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…
40% off everything at Sunhouse Children starting today at 9:30 A.M. EST using code HIGHSUMMER! I know from last year that items go FAST. Sunhouse has quickly become one of my favorite childrenswear brands. I am hoping to snag these swim trunks for micro and this matching suit for mini. Mini already has this precious dress, a Dashwood shorts set, and this Austen-style swimsuit (seen above), which is beyond. The quality on all of these pieces is impeccable. I would say the brand runs TTS. Mini typically takes a 6 or 7 depending on brand, and she is a 6 in this.
I wrote about this recently, but I just outfitted the bunk bed we put upstairs in our top floor play area with red and white striped sheets and this star print duvet and sham cover. I used these inexpensive but very comfortable pillows (hotel-quality) and these inexpensive but surprisingly fluffy duvets — I also use that one in my daughter’s room. These are not top-tier luxury pieces, but they are all well-made and if (or, when) they are damaged by small children, I will not weep. I wanted to share a couple of other really chic bedding finds at reasonable price points. These are perfect, in my opinion, for guest bedrooms, children’s rooms, dorm rooms.
If you are preparing to make an investment, we have been very happy with our sleeping pillows from Sleep Number. Mr. Magpie did a lot of research on this and these are consistently top-ranked — with good reason. Breathable, supportive, cooling. They are awesome. We also love (and I mean LOVE) our Feathered Friends down comforter. It is the perfect weight and warmth and ohhhh it’s like a dreamy hug. The fill is incredible and it never gets clumpy. While on the subject of beds, I must add that we upgraded recently to a Saatva Zenhaven mattress (again, the result of a lot of research — Mr. Magpie had an Excel sheet ranking like a dozen contenders based on various inputs, most principally how cool it would be and whether it would be good for side and back sleepers). We were moving from more of a memory foam style and at first I found this mattress a little bit firm, but within a month, I was obsessed with it. They say it can take a few months to sort of “break in” or “adapt to” a mattress, and that proved true. For one thing, Mr. Magpie and I had begun to find ourselves waking with cricks in our neck fairly frequently prior to upgraded to the Saatva — this has not happened once to either of us since we purchased it in January. We are happy customers.
For upscale bedding, I would look at Frette or Yves Delorme. I am not sure what we are going to do with our bedding and bedroom in general at the moment. We are currently investing in the decor/design of our first floor with the help of the immensely talented Kelley Proxmire, a project that now includes extending hard wood floor to part of our living area and installing an enormous built-in along one side of our family room, in addition to purchasing drapes, new furniture, new lighting, new area rug over the new hard wood floor, plus possibly repainting a wood coffee table and reupholstering a couch. In other words, it’s going to be a minute before we’re ready to tackle the primary bedroom, which is perfectly lovely at the moment but not exactly cohesive. At least I do love our bedding, which is Boll and Branch. I still believe it is the softest and easiest to launder of the various brands I’ve tried, but then again, I haven’t yet slept on Frette or Yves Delorme, which I think many consider the ultimate. I have been daydreaming about having Kelley commission a bold upholstered headboard and then pairing with white Frette sheets (GULP) and a duvet like this. Then again, we do have a dog and small children and I can imagine myself wincing every time they attempt to climb in with us. Probably better to stay practical, but a gal can dream…
For something between the affordable finds above and the hyper-expensive, I love the styles Matouk has and you can occasionally find them on sale but I did find them difficult to launder — they wrinkle easily and are actually relatively unforgiving beneath an iron, which I know sounds strange, but B&B sheets just iron more easily.
Is this more than you asked for? Ha! Any and all bedding/sheets suggestions encouraged! I know I am missing the name of a brand a few of you swore by last time we touched on this subject…
P.P.P.S. The strange way in which my bedroom dresser became a symbol of love.
By: Jen Shoop
+This Gap dress is a dead ringer for Zimmermann and currently 40% off plus extra 10% off. It indicates it’s on back order in select sizes for months but I’ve heard from several people that they ordered and it has still shipped immediately. I am ordering in black.
+I have no idea why (typo?), but these Little English pajamas were marked down to $15, and you can get free ship using code MEMORIALDAY22. All other pajamas on sale are $30. I snagged them for mini!
+Clarins is offering up to 25% off sitewide, no code required. An ideal time to test or restock on their award-winning serum, which is my ride or die skincare secret. Truly the GOAT (greatest of all time). A full review of this magical product here. I also love (!) this moisturizer — I used it all winter long and just ran out. I used this promo to restock. And if you are pregnant, I swore by this body oil, and have had so many other magpie moms swear by it too. I have given it as a gift to at least three expecting moms! Finally, I gave Mr. Magpie a bunch of their skincare for men, and he absolutely loves this face wash — he comments on it close to daily if I am around when he’s using it.
+Net-A-Porter just marked down some gorgeous current-season pieces…
THIS DRESS IS CURRENTLY AT THE VERY TOP OF MY LUST LIST…SO TEMPTED
+The Great is running an incredible sale with some closeout ultra-discounted prices. This reversible toggle coat has been popular among Magpies and is now 50% off and this dress looks like a dream to wear around the house. (Would work while breastfeeding / pregnant, too!)
Today, you are three. I have written too much too frequently about the agony of watching you grow, so instead, today, I will offer you the affirmations I issue you every single night after our prayers:
“Hill, you are my curious, outgoing, caring little boy, and I love you more than anything.”
You have heard these words, in the same order and with the same intonation (occasionally accelerated by your mood), nearly 1,095 times, as you have been gracing us with your blithe, inquisitive, affectionate self for 1,095 days. I know both you and your sister slick them away like rainwater. Her affirmations, by the way, are different. It is striking to me that the words I picked for you as infants based solely on motherly intuition have proven true: rare, gem-like instances of parental prophesy. I have felt ambivalent on some matters of parenting, but I have known with a dead-center kind of certainty the shape of your tender heart since the day you pressed your tiny mouth to my cheek on the operating room table on which you were born, anointing me with dozens of birdlike kisses I desperately needed.
But on the days you doubt yourself (there will be days), I hope these affirmations return to you not only in their meaning but their constancy. There is power in repetition. There is poetry in ritual. If you remember nothing else I have said to you over the past three years (you seem particularly keen on forgetting my nightly dinnertime chorus: “keep your bottom in your seat”), I want to pin these words onto you, to remind you over and over what a wonder you are and how widely and fully loved you have always been.
Tiny Things I Love about You at Just-Three.
The way you unfailingly say “God bless you” when somebody sneezes — even in the middle of the consecration at Mass to a complete stranger three rows back.
The way you sing “Hallelujah” all the livelong day.
The way you say “Hallelujah” — with four or five extra l’s.
The way you say “Mmm, nummy” when you are eating something you like.
The way you run when you are showing off, with exaggerated movements of the legs and arms.
The way you squint in churlish dismay and say, “Already did that!” when we ask if you’ve used the toilet.
“No, me do it!” — the most common phrase in our house at this time.
Your chirping voice, in constant conversation.
Your focus while doing puzzles.
Your orderliness: the stepstool in front of the toilet is always returned to its resting place after use.
The way you call your sister “dee-tu,” which was at one point the way you pronounced “sister” (?!) and it has stuck.
The way you search for the letter H everywhere, always, and happily herald its sighting each time: “H, Hill!”
The way you say your own name, almost with a cockney accent: “‘aaaaayyyhhllll.”
Your go-with-the-flow attitude. You’ve been this way since birth. (Second child thing?) I remember at your sister’s third birthday, on the eve of the pandemic, when you were only nine months old and probably desperate to explore, that our apartment was overflowing with visitors and commotion and cake, and we installed you in a little seat and you just sat there, placid and pleased, for what must have been an hour as the world spun around you. At one point, one of the dads at the party said: “I like his vibe. Chill dude.” It is true – that is you. Even now, we say it’s time to leave, and you leave. We say it’s time to have breakfast, and you eat. You are relaxed in a way I have never been and accommodating in a way I aspire to be.
The way you cupped my face in your hands during your sister’s graduation from Montessori and said: “I love you, mommy. I’m happy.” Golden moment.
+Such a chic summertime knit. With white jeans or white shorts?! GET OUT OF HERE! Love.
+My mom has been raving about this moisturizer, and I found it for 30% off here.
+This fan favorite swimsuit (apparently ultra flattering) is on sale!
+OMG – this shop sells the cutest stationery for us dog moms.
+I have been hearing so many people extol this salad cookbook, starting with Grace, who mentioned it over a glass of wine while I was in Charleston in April. I was skeptical at first — a cookbook solely on salads?! — but her energy on the matter was winning. Now I’m thinking it would be a fun lunchtime regimen to make one of these salads once a week for the rest of the summer.
+A dead ringer for a style from S&L – but only $40. Cute in a boy’s room.
+This tee dress in white with these sandals in black.
+An absolutely fabulous dress for a bride (her getaway dress? a bachelorette? ahhh love!). I love it so much I added it to my list of contenders for my 12 year anniversary this August. Also love this scalloped number for a bridal affair.
+Someone said that this summer is the summer of ugly sandals — haha! The styles are definitely skewing substantial and slightly clunky, but…comme il faut. I am wearing my platform fishermen everywhere! What do we think about Dad sandals?
*Image via Minnow Swim featuring their french terry tennis dress and contrast trim play dress for the littles.
Difficult to resist clothes that feel like pajamas but look put-together? Whether lounging on the beach or just on the couch, terry is majorly trending this season. Below, a roundup of the best french terry clothes for the whole family that are so comfortable no one will ever want to change.
BOYS FRENCH TERRY POWDER BLUE STRIPED POLO, FOR THE BEACH AND THE PLAYGROUND — MICRO HAS A FEW OF THESE AND THEY ARE HIS FAVORITE
For most of my life, baking has been a principal passion. It started in high school, when I would bring muffins, sweet breads, cupcakes, and a treat I called “Honey Crackles” (honey and sugar melted and poured over corn flakes and left to congeal into crispy sweet morsels) to my homeroom and to mark the birthdays of my friends. In college, I would mix up enormous tupperware bins of Chex “Muddy Buddies,” long trays of brownies, and “Dirt” — a trifle of highly processed layers of crumbled devil’s food cake, pudding mixed with cream cheese, whipped topping, and oreos. For my twentieth birthday, I asked for a stand mixer. I was assuredly the only third-year at UVA teetering up the stairs of her apartment building in the dead head of a late August Charlottesville with an enormous KitchenAid under her arm.
After college, the interest took a turn for the serious. There were clouds of pavlova topped with whipped cream on New Year’s Eve; heart-shaped linzer cookies sandwiched with raspberry preserves; cheesecakes and chocolate cakes and coconut cakes for birthdays; overnight cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning; nearly every single one of the moist and not-too-sweet “everyday cakes” Orangette was known for in her heyday; enormous, chewy gingerbread men on Christmas Eve; sugar cutout cookies topped with royal icing to mark any occasion; and once, Snickers bars, homemade right down to the nougat. (Highly involved but worth the effort.)
The majority of the first few years of birthday and holiday gifts from my eventual parents-in-law were baking related: personalized spatulas, Fat Daddy cake tins, a landslide of baking books. My mother-in-law is also a passionate baker, and so this was one of our earliest connections. I remember her slipping me corrections to some of the recipes in the Miette baking book we both had. “Something’s off with this recipe — try these proportions,” she said, handing me a little paper on which she’d printed her revisions.
I’d bring spice cakes to dinner parties, icebox cookies flecked with pistachio to backyard hangouts, and homemade peach and blueberry muffins to the hostess welcoming us into her Lewes, DE beach home.
Baking was, in my teens and twenties, as much a part of my identity as literature.
Listening to Stanley Tucci’s memoir and then Nora Ephron’s Heartburn left me hungry, more in the metaphorical sense than the physical one. Both books rotate in their own ways around food, and both Ephron and Tucci are, clearly, passionate foodies. When Ephron describes in the final pages of her book her famous key lime pie — made with evaporated milk, as it should be — I sat in my car outside the Whole Foods and thought: “I’ve got to reclaim that part of myself.”
For a minute, I almost felt — guilty. How could I have let something I love so much get away? How could I abandon a skillset I’d cultivated for nearly twenty years? This latter thought arrived with some heft on the heels of the birthday cake I painstakingly made for Mr. Magpie on his birthday, which turned out irritatingly dry and flavorless despite well north of $40 in fancy chocolate and cocoa powder. I blamed myself for its results, and have vaguely wondered over the intervening weeks whether I’ve “lost my touch” in the baking department. Do baking skills dull over time, like knives and peelers?
But then, I thought —
A pandemic and parenting two young children and living in a cramped New York apartment are perhaps not the optimal conditions for persisting in this time-consuming ritual. (I shudder at the memory of digging my trusty KitchenAid out of the back of very deep cabinet in our first apartment on Central Park West. You’d have to remove about three rows of pans and serving dishes to get to it, and you’d crick your neck and scrape your head, and by the time you’d retrieved it, you were actually angry at the blondies you were attempting to make.) Don’t get me wrong: where there is a will, there is a way, and I routinely remind myself that time is tool to express my values (and interests, and curiosities), and so if I had really wanted to bake, I could have made it work. But my goodness: something had to give, and that something was baking. I can barely accommodate the rituals of reading and exercising, and those pastimes require much less of me. I have felt these past few years as though I have been at capacity, barely mustering enough bandwidth to do anything beyond that which is required, and in the shallow empty space beyond, I have chosen to read, or run, or sit with my husband drinking a cocktail. The profiteroles can wait.
But I have also been feeling this past month or two as though we have turned an enormous corner in our lives. Most of this has to do with the ages of our children. No one ever told me that once your children are three and five, respectively, life begins to open up a little bit more. We are out of diapers, we are out of bottles, we are out of strollers, we are now in a phase where our children can play upstairs, unsupervised. (Too much quiet, though, and I will poke my head in, in vague distress.) It has felt, suddenly, as though there is more air in the room. Looking after my one-year-old niece last month and then spending time around my seven-month-old nephew two weeks ago, I realized all at once how much freer our schedules are, how much longer the windows of opportunity to do one sustained thing, have become. Babies operate in tight two and three hour windows of feeding, sleeping, gurgling. And in between those happenings, they must be tightly supervised. Nowadays, by contrast, we can have an entire afternoon roll out in front of us with nothing in particular planned and no required action on our end. The children more or less conform to our patterns of eating and sleeping. This is not to say there aren’t new challenges. We have attitudes and tantrums and the complicated emotional and intellectual dance of ensuring we are saying and doing the right things to nurture our children and their interests, and I don’t even want to think about the tween and teen years down the road.
But, there is suddenly a bit more give.
So as I sat in my car asking myself why I hadn’t made a key lime pie in probably eight years and straining to even remember the last time I’d made a graham cracker crust (was it really just butter, graham cracker, and sugar? do you bake it off? etc), I realized exactly how I am going to mark this new phase of life:
By baking something.
I thought trying Ephron’s key lime pie would be the perfect choice but then the Whole Foods didn’t have key limes. Of course! Life’s way of thwarting the poetry I seek, and preventing me from becoming too mawkish in its pursuit. I am always, inexplicably, in a rush in a grocery store and so the thought of standing in an aisle, scrolling my phone for alternative baking inspiration, was not an option. Instead, I completed my errand, went home, and turned to Orangette, many of whose cake recipes are so simple as to include only pantry and larder staples. I chose her Gateau au Citron, a recipe I have always loved because of its old-timey measurements, which call for “1 jar plain yogurt,” “2 jars sugar,” etc. As Wizenberg writes in the head-note: “Traditionally, the ingredients are measured in a yogurt jar, a small glass cylinder that holds about 125 ml. Because most American yogurts don’t come in such smart packaging, you’ll want to know that 1 jar equals about 1/2 cup.”
It was perfect, and in fact more poetic than the pie would have been: a humble new beginning to an old habit.
+My sister wore a pair of belted Zimmermann shorts (more similar Zimmermann styles, also on sale, here and here) with Doen’s Jane blouse tucked in when I saw her last and WOW. A ten.
+You can get her shorts look for less with this chic pair from Sezane.
+How cute is this affordable gingham number? It reminds me of something by Loretta Caponi!
+More my son’s third birthday, I decided to forgo a goody bag and instead bought a range of different books that the children can select out of a bin, and affixed a personalized book plate that reads: “THANKS FOR CELEBRATING WITH ME — HILL SHOOP” on the inside.
JUST ADDED A SET OF THESE SHEETS IN THE TODDLER BED SIZE FOR MICRO — WHO WILL SOON BE GRADUATING FROM A CRIB TO A TODDLER BED! WE HAVE THIS CONVERTIBLE CRIB, WHICH IS CURRENTLY 20% OFF
A CLASSIC, INEXPENSIVE COMFORTER SET FOR A BOY’S ROOM, DORM ROOM, GUEST ROOM, ETC
P.P.P.S. On my daughter’s recuperation: “…But I am reminded all the same of the search for Persephone, of the way motherhood can sometimes feel like long division, interrupted joyously by return.”
By: Jen Shoop
My Latest Snag: Pink City Prints Dress.
I have been eyeing this brand for a long time after a reader recommended it maybe a year ago and — wow. They have such incredible styles right now. You can get a few of them at Tuckernuck with free shipping (and 20% off using code YOUROCK), and the brand’s website has even more available. I ordered this one, which has an Agua Bendita vibe, but rings it at under $200. I will say this brand runs roomy — I am going to add a belt over mine (something like this). I also adore this one!
NAUTICAL PRINTED SHORT SLEEVE PAJAMA SET FOR THE LITTLES
HAND BLOCK PRINTED EMPIRE WAIST MIDI DRESS WITH CROPPED BALLOON SLEEVES
SQUARE NECK TEXTURED ONE-PIECE SWIMSUIT WITH TIE DETAILS AT THE SHOULDER
LITTLES’ STRIPED LONG-SLEEVE CREWNECK SHIRT WITH MONOGRAM
Weekend Musings:
I love the musings from gifted writer Rachel Ringenberg on her blog, Erstwhile Dear. It may sound strange given my profession, but I am sparing with blog-reading — I strategically prefer other written forms because I find it is easier as a creative to work with my blinders on, not comparing myself to other folks in my lane. Rachel is one of the few exceptions. Her writing is quiet, intelligent, beautifully-formed, observant. I can’t not read her. She makes magic of the everyday stuff of life. Anyhow, she had a gorgeous little essay on Mother’s Day and the concept of “taking breaks” and I especially loved this insight: “At some point in the day I reflected on Mother’s Days of the past when I genuinely believed that I would in some way feel more treasured and special than I did on other days of year. Lauded was probably the word I was looking for. This expectation was entirely the wrong way to approach the day because it disabled me from enjoying the tiny special things that came about, distracted as I was in seeking my Greater Meaning.”
Life happens between the drumbeats, you know? I realized earlier this month that the heart of motherhood, for me, has not been grand gestures but the quiet repetitions of looking after small children. I would do well to continue to understand those tiny and often exhausting things not as “things to get through” or “things to do perfunctorily” but “things that make up the meat and substance of my life right now.”
Shopping Break.
+Cute mini canvas bag. You could swap out the strap for one of these for a little extra flair.
+This chic and versatile mirror is 20% off. Would work above a dresser, a sink, a console!
+Oh my goodness, I adore this Sezane print and want the swimsuit, the shirt (to wear over the suit, as styled on the site?!), and the skirt.
+The shirt would also be so chic over a white bathing suit like this or this.
+J. Crew’s latest slides remind me of something by Hermes.
+For some reason I can’t get this footed bowl out of my head — so simple, so elegant, so…gracious? Like I see it and imagine a heap of cherries or peaches straight from the farm.
+This popular Thierry Coulson dress now out in a great new print.
By: Jen Shoop
Doesn’t the photo above just scream summer? I am mainly excited about the children’s sales this go around, which I already covered here, but a few other great promotions…
+The Company Store is offering 40% off sitewide using code MDW22. This was kismet timing as I was finally ordering bedding for the bunk beds in our play area upstairs and I’ve long been eyeing this fun red star print style, currently only $60 for the set (!) which is basically like Target price for a much better product. I am pairing with ticking striped sheets from Nautica. You know I usually swear by Boll and Branch sheets but these beds will be used sparingly and for children so…
+Moda Operandi just discounted a ton of pieces, including snags from ultra-covetable Agua Bendita which I are going to fly off the shelves at a discount. I adore this maxi (perfect summer wedding material), this cutout style, this botanical swimsuit, this cheerful midi, and this fetching midi. But I am also swooning over this nautical Alemais and this dramatic Andres Otalora!
+Sephora marked down some great beauty buys — Anastasia’s wildly popular brow gel, one of my favorite masks of all time (see my top five here), Christophe Robin’s volumizing hair care line (I know both men and women who swear up and down about this shampoo but have not tried it), and LM’s inimitable, best-of-breed primer.
+Mamas rejoice! Frances Hart is offering a very rare 25% off sitewide using code MEMDAY25. These dresses are great for all stages of motherhood, but would be a fantastic investment for a newly expectant mom. You can wear through all stages of pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond. I own this one in the midnight gingham. I would say sizing runs roomy. These are machine-washable (!), and I actually ran mine through the dryer to shrink it bit, which worked great for me.
+25% off at Pam Munson through May 27th — discount applies at checkout. This gingham tote and this straw tote are probably the most worn bags in my closet during the summer months. And this clutch will go with everything all summer long.
+Banana is offering 30% off with code BRTHIRTY and this dress is an instant wardrobe staple, this dress looks like it could be Alemais (compare), and this white midi is a perfect versatile summer dress that could be gussied up with heels or styled down with fisherman sandals.
+25% off everything at Madewell with code LONGWEEKEND. I love this Ulla-esque dress and of course my favorite jeans. I’ve written about those jeans so many times I’ve lost count, but I first heard about them from Julia Amory and she was right: they are literally perfect. I also like the look of these sandals — like a Teva grew up and had a glow up!
+Haven Well Within is offering 30% off sitewide. They generously sent me this linen utility popover dress and I am in love with it. I worried it would wear like a sack but it’s nicely tailored to the body, a great weight, and I like the vibe of throwing it on over a bathing suit with the front unbuttoned low, or pairing with trendy shoe like this, this, or this for a weekend chill.
+J. Crew is never not having a sale, but their extra 50% off sale section is SO worth a dig. This is one of my favorite pieces in my wardrobe ATM — a really lightweight sweater and I dig the half-zip style. I have it in the retro blue color. I also love…
ARE YOU KIDDING?! CASHMERE SWEATERS FOR LITTLE BOYS FOR LIKE $25!!!!
By: Jen Shoop
I have been feeling untethered. I have been busy with the ends of things (the school year, my sister’s wedding behind us), busy with things-half-done (planning for my son’s birthday, at-home projects), busy with the logistics of the sprawling summer ahead, busy with the news cycle. Drafts of discarded posts have piled up in heaps, as though clogging the creative gutter. It seems that I can draw nothing to completion. The screen blinks blankly, or perhaps I blink blankly at it, and the usual romance between us has gone leaden.
It is not interesting to write about this. I know this even as I type it. A plumber does not regale you with stories of “when he couldn’t figure things out.” So forgive me, even as you permit me to talk for a minute about feeling depleted, and ask how you find nourishment when you have run dry? Running dry, by the way, can pertain to any number of domains: creatively, spiritually, professionally, emotionally. How do you go about it?
Usually, when I am stuck, I lean on the voices of other writers. I read. I poke around websites. I go deep in hyperlinks. Earlier this month, I spent an entire afternoon reading about the Celtic goddess Etain, who represents rebirth, change, transformation, digging in some dusty corners of the Internet, on websites built circa 1999. I usually emerge from these navigations charged with new thoughts, prompts, words. I have several shoddy drafts of things touching on Etain that are currently and likely permanently living in unpublished limbo. Earlier this week, I found myself bizarrely reading the transcripts from the ongoing Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard case, and — well, let’s just say there is nothing inspiring there. What I mean to say is that it has felt as though I am trying to squeeze rainwater from rock. And this has never happened to me before. It is as though the usual sources of nourishment continue to apply themselves, and my mind has developed a sudden and hopefully temporary allergy to them. I can’t tell whether this is because I am too crowded with other thoughts and emotions or…what?
Desperate, earlier this morning, I shut down my computer and opened my devotional and the message of the day was: “One great Hallelujah!” It did not feel right. I nearly closed the book. I had hoped for something more probing, even accusatory.
And yet.
My mind immediately jumped to my son. For the past three months straight, he has been obsessed with a song he learned at school. I’d never heard it before and can’t find any lyrics resembling it online, but it goes like this, at least in the version he sings and re-sings ad nauseum at home:
Hallelujah, sing it in the morning
Hallelujah, sing it in the noontime
Hallelujah, sing it in the evening
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
There are fetching dynamics and movements that accompany this ditty. He will crouch down to his feet during the morning part — then rise halfway at noontime — then stand at full staff and lift his arms in the air in the evening. His voice will get progressively louder as he does this.
It is adorable for many reasons, not the least of which is that he still has trouble pronouncing the Hallelujah. I think he adds about four or five extra “l’s” and sometimes his mouth seems to get stuck curving around the vowels. We have heard this song morning, noon, and night for months, his jaunty performances a reification of the song’s message. Sometimes, he will just yell out: “Hallelujah!” when he likes something he is eating, or when he sees a squirrel darting across the lawn, or just because. On the Mother’s Day “Mad Libs” Mr. Magpie had him fill out, next to: “my mom loves: me” (profoundly true) and “her favorite place is: the couch” (could not be more of a falsehood — I am not sure he has ever seen me sit on it, and I don’t appreciate the implication of my couch potato status thankyouverymuch), it reads: “mom always says: hallelujah.”
Here is something round and fully-formed: a shape that fell right out of the tree into my palm. Here is a repetition, a return of something that I have needed to hear, and yet have willfully tuned out. My own son has been its messenger and conduit, literally shouting it at me. My mom always says hallelujah.
May it be so.
I am rounding this final corner of May reminded of how I attempted to begin it: in prayer, in gratitude, in the hope of carving out the channels for a slow and reflective life.
+These are surprisingly good pillows for the price — I use them in our guest bedroom and they are very comfortable. A set of two is $42 but currently on sale for 40% off.
+I shared a photo of myself enjoying a cul de sac marg in one of these reusable, shatterproof plastic cups and a number of readers reached out. They are from a really cute Etsy shop! I love these for lawn hangs, evening walks, etc.
+Sweaty Betty is offering 25% off orders over $75. Love these loose-fit pima tops, running tanks, and punchy sports bra.
By: Jen Shoop
The woven fisherman sandal has the attention of both me and what seems to be the entire fashion world. I have been lusting after this pair from Gabriela Hearst all season but ultimately decided to go with TB’s even trendier platform version (seen above) — getting the vibe, and then some, for less, as they are currently on sale here, here, and here. Below, the chicest variations on this trendy sandal.
