Q: A versatile dress that can work for a bunch of different occasions this summer.
A: La Ligne’s Daisy, seen on La Ligne’s founder, Meredith Melling, above! Pair with Porte & Paire sandals for day, platforms for a gathering, and statement heels for evening. This dress does it ALL. I own this in navy plaid and wore on Christmas day with heels, then with booties and flats beneath a cable knit cardi for more casual affairs. It is so flattering and the sleeves so dramatic — the tailoring is exquisite. I will say the smocking is very tight. In general, the dress runs TTS but the smocking is pretty intense in my size. If you’re between sizes, I would go up just for the sake of comfort in the waist area.
Q: Any clothes you would choose for a South African safari? They recommend neutral colors so animals don’t notice you as much.
A: You are in luck — utility-chic vibes are everywhere these days! I’m specifically liking the idea of linen-blend shorts or Nili Lotan pants with cutaway tanks and Lack of Color hats, paired with whatever hiking boots are reasonable/recommended (I’ve personally always lusted after a pair of Danners with their telltale red laces). Finish with some unexpectedly fashion-forward shades, like these in the ochre, just to let everyone know you have a perspective (ha!). It’s giving Jurassic Park vibes, with a hint of Karen Blixen. This romper is also adorable and could be a contender, and you must somehow work this utility shirt into your repertoire.
Q: All white sneakers for a boy’s Catholic school kindergarten fall uniform.
A: Exciting! I guess it depends on your vibe — I have a tolerance for a tiny bit of edge in the form of Converse Chucks with velcro closures (get the look for less with WeeSteps) or Vans. More classic would be Supergas, and then the sporty option would be stark-white Nikes.
Q: Pink bridesmaid dress! Black tie optional, under $400. July in Atlanta, so it will be hot.
A: I love this elegant and modern style (make it your own with statement shoes and big earrings, hair in a low chignon), this dramatic Vera Wang, this cool-friend La Ligne, this Gwyneth-Vibes column dress, and this Reformation. Above budget, but wanted to throw out there this dramatic Sau Lee (!!!!) and this elegant Zimmermann just in case.
Q: Looking for a daytime Bar Mitzvah dress — I am a guest — taking place in early May.
A: Fun! I love this Fanm Mon in any of the colors and this Emilia Wickstead — I own it in a different pattern and it is so chic and flattering! I also love this cheerful Derek Lam, this elegant polka dot ($120!), and this SEA (I saw a chic pea wearing it to Easter Mass and she looked luminous in it!)
Q: Girl’s trip to Barcelona.
A: FUN!!! Loved Barcelona. We stayed at Hotel Omm and the people watching was fascinating (chic chic!). I would pack day-to-night dresses like this, this, and this that you can traipse around in wearing flat sandals, and then still feel chic in when you inevitably stop into a couple spots for pintxos and vinho verde. Not that you necessarily need to conform, but I found (could be outdated, this was like six years ago) that a lot of the chic Spaniards wore cool jeans and tops versus dresses, so maybe pack some trend-forward denim to pair with simple tanks and fun blouses, too.
Q: Bump-friendly summer dresses. Not too fancy, but just to wear out to dinner, etc.
Q: 9×12 rugs for kids’ rooms — soft, durable, and neutral.
A: Check out Annie Selke! We bought one of their rugs for our Manhattan apartment and they have tons of great patterns/styles. This one is a best seller, and I’ve always loved this striped style.
Q: Gala gown. Pastel or bright. Here’s the kicker: five weeks post partum. Need chest coverage.
A: For you: this dress in the peach, this boho floral (requires slip), this Loretta Caponi (my dream dress), this Aje, this Carolina K. I gravitated in each of these selections towards dresses with some sort of sleeve (mostly short given summer), because I personally find more arm coverage is more flattering from more angles. However, if you’re happy with sleeveless, also love THIS. For littles: I always love the styles from Sophie and Lucas, Luli and Me, Il Porticciolo, and La Coqueta.
Q: Boy’s nursery art! Something that doesn’t look babyish and can be an investment.
A: Jonathan Adler has some really great art finds that are playful but could totally work in an adult room, too, and you might also consider St. Frank — they have cool textured surf boards and framed textiles that are beyond fab. (If you like the surfboard situation, check out MOMA’s selection, too! They have some Warhol reproductions on surf boards — so cool.) I also always love maps as an alternative — find a vintage one of an area with personal meaning to you and your family, or check out Etsy for cool finds, like this letterpress Chesapeake Bay one. We’ve had luck searching Saatchi over the years, but it does take some commitment. You can find amazing original paintings like this (abstract) or this!
Q: A trip to London in September! Looking for items in the $100-$300 range.
A: Hm – I like the idea of smart denim and button-down blouses with a soft trench, and tailored dresses like this Daphne Wilde, this mini, and this twill trench (could be layered over a turtleneck if chilly). I feel as though knits by La Ligne would translate well there, too, and could you somehow work these dressy shorts into the mix? With a cashmere crewneck sweater? I also spotted Caitlin Fisher wearing a Marta Scarampi cape all over London and I liked that vibe!
By: Jen Shoop
*Image above via LaDoubleJ featuring their stunning textured swimsuit, currently on sale from $370 to only $111 and stocked in all sizes. The shoulder tie is adjustable for a perfect fit!
Oo I am giddy with the thrill of the hunt! Some FANTASTIC sale snags from great designers…
+A little trove of CeliaB dresses on sale for 25% off. I’ve worn my festive CeliaB twice this season already (once out for dinner in Charleston and then for my 20 year high school reunion), and — not to brag! — but was stopped constantly with people asking where it was from! Love this pastel version, this mini style (like a funfetti cupcake?! birthday party in dress form!), and this shirt dress variation.
+Shopbop just added and/or further reduced a number of incredible finds in its sale section and wow wow —
LA DOUBLE J SWIMSUIT (SEEN ABOVE, ORIG $370, NOW $111?!) — WEAR TO THE BEACH WITH THIS GAUZEY SKIRT OVER TOP
How I can go weeks spinning in my narrow orbit of dropping off the children, writing in my studio, standing barefoot in the cul de sac in front of our home, smoothing hair and soothing bruises, cutting peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in quarters, switching on the disposal while I scrub the small saucepan we favor for the twentieth time this week, laying my feet on Mr. Magpie’s lap once the children are in bed,
And misplace my awareness of how good I have it.
It just takes a stray night out, visiting with a former self and her acquaintances,
To send a shock right through me,
Dissipating the clouds.
I attended my twenty year high school reunion last week, and it was lovely and moving in its own way.
I was startled by the heavy set of memories there:
I could swear I felt my friend Elizabeth running across the slatted floorboards in front of Fennessy,
The smell of Founder’s Hall hung unchanged,
And the grounds still lilted in slope and shade and secret.
It was strange to pause in the doorway of my Physics classroom, where an ill-advised 22-year-old male college graduate had attempted to teach us how to calculate “displacement with positive acceleration” and been thoroughly steamrolled by a group of 20 high school girls. He used to dip into his closet to wipe his face with a towel mid-lecture, sweating in 32-degree weather out of fear of the highly obvious fact that we were just four years his junior and wont not only to mutinous back talk and sarcasm but, often and more damningly, outright flirtation. We must have appeared to him as a flock of Atês; to my knowledge, he left shortly after we graduated. My classmates and I laughed about this then, at the age of 17, and we laughed about it last week, at the age of 37, and still I kept looking at the backless stool in the front row, where I sat just after I learned that my grandfather had passed away, and where I drafted notes to my girlfriends to pin up on the message board outside the Dean’s office, and where I daydreamed about a big life while dialed in on wearing the right-length skirt to pass as normal.
In short, my high school experience felt like a cacophonous mismatch in most matters.
I enjoyed catching up with classmates, sharing wine in front of the homeroom in which Sister Jackie read us treacly excerpts from Reader’s Digest and prayed over us before tests, and so I can’t tell whether it was the absence of Elizabeth
or the shock of coming face-to-face with the brick-and-mortar place in which a former, insecure self once dwelt. But I left a bit dizzy —
Then grateful to return home to the sleeping house on the quiet cul de sac,
Where my two babies lay in their tangles of sheets and teddy bears,
And my husband has left the rice cooker on for me,
+A very thoughtful Magpie reader wrote in to share that those UPF 50 shirts from Coolibar I shared in a previous “What Are You Shopping For” post are 20% off AND ship free with code VIPSAVE. (In fact, code works sitewide!)
+I cannot stop coming back to this dress. Keep hoping it will go on sale…
+We now own this little stepstool in multiple colors in our home!
+Another great dress for a mom to wear to a Baptism. More options here!
+My daughter needs this t-shirt. She loves rock music and she currently treasures her Nirvana tee and Rolling Stones tee and she really will flip over this one.
*Above, micro is wearing one of the two-piece sets from Q by Quincy Mae at Target! I have been so impressed with this little set. Has totally held up. The exact style he’s wearing no longer available in stripe, but in a cute unisex star print here. They have a striped, ribbed set available on sale too.
I’m not going to lie: I am normally a bit of a pajama snob for my children, but I nearly always score them on sale. I find that the higher-end pajamas launder better and are more likely to be hand-down-able and so tend to make do with fewer pairs that cost a bit more. I am finding the equation a bit more difficult to justify with my son because he is a lot messier than mini ever was – he is hard on his clothes!
Anyway, today I’m sharing a range of adorable children’s pajamas, all either by higher-end designers found on sale or more affordable pairs that are too cute to pass up on (and more realistic for hard-on-their-clothes children).
+Maisonette just marked down a few pajama brands, including Paper Cape, which I absolutely adore. I snagged micro this nautical pair for summer, but I also love these bows and these flowers for girls and these for either gender. I find this brand runs a tiny bit small, and the quality is exceptional (note the message on the inside: PLEASE HAND ME DOWN!).
+I had to order mini this Petite-Plume-esque nightgown, on sale with an extra 60% off!, as well as these navy gingham pajamas for micro (also on sale, with an extra 60% off!)
+I’ve never tried BabyNoomie but I know several Magpies are big fans. This tie-dye style is on sale and fun for summer. You can also get the look for less with these by Vaenait Baby. I have ordered a few pajamas from that brand over the years and they have cute, simple styles that are great for loungewear.
+Of course, Kissy Kissy is a longtime favorite for me — my top top brand for layette in terms of softness, durability, and price (not quite as expensive as counterparts but just as good if not better in quality). You can often find them on sale on Amazon — love these planes!
+Little English racer cars — $30! These are absolutely adorable. I would size up a full size in LE’s pajamas. I find their clothes generally run TTS but pajamas are pretty snug.
+Roller Rabbit has long been one of my absolute favorites for kids, but my goodness are they spend-y. The cotton is very thin but very soft, and the cut is super-snug, so again, I would size up one or even two sizes. Micro regularly wears a size 3 these days, but I would probably skip up from a 4 to a 6 for him at this point. These days, I find the prints hit or miss, but I love these palm tree ones (part of a collab with Faherty, currently on sale), these rainbow hearts (run — last pair! — extra 20% off with code YOUROCK), and this flower print set.
+TBBC regularly moves its darling pajamas into its sale section — this blue set and its counterpart in pink are adorable, as is this “hunt club” set (on sale for almost 50% off)
+Classic blue and white stripes for $15 — can’t go wrong with these. Love this look for a little boy. The koala print pair also pulls at my heart strings since I used to call mini my “koala boy” — he was always on my hip, clinging to my shirt.
+Thought this $18 gauze stripe pajama short set was an incredible find — love the classic styling.
+Love all the florals from this Amazon brand, especially this pair with the lettuce edge trim.
+I did want to mention two pajama brands I LOVE but can rarely find on sale for children — Petite Plume, Lake, and Lila + Hayes. You can usually find L+H on sale in select styles here and there but I specifically love their shorts sets for micro in the summer. They are super soft and I kind of like the “boxer fit” on the bottom versus the usual narrow-leg style you find in shorts sets for boys. If you find them on sale, go for it! I will report back if I ever find them at a discount in a cute pattern! (Sometimes you can find them on sale in seasonal prints, like pumpkins, but I am holding out for some summer patterns.)
Shop all these picks and more below…
P.S. Cute summer shorts for kids, and vacation gear for kids.
P.P.P.S. I would be remiss not to mention, in a post about pajamas, that Hill House just launched an entire line of pajamas!
By: Jen Shoop
I just finished listening to Katie Couric’s excellent memoir, Going There, last week, and enjoyed it thoroughly. She is a great companion. An excellent storyteller, she really does “go there” — lots of juicy insider talk — and I appreciated her humility in admitting some of her missteps and miscalculations, as well as her candor in sharing multiple different, often conflicting facets of complex social and relationship-related issues she faced throughout her life (including her relationship with Matt Lauer). It is something like 15 hours long, which daunted me at first, but I quickly fell into a rhythm and then found myself missing her newsy voice once I’d finished. One element of her narrative that really jumped out at me (texts being mirrors and all): her seeming dissatisfaction and struggle even when she was at the very apex of the apex of not just her career but of the history of news media. She anchored the nightly news! She led a very successful morning news show! She hosted 60 Minutes! And she did as a woman in a male-dominated field, to boot! And yet each of these accomplishments represented a fraught time for her. This was a wake-up call for me, on so many levels. First: you simply never know what someone is going through. Even people with seemingly flawless careers and the happiest of marriages might be privately suffering from any number of issues. Second: when times are good, I am determined to recognize the good. This line of thinking in part undergirded my essay last week on embracing the small benedictions of an Easter Sunday spent with family in good health and good spirits. I am not saying Katie does not do this — just that observing her struggle even when certain elements of her career were, from the outsider’s vantage, going swimmingly, made me want to lean into and appreciate when times are good.
I will say I was somewhat flustered by the extent to which Matt Lauer’s story consumes the final section of her book. It is disgusting. No criticism of her inclusion of the matter, but I sort of resented on her behalf the fact that, because of his misdemeanors, she had to cede a good portion of her book to the situation. Yuck!
Still, would strongly recommend.
What else? I finished and applauded Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic (reactions on this book here) and really enjoyed Katherine Faulkner’s thriller, Greenwich Park. It boasts an unexpected twist or two I did not see coming at the end. I still think Ruth Ware is “best of” in this category, but Faulkner’s was an easy read I wanted to pick up before bed at night. Recommend as a good travel/beach book, or something to read when you need a mental vacation.
I am currently making my way through Danielle Friedman’s Let’s Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the World. It is a bit over-long and over-dense for my interest in the subject, but I will say I find fascinating the way so many elements of fitness culture serve, paradoxically, as tools of both repression and liberation for women. It is complex! Friedman does a good job navigating the nuances and inspiring situated thinking on the matter. I will then read Jonathan Franzen’s Crossroads (book club pick): “the story of a Midwestern family at a pivotal moment of moral crisis,” and then will select from one of the following books on my radar for spring 2022…
+THRILLER: The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley. “A new locked room mystery, set in a Paris apartment building in which every resident has something to hide.”
+FEEL-GOOD CHICK LIT: One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle, which seems to be taking over the Internet. “A powerful novel about the transformational love between mothers and daughters set on the breathtaking Amalfi Coast.”
+QUICK-PACED NOVEL SET IN THE 60S: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. Alisha Ramos shared this pick in her Girls Night In Club newsletter, writing: “I added it to cart after seeing so many people whose reading habits I admire buzz about it on social. Set in the 1960s, it’s about a chemistry teacher who becomes the unlikely star of a beloved cooking show.”
+CELEBRITY MEMOIR: Taste by Stanley Tucci. Going to listen to this one on audiobook. I enjoyed his show about eating his way through Italy and did not know until a Goop interview between Tucci and Paltrow that he was recovering from an intense throat cancer while filming it, and could barely eat anything at the time! I felt so-so about Tucci in general on the show. He seemed so arrogant at times. And yet, there was an appeal. I love his voice, too — looking forward to him keeping me company on my walks with Tilly.
+MULTI-GENERATIONAL FAMILY DRAMA: Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson, set to be made into a Hulu TV series. “In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves. Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor’s true history, and fulfill her final request to “share the black cake when the time is right”? Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?”
+EPIC ABOUT A PASSION-FILLED LIFE: Violeta by Isabel Allende. “This sweeping novel from the author of A Long Petal of the Sea tells the epic story of Violeta Del Valle, a woman whose life spans one hundred years and bears witness to the greatest upheavals of the twentieth century.”
+FOOD MEMOIR: Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl. No one writes food like Ruth. I enjoy her voice so much.
+ESSAYS: These Precious Days by Ann Patchett. You know I am a Patchett fangirl. I finally downloaded this set of personal essays and can’t wait to dig in. I find her to be one of our generation’s most compelling voices. No one writes character like Ann Patchett.
What else? I know many of you are reading The Orphan Collector, but my mom read it with heaving sighs and tears and so I just don’t know I’m up for it. (“From the internationally bestselling author of What She Left Behind comes a gripping and powerful tale of upheaval—a heartbreaking saga of resilience and hope perfect for fans of Beatriz Williams and Kristin Hannah—set in Philadelphia during the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak—the deadly pandemic that went on to infect one-third of the world’s population…”). Maybe the pandemic is a bit too close to home?
+Some of my favorite audiobooks — P.S., I have have the same conversation with a few family members/friends recently: how did I get into the habit of listening to audiobooks? I think it’s all about finding good “hooks” in your day where listening to an audiobook just becomes part of your daily practice. For me, those times are a) on the way back from school drop-off, b) while walking Tilly, c) while getting ready in the morning, and d) while showering.
+On the maps we create and over-write as we live longer and longer in the same places.
Shopping Break.
+These inexpensive miracle rescue masks are so helpful for dried, overworked hair.
+Two fabulous dresses around $100: this green floral and this pink floral.
+I have finally decided to give Grande Lash a try. I’ve never tried any of these lash enhancers before, but when I saw Grace in Charleston, and saw how long her lashes are IRL (and she swears by Grande Lash), I just had to give it a whirl. Will report back once thoroughly tested. This is thrilling because you know how much I love my lashes, and love any and all products in the mascara/lash category.
+You all are loving this inexpensive green woven bag! $35 and so chic. Would wear without the strap as an oversized clutch. Imagine with this breezy maxi.
+On the subject of bags: this rainbow straw style is like a hit of endorphins. How can you not smile?! More punchy bags for spring/summer here, all under $175 and most under $100.
+ICYMI: three add-to-cart items at Target right now: this white blouse, this throw-and-go a-line dress, and these eyelet trim tees for girls ($8 and we own them in multiples).
+The best concealer, on sale for 15% off. Not a huge price break but I buy this at full price all the time (I actually don’t think I’ve ever purchased on sale) and worth every penny.
+This personal alarm is clever. I would 100% have bought this for running through CP if I’d known about it at the time. I generally felt safe running there but every so often, I’d get a weird feeling and turn around and run back the other way.
+OMG, Vibi Venezia x Emilia Wickstead. You KNOW how much I love my VVs. I have three pairs already! And Emilia Wickstead is my favorite designer. I just cannot decide which pair to get!!!
+I might need to buy this candle based on nostalgia alone.
+Speaking of NYC, some of my essentials for Manhattan living.
Man, our entire house has been trading colds for the last month straight, and then mini’s evolved into an ear infection and I came down with a brand new bug. I think possibly because we’ve all been shuttered up and cloistered in the long shadow of COVID, our immune systems are down and we are catching everything. I’ve heard from several Magpie readers and friends that Hand-Foot-Mouth and RSV have been running rampant. We’ve somehow dodged those, but these colds have been brutal! It is tough, not only to look after a feverish child, but to do so when you are feeling unwell as an adult. Thank God for Mr. Magpie, who really held down the fort a couple of times when I was totally nonfunctional and had to sleep through the day. I felt so guilty abandoning him, but he muscled through and took great care of all of us.
Below, in addition to the expected lineup of cold remedies (I think I might permanently smell like Vicks Vapo-Rub), some of the items I’ve been very happy to have on hand (and/or have ordered in a panic)…
+Lake Pajamas, in multiples. I feel like a broken record, but this is all I want to wear, especially when unwell. Soft, breathable, comfortable.
+Steam showers are best for head colds, but I also like a good therapeutic soak with bath salts like this or a divinely-scented bubble bath.
+I always feel dried out when I’m under the weather, and have been slathering on Jet Lag mask (and just leaving it on), this natural moisturizing stick for undereyes (has such a nice, emollient feel to it — sort of like chapstick but for undereyes), and Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour cream, which I put on my lips and under my chapped nose!
+Caudalie’s beauty elixir — frankly, who knows if it does anything, but it feels like heaven to spritz on a hot or clammy forehead.
+Saltine minis (they are SO good – I don’t know why but they are about 10x better than the full-sized kind) and ginger ale. Absolutely always have these items in my pantry.
+ESWB — Tinx popularized this acronym, short for “emotional support water bottle.” But it’s true – a big canteen of water is essential.
+An insulated mug for tea that won’t get cold — it is so reassuring to wake up in the middle of the night and be able to have a sip of warm tea!
+TV that’s so bad it’s good. You know what I’m saying. I watched the new Kardashian show on Hulu in a sneezing, coughing haze and it hit right.
+Boll and Branch bed blanket — for some reason just makes me feel better lying under it. The waffle texture is soft and the weight is perfect.
+A good audiobook. When I was really sick with COVID, I couldn’t even keep my eyes open to watch TV, but I would listen to celebrity memoirs to keep myself distracted and to this day they are a total comfort. I recently really enjoyed Katie Couric’s memoir on audiobook — she would be a great companion for a sick day.
+For children: this is where a well-stocked activity cabinet does you well. I luckily had a bunch of little coloring/sticker activities on deck for just such an occasion: this Encanto set was a big hit, these deluxe Water Wows (with the magnifying glass revealing silly hidden images) kept her busy for hours, and we always love puffy stickers in these parts. All of these are great for bed-ridden/couch potato children. You might also find some goodies for children in bed/on couch in this roundup of car travel activities.
+Also for children: I personally like humidifiers because my mom always used them and I do think they make the air feel better on a sore throat / coughing little body, but I have to be honest: my dear friend’s father is a pediatrician and he insists they just “blow bacteria around.” They do require daily cleaning/maintenance, which can be annoying — you really have to empty the water filter and then clean with vinegar regularly. Anyhow, we have and love this one from Crane. You can control the flow of air and it lights up, which my daughter thinks is fun.
+We have been having a really tough time getting mini to take her antiobiotics. She is allergic to amoxicillin (which she loved the taste of — bubble gum!), and the alternative they gave us smells absolutely horrible, so I don’t frankly blame her. We’ve tried mixing it with chocolate, following it with chocolate, pinching her nose, bribing her ten ways to Tuesday, etc. It has been something of a nightmare because now she hates it so much, she is a wreck at every dose time. Anyhow, she’s a bit too old for this, but in my desperation, I did want to share a clever gadget I’d not known about for younger kiddos: a pacifier medicine dispenser and a bottle tip medicine dispenser. So clever! I also always really like the gadgets from Fridababy, which I didn’t discover until micro. They have a handy “sick kit” that would be good to have on hand if you have younger children. Don’t knock the nasal aspirator until you’ve tried it! I was thoroughly disgusted by the idea but then you have a very congested baby and you’ll do anything, and this works like a charm. My pediatrician urged me to give it a try and so I did – so glad I did! Oh! And BoogieWipes — still great for my children who are not yet adept at blowing their noses. They are “a non-medicated natural and sterile saline formula, which dissolves kids’ dried boogers and helps provide relief.” Much better than tissues, especially because they irritate the skin so much.
Shopping Finds from the Invalid.
While I was laid up in bed, in between drowsy, Robitussin-induced snoozes, I did some shopping and found some really fabulous items I wanted to share…
+Finally tracked down this Lacoste polo in the perfect sage green for my son in a size 3T, and miraculously on SALE!
+WOW I love everything from Hunter Bell’s new launch. I’ve always flirted with this brand but never committed, and I think I might take the plunge with this gingham daydress in the sage green or this dramatic white style. This striped linen shirtdress would probably also get a ton of wear in my weekly wardrobe and the stripe is so fun.
+Went down a beauty blogger rabbit hole and discovered that many of them use body serums to keep skin looking young, smooth, glowing. Had never thought of this! One suggested adding a few pumps of this body serum into an inexpensive, unscented body lotion (e.g., Embryolisse or Cerave) and Grace shared her entire body skincare regimen, encouraging the same pairing of a body serum (she lists her favorites) with an inexpensive body lotion.
+I really love BusyBees’ Henry tees for micro, but we are at the point where he is prone to destroy t-shirts in the bat of an eye and I just couldn’t in good conscious splurge here, especially given that I’ve really stocked up on high-end polos for him. I needed something inexpensive for everyday. I bought him these pocket tees in four colorways (navy, white, blue heather, and blue lagoon) — currently on sale and all four together were less than the price of one Henry tee.
+This twist-handled mini bag is only $40 and looks way more expensive — I saw it on BeingBridget and thought it was by Hereu!
+Another piece of shopping candy: this under-$30 woven mule.
+Restocked my supply of heavenly facial cotton while 15% off — I like to use this with my beloved oil-based cleanser in the mornings. I wet with warm water and squeeze out excess, then apply a pump or two of the oil and swipe all over face. Than rinse the same cotton, squeeze, and use opposite side to wipe all over face again.
+I did a little damage at Maisonette, too — they are running a sale on select brands of pajamas and I was just mentioning that though I do love to buy my children high-end pajamas (so soft and hold up so well in the wash), I cringe at the prices. I managed to get a few pairs from Paper Cape and Lila + Hayes on sale! I also bought micro one of Cadets’ swim shorts, which are nice enough to double as shorts with a polo for those “might end up jumping in the pool at some point” days.
+I’ve never ordered from this site before, but this $58 gauze skirt turned my head. The material is having a major moment! I love the color, cut, style, and think it would be adorable with a tank and big earrings.
By: Jen Shoop
Today, I am republishing in full an essay I wrote in 2019 on imposter syndrome and fear of criticism. It dances around a cluster of themes well worth revisiting from time to time, if only to afford a perch for self-awareness. The timing of its original publication now fascinates me. One of the many idiosyncrasies of a personal blog with a twelve-year-long tail: an unusually pronounced, painstakingly documented breadcrumb trail of my own emotional development. In 2019, I was still straining to see myself as anything but a professional failure. I had blown up a promising career in non-profit management to build a business I buried shortly thereafter. I was in the midst of tailoring Magpie to meet my own creative interests and somehow pay the bills, and I felt that what I was doing was flimsy, immaterial. I did not — have never — fit easily into the category of “blogger” or “influencer” and, though I have always endeavored to work with my head down in a kind of conscious obliviousness to what my peers are up to, occasionally looked around and deemed myself ungainly by comparison. I don’t know whether it’s the maturity and you-do-you of age or my gradual awakening to the fact that I consider writing a vocation, and that my call is therefore to write rather than to fret over my reception, but things have changed, and I look back and want to talk to myself with language I recently discovered from Liz and Mollie via Alisha Ramos’ Girls Night In Club: it’s not that I was failing; I was learning to adjust to a new professional and vocational identity. I think this re-wiring of the way we think about ourselves while starting something new is roundly impactful. Instead of: “I am so bad at making friends,” it becomes, “I am a person who is learning how to build a network.” Instead of: “I am terrible at public speaking!,” it becomes, “I am a person learning how to communicate more effectively in front of an audience.” A growth mindset, I guess — one that affords us all the grace to realize that nobody was born Beyonce. (Rather, she made herself over the course of years and years of practice and putting herself out there.) And so I re-visit this essay from a new vantage, thinking not only: “There are far fewer critics than you think!” but also: “Forget about the critics; accept the fact that you are a hatchling just learning to fly. Forgive yourself for not being perfect.”
*****
My second year of graduate school, I applied and was accepted to present a paper I’d written on “intertextual practice” in James Joyce’s Ulysses at a symposium dedicated to the author. I applied in part because I intended at the time to pursue a Ph.D. and felt that any published papers would enhance my application, in part because I occasionally — usually late at night — succumb to an over-surge in confidence and optimism and make rash decisions to apply to things (as was the case when I applied to an executive program in social entrepreneurship at Stanford and submitted my application without even telling Mr. Magpie), and in part because the conference was taking place in Rome, and I selfishly wanted to go abroad. Georgetown University generously offered to cover half of my travel expenses for the conference and my parents chipped in for the rest, adding — much to my surprise and satisfaction — that they would accompany me to hear me read.
The first two days of the trip were lovely. I hadn’t spent much extended one-on-one time with my parents since I’d graduated from high school and they’d flown me to Paris in what would easily become the apex of my short-lived jet-setting career, and I relished the feeling of being looked-after. We stayed in a boutique hotel on a cobblestone street right by the Spanish Steps that felt like something out of a James Bond movie — deeply European, with an elegant lobby and quiet, discreet staff. If a black-tie casino evening had taken place in its formal dining room, or a suit-wearing gentleman with slicked-back hair and an unconcealed firearm had strode down my hall one afternoon, I wouldn’t have batted an eye. We passed several beautiful days exploring the city’s museums, Churches, and monuments, walking through the Borghese Gardens, and trying the local fare (including a squid ink pasta I still dream about). One night, on our way back from dinner, my father stopped in front of an elegant storefront and said, “This dress is beautiful. Do you want to try it on?” What he did not know was that we were standing in front of a Pucci store, and that the dress cost north of 2,000 Euros. He laughed when we he saw the price tag. “Maybe another trip,” he said. “Or another dad.”
The night before I was supposed to read my paper, I kissed my parents goodnight and walked calmly back to my room, feigning sangfroid. Once I’d closed my door, the levity of the foregoing days dissolved and I promptly broke out in a nervous sweat and practiced reading my paper fifteen times in a row, trying on various new intonations, pauses, and dramatic breaks for size.
“Why did I do this?” I thought angrily, to myself. I still — over a year in — got nervous while facilitating discussion as a teaching assistant. I felt my skin go prickly when the room fell quiet, or all eyes would turn to me, or I’d stumble over the reading of something or the prompting of a question. And here I was, all the way across the globe, with presenters far more established and intelligent than I, preparing to read a half-baked paper I’d cooked up in a desperate attempt to travel abroad and pad my resume. I read over the programme nervously, noting the impressive universities represented and the cluttering of jargon on the page. Even as an English major, and even as someone who took a shining to the precision of academic argot, I cowed before the agenda. I felt like a fraud. As I read what I had pompously written weeks earlier, the words transformed into childlike blather. It all felt juvenile, inane. I am just stating the obvious. What’s the point of this stupid paper anyway? This sentence is pathetically artsy.
Around 1 a.m., I retired to bed, sick to my stomach. I tossed and turned. At some point that evening, the residents of the room above me returned home and stomped around loudly, dragging or rearranging furniture (?) for what felt like hours. A baby (their baby? or was the sound emanating from a different room?) started to cry and went on wailing for the better part of the night. I tumbled through patches of fitful sleep, angry at the noise and angrier at myself for committing to the act of embarrassment awaiting me later that morning.
When my alarm went off at 8 a.m., I felt as though I’d fought a fever. Had there really been a baby crying? Or furniture dragged on the floor above me? Had those been figments of my imagination — distractors, threats that I conjured in the face of impending doom? I felt weak, febrile. I dragged myself out of bed and changed into a pencil skirt and blouse for the reading, my heart in my throat, my palms clammy.
The reading went terribly. I read so quickly that no one could understand what I was saying, least of all the native Italian-speaking literati who comprised about half of the audience. This was the gist, at least, of my parents’ tender but truthful feedback — and that of the old fart overseeing the symposium. “Take a deep breath next time,” he grumbled stinkily as he shook my hand with his calloused paw.
But it was over. And no one had batted an eye or booed me off the stage or otherwise betrayed any sentiment but bland, generic interest.
My parents seemed to forget about my foibles as a public speaker the minute we left the university hall, and we scarcely broached the topic again — not because they appeared embarrassed or disturbed by my lackluster recitation, but because we were in Rome, and there was much to see and marvel over anyway. I was grateful for the oblivion.
I reasoned that at least I could toss the experience onto my C.V., and that I could chalk it up as a victory in that sense. But there was, emerging from the contours of the unpleasant experience, much to think about, and much that I have chewed on in recent years.
There was, of course, the obvious manifestation of my burgeoning imposter syndrome: the sickening discovery, on the eve of my presentation, that I was a fraud and that I had no business presenting my ill-formed, idiotic observations on a text much greater than I was, in front of an audience far smarter than I was.
There was also the budding awareness of the eternal disequilibrium between the importance I placed on what I was doing and the actual importance of those doings within the broader context of my life and the people in it. My parents were unphased by my performance, and I’m confident have all but forgotten the shape of what they saw there. (Do they even recall the oddly crowded configuration of the lecture hall we piled into? The strange fact that I did not read while standing on a dais — but rather seated, at a long panel table, alongside other graduate students and academics, such that select members of the audience who lined the hallways actually towered over me, looking down on me?) No one at Georgetown seemed to care about the specifics of the conference, either. “Ah yes, intertextuality…Ulysses. Yes. How was it?” “Good.” That was about as far as I got in recountings of the experience once nestled back among the stone edifices of GU. And the audience in that lecture hall: at best, fleetingly absorbent of a concept or two from my paper that perhaps spurred a follow-on thought more germane to their own work; more realistically, wondering about the attractive young man on the Vespa seen en route to the university, or rehearsing their own papers in their own heads, or drawing up a grocery list.
About a year ago, I labored through the first third of Ulysses S. Grant’s autobiography before giving up. (It is long and tedious and I am not up to such aridity — my apologies to the many smart folk who have recommended it to me, my father included.) But there was one anecdote I pocketed and have trotted out on many occasions since:
A young Grant is traveling on horseback with members of a military outfit and they hear wolves ahead. He betrays his own trepidation at the sound and a fellow soldier asks (my words): “How many wolves do you think are out there?” Grant pauses, listening, and estimates a pack of dozens. As they approach the sound, he is surprised to find only a handful of mangy beasts. A trivial threat: his fears for naught.
Reading this conjured my maiden attempt at reading my paper in Rome, and the possibly imagined noises from the room upstairs the night before: I had estimated risks far worse than actually existed, the figment of the howling wolves augmented by my own anxieties, their volume and ferocity an outlandish rendering of the peril at hand.
All of this to say:
If you are grappling with the unknown //
If you are fretful about an impending meeting or presentation or professional milestone //
If you are agonizing over perceived criticisms //
If you are unable to think about anything but the unkind words of a passerby or a colleague or an acquaintance //
Think of the howling wolves. Know that we tend to overestimate the threats around us — and that the perception of their sound and fury nearly always outsizes their realities.”
+WOW this Rhode dress. The color, the pattern, the cut!
+The search for your black tie wedding guest dress is over.
+If you love D. Porthault but not the price tag, you must consider Schweitzer Linen’s heart print for your little one’s crib! They also have the most adorable baby terry cloth robes, currently on sale. Such a sweet baby gift.
+I know no one wants to think about winter right now, but these VERY popular Helly Hensen puffers for children are currently on sale!
+Kind of love these Tevas-esque sandals for toddlers (under $20).
+Everyone’s favorite sneakers in a fun new colorway.
+Love this bold Hanna dress — you can twin with your mini in this! The pattern reminds me of something by Mara Hoffmann.
+This quilted backpack is still a total MVP for day trips / excursions with children. I used it a lot more in NYC when I felt I needed to be hands free more often on a daily basis but I’m still so happy to have had it on hand for recent trips to the zoo, Air and Space Museum, etc.
+The details on this dress are beyond beyond — the scalloped hem! The bows at shoulder!
+This set of melamine plates is a perennial Magpie favorite.
+Love these sunshine-yellow shortalls for a little love.
+Speaking of sunshine yellow, how great is this cheery dress?! I imagine wearing while on vacation in Italy.
+Mango has some shockingly beautiful dresses for teens for things like wedding ceremonies, confirmations, etc! They remind me of the styles from Pepa but for teens/tweens.
We cannot wait to start living in our backyard this summer! Last year, our outdoor essentials included this mosquito-repelling Thermacell gadget that we liked so much we gave to both my parents and Mr. Magpie’s; this four-pack of inexpensive cabana striped towels (for fun in sprinkler / kiddie pool — I just kept these by the back door! — for travel/stroller, these Dock and Bay ones are awesome since they fold up tiny but are surprisingly absorbent); this virtually indestructible, portable speaker; Mr. Magpie’s Pro-Kadima set (for some reason, he and his friends love this game? — this Sunnylife style is even more aesthetically pleasing); and Mr. Magpie’s large stainless steel cooler, which he liked to keep stocked with beers while grilling / entertaining. It is honestly shocking how long that thing keeps cool — days! Mr. Magpie’s dad has the exact same one and also uses it while entertaining al fresco so guests don’t need to continually go inside to find a fresh drink. Igloo has a similar one that comes in great colors if you want something besides stainless steel.
This year, we are looking forward to making use of our new cornhole set (also love this gorgeous scalloped one and this fun floral), and I am eyeing —
+a small cooler for various excursions and Wolf Trap trips, and am torn between one of these soft-sided totes and one of these Igloos;
+a new, heavier-duty picnic blanket — this one intrigues me because it’s waterproof on the bottom and “perfectly weighted to stay flat on the ground”;
+these acrylic striped outdoor tumblers (look for less with these);
+these popsicle holders are so clever for little ones — you catch all the drips in the tray and not on the hand!
+this enormous outdoor storage chest to house all outdoor toys/balls in our garage;
+these reasonably-priced reclining folding chairs — I often find us in need of extra seating/portable seating! — although I’m tempted by these ones, which are even closer to the ground and better for beach/outdoor concerts/picnics.
My son turns three at the end of May and I’ve been planning his birthday — we are having a petting zoo come to our house (Squeals on Wheels, if you are local to DC) and I asked the uber-talented Erin Wallace to dream up some invitations, which of course she did and will soon be posting to her site for others to use. The design is below, with details omitted. How beyond adorable?!
I also managed to purchase micro the perfect little gingham shortall set for the occasion at 40% off at Bellabliss (use code SPRINGSTYLE)! They have a whole suite of adorable spring styles on sale at this discount here. I am thinking I will finish with his red Natives or Supergas. I few party decor finds I’ve been eyeing for the occasion below…
MIDI BUTTON-UP SHIRTDRESS IN BLACK GINGHAM — LOOKS SO CHIC PAIRED WITH A STATEMENT BELT
HANDWOVEN PICNIC-STYLE CROSSBODY BAG WITH WHITE LEATHER ACCENTS — BOUGHT THIS MYSELF AFTER JESSIE WORE IT AND SAID IT WAS MISTAKEN FOR MARK CROSS SEVERAL TIMES…$36!
CHIC WOVEN BUCKET HAT…ON SALE IN SAGE HERE, OR A SIMILAR LOOK FOR LESS HERE
LASTLY—ONE OF THE MOST UNIQUE PIECES IN MY CLOSET—THIS MULTICOLOR CELIAB TIERED MAXI DRESS WITH TIE-SHOULDER DETAIL
Weekend Musings: Finding Joy in the Middle.
Revisiting a recurring personal mantra today: finding joy in the middle.
It can be anything, really: opening an ice cold can of your favorite flavor of La Croix, sitting for two minutes with no phone on the back patio, digging your favorite pen out of your bag to make a list, pouring a second cup of coffee, snuggling with your child on the floor of your Magnatile-littered family room. A strange personal favorite of late: sitting in my parked car in the driveway of our home after drop-off just to read emails, check Instagram, and sort of gather myself before I transition into “writer Jen” upstairs in my studio.
Life is a rush —
This weekend, going to pause, find, and appreciate the slices of joy that intersperse my day.
P.S. More on the notion that happiness may not be a persistent state of mind but rather little dots of joy along the seams.
Shopping Break.
+Anthro just released this popular dress in a bunch of cute summer/spring patterns.
+Mama and mini Liberty tees. Adorable for Mother’s Day. (More Mother’s Day finds here.)
+A cute Magpie mom emailed asking what her 22 year old daughter should wear to a wedding on a Ranch in Billings. Doen or Reformation were the immediate answers, and this dress from Doen’s new arrivals would be beyond perfect (Doen is just killing it this season – I want this dress too!) as would this Ref!
+Sezane offers customization on their button-downs and tees — how chic?! The tee would be cute with a nickname embroidered on the chest as a gift for yourself or a dear friend or a mama!
+These tortoise cateyes deliver a lot of style for under $13.
+These popular LR platforms have been selling out everywhere, but found pretty good stock in a range of sizes here. Your perfect summer wedding guest / party guest shoe — comfortable, on-trend, work in grass.
+Super attractive folding chairs for beach or backyard.
+Staud has some fabulous statement dresses that are guaranteed to turn heads: this maxi and this cut-out style. The patterns are fantastic!
+Just discovered tabletop boutique Casamia with tons of adorable gifts and home finds, including these CIAO cocktail napkins and this oyster plate.
+My neighbor has been raving about the SPF products from MDSolarSciences and lent me this tube last weekend. I was SO impressed for one main reason: the product really glides onto skin with ease. I find most of my “sticks” and “tubes” do not have as much oil/emollience in them (?) so are a bit more difficult to glide on and rub in. I tend to only use mineral sunscreens but have to say I was impressed.
A quick lil post because The Avenue is currently offering a can’t-miss sale: 40% off their selection of SEA! Items are selling quickly. How cute is this or this for the fourth? (Giving me Aspen summer vacation vibes…Kemo Sabe is calling!). I am personally agonizing over whether or not to splurge on this patchwork coat (seen above!!!) I’ve been eyeing for weeks, and then of course there are these cult-following shorts to contemplate and several adorable statement tops!
I also wanted to mention that two favorite childrenswear brands — Little English and Bellabliss — are having great sales right now (30% off at LE and 40% off BB). I bought my son these shortalls for 40% off and currently have these jammies in my cart for him, too. (I have personally been web-stalking cute summer pajamas for him for two weeks straight now. I keep hoping to find my favorite short pajama sets from Lila and Hayes on sale…will report back when/if discovered. I splurge on many categories of clothing but for some reason am very steely-minded about finding children’s pajamas on sale. I like the super-soft, higher-end brands but am always determined to find them at a price break!)
Oh, and! Those high-waisted Gap shorts we’ve been loving are currently on sale!
AND AND! This popular Staud dress is on sale PLUS an extra 20% off with code LASTCHANCE, as is this gorgeous white dress, also from Staud. The Vincent style is always popular because it works for any stage of life – pregnant, not, nursing, not, a bit fuller than you’d like to be, not. Just a great all around dress.
Mini will be attending a few day camps this summer and it dawned on me that I might need to stock up on things besides smocked dresses – ha. Below, some cute athletic + camp-appropriate outfits for littles! I did want to specifically call out these girls athletic shorts from Funtasia Too, which are a best-seller and tend to sell out in sizes quickly!
LACOSTE POLO // NEW BALANCE SNEAKERS // J. CREW ACTIVE SHORTS // AME + LULU KIDS TENNIS BAG // INITIAL HAT // GINGHAM TENNIS DRESS // STRIPED TECH POLO // CADETS NAVY ATHLETIC SHORTS // YETO WATER BOTTLE // TENNIS DRESS // SUPERGAS // ACTIVE SHIRT (UPF 50!) // J. CREW LILAC ATHLETIC SHORTS // LILAC CANING PRINT SHORTS // KULE TENNIS TEE // BLUE SHORTS // LACOSTE HAT // BLUE RINGER TEE // BLUE GYM SHORTS // GRAY NEW BALANCE SNEAKERS // SLEEVELESS POLO // GOLF SKIRT // PINK NEW BALANCE SNEAKERS // FUNTASIA TOO SHORTS
In my previous life leading teams of “doers” and “makers,” most of whom were designers, product people, writers, editors, and programmers, I thought a lot about what Paul Graham described as “the manager’s schedule” vs “the maker’s schedule.” He wrote:
“The manager’s schedule is for bosses. It’s embodied in the traditional appointment book, with each day cut into one hour intervals. You can block off several hours for a single task if you need to, but by default you change what you’re doing every hour.
When you use time that way, it’s merely a practical problem to meet with someone. Find an open slot in your schedule, book them, and you’re done.
Most powerful people are on the manager’s schedule. It’s the schedule of command. But there’s another way of using time that’s common among people who make things, like programmers and writers. They generally prefer to use time in units of half a day at least. You can’t write or program well in units of an hour. That’s barely enough time to get started.
When you’re operating on the maker’s schedule, meetings are a disaster. A single meeting can blow a whole afternoon, by breaking it into two pieces each too small to do anything hard in.”
His insights were powerful for me, and helped me better manage my team so that members were not hemmed in (or out) by a grid-work of meetings. We tended to have morning “stand-ups” (the trendy start-up patois for “quick, five-minute check-ins,” meant to be conducted while the team is physically standing up to keep things snappy) where we’d each share a top priority for the day, a top challenge we were confronting, and something inspiring us, and then I’d more or less let them go on their way, fastidiously avoiding cutting into their time before at least half a day had passed.
Becoming a parent, working at home alongside my husband, and serving as both manager and maker of Magpie has introduced complexities to this ideal equation. It is rare I have a half-day of time spread out graciously before me with nary an interruption. At a very minimum, I will have texts to answer about the dog barking at the mailman and “what’s for lunch?” from my husband, a son barreling through the door at noon sharp, negotiations with parenting and household responsibilities — and that’s in addition to the exigencies of running Magpie as a business: calls with contractors, technical snafus, emails, accounting matters.
For years I strained against these perceived interruptions. It was maddening to be in the midst of writerly flow and to lose grasp of language against the wailing of my daughter next door or a phone call I’d forgotten about. The words would disappear, pulverized by the gristmill of my personal life and my role as a manager of my own business.
Over time, I have learned to acculturate. I know that 10-12 is the anointed time: children ensconced in school, rarely an urgent text, and never a scheduled phone call in that window. I’m also freshest and most generative in the morning. 10-12 is not half a day, but at this point, I have become so adept at drafting musings of a certain length that I know with confidence that I can usually manage a first draft of something within those two hours and can then revisit from an editorial lens at a later time. And so my writing process has curled, vine-like and accommodating, around the schedule available to me. I have also developed some dexterity with freeze-framing a thought flow before I lose it. If my daughter comes sprinting into my office while I am mid-sentence, I can usually manage to type just enough of the thought in shorthand, spitfire form that I will be able to resume my place once I have addressed my girl, as though I’ve put my finger in a book to return to the correct passage later.
I write all of this for two reasons.
First: where there is a will, there is a way. The creative impulse will always prevail. I am convinced that finding “ideal conditions for creativity” is something of a fool’s errand. Yes, it is good — imperative! — to understand when we are at our best, and under what conditions we prefer to operate, but Elizabeth Gilbert made a provocative point in Big Magic when she said that all artists wish they had more uninterrupted time in which to create, but if they all waited until they had it, we’d have some barren walls and empty bookshelves. I find this line of thinking liberating. Just start the thing — write the thing! — even when the context is less than ideal.
Second: I think that even “managers” need “maker’s time.” I use those parentheses intentionally, as I I believe we are all makers — all creatives! — and that we all need pockets of time (perhaps smaller than half-day units) to think, meander, doodle, conceptualize. The blogger Mattie James wrote last year about the concept of “thinking time.” She’d schedule an hour of time before her children rose each morning to “think,” an act that took on a variety of shapes: “I had the time to think through ideas, and even think about what I would like to ask during a phone call that I had later on that day or week. When I wrote tasks down in my planner, they were much more clear and concise + things that helped me complete a project versus listing a bunch of things that kept me busy.” I followed similar suit in my last job: I’d block off two-hour segments every few days on my calendar with the title: “HEAD DOWN,” and my boss and team always knew that those blocks were sacrosanct. It was dedicated time to put my nose to the grindstone and get “thinking” done. For me, this usually meant drafting outlines, plans, job listings, product requirements, presentations, and what I called “thinkpads” (free-form, draft proposals on various projects and opportunities). Having the time to think and generate some written representation of my thought was essential to me and my role.
Whether you are a stay at home mom, a creative, an entrepreneur, an individual contributor at a business, a manager of other people, an executive, or any combination of those roles, you might consider finding and blocking off a pocket of “thinking time.” This might be before children wake up in the morning or while they nap, or just after lunch every Tuesday and Thursday, or at six P.M., when most of your colleagues have left the office already. It might give you a better grip on the incessant flood of to-dos, or help you make more of your meetings (i.e., by going in with a clear agenda), or achieve the results you want from a phone call more quickly, or simply feel a bit more “in the pocket” heading into a busy week looking after your babies. Or it might do something spectacular, like give you the space to come up with a new idea, or forge a connection you’d not yet divined, or reach a breakthrough in some personal or professional relationship. But the point, I think, is unstructured room to let yourself explore, reflect, create. I think you will be surprised by what that space affords.
+I want to live in this caftan. Would work with bump!
+I’m in the midst of testing a bunch of new products for my “Honest Beauty Reviews” series but wanted to mention I’m REALLY excited to be trying this “nourishing eye balm” after SO many beauty bloggers raved about it. $26!
+I have been seeing this straw bucket hat all over the place. Tempted…
+Gap is just nailing it this season – love this under-$60 flutter sleeve dress.
+My sister and I were just lamenting the fact that so many leggings these days are either in athletic fabrics OR too high-compression. These ribbed ones from BA&SH turned my head after Stephanie raved about them.
+This lip/cheek pigment has been winning lots of awards and rave reviews. Love the colors it comes in!
+I have been so into Doen lately. Love this dress.
+These swim trunks for little boys in the lobster print! Adorable! Sister match here. Perfect for FOJ!
