First — starting at 10 a.m. today (in just a few minutes from when this post is published), Lake Pajamas is running one of its rare sales. If there is something you’ve been eyeing — maternity pajamas, robe, kids jammies, I would jump on at 10 a.m. to see if it’s been discounted and move fast. I’ve never been able to score a pair of their children’s pajamas in the sizes I want when on sale because they go so quickly. If discounted, going to try to snag this pair for micro!
Second — wow, just tumbled down a shopping hole ogling at the spectacular designer dresses on sale at Matches. So many of these are smashing for spring affairs and summer weddings!
Easter is several weeks away (Sunday, April 4th), but as today is Ash Wednesday and this past year has taught me to plan well ahead (especially on likely-to-sell-out items like themed pajamas, or pieces I want to personalize, or items that take awhile to ship), I’m sharing some of my recent finds for the occasion in this post and in this section of my shop.
I have already ordered this Kid Made Modern Easter Craft Kit, as they take some time to ship and this will be a perfect activity for mid-March, as we gear up for the holiday. I’m also already building another cart at Michael’s with goodies like this little bunny craft set — I like to keep items along these lines on hand in the closet for these slow weekend afternoons…
Easter Baskets.
LOVE THE CLASSIC LOOK OF THIS BASKET WITH ITS ELEGANT SCALLOPED LINERS
*I find this book outrageously boring but my children love it. I gave it to mini for Easter last year, and something about the rhyme and illustrations of this series are very attractive to young children!
“During this pandemic, there are moms who — whether because they were sold out everywhere within walking distance or couldn’t afford them — have had to diaper their newborns in plastic bags and washcloths.”
That was all I needed to hear to double down on my commitment to The Good+ Foundation, a non-profit that provides diapers, cribs, and other essential baby gear to families in need. In the past year, Good+ has distributed over 4M (!!!) diapers and $11M (!!!!) in tangible goods to new parents facing tough times made only tougher by this pandemic.
I’ve written about this best-of-breed organization before the blog, but had to share that they are running an Amazon Drive for urgently needed items, like infant thermometers, potties, and tiny winter coats for itty bitty babies. You can purchase these items via the link above and they will be sent directly to the Foundation, who will in turn distribute to the families that have requested them.
I wanted to share in case you are willing to participate or spread the word.
By: Jen Shoop
It has been difficult, this past year, to figure out how to date Mr. Magpie while we’re more or less homebound. We managed two al fresco dinners in the late summer, when case counts were very low in NYC and we were feeling mildly encouraged, but this fall’s spike put a quick end to that habit, and we’ve had to get creative. A few fun ideas we’ve enjoyed or I am planning…
+Roll out fresh pasta together. We have a hand-crank pasta roller and there is something delightful antiquarian about it, but you can also buy the attachments for your Cuisinart. We love the (very complex — you’ve been warned) recipes in Flour + Water. (One of our favorites was a tomato farfalle with chicken polpettine that required the purchase of tomato powder and took us basically all day to pull off.). You might also draw recipe/menu inspiration from two of our favorite Italian restaurants in NYC, Misi and I Sodi. (Hone in on a dish that sounds good, then hunt for a similar recipe in a reputable cookbook! This cookbook is The Pasta Bible in our house — almost like an encyclopedia for pasta dishes.). While you’re cooking together, drink a fruity red Italian wine and enjoy a charcuterie plate.
+Elevate delivery. One of my favorite recent meals entailed ordering in the fanciest burgers from Polo Bar and serving it on wedding china with champagne in coupes while dressed to the nines. But you don’t even need a $30 burger to achieve the same effect — Shake Shack works, too! Other thoughts: if you always eat at the dining room table, or at the kitchen table, or in front of the TV, switch up the location for the evening! Set up dinner around the coffee table, with floor cushions and candles, or set the formal dining room table with candles and a tablecloth (<<this one is at the top of my tabletop lust list at the moment, but there are more spring tabletop finds here). One other little hack I love — getting creative with plating! We have a range of solid white, flat ceramic trays, platters, and serving bowls and it’s fun to, for example, re-plate fries in a big heap on a tray with little ramekins for various dipping sauces, or to arrange falafel alongside a stack of pita, pickled vegetables, and mounds of hummus on a long narrow tray. Or even just serving up a range of snacks on a tiered serving dish like this would be fun and dramatic.
+Have a proper movie night. Buy way too much classic movie candy (I’m thinking SnoCaps, Junior Mints, RedVines) and then pop your own popcorn (you can even buy super fancy kernels from Anson Mills — it is delicious), doctoring it to your tastes with, say, truffle oil or parmesan and butter.
+Pull out all the stops on an elaborate dinner. A few of my favorite romantic dinners at home this past year / ideas for future meals:
STEAMED LOBSTER, NEW POTATOES, AND DRAWN BUTTER
STEAKHOUSE: BUY THE MOST BEAUTIFULLY MARBLED RIBEYE (!!!) FROM A REPUTABLE BUTCHER AND SERVE WITH MASHED POTATOES, WEDGE SALAD, CREAMED SPINACH, ONION RINGS, OR ANY OTHER STEAKHOUSE FAVORITES
SEAFOOD PLATEAU: WE KITTED OURSELVES OUT WITH CRAB LEGS, OYSTERS, SHRIMP, ETC FROM LOBSTER PLACE IN CHELSEA MARKET, BUT IF YOU AREN’T LIVING ON A COAST, YOU CAN OVERNIGHT DELICIOUS OYSTERS FROM MOOKS SEA FARM AND SERVE WITH SHRIMP (WHICH ARE FLASH FROZEN ON BOATS SO DOESN’T MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE)
HOMEMADE FAJITAS/TACOS AND MAKE YOUR OWN TORTILLAS! NOT AS HARD AS YOU’D THINK — YOU JUST NEED THE PRESS
+Play a board game like Scrabble, Monopoly, Risk, Chess. Made much more fun drinking a pitcher of cocktails (martinis for the ambitious!) alongside some classic snacks, like homemade French Onion Dip (serve with Ruffles), homemade Chex Mix with your favorite seasoning mixed in (we love Old Bay, but I was just wondering what zaatar would be like in it…yum), and pigs in a blanket. (The Trader Joe’s brand of pigs in a blanket are THE BEST! Sometimes I brush with egg wash and sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning.)
+Dress up. Even if it just means putting on a slick of lipstick (<<my absolute favorite lipstick formula), or switching into a nap dress instead of sweats. A few weeks ago, my sister and her husband dressed up (my sister was in heels and lipstick and everything!) and staged their apartment in different zones — they had cocktails and appetizers in the living room, then sat down to dinner at the dining room table.
+Set an escapist theme. We’ve been on a Toots & The Maytals kick in our house — turn it up, mix up some beachy cocktails (this is a delicious one), wear a summer dress, dream up a menu with ceviche or mango salsa or plaintains, and you can almost hear the waves…
Date Night at Home Outfits.
If you’re looking for something besides a nap dress or loungewear to mark the occasion, a few cute tops to pair with your favorite jeans…
J’ADORE THE COLOR AND SHAPE OF THIS PEPLUM TOP — IF YOU’RE INTO IT, CHECK OUT A FEW ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS AT ALL PRICEPOINTS HERE, INCLUDING THIS $25 STEAL
+For girls, I adore Minnow’s rash guard style suits(03.). Just the sweetest details (love the gingham tie in the back) and the sun coverage is a great bonus. This Brock print is also beyond (seen above).
+I love Bellabliss’ bay shore swim trunks(04.) for boys. Hill owned a pair last year and they are winningly retro in fit — short and fitted. Absolutely adorable.
+For sibling matching moments, I adore either Minnow above or any of the confections from Sal E Pimenta, like this gingham(07.) for mini and these trunks for micro(08.). (I find this brand runs a little on the small side and would recommend sizing up.)
+Mini has never worn a two piece but this ric-rac trim style (on sale!) may change my tune on that front. While at Janie + Jack — these trunks are perfect for the Fourth.
+For personalization: drawn to these monogrammable seersucker trunks and this colorblocked one-piece(09.) — both under $40 with monogram! I have ordered swimsuits for mini from them in the past and they have run TTS, but I would probably size down in the trunks for micro. Though I haven’t specifically ordered trunks for him, I find this brand runs big for boys.
+Splurge picks: for older boys, Vilbrequin is pricey but can coordinate with dad, and you know I can’t help but love a gingham Marysia(01.), especially when I can twin in this.
+Dock and Bay towels(05.). These are great if you are a fellow Manhattan mom and make stops at the splash pads part of your routine, as they fold up into tiny squares and therefore can be stowed in your stroller basket/bag and take up virtually no room. Also great for travel!
+These are increasingly difficult to find (I think they’ve been discontinued), but I loved these jelly-style sandals for mini from a European footwear brand for splash pad / poolside.
+Also love Sun Sans for both girls and boys. They are waterproof!
+Minnidip inflatable pools! These are hard to come by since the dawn of the pandemic, when everyone spent all summer at home, but you can still find them on eBay. I bought one for our trip to the Hamptons last summer and it as a huge hit for Hill.
P.S. We also did a lot of “beach at home” early into quarantine — I wrote about it in this roundup of indoor activities for littles. Turn on the waves sound, pass out the popsicles…
*Image above not really a propos of today’s post, but I couldn’t stop staring at the gorgeous photo above via Danielle Frankel’s bridal collection, and the model seemed appropriately introspective, so here we are.
When Mr. Magpie and I were running our technology business, we worked out of 1871, a co-working space and start-up incubator in the River North neighborhood of Chicago. We participated in countless events and programs there and so had multiple occasions to cross paths with and attend various talks by its CEO, Howard Tullman, a serial entrepreneur and investor himself. One of the sentiments he repeated across those interactions was: “Pessimism is always cooler. Be different.” The message was that it can be harder, and more vulnerable and suspect, to be ambitiously optimistic. And that there is something lazy and self-aware about pessimism: yes, casting doubt or pointing out flaws can project discretion, hard-earned apathy, and even intelligence, all while protecting oneself from the likelihood of failure. But it is a pose, an inertia. (Sartre practically branded the affectation.) To do the thing — to muster the optimism required of any new venture, new dalliance, new relationship, new foray — demands emotional output that far outweighs the negligible effort of saying “Nah, that won’t work.”
I wonder sometimes if he issued this pronouncement as a matter of good business: he was, after all, on the hook for driving memberships at 1871, and encouraging us starry-eyed entrepreneurs to dare to think big and stay positive was one way to discourage us from throwing in the towel on our various endeavors and, in turn, discontinuing our memberships.
But I must say that the notion has stuck with me, emerging on more frequent occasion than I’d have anticipated.
Like when I tuned into the HBO “Selena + Chef” episode I mentioned two weeks ago, where a bright-eyed and gleeful Jose Andres talks lovingly to his ingredients and celebrates, well, everything while dancing his way through a shortcut Spanish omelette-souffle. His joie de vivre was contagious: I couldn’t help but smile, and I found myself waxing poetic. “You just don’t see people express such positivity or optimism that often. I love it,” I told Mr. Magpie.
Or when Mr. Magpie and I occasionally, and with jocular tenderness, remind one another to exercise a “yes, and” mentality, whether we’re running through the options for dinner delivery or deliberating over a parenting matter. The slogan is hangover from a training I had the opportunity to participate in years ago at a retreat for non-profit leaders: a comedian ran us through a series of exercises, one of which was to practice the principle of “yes, and” — a core tenet of sketch/stand-up comedy in which performers affirm and build on the pronouncements of their colleagues. So if John says: “Oh my gosh, I just found a dead mouse!”, Judy must say: “Yes, and it’s starting to smell.” In so doing, she validates the work of John and keeps the narrative moving, generating new opportunities for plot development and comedy. I can’t tell you how often, after the training, I would observe colleagues (and sometimes myself!) handily throwing shade or negating or nit-picking at ideas rather than operating in a “yes, and” headspace to move towards a solution. It is easier and cooler to be the pessimist in the room, telling everyone why XYZ won’t work. (“Thinking is difficult,” wrote Carl Jung, “that’s why most people judge.”)
More recently, I had the opportunity to listen to a group of mothers discuss their experiences with parenting in the context of this pandemic. There were some interesting experiences, tips, and suggestions circulated, and then one mother cleared her throat, laughed, and somewhat pointedly stated that, unlike the rest of the mothers that had previously spoken, she was going to “keep it real” and admit that everything was (to summarize and borrow the words of Alexander): “horrible, no-good, and very-bad.” I knew how she felt. I have experienced the same exhaustion and frustration at various points in this pandemic. I have struggled. I have wondered how other parents are making it all look so easy. And sometimes it is healthful and helpful to say: “This is really hard” among peers. In fact, we’ve done it here on this blog many times in meaningful moments of catharsis. But her tone — the way she chuckled to herself and told us she wasn’t going to sugarcoat or kumbaya her way out of the reality of things — felt like a reproach.
I’ve been wondering about this interaction and about the lines between pessimism and keeping it real and optimism and performance and denial. It’s a spectrum, isn’t it? And it’s hard to tell where people fall along it, and why. Perhaps that mom the other day wasn’t a pessimist — perhaps she was just having a day and not in the mood to be told about the small and winning ways people were making lemonade out of lemons. We’ve all been there. (Remember? The play-doh? AHHHH. If I’d been asked about parenting in the aftermath of that afternoon, I would also have been snappy.) Maybe her admission was a relief for other mothers on the call. “Ah, phew, so I’m not alone,” they might have thought.
But maybe it achieved the inverse. Maybe it brought the mood down. Maybe it made other mothers feel smaller, less secure, too bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Maybe it made them feel foolish, or desolate. Of course, it was not that woman’s job to support the mental wellness of a group of strangers. She was, I have to imagine, speaking her truth, or some version of it. But there we were: a group of women exchanging experiences, and the mood suddenly curdled. I didn’t know what to make of it. It was a strange moment where I felt twenty-two things at once.
It did present me with the opportunity to think about where I’d like to fall on the spectrum, though. And the sweet spot for me lives north of “keeping it real,” reaching towards optimism.
How about you? What are your thoughts on “the spectrum” between pessimism and denial?
Post-Scripts.
+Maje is offering an extra 20% off already-discounted pieces, like this ultra-chic longline cardigan. Love the sporty athletic stripe trim! There is a mom in my daughter’s school pick up line that wears this coat (now heavily discounted as a part of the promotion) frequently and zomg she looks amazing.
+I never knew I needed a proper sewing box until I laid eyes on this one.
+Cute personalized crayon boxes — good for little gifts / travel. Also cute for stowing miscellaneous toys with small parts/accessories (thinking of some of mini’s Barbie accessories)!
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!
