH A STEAL THAT I THINK IT IS WORTH BUYING OFF-SEASON…I LIVE IN THESE IN THE WINTERTIME
UNIQUELY PRINTED MOCK NECK DRESS WITH YELLOW ROPE TIE AT THE WAIST…THIS BRAND IS MAJORLY TRENDING THIS YEAR
RUFFLED BLUE SATIN SLIP-ON SANDAL…THESE WOULD LOOK GREAT DRESSED UP WITH A FLORAL MIDI DRESS OR DRESSED DOWN WITH A CLASSIC BLUE JEAN
I also wanted to alert you to the fact that all swim and cover ups are 50% off at J. Crew today. I love this seersucker bandeau style, and mini owns and loves this gingham rashguard (currently only $20!) as well as one of their terry rompers!
I have lived in the D.C. area for the greater measure of my life, with temporary stints in Charlottesville, Lyon (France), Chicago, and New York City. Since moving back to D.C. last summer, I have been comforted by the unchanged fixtures of cultural institutions and attractions I have loved since childhood and have suffered sea legs attempting to navigate the food scene; I am still feeling as though we have not yet found all our “food spots,” but we will get there. At any rate, nearly a year into living in the vicinity of my hometown (we actually live now in Bethesda, though I grew up in N.W. D.C., right by Rock Creek Park, in a great stone house that I think has shaped me more than I have given it credit, and then lived in Georgetown during graduate school and Glover Park when newly married), I thought I might share some of my favorite things to see, do, and eat in the D.C. area…
This is written in slapdash fashion, i.e., I am sitting down and spilling forth my top-of-mind favorites. This is not exhaustive and there are of course tons of other things to do and see in D.C. purposefully excluded from this list — on The Mall, at Mount Vernon, at the Kennedy Center, via The Smithsonian. I am here focusing on the smaller, less popularized spots we tend to visit more frequently.
Things to Do in D.C.
KREEGER MUSEUM. (Seen above.) One of my favorite art museums in the entire world? This was once a private residence and is situated in a residential area off Foxhall Road (not far from where my parents live!). At the moment, you need timed tickets to enter and when Mr. Magpie and I visited a few weeks ago, we had the place to ourselves. It is a petite but exceptional collection, mainly of impressionists, cubists, and modernists, with some fascinating African mask art, too. But let me tell you this: it’s a pretty rare thing to be left alone in a room with Picasso and Braque. The sculpture garden/grounds are spectacular, too.
PHILLIPS COLLECTION. An impressive art museum just off Dupont Circle, much smaller and more approachable than the vast collections on The Mall. I interned at the Phillips in college and have always felt at home here. They do some fantastic events and programming (sign up for emails to stay abreast) — we recently went to see an experimental theater performance of a play about Picasso that was absolutely exceptional. It astounded me that the performance was free and superb but relatively few patrons lined the seats. Their programs are a hidden gem.
HILLWOOD MUSEUM. This was walkable from my childhood home (!) and was the former residence of Marjorie Meriwether Post, known for collecting faberge eggs. This museum has been running some interesting programming lately — I can’t wait to see the exhibit on Grace Kelley launching this week. The house is beautiful, and if you can find an interesting exhibit, that’s wonderful, too, but for me the piece de resistance are the gardens: the Lunar Lawn, the Japanese-style garden, the rose garden, the parterre. Just spectacular.
DUMBARTON OAKS. Another beautiful garden to wander — I have never actually been to the indoor museum but will be rectifying that in two weeks when Mr. Magpie and I have procured tickets to visit both the museum and the gardens.
MONTROSE PARK. Next door to Dumbarton Oaks is a great, usually quiet park on the Northside of Georgetown. I lived on both R Street and 32nd Street after college, so we used this public park for picnics, walks, and boot camps my roommates and I used to participate in at 5:50 A.M. (Can you imagine?)
TUDOR PLACE. Just down the way from Montrose Park, Tudor Place is a historic home. I volunteered there during my high school years, usually just taking tickets at the front door and occasionally working in the gift shop. It’s a quiet and tranquil spot cloistered from the melee of M Street, and a good pit-stop if you’re looking for something cultural/historic to do while in the area for an afternoon.
NMWA. I also interned here (!) and was obsessed specifically with the curation. I haven’t been in years and the museum is currently closed for a massive renovation but I remember even in high school/college being bowled over by the whip-smart, provocative curator notes and the inventive exhibitions.
I A&A AT HILLYER. A small, non-profit gallery focused on contemporary art. This is around the corner from the Phillips if you’re looking for an art-packed day, or you can arrange to attend one of their free First Thursdays, where you can observe the provocative art and enjoy a glass of wine.
GREAT FALLS PARK. Mr. Magpie and I try to go hiking somewhere once a week, and this has been our favorite hiking spot. Nestled along the Potomac, some of its trails are actually quite (thrillingly) difficult! I love that some trails keep you along the water/falls, while others take you through densely forested areas that transport you to…somewhere very far from D.C. Select trains are equestrian, too, and they have decent picnic areas.
ROCK CREEK PARK. My favorite running venue in the area. So many great hiking and running trails, and so many corners that are just untrafficked and empty despite its popularity! It is an enormous green refuge in the middle of the city, and it feels so wild and overgrown in a way that makes you feel absconded from D.C.
WOLF TRAP. The most enjoyable way to take in live music, IMO. You bring a blanket and a picnic and sit outside on a hill that descends to the stage. They get some great acts, too! We saw Brandi Carlile there last year and will be seeing Van Morrison this year. I’m also contemplating going to see Steve Martin and Martin Short there!
CHRIST CHILD OPPORTUNITY SHOP. A great place to score antique and vintage finds (including silver, jewelry, furniture, and more), and proceeds support the Christ Child Society. My grandmother and mother both volunteered here for many years!
A place I am excited to visit for the first time this summer: Glenstone out in Potomac, MD (outdoor, avant garde sculpture garden). Already booked tickets for Mr. Magpie and I later this summer — it’s free but you do need tickets!
Things to Do with Kids in D.C.
GLEN ECHO. A perfect way to spend a morning with small children. They have a vintage-style carousel (it really gets going, too — pretty fast), a playground, a 10 a.m. daily puppet show, and the most charming and no-frills little aquarium you’ve ever seen. You must reserve tickets for the aquarium, which is one room of small tanks, including a basin in which children can touch/feel horse-shoe crabs. The staff is so accommodating, and they will walk around with you answering questions and showing children items of interest.
CABIN JOHN TRAIN. A 15-minute-long ride on a bright red train. It goes…in a loop and there is not much to take in, but small children will adore this. (Ours certainly did.). Cabin John also has several playgrounds and many picnic sites. It’s not far from a Shake Shack, so you can follow our model: train, playground, Shake Shack for lunch, then home for nap!
BUTLER’S FARM. For berry-picking / apple-picking / etc whenever in season. I went here growing up!
CHILDREN’S MUSEUM. I can’t tell you how much I loved this museum as a child. I’ve already picked a day to take my children in July!
NATIONAL ZOO. Honestly, this is unpopular, but I don’t think the National Zoo is that great. It’s on an enormous hill (pushing a stroller up hill all day gets old), I find the animals are rarely in view, and it’s kind of a headache to get into and out of. I think Central Park Zoo is the best zoo in the world for young children (small, flat, and you can get in and out in under an hour — plus they have a petting zoo for little ones across the path!), and the Lincoln Park Zoo seemed always to have a better “turn out” of its animals. (And I went to the San Diego Zoo as a child and — wow. Nothing will compare.) That said. My children LOVE THE NATIONAL ZOO. It’s free, proximal to the metro, and a great way to let your children run around on a sugar high, so it deserves a place on this list, too.
AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM. We took Hill here a few weeks ago and his mind actually exploded. Little ones will love being able to get up close and personal with so many planes!
Places to Eat in D.C.
The two best higher-end meals from new-to-us restaurants that we have enjoyed since moving back to the D.C. area were at Maydan (North African and Middle Eastern) and Cranes (Iberian-Japanese). At Maydan, the communal table / shared plates concept really worked and every bite of food was beyond delicious. When you eat “Tawle style,” they bring out a range of small plates, dips, sauces to serve with their incredible “central plates” and breads (roasted over a big fire), and we had the best time eating there with some of our best friends. Highly memorable, inventive, and inviting. The entire thing – menu, style, drink program, pace, staff – all worked. Cranes, meanwhile, was elevated dining at its best — the restaurant itself is refined and gorgeous, the menu was wildly creative, and the staff highly attentive. We did a tasting menu and spoke only in exclamation points at every single course. We also enjoyed a great repartee with the bartender, who mixed up some lovely cocktails for us on the house and talked scotch with Mr. Magpie for awhile.
For cocktails, we had such a fun night at Astoria a few weeks ago. We also ate there and thought the food was solid, but it was the cocktail program that shone. It was, quite simply, FUN to order drinks there, and the bartenders seem to really enjoy mixology — they have lots of “twists” on their drinks you can order, and they sent over a couple of complimentary drinks throughout the night, too. Electric vibe inside!
For seafood, we have been to Black Salt probably once a month since moving home. It’s our all-time favorite standby. We like to sit at the bar with a dozen oysters, a platter of fried calamari, a champagne cocktail (me), and a martini (him). We buy all of our seafood from their adjoining sea market. The best you can get in D.C. I have also wanted to go to Fiola Mare for years now — it’s my parents’ favorite restaurant in the city! — but have not yet made it there.
Out in Bethesda, our favorite spot is Spanish Diner, which is owned by Jose Andres. We had our rehearsal dinner at one of his restaurants and have long had a special spot in our hearts for him. The food is delicious and we love a spread of tapas for dinner. Unusually (for DC), they run special happy hours (“sangria hours”) most nights of the week — fun and inexpensive weeknight offering. I really love their gazpacho and croquetas.
Bread Furst is our favorite food discovery since being back. We probably stop by once a week, whether for bread, pastries, desserts, coffee (aka an excuse for pastry), or their exceptional pantry item collection. (They carry things like Rancho Gordo dry beans, typo 00 flour for pasta, and other difficult-to-come-by pantry items.) I am particularly fond of their ham and cheese croissants and their kouign amanns, but I will happily eat everything they have on their menu.
Organic Butcher of McClean — Mr. Magpie’s preferred meat vendor. There are spots closer to us but he tends to make the drive out here for protein. Truly the best.
Vace or Italian Store for Italian subs — both delicious. A great option for a picnic or for picking up in the morning for a later-in-the-day lunch — I kind of like when the hot pepper relish melds with the meat. I have also leaned on these two Italian spots for prepared meals for friends in a tough spot/facing illness/etc. They both have lots of frozen pastas like stuffed manicotti, lasagna, tortellini, that you can bundle with tomato sauce and some charcuterie for a quick drop off at a friend’s.
Fresh Baguette for jambon-beurre baguette sandwiches. These are addictive. I go way too often, and if I am having my mom or a girlfriend over for lunch and do not have time to prepare something homemade, this is what I invariably serve.
Baked and Wired — best cupcakes on earth. I also think Georgetown Cupcake is really, really good, but slightly prefer B&W.
Hanks Oyster Bar in Old Town – we are oyster people through and through. Love this spot.
Dolcezza — amazing gelato!
The Round Robin Bar at the Willard — I love the old school hotel bar vibe here. It’s a round bar that serves up traditional drinks, and it’s in a beautiful hotel right by the White House. A fun pit stop before dinner elsewhere.
Bistro Lepic — We haven’t been here in ten years, but this was one of our favorite neighborhood spots just after we were married. It’s a postage stamp of a French bistro, but the food is authentic (I remember my friend ordering kidneys here!) and the wine program excellent. The service was also wonderful back in the day at least. We need to get back here!
Pizza Paradiso — the best pizza we’ve found in the D.C. area. You can tell the cheese is top-notch, and I like the flavor options. This subgenre is a difficult one after leaving NYC, where pizza is an art form. (Prince St…Rubirosa…Pete’s…by the way, a bunch of my favorite spots in NYC are at the bottom of this post).
I have a whole other list of “lunch spots” that skew more towards the casual or divey, but will save those for a later post! Please share what I’ve missed in this list!
Shopping Break.
+These scalloped wicker frames are so popular and keep selling out!
+Chic quatrefroil necklace inspired by Van Cleef + Arpel.
+This $143 dress looks like something by Rhode — so chic, especially with black strappy sandals.
+The kind of everyday dress mini lives in during the summer months. Love the pattern and peter pan collar. On sale, too!
By: Jen Shoop
*Image above via fashion-forward Pernille Teisbaek. She is wearing cult-following Frankie Shop, but you can get the look for less with this or this. For more inspo, you can see how four women of varying ages and body types styled this look here. And if the vibe is too adventurous, just pair the boxer-like shorts with a white tank!
10 easy everyday looks that are comfortable, fashion-conscious, and wallet-friendly:
1 // THIS STRIPED SET — VERY TRENDY VIBE…PAIR WITH LEATHER SLIDES (I OWN THESE, BUT GET THE LOOK FOR LESS WITH THESE) AND A GOOD MANICURE TO ELEVATE THE LOOK
2 // THIS SZ BLOCKPRINTS CAFTAN — I OWN SEVERAL AND THEY ARE THE SOFTEST, MOST BREATHABLE COTTON…GET AN EXTRA 20% OFF WITH CODE YOUROCK…WEAR WITH A TOP KNOT AND CLEAR FRAMED SUNNIES (<<I OWN THIS PAIR)
3 // THESE WHITE JEANS (IN MY CLOSET) ARE REALLY SO FLATTERING — PAIR WITH A NAVY AND WHITE STRIPED TEE AND WOVEN BUCKET BAG (I OWN THIS BUT GET THE LOOK FOR LESS WITH THIS) TO CHANNEL JANE BIRKIN
4 // FLORAL MAXI — I OWN THIS IN THE BLUE FLORAL AND WEAR IT CONSTANTLY IN THE WARMER MONTHS…THE MATERIAL IS SUPER SOFT AND THE CUT IS VERY FLATTERING! I WOULD PAIR WITH STRAPPY SANDALS LIKE THESE
5 // THIS CLASSIC SUNDRESS IN THE BLACK IN PARTICULAR IS ABOUT AS CHIC AS YOU’LL FIND FOR $30…PAIR WITH BIG BLACK SHADES AND BLACK BALLET FLATS (<<I’VE HEARD GOOD THINGS ABOUT THIS $60 PAIR FROM COURTNEY GROW…SHE CUTS THE GOLD COIN OFF THE BACK FOR A TOTALLY BRANDLESS LOOK) FOR AN AUDREY MOMENT
In first grade, I made fast friends with an Australian girl who wore her hair in “a side plait” tied off with a ribbon. She was funny, smart, and called candies “lollies,” sweaters “cardis,” and her diminutive, handicraft-adept mother “mum.” She had a fantastic, easy laugh that crescendoed in the backward toss of her head and caesura-ed in a loud and satisfied sigh. E. and I were inseparable for many years, and yet now, when I think of her, I think principally of that laugh, as though time has winnowed her down to a single sound, an auditory stick figure. When I take a minute to remember in greater detail, I recall many hot afternoons spent with her in the row of boxwood bushes behind my childhood home documenting the “suspicious” comings and goings of passersby, inspired by Harriet the Spy. She and I typed up screenplays on an ancient typewriter that belonged to her father, a journalist for Melbourne’s The Age newspaper. We were always academically oriented, and for some ill-conceived reason, permitted to work on dittos featuring “advanced” math and language lessons together, unsupervised, in the long blue first floor hallway of Annunciation school. Because we were bored and unchaperoned, she convinced me to surreptitiously (or so I thought at the time) tear out or — using a glue stick — affix together pages of these workbooks and then look at Ms. Curtain, our second grade teacher, in confused dismay. “The pages just aren’t there!” we’d shrug. I’m sure we were a joy for the overworked Ms. Curtain. On rare days our parents were delayed in picking us up, we would sneak down to the after care closet and take enormous handfuls of gummy bears out of the big plastic tub the teachers had there to give out as — rewards? — to the children who stayed after school. I can still remember the squeak of linoleum under my Converse hi-tops (inspired by Kristy Thomas of The Baby Sitter Club) as I rounded the dimly lit corner between the aftercare closet and the steps down to the gym, where we would sit in a corner, eating our plunder, laughing and catching our breath. I swear I spent nearly every weekend between the ages of 7 and 11 at her home. We’d sleep in her bed together, “topsy-tails,” as her Australian family called it, with her feet at my head and mine at hers. I’d enjoy Honeycomb cereal and guava juice at her breakfast table, alongside her affectionate parents, who called one another “pet” and seemed never without a cup of tea — exotic details I clung to as much as I clung to E. herself. I loved her family, all three of her siblings — especially my adoptive older sister, who taught me how to make friendship bracelets and weave “gimp” keychains — and her two bright and kind parents, too.
In fifth or sixth grade, E. transferred to a different school. We made promises to one another. She gave me Guatemalan worry dolls to place under my pillow and I gave her a friendship necklace to wear around her neck, and even still, our friendship faded within weeks. Years of inseparability seemed to pulverize against the thrill of middle school romantic entanglements and trips to Clare’s and Limited Too with my new friend Samantha. I do remember with clarity one of our final hangouts in her home on Cathedral Ave in N.W. D.C., just before they moved. We were huddled together on the floor of her bedroom making snarky comments about our classmates as we thumbed through the yearbook, and she looked at me and said: “Ah! Never change, Jennifer. Never change.”
That was the first of three big female friendships I have lost in my life. I lost another girlfriend to cancer and a third to — I don’t know what, but I have elsewhere explained the denouement of our relationship as follows: “I have spent over a decade feeling my way around the bruise, hypothesizing about the cause of injury. Even though our breakup felt in some ways like a slow motion car crash, both of us bracing ourselves well before impact, shards and debris visibly gleaming with danger before the sluicing, I still could not tell you the exact sequence of events, or who hit whom, or exactly when or where the collision took place. Just that, all these years later, I still find myself tender to touch when her name materializes.” I wrote earlier this year that perhaps I have finally moved beyond that failed friendship, but I think I was writing with white knuckles. I mourn her as I much as I mourn my other two lost friends, and I realized this earlier today while listening to Ann Patchett’s (excellent!) book of essays, These Precious Days. In her book, in various ways, Patchett paints portraits of lifelong friendships with women — the kind that involve showing up to sort through a deceased parent’s belongings together. That is, I thought to myself: the real kind of friendship. The friendship I wish I still had with my three lost friends.
I’ve crossed paths with E. a couple of times in my adult life, in part because my brother and hers remain close friends. When I lived in New York, I ran into her in Soho, on Prince Street, and we hugged one another and stared, wide-eyed, at how far we’d come since the echo of Annunciation corridors. She is now, as then, lovely, hilarious, and smart. And yet life and geography seem destined to pre-empt a resumption of intimacy. As I listened to Patchett, I regretted that we had not maintained our childhood friendship and the fact that it now feels as though entire universes of experience separate us. I thought ruefully to myself: the friends we make in our youth will never come back to us. You can always make new friends, but you will never be able to find ones who will understand with pin-prick specificity what it is like to wear Enrique Lopez’s starter jacket while on the asphalt waiting for school to begin, or the peculiar thrill of stealing candy from a school closet. That is: she bore witness to many maiden interactions with my adolescent self as I tested boundaries and tried on romance for size, and, it seems to me, therefore knows me on an empirically more intimate level than many of my newer friends, who see only a Jen who has shed hundreds of exoskeletons of curiosity, insecurity, failure, and the like.
And yet.
Almost immediately, I thought of my dear friends I made in college and beyond. These are not childhood friends but they might as well be. I thought, for example, of my friend W., whom I met at UVA. One spring morning, I ascended the stairs to my second floor bedroom in a shanty on Gordon Street in Charlottesville that I incomprehensibly shared with nine other girls. My housemate M. was rifling through my closet — not uncommon and happily sanctioned — with a petite red-head I did not know. “Hey, Bombsh,” said M. (an abbreviation for “bombshell,” which we called one another at the time), “This is W. and we both need dresses for a date function tonight.” I took an instant liking to W., who was enthusiastic, warm, and inquisitive — and also, like M., almost exactly my size. We were three pint-sized dolls: one brunette, one auburn, and one ginger. W. and I crossed friendly paths occasionally the rest of our time at UVA, and then one afternoon years later she emailed me out of the blue to let me know she and her husband had moved to Chicago, where Mr. Magpie and I were temporarily marooned, and added that she knew nobody, and would I be open to having dinner?
Over dinner a few days later, secrets I had not even told my own sisters tumbled out of my mouth, including the contours of grief I was living through at the time. I have never been so candid with anyone right out of the gate. I am usually more circumspect, shy, withholding at the beginning. I try often to make space for the other party to share her story first, aiming to issue more questions than personal anecdotes. With her, however, my heart sprang open and out, and she sat there in compassion and said all the right things, which, as many of us know, often means saying nothing at all and instead quietly nodding.
We do not speak all that frequently — we are now on opposite coasts — but when she calls, it’s one of those soul sister calls that goes there. We will talk about God, and schools for our children, and the death of her grandfather, as easily as we will talk about skincare, and that Amazon sweater everyone loves, and whether or not we like Golden Goose sneakers. I wrote the other day that tough times beckon angels and I think God gave her to me at a time when I was consumed with a private grief that she was anointed to see me through. To reduce her in this way feels unkind: she extends as a wide sea beyond the kindness she showed me during that time of my life. She is wise, observant, humble despite her many achievements, talents, and ridiculous good looks, insightful, quick-on-the-draw, emotionally and spiritually resilient, does not suffer fools, and possesses that kind of radiant kinetic energy of the truly bright. Mainly, though, she is a Good Person, capital G and P. The kind of person you can depend on to see things clearly.
And so, I sit here, and think how foolish and short-sighted I am, to cling with such ferocity to a model of female friendship born of shared childhood experience, as though that is the only brand on the shelf?
No. Some friendships we quietly outgrow. An unlucky few end in flames. Some persist steadily over years and years but never reach a deep level of intimacy. Some, I joyfully learned this past year, fade for a bit and then rekindle later in life. Some we tumble into mid-life, haphazardly, when we least expect it and simply know we will hang on to for good — I feel that way about several friends from New York and Bethesda in the past few years. (“Ah, you —!” I have said to myself about many of these women, as though I recognize them immediately. It has felt so easy!) Still others start slow or trivial and then metamorphose into something profound — I have a college girlfriend who has become, over time, persona number one in my “motherhood support group.” I always loved her and we shared many great times in our younger years, but I could not have foreseen how desperately I would cling to her advice and support since becoming a mom, how much I would need her in my life.
All of this to say:
There are many narratives of friendship, and we can be grateful for them all — even the ones that singe us in the end, but especially the ones that fall into our lap and unfold with a kind of grace and ease at just the right time. We will lose some to time, death, missteps, and laziness. But better to cup our hands lightly around the ones we have, and to let those relationships take on whatever unique shape that satisfies.
+Chic and affordable set of woven coasters. Hostess gift?
+The Great has some fabulous new hiking pieces — as you know, Mr. Magpie have been hiking most Monday mornings for the past few weeks. I think I need this floral hiking anorak and these hiking shorts.
I have received a number of questions about swimsuits for summer 2022. I want to answer this in four parts. The first part aims at morale. I was telling my best friend a few weeks ago while visiting her in New York that when I reached the age of 30, I regretted my squeamishness around swimsuits throughout my 20s. I had looked fantastic, but I had been self-conscious owing to body image baggage from my teens. Why hadn’t I embraced my figure? my thirty-year-old self asked. After my first baby (at the age of 32), I looked back and thought, “Now why was I whining at 30, before my body had been stretched by pregnancy and scarred by caesarean? I should have been wearing my bathing suit then.” After my second baby (at the age of 34), I looked back and thought, “Now why was I whining at 32, before my body had been stretched by a second pregnancy and further scarred by a second caesarean?” My point is this: I know with certainty that when I am 45, or 65, or 85, I will look back and think: “Now why ON EARTH was I whining at 37?” (And 45, and 65…). So I told my friend, as we navigated 7th Avenue on the walk back from dinner at La Contenta Oeste to her apartment in Chelsea, that I was not going to let another year of self-conscious bathing-suit-wearing materialize.
At this moment, I am speaking candidly, though I feel a simultaneous compulsion to acknowledge that having a body “stretched by pregnancy and scarred by caesarean” — not to mention marked by the imprints of having lived 37 full years on this earth — is an outrageous blessing. Even the scar down the middle of my forehead, earned while waddling around my first apartment in Manhattan pregnant with my second child: I now think back on that experience and think only of my angel neighbor, a pediatric E.R. doctor, who squeezed my hand as I wept to her (“I tripped and split my head open!”) and then stitched me up on my own couch. That injury launched a thousand self-inquiries. Why had it happened? I asked myself for weeks on end, groping for meaning, wringing my hands. Now I know two things: sometimes, accidents just happen, and often, bad experiences beckon angels. My neighbor was one such and any bad juju leftover from the injury itself has all but evaporated beneath her halo.
But we can hold multiple thoughts at once here, too — and say that even if we are grateful, we can also occasionally look at our bodies in the mirror and think “Well, that looks different.” At least I think those things. And yet I intend to dispel those latter observations this summer and try to just enjoy living in my body at 37, knowing that one day, I will look back and think, “Damn, girl! You looked good! And I’m so glad you aimed to enjoy it!” Hot girl summer indeed.
The next three parts of this post are actually about swimsuits.
Five Swimsuits I Own and Love.
I’m going to first share five swimsuits I own and personally adore. These are suits that I find flattering.
MARYSIA VENICE IN BLACK — THE COLOR AND CUT ARE SLIMMING AND THE NECKLINE IS UNUSUAL AND CHIC; I USUALLY FIND MARYSIA RUNS A TAD SMALL BUT THIS RUNS TTS
SOLID AND STRIPED ANNE-MARIE — THE BACK IS SAUCY AND IT HAS A FLATTERINGLY LOW NECKLINE BUT STILL FEELS SECURE AND FULL COVERAGE…CHECK OUT THEIR SALE SECTION, AS THERE ARE SOME ANNE-MARIE STYLES ON SALE
SOLID AND STRIPED SPENCER — THE NECKLINE ON THIS IS SUPER FLATTERING FOR ME; IT HIGHLIGHTS THE CLAVICLE; AGAIN, SOME SPENCERS ON SALE
MAYGEL CORONEL ROSA — A LOUD STYLE BUT VERY FLATTERING (!). I AM PETITE BUT I TOOK THE REGULAR SIZE IN THIS AND IT FITS ME FINE AND HAVE HEARD THE SAME FROM A LOT OF WOMEN OF DIFFERENT SIZES AND HEIGHTS — SEEMS VERY STRETCHY AND ACCOMMODATING…IF WHITE IS TOO SCARY, TRY IN BLACK! THERE ARE A FEW ROSAS IN WHITE LEFT HERE, 20% OFF WITH CODE YOUROCK
Six Statement Swimsuits I’m Obsessed With.
Next up: five absolutely fabulous swimsuits that I would love to purchase. I make no claims as to the fit or pragmatism of any of these suits, having not tried them on myself. They are just beautiful pieces I would love to wear and that may or may not be sitting in my digital cart as we speak…
ERES — THESE ARE STUPIDLY EXPENSIVE BUT SORT OF LIKE THE LAMBORGHINI OF EUROPEAN SWIMWEAR…TRES CHIC CA! I THINK THEIR ESSENTIELS STYLE IS ONE OF THOSE “ICONIC” PIECES THAT CHIC FRENCH WOMEN BUY AT 20 AND WEAR UNTIL 80
ALEXANDRA MIRO — I ACTUALLY OWN THIS ONE IN A DIFFERENT COLOR AND THE ONLY REASON WHY I’M PUTTING IT HERE VERSUS THE CATEGORY ABOVE IS THAT THIS STYLE/BRAND RUNS REALLY SMALL AND I WISH I’D SIZED UP FROM AN XS TO A S (I USUALLY WEAR AN XS IN EVERYTHING)…IT IS JUST THE TINIEST BIT TOO SNUG TO BE COMFORTABLE BUT IT IS EPIC!!!
The final part of this post is sharing a suite of swimsuits that have gotten a ton of rave reviews from Magpies, women in my life, and/or other chic peas I’ve crossed paths with on the web….
TORY BURCH LIPSI — SOOO MANY MAGPIES HAVE RAVED ABOUT THIS SUIT, ESPECIALLY IN ALL BLACK
COSSIE + CO — IT’S HARD TO SEE IN THE PHOTOS BUT THESE SUITS HAVE A THICK, ALMOST JACQUARD TEXTURE THAT IS FIGURE-SMOOTHING AND THAT PEOPLE LOVE…I LOVE THIS GINGHAM STYLE, THIS V-NECK, AND THIS TWO-PIECE! I FIRST SAW THIS BRAND ON THE ADORABLE BRIDGET
HERMOZA’S GENEVIEVE HAS SOLD OUT 17 TIMES! I LIKE IT IN THE BLUE AND WHITE FLORAL PATTERN
BRADLEY AGATHER AND JULIA AMORY HAVE TALKED ENTHUSIASTICALLY ABOUT J. CREW SWIM — THIS AND THIS RESPECTIVELY! I TRIED THEIR SWIM YEARS AGO AND IT NEVER QUITE FIT ME FOR SOME REASON BUT MAYBE I WILL GO BACK TO TRY THESE TWO…WELL-PRICED AND LOVE THE DETAIL
HUNZA G — THIS STRETCHY AND TEXTURED OSFA HAS A UNIVERSE OF FANS…SO MANY MAGPIES LOVE THIS AND MANY CLAIM IT NOT ONLY WORKS THROUGHOUT PREGNANCY BUT LOOKS AS CHIC WHEN YOU ARE 20 AS IT DOES WHEN YOU ARE 70!…I HEAR THIS SIMILAR $55 STEAL IS A PRETTY GOOD “INSPIRED-BY” PIECE IF YOU WANT THE LOOK FOR LESS
FOR BIKINI-WEARERS: MY SISTER WORE THIS ARAKS TWO-PIECE IN A FIRE ENGINE RED ON A TRIP A FEW YEAR AGO AND IT WAS ALL MY COUSIN AND I TALKED ABOUT FOR LIKE AN HOUR…SOOOO CHIC! LOVE IN THE PINK! GREAT FOR SMALLER BUSTED WOMEN LIKE MY SIS AND I
THERE IS ONLY ONE OF THESE LEFT ATM BUT I’VE HEARD SUCH GOOD THINGS ABOUT THIS $100 MINKPINK SUIT!!! IT KEEPS SELLING OUT
I’VE LOST COUNT OF THE NUMBER OF MAGPIES WHO HAVE WRITTEN TO RECOMMEND SUMMERSALT! I LIKE THIS STYLE
I logged on at 9:32 A.M. on Wednesday to avail myself of Sunhouse’s just-launched 40% off sale and they had already sold out on the swimsuit I’d wanted for mini, but I bought her this pattern instead and these trunks for micro! Can’t wait. I also bought the children matching sailboat jammies (going to hang onto these and save them for our big family reunion at the beach) this week and bought mini a few cotton everyday dresses, including this lemon one, this smocked crab one, and this lighthouse print one. I also just noticed that sometimes you can get really good deals on Magnolia Baby pieces on Amazon — usually the dresses retail for around $42-$46 but I found this smocked lobster one for $30 and this adorable bubble as a sister match for about the same.
You’re Soooo Popular: Early Summer Finds.
The most popular items on Magpie this week:
RAINBOW PATTERNED MORGANITE BEADED BRACELET WITH HEART CHARMS
BOTANICAL FACE SERUM FROM VINTNER’S DAUGHTER — LOVE THIS PRODUCT
CLASSIC MODERN OJAI MIRROR IN WHITE FROM SERENA & LILY
GIRLS’ LIGHTWEIGHT COTTON FLORAL SMOCKED DRESS WITH TIE STRAPS
CREWNECK CASHMERE SWEATER FOR THE LITTLES IN CAMEL…ON SALE AT J.CREW RIGHT NOW
LEATHER FLAT SANDALS WITH PLAYFUL HOLOGRAPHIC STRAPS
IT COSMETICS ILLUMINATING CC CREAM WITH 50 SPF…ONE OF MY BEAUTY ESSENTIALS FOR SUMMER
Weekend Musings: Do the Little Thing.
One of you brilliant Magpies has chimed a few times in the comments section over the past few months to share a parenting mantra: “Do the little thing.” By this she meant: we do not need to deplete ourselves in pursuit of the most extensive spread, or elaborate gift, or packed schedule. Children are often content with “the little thing.” I was reminded of this several times this past week in particular. Last Saturday, we took the children on a train ride in Cabin John Park. The train runs through a forested area, but there is not much to see, and in fact, the parking lot is visible for much of it. It is fifteen minutes of staring at leaves at a moderate pace. And yet the children — especially micro, just on the eve of three years old — were thrilled by it. They were thrilled even before they saw the train by the invocation that morning: “Should we go on a family adventure?”
A few days later, on his third birthday, I noticed that micro seemed to care more about a dinosaur balloon than he did his gifts. “Balloon!!!” he screamed, when he saw the big reveal of his new scooter, with a dino balloon attached to its handlebar, waiting outside the front door. (i.e., Never mind the $115 scooter.)
On Memorial Day, we had a couple of potential activities and gatherings planned, and Mr. Magpie was anxious to tackle a couple of home and garden projects. But we were also tired from the long weekend, and the previous day had been packed with visits, parties, activities, and so we looked at each other and decided to “do the little thing.” Which meant laying low, filling up the inflatable pool for the children, ordering tacos for lunch, and listening to country music on the lawn for most of the day.
I am convinced now that “doing the little thing” is going to be a key tool for achieving the slower pace I’m after this summer. Whenever I find myself contorting around logistics, fretting over how to keep the children busy, debating whether or not to participate in an activity, straining to coordinate something, I’m going to remind myself to “do the little thing.”
Shopping Break.
+This striped sweater is under $100 and reminds me of La Ligne, and this patterned bathing suit is a dead ringer for the Tory Burch style (currently on sale!) so many of you love!
+Love this mirror — and it’s not just for kids! I saw Nan Philip has it in her chic apartment and j’adore!
+Two products I love for my children: this mineral sunscreen spray and this flexible hold hairspray, which is the only way I keep mini’s fine hair out of her eyes and micro’s stubborn cowlick at bay.
+Lots of FOJ outfit ideas here, but I would also add this adorable flag hat and this bloomer set for the littles.
By: Jen Shoop
Father’s Day is only a few weeks away! One fantastic idea for a food enthusiast: a big bundle of spices from The Spice House. They have exotic and unusual options alongside ultra-fresh, ultra-high quality staples, like peppercorns. We order from this vendor all the time for our own spice needs after discovering it in Chicago when we lived not far from their shop! I think this is where I first discovered Za’atar, which quickly become one of my favorite flavors — sprinkle onto hummus, on top of an English muffin with butter, eggs, anything!
Below, a few practical (and a little bit less practical) gift ideas to show the fathers in your life how much you love and appreciate them.
TERRY POLO IN NAVY FROM TODD SNYDER — A FRESH TAKE ON THE CLASSIC POLO; BOUGHT THIS FOR MR. MAGPIE
SET OF TWO HEAVY-DUTY CORN HOLE BOARDS MADE FROM MAHOGANY AND PREMIUM PLYWOOD — WE OWN THIS EXACT SET AND IT IS BEAUTIFUL AND STURDY!
STAINLESS STEEL MEDIUM-SIZED MIXING BOWL — A RANDOM GIFT BUT MR. MAGPIE LOVES THIS THING…IF HE IS BIG IN THE KITCHEN, HE WILL LOVE HAVING A PROPER, HUGE MIXING BOWL FOR TOSSING WINGS, MAKING SALADS, ETC
ITALIAN PASTA COOKBOOK FROM NEW YORK’S FINEST PASTA CHEF AND JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINEE — A STAPLE IN OUR HOME; WE COOK FROM THIS PROBABLY ONCE A WEEK
SET OF SIX LAGUIOLE SERRATED STEAK KNIVES WITH OLIVEWOOD HANDLES — A WONDERFUL WEDDING GIFT WE RECEIVED AND USE HEAVILY
HANDMADE DELICATE COCKTAIL GLASS SET FROM CB2 — A MUST IF HE’S INTO UP COCKTAILS (HERE IS A GOOD RECIPE)…BUNDLE WITH THESE CLASSY GARNISH PICKS, WHICH WE OWN!
VINTAGE STYLE RAGLAN SWEATSHIRT IN A BOLD WHITE AND NAVY STRIPE — CURRENTLY HALF OFF TOO!…MR. MAGPIE OWNS THIS AND IT’S A TAD DRESSIER THAN A REGULAR SWEATSHIRT
SET OF SILVER SILHOUETTE CUFFLINKS — GET ONE FOR EACH CHILD!
MATTE BLACK RIMOWA CARRY-ON SUITCASE — SUCH A USEFUL AND ICONIC INVESTMENT PIECE…WOULD LOVE TO SURPRISE MR. MAGPIE WITH THIS THE NEXT TIME WE’RE IN FOR SOME EXCITING TRAVEL
A few other items not seen above…
HE WILL BE THE TALK AMONGST THE NEIGHBORHOOD DADS WITH THIS BATTERY POWERED (QUIETER) LEAF BLOWER…MR.MAGPIE LOVES HIS AND IT SOMEHOW COMES UP IN CONVERSATION A LOT…
MR. MAGPIE LOVES THIS BREATHABLE FITNESS TEE WHEN HE’S USING THE STATIONERY BIKE
A RAINBOW OF CHOPSTICKS — WE OWN THIS SET AND USE IT ONCE A WEEK I’D GUESS
A HAND-CRANK PASTA MACHINE FOR FRESH PASTA — WE OWN THIS EXACT STYLE
A WAGON FOR TOTING THINGS IN THE YARD, ON THE BEACH, AROUND THE ‘HOOD
POSSIBLY BIZARRE BUT — PEOPLE GO CRAZY (!!!) OVER THIS HOUSE-MOUNTED HOSE REEL. MR. MAGPIE JUST INSTALLED ONE ON THE SIDE OF OUR HOUSE AND HE IS OBSESSED WITH IT…HA! IT KEEPS THE HOSE FROM SITTING IN AN UNGAINLY HEAP AND THE CRANK RUNS SMOOTH
In college, I took my one and only creative writing course. The professor had a particular style that I can summarize best in anecdote: he mentioned, on at least four or five distinct occasions, that when he was unable to write, he would drive to the Golden Corral on Route 29 and people-watch. “It’s full of…fascinating characters,” he would say with an eyebrow-raised smile that seemed to communicate condescension, and even as a navel-gazing, cloistered nineteen-year-old, I bristled. It felt, even then, with very little writing under my belt, like a misemployment of creativity. It is true that everything is copy, but it is also true that there are far more organic and less usurous ways to beget a story. And on aesthetic grounds, I was not interested in what he was after, either. I recall a lot of feedback on the floweriness of my prose — “do less telling”-type implorations. Good advice, only it was usually accompanied by “write about something with a bit more texture” directives, and I knew that it was not only the style he disliked, but the romantic bent of my fiction, as he focused his adulation on the dark, offbeat, calamity-oriented contributions of my classmates. He wanted grit and underbelly. I was, by contrast, moonstruck and love-bent. Our exchanges over my work represented the first of many instances in which I observed that female fantasy is often trivialized.
On my final fiction submission, which now occurs to me as the possible headwaters of the character who is still in the process of becoming Powell Early, he marked through a paragraph in which I described the cut of a fisherman against a crag. I don’t remember exactly what he said in his blocky red marginalia, but the slash said it all: excise, please.
It is remarkable to me that at the impressionable age of nineteen I knew to promptly discard the experience and persist in my own artistic interests as a writer. This is not to say that my writing then (or today) was good or bad, but just to say: it was creatively interesting to me, and I am pleased that I had the wherewithal to continue to write as I wished because I found the process fulfilling, even when I was at an age of tremendous insecurity.
A few weeks ago, I participated in my first creative writing class (here is the fruit) since the aforementioned. I undertook the workshop with mild trepidation, sweating lightly at the memory of the Gospel of The Golden Corral. I remember telling Mr. Magpie: “If they make me read my own work out loud, I’m going to feign technical difficulties.” I entered the Zoom circumspect and queasy. But it was a beautiful, generative, and gentle experience, and I’ve already signed up for others in the coming weeks.
The contrast between these instructions could not be starker. And it has made me think, today, about knowing the difference between things that work for us and things that do not. In Life in the Studio, potter Frances Palmer describes a one-month residency at an international pottery program that used a collaborative production process in which different artisans completed different phases of a pot’s production, i.e., there is one person creating the design, one person fabricating, one person throwing, one person making a mold, one person trimming, one person casting, one person glazing, etc. Palmer writes: “The production strategy did not appeal to me in terms of my own process, however, because I continually assess and adjust a pot as it moves through each step….I was happy to have experienced this communal porcelain culture nevertheless. In starting any creative endeavor, it’s important to know your own nature. The exploration reaffirmed my sense of my own path.”
In general, I believe it is healthful to stay open to possibility, to arrive at new experiences as empty of expectation as possible. Life can surprise you in the most beautiful ways if you let it. And so how do we square that open-mindedness with the ability to parse out the things that drain and drag? How do we appreciate the difference between “experiences that are difficult but in the end beneficial” versus “experience that are difficult and in the end destructive”? It is certainly a case of delicate discretion, and I write this not only thinking of creative pursuits but also of relationships, and of the way we design our days. I think Palmer has it right: try new things, but also “know your own nature.” Let yourself feel the dissonance of new perspectives, routines, relationships, processes, and then permit yourself to land wherever your feet feel best-planted.
+This dress reminds me of the Emerson Fry I’ve been wearing all season, but $80 less!
+On my wishlist at Emerson Fry: this top to tuck into white jeans and this caftan.
+I’ve written about this a lot, but I still love my MZ Wallace for travel with children and schlepping a lot of things (i.e., I often use if we’re spending an afternoon/day at my in-laws). I LOVE the new pastel colorblock option and the jute style, too! So chic. Would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a diaper bag or schlep-lots-to-work-and-gym situation. I wrote a full review of this bag as a diaper bag here.
+While we’re talking bags at Nordstrom, this sleek and trendy Khaite is 40% off!
+Chic, reasonably price wide leg pants for summer.
+Over the weekend, I shared a photo of my MIL’s front door, which she had decorated with an enormous gold star for Memorial Day. A received a few requests for something similar – she said she got it from Michael’s years ago, but a reader tracked down this very similar Etsy style!
+At the opposite end of the style spectrum, these wrap sandals are ultra-elegant.
+A perfect getting-ready mini — crisp, lightweight cotton so you don’t overheat while using hot tools on your hair and can be slipped easily over head without messing up makeup. Would also wear as a cover-up! (Sleeveless, Cynthia!!!)
+Speaking of hot styling tools, this curling iron is THE BEST. I’ve had a set since probably high school or early college and they still heat up in no time and work like new.
+I just bought some of this scalp SPF for my son, who is very fair and does not have as much hair as my daughter. Brilliant!
+Love the length, style (the flounced hem!), and color of this under-$100 dress.
+This under-$20 printed dress for littles looks like it’s by SZ Blockprints! J’adore!
+Cute $23 top to pair with shorts and jeans for summer.
By: Jen Shoop
*Image above featuring one of the Slim Aarons photographs of an Amalfi Coast pool party that inspired Cara Cara’s marine printed bikini.
In honor of the birthplace of so many summer memories, I have selected the most stunning sea life-inspired pieces, perfect for trips to the beach or any day you could use a dose of vacation vibes.
FISH PRINTED SQUARE NECK MIDI DRESS WITH TIE-STRAPS
STATEMENT CONCH SHELL NECKLACE — A FRESH TAKE ON THE CLASSIC STRAND OF PEARLS…ALREADY IN MY CLOSET, AS SEEN HERE
FLUTTER SLEEVE MAXI DRESS WITH PLUNGING NECKLINE IN A MARINE PRINT
KNOTTED ROPE AND LEATHER FLAT SLIDE FROM TORY BURCH
BELTED POPLIN LONG SLEEVE MINI DRESS IN A SHELL PRINT — SUCH A STUNNING PIECE
EMPIRE WAIST LIGHT STARFISH PATTERNED MAXI DRESS…THE FLOWY COLUMN SILHOUETTE IS FIT FOR A GODDESS!
*Image above courtesyof The Avenue featuring their stunning polka dot Kaia dress.
Summer wedding season is upon us! And so my most commonly fielded question, “What to wear to a wedding?!”, has quadrupled in volume. Below, a selection of head-turning dresses that has you covered for anything from a simple backyard wedding to a ballgown-mandatory soiree.
I still can’t quit ’em! Hill House is launching its newest collection of nap dresses today at 12 EST, and I want like six things, which is way too much, so it’s going to be a game time decision on which makes it way into my cart…
