Hill House’s line sheet is below. I am trying my hardest to ignore all of the tartan this go around as I have THREE tartan nap dresses already (one Caroline, one Ellie I love to wear layered over turtlenecks, and one Nesli that is a dream beneath a statement cardigan and I ADORE them all), but goodness does this brand have my number. I think the Caroline in the tartan is a Christmas morning miracle — it is a really soft, brushed cotton that is truly comfortable to wear. (It is so soft and comfortable, I wear this as an actual nightgown, whereas the other nap dresses I tend to reserve for daytime.) I have another poplin Caroline for summertime that I find myself less inclined to reach for, and I’m not sure if that’s because in the summer I’m already hot and it feels like a lot of fabric? Not sure — anyhow, the Caroline in the winter fabrics is where it’s at. So comfortable and perfect to wear with Vibi Venezia slippers (<<on sale with code 25OFF). This would also make a great gift for a stylish mom or MIL, and is also breast-feeding-compatible for a new mama! Truly a great gift for yourself or a loved one. But if you don’t yet have a Nesli or an Ellie in tartan — these are winter classics! I wore them at least once a week all last winter.
This launch, I am heavily tempted by the velvet beauties. I have never owned one of the Akilah style dresses and I’m intrigued by the new Jasmine fit, too — I really think I need one or the other in that burgundy velvet for Thanksgiving, and mini can wear this velvet trim La Coqueta to tie us together, and maybe I can center micro’s look around these burgundy cords? I would swoon to wear this dress with matching, blinged-out velvet Choos.
A couple of other fabulous festive velvet and tartan finds…
Mr. Magpie and I recently re-watched John Hughes’ excellent movie Uncle Buck. There is a hilarious and moving scene in which John Candy, playing the rough-around-the-edges family outcast temporarily charged with the care of his nephew and nieces, is called into the principal’s office. The cantankerous headmistress snarls:
“I see a bad egg when I look at your neice. She is a twiddler, a dreamer, a silly heart, and she is a jabberbox. And frankly I don’t think she takes a thing in her life or in her career as a student seriously.”
John Candy replies: “She’s only six. I don’t want to know a six-year-old who isn’t a dreamer or a silly heart. And I sure don’t want to know one who takes their student career seriously.”
A few days later, I was walking to the garage en route to school — me in my mildly harried state, running through mental checklists, patting my pocket for mask and keys — when mini paused at the landing to pick up a stray piece of sidewalk chalk and draw her name onto the flagstone. There is so little give in our morning routine, I had to bite my tongue to prevent myself from instinctively issuing a cease-and-desist order. Here is my silly heart, I thought, grateful to Uncle Buck for the intercession.
Sometimes my children are a great reminder of the beauty of the impromptu. They reassure me that it is OK to be distracted and enchanted by opportunity, to chase the artistic impulse to its quicksilver ends. Art, like play, resists a plan. It can run amok or glide brook-like along its own grooves. Since the start of the pandemic, I have been an enormous proponent of sensory play in part because it is an urgent admonition on this truth. (And it has doubled as an inexpensive, open-ended, indoor preoccupation for my often-cooped-up children.) I mean this non-disparagingly, because I was once of this camp, but I often have friends and family members puzzle over the sensory bins I put together for my children: “but what do they do with them?” Once, a little girl came by to play and stood in bewilderment over the bin of dyed rice with little wooden scoops and toys nestled inside. “Where are the instructions?” she asked. But after she had been informed that “anything went,” she dug her palms right in and engaged.
Play comes naturally to children. They seem to intuitively grasp that nothing needs to be “finished” or “accomplished.” Imagined cupcakes can become mountains for tiny toys to ascend. A spray of spilled rice becomes lava. Narratives can change tack on a dime with the introduction of new characters or the bubbling-up of recent experiences that express themselves in imaginative play: I often overhear my daughter parroting recent real-life conversations and excursions through the mouthpieces of Legos and Polly Pockets and those tiny plastic animals that are constantly underfoot. Stories need not end tidily. In fact, more often than not, they conclude abruptly, with the shrugging chuck of a stuffed animal onto a couch, deserted in favor of a puzzle, or a book, or that bent slinky that appears to have nine lives. (I have sneakily thrown it into the garbage at least four times. No belonging is safe when the children are preoccupied. Are there any other parents who are routinely chastised for throwing “treasures” into the garbage?)
Somewhere between the age of eight and now, my own instinct for play gave way to a steely focus on schedules, rules, completions. Nearly every minute accounted for. No dangling participles. Never a late fee. Checklists. I am too much a pragmatist to say that this transformation is entirely for the worse. As an adult, I have responsibilities and I take pride in tending to those with care and determination. These things must happen for life to unfold without too much daily turbulence. (Please do not get me started, though, on the agony of dealing with any aspect of healthcare. I have lost weeks of my life sorting through forms, calling insurance companies, seeking the transfer of medical records, scheduling appointments. I swear I spend at least an hour of each week on this category of “home admin” alone. But it is done, and every t is crossed and every i is dotted, because I need my children to receive excellent medical care.)
And yet I stood there and admired my twiddler, my silly heart, lifted by the creative tailwinds of being a four-year-old. I felt pulled in multiple directions. Was it enough to simply stand there, quietly condoning her urge to draw in the face of looming school drop-off? Should I have picked up a piece of chalk myself and drawn along side her? These queries ran against the grain. We are always on time as a family, and this matters to me because my parents and parents-in-law instilled the fear of God in me on this matter, and I am determined to establish the same for my children. It is a respect thing. I have already lost track of the number of times I have told my daughter, “We have to be on time because we made a commitment to be there. X and Y are waiting for us, and it’s the respectful thing to do.” But maybe sometimes it is OK to be late in service of a different message. “No no,” — the practical parenting voice chimed in — “If you do this once, you’ll have to fight a daily battle on this front.” That voice tends to know what’s what, conditioned by years of parenting missteps. I have forgotten mini’s lunch at home all of once in her entire career as a student (two and a half years), and yet mini brings up this episode of oversight close to weekly. “Remember the time you forgot my lunch?” she asks, peering at me. I know enough to realize that this is in some ways an inverted compliment. I am so organized that one omission out of two and a half years is a glaring novelty. But still — something inside insisted that drawing now would tee us up for a string of daily battles on the subject of whether she can “draw one more thing.”
Oh, the thousands of daily internal sagas over matters willowy in certain lights and wooden in others. It can sometimes feel like the daily stuff of parenting is perilously high-stakes, with every gesture and omission and conversation sprouting either tendrils or roots, and you never know which. Will mini remember the time I lost my patience with her while attempting to leave a birthday party or the stretch we spent playing with tiny astronauts floating in islands of bubbles in her bath after?
I started this post reminding myself to make room for the mercury of play, and I am ending it wondering how to accommodate that impulse in the face of real-life exigencies and the titan task of rearing a child who is kind and considerate and happy. Fittingly, then, I have no grand conclusions, just openness to the now-thrilling, now-unnerving carousel of parenthood.
+I have been using this body lotion for years and years. It is an automatic re-buy. I love the fresh scent and consistency. Just gave it to my MIL as one of her birthday gifts!
+This fab dress that sold out in like 2 seconds is back in blue! So chic!
+As you know, I love Little English’s turtlenecks for micro — all of them ship free this week with code TURTLENECK.
+J. Crew has some fun new arrivals — how great are these sherpa clogs and this perfect cableknit cardigan?
+Chic lug-sole boots for your stylish mini. Speaking of cute footwear for littles, I find Gap’s shoes to be of dubious quality but if you’re OK with having them worn for a season (and then they’re worn through!), I bought mini these and they are absolutely adorable on her.
Net-A-Porter is offering 25% off a ton of current-season beauties with code 25OFF! (By the way, I usually share these kinds of sale scores on Instagram / Like to Know It earlier than I share here and more in real time! For example, you can shop the collage below here. Just in case you’re interested!)
P.S. Such a good reminder for me: “Whether consciously or subconsciously, we are always sending out something–whether that be rays of kindness, ripples of impatience, or riptides of frustration. The way we carry ourselves, the nature of our responses to others, and the way we speak, think, and act are all emitting something.”
There is a wonderful passage in Madeline Miller’s Circe where the protagonist arrives on Aiaia, the island of her exile, and undertakes gradual self-study in pharmakeia, the art of mixing potions and poisons, elsewhere interpreted as witchcraft. She errs, she grows frustrated, but she learns and even develops the self-awareness to realize that she is particularly adept at transformations. Despite the ominous and idiosyncratic conditions of her isolation, the shape she cuts in this passage reads familiar: she is an artist crafting her skill in solitude. She is beyond the gaze, able to hone through unannotated trial and error, responding only to the materials and her assessment of her own work. Though she tried her hand at a few “spells” previously, it is only when she is profoundly alone that something swells inside of her: “No wonder I have been so slow, I thought. All this while I have been a weaver without wool, a ship without the sea.“
The passage left me in thought. Do we produce our best work in isolation or in conversation?
I had to think on this, and specifically what I meant by “my best work.” What is my best work? Instinctually, I thought less about my favorite essays or the ones that have received the most positive feedback and more about the near-physical experience of production, which, as a writer, I can only describe as something akin to “mouthfeel.” When I am at my best, the writing feels “full-bodied.” It is round, textured, tinted such that it is difficult to suss out the exact hue. A designer once said that, in a well-appointed home, you shouldn’t be able to describe the paint colors easily: it should never feel like “a green room” but rather “a greenish-gray-brown room? with a little hint of yellow maybe?” I feel that way about good writing, too — it should evoke and surprise rather than tell. Of course, I rarely achieve such heights. But when I am in a good flow, the shade of the writing suffuses rather than covers uniformly. And when do I find myself in that flow?
I am always physically alone when writing, but my best work nearly invariably arrives on the heels of great conversation with minds greater than my own, and often that conversation transpires on a page of my Kindle. Good reading makes for good writing. But am I therefore still technically “alone”? After all, the “conversation” is metaphorical and imagined, no matter how well the table has been set. Or does the dialectical nature of interacting with the thoughts of others mean I am not alone? Setting the metaphysical aside, is it impudent to consider the works of others as “materials”? They inform and inspire and occasionally I pluck little feathers and twigs and gems from their finery for my own use. Sometimes that bric a brac is refinished, boiled down and alchemized, but sometimes it is simply re-set in my own nest. Recently, I came across the word “ebenezer” (or “stone of aid”) in someone else’s work and I immediately brought it home and cultivated an entire essay around it. It was a stone gathering moss, the entire piece spooling out from that one filched word.
So maybe I am like Circe in exile after all? Maybe the best work is born of low-stakes, isolated tinkering. Whether you consider yourself a creative or not, what do you think? When do you produce your best work, whether that’s cooking, parenting, speaking in public, knitting, rowing, leading a team?
+This book was a really, really rough go. It was so emotionally trying!
Shopping Break.
+Sperry winter boots on sale in two fab colors: this ivory and this on-trend burgundy!
+My favorite navy suede drivers are on sale for 30% off. I know I’ve talked your ear off about these, but they are so fab with everything. They also just released the shoes in this new tweed material! Honestly, Talbots does really good shoes. I just spotted these fab kitten heels for holiday and I can’t decide if I love these boots more in the black faux fur or the fun shearling!
+Just ordered mini this turtleneck in the blush stripe.
+Is this NOT the chicest office chair you’ve ever seen?! OMG. Can’t believe the price either. I am still adoring my Laura Davidson one, though, which is SUPER comfortable and sleek.
+Micro has been wearing a sherpa vest over his outfits a lot lately and it’s gotten a lot of questions via Instagram — it’s from Uniqlo last year, and they no longer carry it, but this one is very similar (and also under $20).
+Super random re-assertion that I am obsessed with my Billie razor subscription. Personally, I don’t think it’s necessarily superior to any other razor I’ve ever used, but I can’t believe how much I LOVE the subscription model for this utility item. I never have to think about buying new blades – they just arrive in the mail, and are reasonably priced. I also really like the little magnetic stand that attaches the razor so it doesn’t get all goopy and stuck on your shelf!
+Adore the color of these placemats for a fall OR holiday table — more picks here.
+This chic sweater reminds me of a much more expensive style from Khaite.
+Adore the tartan from Natalie’s new collaboration with Buru — this mini and this (reversible!) skirt are too cute for fall. Love the way they styled these pieces with fitted navy turtlenecks, too (will also work well beneath the tartan Hill House nap dresses launching tomorrow). And your little ones can match, too!
+This navy blouse is SO good for a slightly festive vibe (25% off!)
+Love this puffer for a little boy — currently 40% off! — especially in that fun red.
+I LOVE this sweater for holiday layering, and it is currently $50 off with code SAVENOW. And this similar one is also on sale!
+Love to keep little things like this in my closet/bag for when the kids need a distraction.
By: Jen Shoop
I stumbled upon a trove of fabulous festive pieces from Cinq a Sept at Off Fifth and had to share (styled below with some favorite current-season finds) —
Running some gift guides a bit early this year owing to the gloom and doom surrounding shipping delays (my MIL ordered my children’s Christmas gifts already!), but also, if it feels too early to be thinking about the holidays, rest easy: everything on this list is simply something I love and either already own or am planning to purchase myself.
With an eye towards practicality, the vast majority of the items on this list are under $150, with most under $100. I am especially excited about the chic/modern fountain pen which I know is what I will buy for at least three members of my family this year if I draw them in our Pollyanna Christmas arrangement.
+HEDLEY AND BENNETT APRON. I bought Mr. Magpie one of these for Christmas last year and he wears it every time he cooks! We are buying one for my father-in-law this year, too — these are beautifully-made and highly functional. (We were running into an issue with Mr. Magpie routinely destroying his clothes with oil splatter.) Fantastic for any serious cook in your life!
+ARTISANAL MARBLE MORTAR AND PESTLE. I have my eye on one of the gorgeous Italian mortar and pestles from this Etsy shop for Mr. Magpie. He cracked our ceramic mortar and pestle a few weeks ago while angrily making pesto (hot take: Mr. Magpie doesn’t love pesto) and I’ve since learned that Serious Eats recommends “stone such as marble or granite is strong, dense, and unyielding, giving you a powerful surface against which to crush things; it’s also not nearly as brittle as ceramic, meaning you can really drive some force into it without worrying that the material will crack or chip.”
+HAND-MADE CHEESE GRATER. We bought this beautiful cheese-grater last year with the specific intent of finding an implement that would yield small, pebble-like gratings of parm to layer on top of pizza, soup, certain pastas. Sometimes you want those whispy fibers of the microplane variety, but sometimes you want the old-school style.
+FELLOW GOOSENECK ELECTRIC KETTLE. For fellow coffee snobs, this kettle has the most beautiful modern design, and is an essential part of the perfect pour over.
+MAUVIEL COPPER BOWL. We are slowly acquiring Mauviel pieces over time — they are pricey but a delight to cook with — and this bowl would be wonderful for some of the more erudite preparations where you need to whisk something over simmering water. It’s also straight-up beautiful and I would absolutely serve up a salad in this!
+OLIVE OIL CRUET. Also on my list for Mr. Magpie this year — such a cool design. Maybe pair with wonderful olive oil from Eataly.
+STAINLESS STEEL TUMBLERS. Are you kidding me?! SO CHIC. I absolutely need these in our cocktail repertoire!
FOR A FASHIONISTA.
+KULE STRIPED TURTLENECK. The cut, the color, the styling, the brand — this is the kind of piece that will totally tickle a fellow fashion-lover, and will wind up with a surprising amount of play in her wardrobe. Don’t be startled if you receive a note a few months after the holiday with: “I can’t believe how much I wear this…”
+LAKE PAJAMAS NIGHTGOWN. I will be ordering this to wear on Christmas morning. Adore the stripes, the flounce at the hem, the length of the sleeve! Reminds me for some reason of what Clara from the Nutcracker would wear in 2021.
+VIBI VENEZIA SLIPPERS. I own and am obsessed with pairing these with fall/winter dresses. This is kind of a personal buy, best for sisters/mothers/close friends whose style you really know. But MAN! Will she be excited.
+THIS CROPPED CASHMERE CARDIGAN. In my cart in that unique brown color — but the linen color would probably be the crowd-pleasing pick.
+THESE SHERPA GLOVES. Just so fun and fashion-forward.
+ASHA WRAP BRACELET. I just adore these. So chic with a white tee and jeans.
FOR THE COLLECTOR.
+ELEGANT STATIONERY. I can’t get over the calligraphy! I absolutely need a set for myself.
+MAJOLICA OYSTER PLATE OR ASPARAGUS PLATE. I gave my MIL one of these vintages oyster plates years ago and she was overjoyed! I think it was the best gift I’ve ever given her — she collects them!
+VINTAGE STERLING FISH SERVING SET. My mother has occasionally surprised me with vintage silver serving pieces and I absolutely treasure them, especially in those more unusual shapes, i.e., tomato server, fish servers, etc.
+HEREND BUNNIES. A classic knick-knack. I gave my mom one of these Herend baby shoes after she came out to look after me and my baby girl — my mother has one for each of her children and I thought it would be special to add to her collection.
+A MEANINGFUL CHARM FOR HER CHARM BRACELET. I have a charm bracelet, and so do my MIL and several girlfriends — such a special gesture to add to the bracelet with a unique charm with personal meaning, whether a car (road trip memories!), a moses basket (new grandmother/mother!), or something whimsical like a toaster (we love brunch!)
FOR THE BEAUTY LOVER.
+WESTMAN ATELIER BEAUTY STICK SET. I am SO excited they’ve released this trio in smaller sizes. Such a spectacular gift, or a lovely way to test a few colors yourself.
+WHITE ELEPHANT PERSONALIZED TOILETRY POUCH. I absolutely love these, and love that you can give them as a set or just in one or the other size. They are beautifully made and come in such great colors.
+CLARINS FACE MASK. I love this more each time I use it, which is saying a lot, because I have been using it 1-2x a week for the last few months. It is unlike anything I’ve ever used before — I didn’t even know I sometimes have a puffy face, and this chisels away your jawline. It is SO good.
IDIOSYNCRATIC.
+Beautiful writing implements afford such flair. My mom gave Mr. Magpie a beautiful pen (I think it was Montblanc) for Christmas years ago and he uses it daily. I have my eye on these cool Kaweco fountain pens (you have to use cartridges, FYI). I used fountain pens when I studied abroad in France. So fun and chic to write with. Can you imagine sitting at your next meeting or signing your next check with this in hand?
+Possibly bundle the pen above with a personalized notepad like this or this?
+For an athlete — especially a runner! — I cannot rave enough about this base layer. It is featherweight and surprisingly soft given that it’s a merino-blend, but it holds in so much heat on the coolest of days! OBSESSED.
+Beanie-making kit. Such a cute idea for a novice knitting enthusiast.
+Evil eye necklace — you know which woman in your life will leap at the chance to wear one of these. Alternately, this mama necklace, which I own and wear daily. The perfect layering piece and under $50.
+Watercolor matchbook prints. Furbish has such a fun collection — pick a place of shared memories or interest, like Aspen or The Plaza. I feel like this would be really special to give a close girlfriend or sister.
+This rosary bead bracelet makes such a lovely gift for a woman of prayer. I gave one to my mom, who prays the rosary daily on her morning walk.
+Ceramic garden planters. These are on my mind for my MIL or Mr. Magpie.
+Sorel coffee run slippers. I had to order these for myself. Their name says it all — the perfect thing to slip into when you need to run the trash cans to the curb or sneak into your favorite coffee shop for a latte in big sunglasses.
+Embroidered mama tshirt. This is a piece that isn’t for every lady in your life, but you know the one who will TOTALLY love it. My sister would adore this!
+Zafferano champagne coupes. I have to tell you. I own these and they bring me a tremendous amount of joy. What could be happier than opening up a delicious cava on a Wednesday night and enjoying them in a fabulous coupe?! I can’t even. I share these a lot on Instagram and they always fetch inquiries — where are they from?!!? You need these. Or your girlfriend does. Or both of you do.
P.P.S. Some early holiday decor finds here. Special ornaments always make a fun gift!
P.P.P.S. This prayer brings tears to my eyes every Thanksgiving. I know many of you have adopted it in your own homes. So special.
By: Jen Shoop
I cannot get enough corduroy this season. It started with this headband and this dress and now I can’t seem to get enough…a few fab corduroy finds below:
THESE NAVY CORDS ARE ON-TREND + WOULD LOOK FAB WITH A STATEMENT BLOUSE LIKE THIS, THIS, OR THIS
ALSO LOVE THEIR WIDE LEG STYLE IN THE BROWN — LOFT IS REALLY NAILING THE TRENDS THIS SEASON! — AGAIN WOULD PAIR WITH A STATEMENT/FASHION-FORWARD BLOUSE
And some darling cord finds for little ones:
THIS PAPER-BAG-WAIST SKIRT (BOUGHT FOR MINI!) TO WEAR WITH A CUTE BLOUSE AND CARDI
I did a big shop for micro this week and shared almost every single recent purchase (plus sizing details) here. I will be sharing a roundup of mini’s big fall purchases this upcoming week, but I did order several pieces from Cecil and Lou that just arrived and are beyond adorable, including this dress for a few Halloween festivities we have coming up and this adorable gingham. (Her favorite color is blue.)
I’m planning on ordering my children’s Thanksgiving outfits this weekend and I am having an uncharacteristically difficult time deciding for mini between this La Coqueta (currently on sale!!), which is calling my name because I have been thinking I will wear burgundy (possibly one of the new burgundy velvet nap dresses launching next week? — check out the line sheet here), but I also love this mulberry plaid style, which would look adorable with these velvet bow shoes. Decisions, decisions!
You’re Soooo Popular: Le Transitional Dress.
The most popular items on le blog this week:
+This gathered poplin sleeveless dress, which could be worn with a turtleneck beneath or a cardi over to accommodate fall.
+Two mini boxwood wreaths for $16 — I love tying these off with black and white striped grosgrain and hanging in windows!
I recently had dinner with a girlfriend who is a mother to three young children and, at some point in the conversation, she shared, vulnerably, that she felt she’d lost her sense of identity in recent years. As a teen, she was an athlete; as a young woman, she was motivated by career and various other hobbies that have since taken a back-seat to the minutiae of raising a troop of little ones. “Sometimes I stop and wonder, just, who am I?”
I so understood what she meant. It’s not only that the logistics of motherhood have often led me to let go of former pastimes that have shaped my sense of self, but that I have also sometimes faltered in my confidence as a mother in ways that have made me feel less certain about who am I in a greater sense. I have occasionally been beleaguered by questions of: “Oh, so and so uses this parenting philosophy — shouldn’t I?” and “Oh, I haven’t yet enrolled my children in x activity, but everyone else has — chop, chop!” and “I don’t know how that family is able to do xyz with their children when it seems impossible for me to do the same — what am I doing wrong?” Or sometimes I find myself wondering if I am being too strict or too lax, and what that means about me? E.g., am I overbearing in certain areas? Am I not assertive enough in others? These questions of parenting then lead to a strange pause in the looking glass. Who is that woman? What kind of mother is she?
My tenure as a parent has afforded new purchases in confidence. I feel increasingly self-assured in my decision-making because I have seen things work, or not work, or have tinkered, or have simply made peace with compromise. As an example, I used to positively cringe when other moms would ask about my children’s sleep schedules. I felt I was doing the wrong thing by not sleep training them, but I also had a maternal intuition that overrode those concerns. When mini was young, one of my friends told me, squarely: “You really need to let her cry it out.” She said this with love and concern, as I was going on eight months without a single night of uninterrupted sleep, and I do wonder sometimes if she was right to come at me with the tough love — yet at that moment, I just felt crestfallen at her disapproval. Still, I did not sleep train. With micro, I found myself better equipped to just say something self-deprecating but firm and move on. Two weeks ago, I was chatting with a mom at a playdate, and she mentioned both of her children were terrible sleepers and asked for advice. I just squeezed her hand. “Don’t ask me,” I said, “Neither of my children slept through the night until they were around a year. But it was just what felt right to me at the time.” We sighed in companionship. I don’t know whether it was the solidarity or the fact that I felt I had finally, truly owned my own decision-making while also acknowledging that it was imperfect and probably not well-suited to anyone else, but I felt reassured. I own my decisions.
This doesn’t fully get at what my friend was sharing at dinner the other night, but in writing the previous paragraphs, it occurred to me that matrescence is maybe more of a protracted transformation than I first thought, and perhaps that’s a useful insight. Maybe “becoming a mother” is not something that transpires the day you give birth, but something that unfolds for years and years as you gradually relax into who you are as a parent. Come to think of it, maybe you never fully relax into a given “parent posture” anyway. Maybe matrescence is more about continuous evolution than it is a one-step conversion.
In any case, I came across this quote from Shel Silverstein this past week and it felt appropriate to the conversation:
I was reminded of some of my musings from years ago on this subject, where I wrote: “Don’t let your motherliness sit as a counterbalance to yourself. By that I mean that motherhood is a part of me — not another version of me, and also not all of me.” Easier said than done sometimes.
Post-Scripts.
+Fun Van Cleef-inspired hair slides at a great price.
+Fun activity for little ones to tuck away for a rainy day. I recently restocked my cabinet for these kinds of occasions with a new box of duplos, astronaut figurines for sensory play, and of course puffy stickers.
+How spectacular is the calligraphy on these personalized notecards?
+Some new items added to J. Crew’s already epic sale, including this turtleneck poncho (love these for cool fall days) and these twill joggers. I still think these classic cardigans in heathered pink and blue for only $12 for little girls are the best bargain on the site — such good colors, and stocked in all sizes! You can get an extra 20% off if you’re a cardholder with code CARDLOVE, making them around $10!
+OO yes this velvet faux wrap dress in the burgundy.
We compiled all Magpie recipes into beautiful cards for your kitchen! Get the recipe card collection in your inbox here.
I wrote recently about how much Mr. Magpie and I love copper cookware. It is pricey, but it conducts heat beautifully and more nimbly* than other metals, like cast-iron. (There is a long article about the pros and cons of copper here, but the takeaway for me was: “It heats quickly and evenly, but it loses that heat just as fast. This responsiveness gives it a nimbleness and agility that can be very useful for delicate proteins like fish and seafood, as well as sauces, caramel, and chocolate—remove a copper saucepan holding a delicate sauce from the heat and its temperature will drop rapidly, reducing the chances the sauce overcooks or breaks from exposure to the retained heat in the metal.”) Plus, I just I love the look, which instantly transports me to a traditional French kitchen, a look I’ve always loved.
Below, how to borrow from the vibe in your own home…
SPOOL OF BUTCHER’S TWINE — WE HAVE THIS AND THE BLADE ON THE TOP MAKES IT SO EASY TO USE ONE-HANDED, WHICH IS SOMEHOW ALWAYS HOW IT ENDS UP HAPPENING…ONE HAND COVERED IN MEAT JUICE!
P.P.P.S. An addictive snack for your family’s next game night / cards night. Also good for Sunday football!
By: Jen Shoop
We are still catching up on “Only Murders in the Building” (initial thoughts here), and some of the more recent episodes brought to mind a graduate school class on 20th century literature led by a bright professor with an obvious soft spot for Jorge Luis Borges, Vladimir Nabokov, and magic realism as a concept. I remember on occasion this professor would find himself so enthralled in unwinding a section of Borges that it was as if the entire class disappeared around him. We’d play audience to his soliloquies about wordplay, interrogating the seams between fantasy and reality, direct engagement with the reader, metafiction–all the hallmarks of that sub-canon. His reverence won me over and, for a time, I considered texts from that era the apex of the esoteric. Drafting off of that half-formed opinion, I forced my book club at the time — comprised nearly entirely of UVA friends that had since shuttled into promisingly sturdy careers in government consulting, finance, politics, etc. — to read “Waiting for Godot,” which is in some way an extreme extension of — or at least cousin to — that period of writing, and I did it because I was eager to seem intelligent at the time, as I grappled with my own insecurities over my chosen academic path and realized how seemingly flimsy and insubstantial my peers perceived it to be. (“But what will you do with a degree in English?!”) Everyone read it, hated it, and arrived at our convening with glazed-over eyes, myself included. I have since thought back on those works — with the exception of Nabokov’s — and shuddered a bit. They feel overwrought, cloyingly self-aware, too wrapped-up in the intellectual coterie of the time to stand on their own legs. Those books are like riddles for the academically anointed. They are outposts of theory. It is as though Beckett said, “OK, someone’s gotta write this book to chase this theory to its absolute extreme. I guess I’ll do it.”
Watching “Only Murders in the Building,” I detect some of the high-brow strategies from my erstwhile preferred literary cadre. The show appears to me an elaborate interrogation of the conditions of artistic production, which is not far afield from some of the meat of Nabokov, Borges, etc. But I find myself receiving the show and its strategies differently. There are heavy-handed parts (I am thinking of the episode deliberately devoid of dialogue, which, about five minutes in, led to a conversation with Mr. Magpie about whether or not Aziz Ansari had already “done” the gambit in the entirely silent 8-minute capsule episode from “Master of None”), but I find the techniques winningly paired with the show’s unexpected warmth. It is almost impossible not to love Steve Martin. And any show that invokes Hardy Boys in earnest, without any seeming kitsch or cutesiness, has my admiration. Beyond that, Selena Gomez! I can’t figure out what to make of her, but her implicit “coolness” feels like a bridge to something. I can’t tell whether I am impressed that Steve Martin and Martin Short chose to work with her, or vice versa, but either way, there is something highly grounding about the pairing, as if Martin/Short anchor Gomez in an old-school, highly-regarded Hollywood tradition, and Gomez lends her millennial imprimatur to their cheesiness and occasionally outmoded routines. And so even the overwrought bits feel to me like genuine creativity, and I can nearly imagine them sitting around giddily imagining an episode with no dialogue. “How we will achieve it?” “Scrabble!” “Tiptoeing through a crypt!” “A deaf character!” Aha!
And truly is there anything more delightful than bearing witness to genuine enthusiasm? (“Ted Lasso” reminded me of this, which in turn reminded me of the time Mr. Magpie and I went to a performance of “Oklahoma” at the Arena Stage with my parents, and, halfway through, during the most cabaret rendition of “Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” Mr. Magpie nudged me to look at my mother, who was sitting, entranced, with the most delighted expression of enjoyment on her face! That was a major “Ice Cream” moment, and we talk about it frequently in our house. “Elaine at Oklahoma!” we say, shorthand for “a moment of guileless enjoyment.”)
Over-reading is an old habit that dies hard, and so it is possible I am making too much of this lark of a show, but I find it so refreshingly unlike anything I’ve seen lately that I can’t help myself!
+On feeling desperate, in my younger years, to appear discerning.
+Despite my implied jabs, Nabokov is truly in a category of his own, and one of his masterpieces made my list of “10 Books that Will Change Your Life.”
+Love the way this sweater vest is styled with a white blouse and denim! SO chic!
+While you’re at Anthro, note that they are offering an extra 30% off their sale items, including this cute navy gingham mini (I would pair with those navy drivers and a cableknit around my shoulders!), this fun Farm Rio (under $100 with code), this embellished navy top (perfect for holidays!), and this Solid + Striped one-piece for your winter getaway.
+Tis cardigan season, and this is a really good one, in both colorways.
+A heads up that this this brand-new Westman Atelier petite face stick set will be in my gift guide this year — such a fab gift for a sister/girlfriend/mom who enjoys cosmetics! Also a great idea if you want to test a few products without investing in full-sized variations!
+These olive green cord overalls are in my cart! Your little one can twin with you.
+This bee knocker would be such a chic upgrade to your front door.
+In my cart for mini — I love to give my children holiday-themed books! (And this under-$4 Halloween book will arrive quickly via Prime if you’re still looking for something for your littles ASAP. It’s been one of mini’s favorites this season!)
+Lots of other Halloween finds here, many still available on Amazon Prime with quick delivery! I am hosting a little Halloween parade the day before Halloween for my UVA girlfriends and their little ones, so I just recently ordered a few items for the occasion, and everything arrived really quickly:
THIS WIPEABLE GINGHAM TABLECLOTH TO USE FOR A CUPCAKE-DECORATING STATION
THIS INEXPENSIVE BAG OF FAVORS IS PERFECT FOR PUTTING IN THE HALLOWEEN SENSORY RICE BIN I MADE (I DYED RICE PURPLE, ORANGE, AND GREEN — LITTLE ONES LOVE PLAYING IN THESE BINS WITH LITTLE BOWLS, SHOVELS, AND TOYS…MORE SENSORY PLAY IDEAS HERE)
+I ordered the rest of my party supplies on Etsy from ThePartyDarling, which — if you place an order today — will still arrive before Halloween!
+I’m busy convincing myself I don’t need this sweatshirt…but…
+A beanie is a great gift for a dude. What man doesn’t look great in one? I keep thinking of a question from a Magpie reader last year, who asked for help finding “a beanie that won’t make my husband look like a bank robber.” Haha! I think this one fits the bill because of the cableknit detail 😉
+Also eyeing the turtleneck sweatshirt for my man.
+Super sad these pants in chic pink are sold out in my size — currently on sale for under $20!
+Eyeing these sherpa robes and these slippers for my littles this cool weather season.
+One of my longtime favorite art supplies for little hands. Easy enough for tiny ones (micro started using these around 18 months) and just FUN for older ones. Great for making posters or rolling out a huge piece of kraft paper on the ground. So fun!
Oo! A few incredible deals on ultra-classic pieces from J. Crew when you get an extra 60% off already reduced prices with code GOBIG. Cardholders get an extra 20% off with code CARDLOVE.
HAVE BEEN GETTING SO MUCH USE OUT OF MY JACKIE CARDI IN NAVY THIS FALL!
AND FOR YOUR MINI — THESE CARDIGANS IN HEATHER PINK AND BLUE ARE ONLY $13 WITH CODE!
NOT QUITE AS STEEP A DISCOUNT, BUT THIS OF-THE-SEASON HALF-ZIP IS 40% OFF!
Also: these absolutely adorable reversible vests for babies are under $15 and one side is floral OMG. I wish they made this in mini’s size! These are so cute they almost deserve their own post!
P.S. Favorite recent finds from Madewell, Loft, and H&M and notes on how to mix and match these pieces with higher end investments.
Burgundy and brown are two of my favorite colors this season. I already shared a host of chic burgundy pieces here, so thought I’d share some fabulous chocolate brown pieces, too. I especially love this color paired with warm ivory.
P.P.S. Favorite cool weather accessories — you all are especially loving these earrings, these navy drivers, and this navy headband, all in my closet, too.
