P.S. Also note that Roller Rabbit has a fantastic promotion — extra 30% off sale prices with code 30FEB, meaning some of their infant pajamas are as low as $13! This is one of my favorite layette brands, but I also have purchased their pajamas for my toddlers and myself.
I recently shared all of my favorite laundering products, and a longtime reader wrote to add a suggestion: Le Blanc’s Linenpress as a major upgrade in the starch department. (We both agreed that Laundress’s formula was underwhelming — and we both love most of the rest of their line.) I also bought a bottle of this rose-scented detergent to use just for our bedding — will continue to use tried-and-true Tide on our clothing. It’s the little things!
+These insulated rain boots have been haunting me. I already have rain boots and two pairs of proper snow boots…but do I need these for the in-between days?! (Sleet?)
+These unfussy clear pencil boxes have come in handy for closet organization — great for batteries, miscellaneous office supplies (clips/staples/etc), floss/toothbrushes, etc.
+Sweet piggy bank for a nursery. Cute gift for a newborn! My best friend gave my daughter a silver piggy bank when she was born and made an initial deposit in it!
I have to admit that I cribbed the title and sentiment of this post from my former boss, who ended all of his emails with a spiriting “Onward!” before signing his dash-offset name. I borrowed the sign-off when I was running my own business, especially in notes to my team, but even in missives to clients and prospective investors. There was something so encouraging and determined about it — momentum! positivity! we will get through this!don’t dwell too long! onward!
I’ve since shifted back to my former “Yours, Jennifer,” which has always struck me as an appealingly old-fashioned way to conclude.
For the entirety of my lates teens and early 20s, though, I signed all of my personal emails with just my initials: JMN (maiden name) and then JMS (once married). I don’t know where I picked this up, but it was so pronounced that a cluster of friends I made while working at Georgetown University Law Center addressed me as “JMN” in real life. (A friend of mine once told me that he had shared my phone number with an inquiring beau, and he’d had to explain why my name was saved as JAYEMEN, the phoneticization of my initials.). I’ve since moved on to a simple “xxx” for loved ones (why miss the opportunity to kiss them?).
One thing I cannot abide in email correspondence? A lack of a salutation! Even in the briefest of exchanges, I find it so abrupt when someone launches into the meat of their message without a quick “Hi!” or “Hello -“
How do you start and sign off your correspondence, business and otherwise? Why? Do any turn you off? Have you ever tried a salutation on for size and regretted it?
+This dress looks so comfortable and chic — though if we’re talking caftans for summer, I’m still holding out hope for investing in one of these splurgey styles from Pippa Holt or La Vie Style House.
Do you consider yourself creative? Under what conditions do you find yourself most creative?
If you answered “no” to the first question, may I politely agree to disagree? In another lifetime, I had the rare opportunity to work with the non-profit wing of the acclaimed design firm IDEO on a social entrepreneurship project in which we set out to design a digital tool to promote financial health among low-income youth on the South side of Chicago. The project was awe-inspiring, humbling, and challenging on many levels, but one ancillary benefit was that no one — no one! not even the stodgy funders of the project! — that directly participated in the work left without thinking, “Hey! I guess I am kind of creative.” IDEO’s team members modeled radical, playful, thoughtful creativity in everything they did, from the way they designed their work sessions (often belaboring the structure and order of operations) to the tools they used to communicate (everything on neon post-its, whose shape and functionality remind us that nothing is permanent, everything can be reconfigured, and that many an opus are composed of tiny, seemingly insignificant scraps of thought). It was one of my greatest professional joys, achievements, and experience to work with them. If you’re feeling as though you need to flex your creative confidence, you might enjoy this brief TED talk by the founder of IDEO, David Kelley. I had all of my team members and interns watch this video as a part of their onboarding experiences, and I used to hold regular IDEO-inspired “design sprints” to problem-solve with my team, often warming up with a whimsical exercise problem, like “imagine a colleague comes to you and says she just cannot get to work on time. Let’s walk through the design process to create a couple possible solutions.” It’s interesting to watch team members conduct interviews, sleuth out the underlying causes for tardiness, and then spin out a range of possible solutions, from a simple fix (like moving the alarm clock across the room so the dilatory party will be required to actually get up in the morning) to technical and complicated (designing an app to predict the precise arrival time of a bus arriving at a bus stop on an given morning).
At any rate, you are creative. Humans are inherently creative! Sometimes we just lack the provocation or tools or context to exercise the muscle. There is a section in mini’s book called Julia, Child that casts adults as “big, busy people who were weighed down with worries, who couldn’t remember the last time they climbed a tree or even rode a bicycle, who never watched cartoons and only read biographies.” A few pages later:
‘”I think the problem is not that the world is filled with too many grown-ups,’ said Simca.
‘The problem,’ said Julia, ‘is that too many grown-ups don’t have the proper ingredients.'”
I was thinking about all of this the other day while reading an interesting New Yorker interview with Michelle Pfeiffer (yes, she’s still around — just choosy) in which she comments: “Even when I was a kid I would go out into the garage and I’d find my dad’s tools, and I’d find an old block of wood and some nails, and some duct tape, and I would create things. I could stay out all day by myself. I made a pair of shoes out of duct tape and cardboard. I was very, very pleased with those shoes. I’ve always been happiest when I’m creating something.”
It’s funny because I write for a living, have run this blog for over a decade, and have always been working on something (including a lot of very bad fiction) — even as a child, well before the frame of this blog or any of my previous professional endeavors provided any sort of public platform for expression. And because of the experience working with IDEO, I have spent quite a bit of time (some might say…a nontrival amount) thinking about creativity in the workplace and how to nurture it across a team. And yet I don’t know that I have ever given any critical thought to myself as a creative, or to the measure of happiness the creative process affords me. Sometimes, writing can actually be painful, whether because I am working through a knob of emotion or stumbling over the right words or — as with fiction — positively overwhelmed and chewed up by the process of it. When I emerge from an afternoon of fiction-writing, I am drained, shell-like. I feel like a cartoon character roughly outlined in gray lead, empty and sketchy around the edges. I don’t love the feeling. But then re-reading what I’ve written later, as I smooth out the contours and tinker with the phrasing and trim the excess fat to which I am cloyingly prone, can be delicious. There is an as-yet-unpublished portion of Maiden’s Choosing that I obsess over — a part where Caroline discovers a branding on Buck’s arm — and I think of it at least five, six times a day. I cannot unsee or unfeel the moment, and I created that moment, and the entire thing blows my mind. How did that fictional moment and the very real energy nested in it come to be? Why has it so captured my imagination, my heart?
I don’t know the hows and whys, but I have a loose approximation of the where: in bed, in that liminal space between awake and sleep, when I drop the figure of Buck or Powell or Caroline or Violet in front of me and wonder what they might do at, say, a black-tie party, or a college date function. I have the broad outlines of the novel in place already, but it’s thinking through their movements and minutaie in very specific frameworks that brings color to the pallor of unborn fiction.
What about you? Where are you most creative?
Post-Scripts.
+If this thread interests you, I have given several friends and colleagues a copy of the book Daily Rituals: How Artists Work. In brief snippets, the author provides small windows into the creative rituals of novelists, poets, playwrights, painters, philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians from George Gershwin to Agatha Christie. Fascinating and mildly voyeuristic, the book makes the case that there is no one effective formula for creative practice.
+I will say, though, that the two most effective habits I have with regards to writing are a) publishing a lot and b) reading a lot. I write every single day, for hours at a time. Early on, I prioritized volume over quality, probably vaguely influenced by Malcolm Gladwell’s Outlier book, in which he makes the case that “ten thousand hours is the magic number of greatness,” but also intuitively understanding that practice makes — well, not perfect, but better. Reading also refines my writing. I spend a lot of time unpacking the mechanics and style of other writers and teasing out what I like versus don’t and why certain elements seem to “work” while others fall flat. Sometimes, it gives me the courage to try something new.
+These are the coolest sneaks on the market for women at the moment. Slightly edgy/sporty, but trust me — downtown cred. Am I crazy or are the denim variations (collab with Levi’s) also kind of cool?
+These jeans have been VERY popular on le blog. Wear like sweats, but look like they have a fashion perspective. Pair with the NBs above and WOW.
Have we all recovered from the rush of buying English Garden nap dresses? Good, because now I have the perfect accoutrement: Nicola Bathie earrings (seen above, while Hill wrangles away from my kisses), conveniently on sale for 25% off with code LOVE from today through 2/16. If you’ve been following along here for awhile, you know I have amassed quite the collection of Nicola earrings (and profiled her as a woman of substance back in the day!)
THESE CAMEOS (I OWN IN BLUE, BUT ALSO CHIC IN PINK OR THIS SMALLER SIZED GREEN) ARE THE PERFECT MATE FOR YOUR NAP DRESS
P.S. Totally different look, but thanks to Emily for turning me onto this chic and inexpensive sweat set. I’m not much of a sweats girl, but the eyelet and the fit turned my head.
Splitting this month’s queries into a series of posts — will get to the next chunk next week! As always, adore your questions and welcome them.
Q: Sneakers! You posted a picture of a woman in New balances the other day that were so chic!
A: Oh yes! I would say Veja and New Balance (seen above) have eclipsed Golden Goose in terms of street cred in NYC — and lucky for us, both brands are a fraction of the price of GGs (which I will continue to happily wear, BTW). My favorite specific styles in those brands are the Veja Rio Brancos and the New Balance 327s.
Q: Classic, kid-friendly dining chairs to go with a black wood dining table.
A: These caught my eye (with the black trim) because in general upholstered chairs are a nightmare with small children. (These are similar — perhaps a bit more architectural/glam — and the fact that the cushion is black would bring me peace. Will not show stains!). That said, we do have and love our upholstered dining chairs — we drape mini’s with a towel at dinner, which is not exactly the chicest look I’ve ever seen. You could always consider the performance fabrics or dark patterns that Ballard Designs has. They have loads of options!
If you’re open to more of a casual look, these S&L chairs are very kid-friendly. You can basically wipe them down with a sponge. Bistro chic!
Q: Cute recycling bin/system.
A: Weird to say, but I love (!) our Simple Human recycler. It’s so well-designed. The metal does not show fingerprints, the pedal enables you to open the top with hands full, and you use liners on one side (for glasses/plastics that often have residue/can drip) and a removable insert on the other (for cardboard). This means when you’re ready to take out the recycling, you just grab the insert by the handle and the trash bag by the drawstring and off you go. Just brilliant!
P.S. This is the perfect thriller to take with you on your ski escape. The final few chapters in particular — I was just grinning ear to ear, eyes wide, breathlessly reading!
A: Congratulations!!! Rachel Pally’s Isa dress has been very popular with many Magpie moms in the past — flattering, simple, can be worn post-pregnancy, and can be dolled up with fun accessories. I would also strongly consider this Sleeper Dress — so gorgeous and works well when nursing! (Also love this style, and comes in great prints that work for baby boy or baby girl!). A simple style like this might also be chic with some major accessories (imagine dolled up with lots of pearls!)
Q: A cute and comfy desk chair that doesn’t break the bank.
A: A reader turned me onto this style (recommended to her by an interior designer) — so chic!
A: No hesitation: this Hunting Season bag (on sale for just under $500). Timeless and SO chic. I also love this Neely & Chloe style, which made my round-up of amazing bags for the season here. If you’re looking for a bigger bag, I have been eyeing this Pam Munson for awhile now!
Q: Baby play mat.
A: For tummy time, this heart-shaped one from Hill House is adorable, and I love all of the items from brand Louelle, including their classic play mat (you can monogram!). For a play surface for slightly older babies, people love these tile foam mats, because you can configure them to whatever space you have. I also still love our Gathre mats — they are not cushioned so not great for tiny babies, but wonderful for messy toddlers!
Q: A keepsake box for a baby boy (to keep mementos, cards, etc).
A: This one is structured, with boxes for specific mementos, and I love the way it fits into a box that you can line up on a bookshelf. (Another similar option here.) For something more free-form, a few pretty attractive treasure boxes:
Q: 2-3″ heeled strappy sandals for a bachelorette weekend in Miami. (Covid-safe!)
A: An investment, but I swear these heels will be in your closet for the rest of your life. Classic, an ideal height, and just so sweet. I own these in a taller heel height and am eyeing in the kitten heel permutation! More on-trend at the moment are the 90s-throwback heels by The Row (on sale) and By Far. The latter comes in such great Miami-friendly colors, but white is a classic!
We’re already forming plans for a few trips to the Hamptons this summer, and of course, my mind is now permanently fixated on the vision of an expansive green lawn and aperol spritzes at four p.m. and watching my children splash around in the pool and living in bare feet and grilling absolutely everything. I often tarry on buying things for myself for future seasons (I want things I can wear now), but I am good at snapping up bathing suits I love as soon as I see them — I just snagged this pink one-piece (seen immediately below) from new-to-me luxury swimwear label Alexandra Miro after Caitlin posted about it (on sale!!!), and this Agua Bendita (second below) is sitting in my cart…
A roundup of favorite suits at all price points for upcoming warm weather:
MY SISTER WORE THIS IN THE HAMPTONS LAST YEAR IN FIRE ENGINE RED AND IT WAS 100 100 100 100 100 — THE BRAND WAS FOUNDED BY A FELLOW PARSONS’ GRAD LIKE HER
Urgent! Today at 12 EST, Hill House’s eagerly-awaited English Garden collection of nap dresses launches. If you are a nap dress fan like myself, you know that these limited edition collections sell out in minutes. I’ve already studied their preview and determined that I need the Nesli style in the green botanical, so I’ll be adding that to my cart as soon as the clock strikes noon.
These dresses are SO comfortable for the evening hours — I have been wearing my three plaid ones constantly this winter. (I layer the Ellie over a black fitted turtleneck.) I think my favorite is this Nesli. So incredibly comfortable, flattering, and cute. I am short (5’0) and petite (under 100 lbs) yet I can wear all of the styles without feeling like I am swallowed alive by the fabric. They are soft enough to sleep in, but I more often than not wear them during the day. I like that the elastic and smocking they use are non-cinching — I never have indentations on my arm from the elastic — and in general adore the midi length (on me, close to ankle-grazing), which is easy to move around in but feminine.
I can’t wait to add the botanical print to my collection! I know I want the Nesli but I am also in love with the Caroline in the white botanical! Might have to splurge…
And speaking of my favorite at-home loungewear, my beloved Birdie’s slippers were just released in two new suede colors. J’adore the taupe gray!
P.S. Of course, the entire English Garden collection is serving up major Bridgerton vibes…but note that they do have a few nap dresses in solid black, so if you’ve been eyeing these but feeling that they are too feminine for your tastes, now’s the chance to pounce.
I recently realized that I have grappled with an unarticulated impression that we are living an alternity right now, an otherness that is “getting in the way of” or somehow distinct from “real life.” How often do I say: “when things get back to normal…” or “whenever this is done…” or “post-COVID…”? And yet, spring has given way to summer, summer to fall, fall to winter, and winter, soon, to spring again. My children sprout with new abilities and awarenesses. Hill’s crawl disappeared into a wobbly totter months ago and now he lays claim to one speed only: a sprint. He loves lions and trucks. He has a preternatural sense for the clock turning 5:30 p.m., as he always rises from his play at that time, hooks his small hand in mind, and leads me to the door of mini’s bedroom so that I can pour him milk as he waits for me to prepare his dinner. Mini returns home from school singing “there was a man who had a dream / his name was Martin Luther King,” and calls “bon soir!” over her shoulder, and informs me that she is “painting a self-portrait” and that “‘bepectacles’ [spectacles] is another word for glasses,” and says, calmly, as I hover listlessly over the dining table speckled with puzzle pieces, abandoning one possible placement, “It’s OK, mama. Just try again.” I run in circles through Central Park, kneel to pray, spend too much money attempting to reverse time through elaborate skincare regimens, read outrageous or beautiful or smeh books, write outrageous or beautiful or smeh things, make the same five or six dinners my children will deign to eat at 5:30 p.m. every evening, laugh at text chains with my siblings, make a mockery of myself dancing to The Freeze Dance Song for the amusement of my children, make eyes at Mr. Magpie at 4:09 p.m. on Saturday afternoons (“but how will we ever get to bedtime?!”), sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem” in the soft darkness of my daughter’s bedroom, tut over the current state of affairs with fellow parents in the school drop-off line, text girlfriends who have just given birth, tamper with the way I organize and conceptualize my day, call my mother while I walk Tilly at 7:15 p.m. — not so much to say anything of specific importance, but because the gesture and connection means everything, belabor dinner delivery options, dodge detritus and unsavoriness on the sidewalks and subways of New York City, watch entire series of television, make small-talk with the doorman, toast to minor successes and celebrations, acquire and manipulate new words, cry on Mr. Magpie’s shoulder from the challenge and stress and over-a-year-long absence of my mother’s arms around me, agonize over parenting decisions, FaceTime siblings and parents and friends, linger over puzzles, restock our pantry and medicine cabinet with alacrity, relish Mr. Magpie’s extraordinary culinary skills, and navigate the bric-a-brac of parenting and the colossal load of household admin, which has somehow only intensified in the wake of this world-stopping, time-bending pandemic.
That is to say – I continue to live my life. The pandemic has constricted its latitude in various ways, but not, as it turns out, in one of the ways that matters most: I still move through my days capable of the same wide spray of emotions. I laugh at Ted Lasso and memes from my sister and mini’s deadpan “was that a duck?” after my son breaks wind; I cry when the son dies in Hamnet and when a girlfriend calls with heartbreaking news and when Mr. Magpie, prompted by a Table Topics for Kids card asking “what is happiness?”, explains to my two small children: “Happiness is finding your perfect match and making her your wife.”
I am not living an alternity, or a rehearsal, or a dressing room. I am living, to quote HRH Mary Oliver, “my one wild and precious life.”
+PSA: Westman Atelier is now carried by Sephora, in case you’re a VIB and want to rack up points there (plus, they currently offer free shipping). I’m obsessed with their foundation stick, blush stick, and highlighter. 10/10 would recommend all three.
+Gorgeous dress — perfect shade of blue, and with a perfectly oversized bow to boot.
+This plaid rain coat is also super cute, though I’m still holding out for a Stutterheim the next time I need a new raincoat.
+Speaking of, there are a bunch of Stutterheim raincoats for men on super sale here in great colors. Contemplating buying the green or brown for my man.
+For children, I love the ones from Petit Bateau and TBBC (these are unlined, so better for warmer months). Gap sometimes has good ones, but not currently. I like the traditional styling of this $30 style from Amazon, too.
I went on a little spring refresh for some basics like bibs (SUCH cute prints; I bought micro the racing car pattern and dinosaurs), cutlery for mini’s lunchbox, and pajamas, and had to share some great Amazon finds for littles in the chicest muted pastel colorway…
I BUY MINI THESE NATIVES IN THE MILK PINK / SHELL WHITE COMBO EVERY SUMMER — LOVE THE SKY BLUE TOO!
P.S. A lot of great Amazon clothing scores for little ones in this post, but let me please highlight this $21 smocked floral top (Liberty-esque). I loved it so much in the pink I had to buy a second color! Very impressed with the quality. So easy to pair with white leggings and a big Wee Ones bow for a traditional-leaning but not-too-precious everyday look.
P.P.P.S. 35% off Valentine’s Day styles at Grace + James Kids with code VALENTINEGJK. This diaper set is so cute, even beyond VDay. I save bundles of money by using these promotions to buy for the next season ahead!
I love (!) pastels. I adore (!!) accents like pearls and bows and jewels. I nearly always choose the patterned over the plain. My brother-in-law handily termed this aesthetic “dressing like a present.”
But I will admit that some days, I’m in an all-black-everything, or black-and-white-only mood and the vibe feels slick. Below, a few picks in white and black minimalism:
