P.P.P.S. If you are planning to bundle some of these great drawing pads for children with Ooly products as a holiday gift for children, note that they are currently expected to ship 12/7. Just mention this because they were in my cart as a part of my children’s gifts for the holidays and I just ordered now to ensure I get them when they come back in stock.
By: Jen Shoop
Yesterday, I featured the artwork of Guady Ramon, a graphic designer, illustrator, and mother of two based in Southern California. Today, I want to profile this talented artist, who shared with me that her work is “inspired by motherhood and the universal experiences we share as mothers.” Can you imagine any better fit for my Women of Substance series? I have routinely and often tearfully been overwhelmed and spirited on by the encouragement and camaraderie of the mothers who read and comment on this blog, many of whom have come to my rescue over matters as disparate as how to muddle through the weaning phase and how to model reading in the era of screen dominance (see comments!), and so I know that many of you will respond enthusiastically to this creative and her work.
Guady explained that her aesthetic approach is “to capture a moment in time and tell a story in its most simplistic form using minimal shapes and color.” That simplicity of composition underscores the shared experience of motherhood — the silhouette of a mother and child in embrace that so many of us have shared — in a profound, stirring way that has left me digging through her archives on several afternoons over the past few months.
Guady also told me that “becoming a mother has been one of the toughest, most rewarding things I’ve ever done. My children are the reason I get to do what I love.” I love the way she framed her children in that expression, as both reason and reward.
Below, get to know Guady a bit better through her answers to my questionnaire, or follow her on Instagram.
Your favorite qualities in a woman. I admire a woman that speaks her truth.
Your favorite heroine. Andie Walsh in “Pretty in Pink.”
Your main fault. I’ve been called a dreamer a few times. I always have big dreams and romanticize most things.
Your greatest strength. I’m adaptable. And I think I’m pretty easy to be around.
Your idea of happiness. Slowing down and spending more time with my kids. It’s all going by way too fast.
Your idea of misery. Never finding the joy in the little things.
Currently at the top of your shopping lust list. An organic pillow, because mom needs more sleep.
Today, I am inspired by the classic elegance of Lady Di in her blue blazer above. I love that she took fashion risks, but I am today celebrating the classics she wore with aplomb — a reminder that basics are not boring. A few essential-type pieces that will withstand the test of time and trends:
*Image above features mini’s nursery rug, Dash & Albert’s Paris Stripe, which has since been discontinued. Their Island Stripe is similar, but in a more pastel/muted color palette. Image above also showcases this darling story-telling game, which mini actually loves to use just to create little vignettes and stories with the figurines included herself. She received this as a sweet gift from our neighbors along with this book for her third birthday and both have been a huge hit! Easy gift idea for a little girl, possibly bundled with this fairy set — mini loves these little figurine kits!
With Christmas and the attending prospect of new toys and gear on the horizon, I spent time over the Thanksgiving holiday organizing my children’s rooms. The most time-consuming part** was filtering through the bins and baskets to re-group tiny parts that belonged to one another but had somehow found themselves diaspora — puzzle pieces, cards from Candy Land, stray Duplos, etc. A reader had pointed me in the direction of these waterproof zippered pouches awhile ago and — wow. The perfect solution. I have been slowly “decanting” games, puzzles, and toy sets into these over the past few months, but this past weekend represented a complete migration to pouch life. These are particularly wonderful because they are inexpensive, come in a range of sizes (the smaller ones ideal for organizing things like game parts and beads), are semi-transparent (meaning my children can see what’s inside), have different colored zippers (making it even easier to remember which bag you’re grabbing), and difficult for my 18-month-old to open without assistance, meaning that all of the small parts and puzzle pieces he should not be tampering with anyway remain isolated. I also like that they look a lot tidier than the smashed cardboard boxes these games came in, and you can fit more of the bags in bins/drawers anyway given that the shape makes them more malleable.
A couple of other nursery organization finds and must-haves:
+This inexpensive IKEA shelving system is the piece de resistance in mini’s nursery. I love it. It keeps all of mini’s books, toys, and activities very easy to access. We lined the bottom shelf with these straw bins and have each one dedicated to a slightly different category: one for dress-up, one for doll clothes/components/accessories, one for musical instruments, and one for “miscellaneous.” We use the upper two levels mainly for books, with two cubbies reserved for “activities” like wooden puzzles, magnatabs, magnetic sets, stacking toys (for Hill), etc. Basically — all of the pretty items that remind me of Montessori and that invite play by virtue of being artfully and accessibly presented. With this most recent bout of organization, I ended up removing about half of the items in that “activity” category and stowing them in the closet with the intention of rotating them into play every few weeks. I was, frankly, astounded by how excited mini was to play with some of her sets/toys just by virtue of them being moved around in her room and made more visible to her!
+Note: the Kallax comes in multiple different cubby dimensions (you can do, for example, just a 2×2), but if none of those options work in your child’s room, I also love the look of this little shelf system for a smaller nook, or this acrylic rolling cart.
+We also have a couple of woven bins similar to these to house bulkier items and overflow toy/puzzle/game sets stowed in the aforementioned pouches.
+We use these plastic woven bins in pink to stow “building” type toys underneath mini’s bed. They have a low clearance and will work under many cribs/beds. We have a separate one for magnatiles, building blocks, Duplos, and play food. I like them because they are lightweight and easy for the children to drag out on their own, but they are also inexpensive and will not fray or scratch like some of their woven counterparts — important given how often they are dragged out! (These inexpensive white handled bins, which I use elsewhere in the house for storage, would also be a good solution.)
+Over the weekend, I deployed this white rope bin to house all of mini’s Maileg mice, accessories, furniture, and the darling decorative matchboxes/bins the mice come in. Prior to this weekend, we had been keeping the mice and some of their clothes in a small Pehr bin, with the other boxes and furniture stowed elsewhere, somewhat haphazardly. We will be giving her the Maileg mouse house for Christmas so I really wanted to corral everything together for her, especially because she has been playing with them so much recently.
+We repurposed mini’s doll cradle (which she never uses anymore) to stow all of her stuffed animals at the foot of her bed. I love this reuse of space because it keeps them all in one place, a bit out of the way of the rest of her room.
+Both of my children love to draw, paint, etc — we spend a good chunk of every day doing this — and I have been keeping most of the supplies organized in these bins in the closet, drawing out the materials whenever the mood strikes. With this most recent organization effort, I decided to keep crayons and paint sticks permanently accessible on mini’s play table in this divided organizer, with coloring books and drawing pads in a bin beneath. I had really wanted to buy this divided lazy susan for the purpose, but it would have taken up too much space given the dimensions of the table. This slim lightweight organizer is the perfect solution given our space constraints. (And, come to think of it, I’m not sure I want to have more markers/materials available to Hill at 18 months…) This caddy style might also work if you want something that’s a bit more mobile than a lazy susan (i.e., if you want to be able to quickly clear the space for some reason — I feel like the lazy susan is sort of meant to stay put permanently).
+Not truly organization, but we do a lot of painting and crafting in mini’s room. I put down this midi-sized Gathre mat whenever we’re getting messy. It’s an ideal size for beneath a high chair or underneath a craft table. It’s easy to roll up and wipe down and it folds into a small square when not in use. Love. And we use these long-sleeved smocks for those occasions, too. Mini has a tendency to really get into the medium at hand, so these have saved many articles of clothing. A few other must-haves for the painting-obsessed: these palettes, these jumbo paint brushes, watercolor paper, and Crayola washable paint (God bless it)!
+I have been looking for a better solution for shoe storage, and I think I might buy these stacking wire bins for the purpose.
**Correction: the most time-consuming part was attempting to do this while two pairs of tiny hands were interrupting my progress at every turn. Every time I’d manage to form a little mound of carefully organized Calico Critters, little fingers absconded with select pieces.
P.P.P.S. Still a few great deals happening at Nordstrom as a part of the Cyber Week promotions — namely dialed in on these classic Sperry boat shoes for boys for only $26!
By: Jen Shoop
*Illustration above by and used with permission from Guady Ramon. I love her portraits of motherhood.
Over the past few years, I have donated gently-used baby gear and clothing to the Good+ Foundation, an incredible non-profit I have mentioned many times in the past that provides basic essentials, critical gear, and programmatic resources to new parents who are caring for their babies during times of great uncertainty. Owing to COVID precautions, the Foundation has not been accepting pre-used items, so I increased my financial donations to the organization, joined their Friends of Good+ group, and also started to give away my children’s outgrown items myself on Craigslist. I was, frankly, humbled by the flood of emails I received every time I posted a new bag of children’s clothing and gear — proof that there are many parents in desperate need of essentials for their children, especially while confronting this pandemic.
My heart absolutely breaks at the thought of Juana, the young mother who came by my building in search of pre-loved footies and swaddles for her two-month-old daughter. After she picked them up, she wrote to me: “Will you always put things on the side for my daughter when your baby outgrows?”
Today is Giving Tuesday, a day designated to remind us to give our voices, time, money, goods, and/or advocacy to support communities and causes that matter to us. This year, I am focusing on the Good+ Foundation in honor of Juana and the many other parents like her navigating new parenthood amidst the intensity and anxiety of COVID. Thanks to a generous Good+Foundation Board member, all donations made today (December 1st) will be matched 1:1, up to $50,000.
By: Jen Shoop
So many of the picks from my holiday dress roundup are currently on sale, but I wanted to call out a few exceptional sale finds from this list as well as a couple of additions:
+This stunning velvet dress with the prettiest bows on the shoulders — 30% off! I already bought my velvet Christmas dress but I might need this one, too.
+This feather-trim tuxedo blouse is EVERYTHING. I would pair with big statement earrings, cigarette pants, and heels and feel like Audrey Hepburn in it.
+Tartan mules ($69!) — easiest way to transform your favorite jeans and black or ivory sweater into something perfect for Christmas day. (This $40 pair of flat tartan mules is also darling.)
P.P.S. Do you want more fiction? I have been working on the book quite a bit and am desperate to share…
By: Jen Shoop
I’m back with an abbreviated selection of honest reviews (more here, here, and here)! I’ve been in a pretty good spot with my beauty and cosmetics routine and have been disinclined to introduce much else at the moment, but I did want to share a couple recent experiences…
+Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint. I wanted to like this so badly! A serum and an SPF with foundation-like coverage, all-in-one? However, I found the formula very difficult and unwieldy to apply — even after shaken vigorously (per instructions), I felt the tint “broke” and was difficult to apply with any degree of consistency over the skin, even with my Artis brush in hand. I also did not feel it left my skin looking as natural as it does when I wear a tinted moisturizer — I found it difficult to blend in (splotchy?). Finally, it has a very distinctive scent I could not get beyond — sort of like plastic or plaster or something? Disappointing. But, it reminded me that I already have two great tinted moisturizers on hand (love LM and Chantecaille) and, when I need more coverage, my favorite foundation stick (<<free shipping right now with code FLASHNOVEMBER).
+Differin. I have been intrigued for a long time about retinol and retinoids, which promote skin cell turnover and which many people claim as the key to the fountain of youth. My dermatologist recommended starting with something non-prescription (a retinoid) and working my way up to a prescription-strength retinol if I liked how things were going, as they can be drying. Many people rave about Differin — inexpensive, treats acne, and adapalene (its key ingredient) is a retinoid. I used this for a month and saw no favorable difference in my skin. In fact, I broke out! I think the breakout could have been because I stopped using my glycolic acid treatment pads in favor of testing Differin and my skin rioted against the unceremonious change. But I just can’t figure out how or where else to introduce differin — it feels too harsh to put it on top of glycolic acid?! Help! Tell me your secrets, skincare gurus!
+Ritual Vitamins. As a part of my self-improvement regimen, I started taking daily multivitamins, and I chose Ritual. There is a lot to like about them — they taste good (minty) and contain only what you need (no additives), and I like the subscription model (takes all legwork out of the equation), but I found them so hard on my stomach! Every day I took them, I was horribly nauseous. I later read that this is common and that often it takes your body awhile to adjust but I could not get to the next phase, and so I abandoned ship. I do feel I eat a very balanced diet so I am just going to rest on those laurels for now.
+IGK Thirsty Girl Leave-In Hair Conditioner. This stuff is AMAZING for color-treated, dry hair. I have been layering it with my Oi Hair Milk recently and je suis obsessed. It goes on like a hair spray (!), smells like heaven, and totally softens and conditions my hair. The Oi Hair Milk is fantastic as a primer and detangler. I think they work wonderfully together.
+Not new in these parts, but I recently re-stocked a few items that I simply can’t live without:
HOURGLASS EYEBROW GEL — Please (!) give (!!) this (!!!) a (!!!!) try (!!!!!). It is truly the most amazing eyebrow tamer, shaper, and filler. I love the way it fills and shapes brows with a simple flick (no tedious penciling-in), and looks so natural given the range of colors it comes in (you can actually match to your natural brow color!)
BOBBI BROWN EXTRA LIP TINT — Pack of three for 25% off at the moment. I don’t know about you, but I have worn statement lipstick once in the last nine months, and it was on a day where I needed to hit the reset button and my children were very confused about why I had red marker all over my lips. (Ha!) Most days, I wear this lip tint instead. It glides on like a balm and affords the loveliest hint of color. I couldn’t resist picking up this three-pack at such a good value! (They work out to like $14/tube! Buy for yourself and give the other two as gifts to your sister and mother! Or use them all for yourself, as I am doing…ha!)
BELIF THE TRUE CREAM AQUA BOMB — I seriously considered testing a different moisturizer (thank you in particular to Veronica for your very convincing recommendation of Drunk Elephant!) but I ended up reordering Belif, a gel-like cream from Korean skincare label that I find deeply hydrating for the dead of winter, because a) I know and love it, b) I was somewhat disheartened by my recent testings of the highly popular items above, and so I might as well stick with what works for now, and c) it is such a good value compared to other high-end moisturizers! (Half the price of Drunk Elephant for the same amount of product, for example.) J’adore j’adore jadore.
What other products have you been testing and liking?
The product I now have my eye on is Le Prunier’s Plum Beauty Oil, which Chrissy Teigen (unsponsored!) lauded on social media a few weeks back and is, of course, now sold out for weeks.
*Image above via Polarn O Pyret, maker of my favorite snow bibs and suits for littles. And how beyond precious are these girls?! Can you even imagine having triplets? Hats off to all the moms of multiples.
Mini is ecstatic about the prospect of snow this winter, and I have learned the hard way (i.e., multiple years in a row…) that it is best to buy the gear well before you think you will need it, or run the risk of sending your baby out ill-equipped to handle the weather. Below, my favorite snow gear finds for children. Worth noting that these are all high quality pieces that will hold up over time and are hand-me-down material for multiple children.
POLARN O PYRET BIB SNOWPANTS (MINI HAS THIS PAIR; MICRO HAS THIS PAIR — NOTE THAT THIS BRAND RUNS REALLY BIG! I THINK YOU CAN GO A FULL SIZE DOWN! I ALSO LOVE THESE FOR ITTY BITTIES; MICRO OWNED IN A FEW SIZES)
P.P.S. Indoor toddler activities, plus I just ordered mini this rock-painting set. I know so many moms who do not live in a city are probably choking on their coffee right now! “You bought…rocks?” But I actually don’t know if it’s right to take rocks from Central Park (or particularly clean, especially in the high-traffic areas we frequent…note: never ever ever take anything from a Manhattan playground…)?! Moreover, mini’s Montessori is big on “leaving plants and nature as you find it.” So, I found myself in a strange moral quandary when mini plied me to help her build her own rock collection after seeing an episode of Sesame Street on the subject. Ahh! What’s a Manhattan mom to do?!
One of the most common shopping requests I get is whether I can track down a Mason Pearson brush on sale. I am always scouting, and I found a compelling promotion for you to consider: Neiman Marcus is offering $50 off any purchase of $200. You can buy the brush and my cherished Cle de Peau concealer (I think most of us agree that it’s the best concealer money can buy?) and add on something small, like a lip balm or a pair of Hanky Panky and get the lot for around $150. Not a bad deal! It’s like getting the concealer for $20, or the brush for $70, depending on how you look at it.
But there are also incredible prestige beauty deals elsewhere that I had to gush about —
+Kevyn Aucoin SSE for 25% off — this stuff is heavy-duty. It’s when you need The Big Guns, as in you have a ridiculously bad breakout, or you’re muddling your way through the sleepless newborn phase of life, or you are trying to hide a scar or something. It is thick and unctuous but it stays put and looks remarkably skin-like. I wore it once in front of my father-in-law and he commented that my skin looked like “porcelain” (!). This from a man who had never previously commented on my skin!
+RMS Beauty Living Luminizer — 30% off!!! This stuff is incredible! I love that it is non-pigmented and it just glides on over anything. Use under brow, on cupid’s bow, at tip of nose, at inner corners of eye, etc.
**Today is Small Business Saturday! I shared some of my favorite small business gift ideas here, and also want to shine a spot on my girlfriend Liz, who has just launched a business selling the most adorable themed sensory kits. Her husband’s family owns Burke Candy in Wisconsin and so she even has a cute holiday bark-making kit featuring Burke Candy caramel — such a cute weekend activity for little ones! You might also want to check out some of my recent Women of Substance, most of whom are founders of small businesses!
My Latest Snag: My Holiday Dress.
My main shopping activities this week entailed finishing up my holiday shopping thanks to all of the incredible Black Friday / Cyber Week deals, but can’t publish too many specifics because many of my loved ones read this daily…instead, I will just say that I did buy my Christmas dress (currently 40% off)! More contenders here, and how amazing is this Coca-Cola red SP (on super sale) and this tiered maxi in a similar hue (almost like wearing a nightgown to the dining room table) as late-stage entrants for your consideration? Saloni also brought back their stunning velvet bow-front Camille gown from last season and it was highly tempting…but I’d been eyeing that fierce SP for awhile and couldn’t say no. (Wouldn’t it be dreamy with these?)
I also treated myself to this Bobbi Brown extra lip tint trio, on super sale (with current promotion, each comes out to like $14 — normally $29 apiece!)
I’m listening to Obama’s new memoir at the moment and there is a provoking throwaway comment he makes early on in the narrative: “I’ve always hated footnotes and endnotes.” I wrote it down in my little “Bric a Brac” notebook, which is littered with half-formed thoughts, words I like or have recently discovered and am desperate to try on for size, ideas for blog posts, shopping lists, to-dos, quotes. I appreciated the implied tidiness and near-rectitude of the assertion: if something’s worth saying, why not fold it into the body of the oeuvre? Why deliberately relegate it to a space that I, for one, occasionally discard as unnecessary, depending on how much I am liking — or how much I need — the text at hand? The mechanics of the footnote or endnote require something extra of the reader: an unceremonious departure from the text to flip to a different part of the book, then the jostling back and forth between wheat and chaff to confirm understanding, before reabsorption into the text proper. They are, in other words, an interruption, and most of those feel unwelcome in these parts.
At the same time: they serve a purpose. There are times where a brief ancillary history might prove beneficial to the reader, but would interrupt the flow of writing, or detract too much from the central argument.
Just on the heels of this musing, a quote I once heard attributed to Junot Diaz materialized; I am botching it here, as I cannot track it down online, but it went something like: “I like to write between the cracks.” Meaning, in the context of the interview, that he was principally interested in the hidden, discarded, broken bits — the people and places and thoughts and spaces that do not look like smooth pavement, and that are often overlooked because of it. You might say that Junot Diaz writes in the footnotes and endnotes, or is making some statement about their positioning as such.
And just on the heels of that: memories of reading Vladimir Nabokov’s Pale Fire, which is a book that takes place almost entirely in the footnotes. (It consists of a 999-line poem, and the rest is fictionalized front and back matter — where the heft of Nabokov’s intellectual work emerges.) Nabokov was inviting us here, as elsewhere in his work, to investigate the role of the reader, the author, and the conventions to which both are beholden.
Stringing my way through these thoughts yielded no grand insight — just a pleasant, scenic intellectual perambulation. But I appreciated the invitation to think for a minute about some of the mechanics and scaffolding I take for granted in my chosen art form.
+I saw the COOLEST girl running in the park the other day wearing #allblackeverything with these throwback-style Nike tube socks and I literally went home and ordered the same.
+Such a fun top. I’m obsessed with the brand La Double J.
By: Jen Shoop
An abbreviated ledger of the absolute best Black Friday finds (all of which I have purchased or already own myself):
TUBBY TODD OINTMENT — A must-have for new-moms. Works on everything from diaper rash to eczema to baby acne. 15% off isn’t mind-blowing as far as discounts go, but I’ll take it!
NATORI BRA — $25?!?!? These are the absolute best everyday bra and I’ve written about them a billion times. Have never seen them at such a discount!
NO. 6 CLOG BOOTS — 20% off and my favorite winter boot at the moment. These run narrow, FYI — I sized up to pair with chunky winter socks and am glad I did.
S&L TEAK STEP STOOL — 20% off and free shipping. This is such a chic alternative to your wire frame collapsible style, whether for in the pantry/kitchen or at the sink for little ones. (And if you are about to have a c-section, you will need a step stool to get into bed, so why not have the chicest one on the market?)
TISSUE TURTLENECK — I own this in like 10 colors, including the recently-launched plaid. 50% off!
COCOFLOSS AND KLORANE DRY SHAMPOO — Both 30% off. Weird things to be excited about on Black Friday, but I’ll take a discount on these medicine cabinet staples, which I will happily purchase at full price.
RALPH LAUREN BABY CASHMERE CARDIGAN — 40% off. Yes, 40% off! This is such a splurge but I have purchased a few of these for my children as infants and they are beyond adorable over their holiday looks.
PETITE PLUME PAJAMAS — My favorite traditional brand of pajamas for children, on sale for 25% off in the most precious holiday print here.
SEA BEAUX DRESS — What I wore for Thanksgiving, but would also make a festive choice for the holidays. It’s a very light weight material, which proved perfect for the 65 degree temps we had yesterday, but would be dreamy if you live in warm weather year round.
LAKE PAJAMAS — Everyone’s favorite pima cotton jammies.
HILL HOUSE NAP DRESS — Join the “Victorian ghost” movement. (I now own five?) These are such comfortable, beautifully-designed pieces to flounce around the house in.
BALA WEIGHTED BANGLES — These consistently sell out. The chicest wrist weights you’ve ever seen. 30% off.
P.S. Full rundown of sales for you here and sales for children here.
By: Jen Shoop
What are you up to today, besides shopping all of the amazing Black Friday deals? (I’ve been updating that post all week — wheeee! — I think I’ve completed all of my holiday shopping thanks to the many impressive promotions that started early this year! So fun this go around — there was something sporting and spiriting about the online shopping experience given the bleak circumstances of 2020.)
We have an advent calendar and a nativity set from years past, but I had to mention that this wood set from Target is absolutely adorable. I just ordered one for each of my godchildren!
I am also thrilled we’ve officially entered the phase of the year where Christmas music and movies are openly permissible. A few of my favorite holiday albums: Kacey Musgraves’ twang-y, kitschy “A Very Kacey Christmas” album; Vince Guaraldi Trio’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas”; Elvis Presley’s “Christmas Album”; the 49-track “Soul Christmas” album featuring various artists; and of course Mariah Carey’s “Christmas” album.
A few of my favorite holiday movies, and I am certain I’ll rope Mr. Magpie into watching one or two this weekend…
“THE HOLIDAY”
“ELF”
“ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS”
“HOME ALONE”
“A CHRISTMAS STORY”
“WHITE CHRISTMAS”
“IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE”
“THE FAMILY STONE”
“LOVE ACTUALLY”
“CHRISTMAS VACATION”
A few other movies that aren’t explicitly Christmas but that have prominent Christmas scenes that I will also be re-visiting this season: “Meet Me in St. Louis” (in it, Judy Garland sings the now-classic “Have Yourself a Merry Christmas”), “Harry Potter,” “You’ve Got Mail,” “When Harry Met Sally” (also a great NYE moment), “While You Were Sleeping,” and “Die Hard” (had never seen this before this quarantine, and I went into it thinking “why do people make such a big deal of Bruce Willis?”…now I get it).
