T.S. Eliot wrote that “April is the cruelest month” but February has always felt bleaker. We are not quite to the thaw, have not yet poked our heads outside on a March morning to find the iciness in the air gone, and are still weeks from the prophetic crocus.
Instead, may I suggest retail therapy with an eye towards the promise of spring? Some of the finds below are wear-now; others you will be happy to find in your closet, waiting for their debut on the first suitably warm day.
BROCK COLLECTION BLOUSE (SEEN ABOVE; ON SUPER SALE — GET EARRINGS SIMILAR TO THOSE SHOWN ABOVE FOR A STEAL HERE)
Would you believe that I am a “tenured” (ha!) mother to two and that still, when mini appeared sluggish on Sunday afternoon and drifted off to sleep on the couch — alarming in that she hasn’t napped during the day at home for the last year — that I found myself creeping into her bedroom at 10:03 p.m. that night to “check on her,” as I put it cavalierly, matter-of-factly to Mr. Magpie, when in fact I was solely groping through the dark to confirm that she was still breathing?
Would you further believe that I cried not once, but twice, the following day after peeling her hot body off of my own, hearing her feverishly mumble “mama sit with me” and “mama, stay here”? That I second and triple guessed whether I was caring for her in all the right ways, even though I had called not only my mother but my pediatrician for input and followed their guidance to the letter? And even though I had spent a good portion of the afternoon tricking her into drinking fluids, putting on an elaborate performance of two little elephant stuffed animals complaining that they did not know how to drink out of their trunks and that please, oh please could Emory teach them how? To drink water? From a cup? Please!
Would you believe, in short, that even when my better sense (my pediatrician) and my other half (my husband) and my guardian angel (my mother) reassured me that she will be OK and that there was nothing, really, to do but monitor her and press my cold hand to her febrile forehead and hold her in my arms all day long and give her anything (anything!) she wanted to eat or drink, that I still felt sick to my stomach and prayed for the break of day and, more importantly, a break in the fever?
When she is sick, I lose all sense of perspective. I doubt myself as a mother. I am desperate for secours, overwhelmed by the responsibility of making care decisions on her behalf, even with something as run-of-the-mill as a likely innocuous fever.
“It’s probably just a virus of some kind — this, too will pass,” I told myself. I celebrated the moments where she requested grapes, or took a voluntary sip of water, or informed me that her popsicle was “tasty, mama,” or giggled all of the sudden — “Aha! She is fine,” I cried, filtering through the fog of her illness for the stray sunbeam. But a nefarious doom crept in around the edges. I couldn’t help but conjure the one-in-ten-million kind of horror story I’ve heard in the past: “I thought it was just a cold, but…” or “Her symptoms didn’t start out that severe but then…”
When she woke me at 2:11 a.m., crying “mama” into the pitch black dark of her room, I found her drenched in sweat.
“I want it to be morning,” she said, her tiny voice clarion in my midnight disarray.
I pressed my hand to her forehead, and it was cool. Dawn had come early. I felt its auspiciousness, its turn in the tide: the world made new–and whole–again.
Her feverish interlude made literal the endless rebirth of motherhood: the the often purchaseless angling for percipience (“we did x and he slept y hours…let’s try it again, maybe he just likes z…”), the exhaustion-tinged hopefulness for a better tomorrow, the Sisyphean cyclicality of routines — all of it the endless loop of motherhood, with daybreak and its promise a constant beacon.
+Dead over this lampshade for a little boy’s room. I wish we had a space for it in Hill’s nursery! Check out the entire collection — also love these teal toile shades!
+LOVE Virginia peanuts and this flavor makes my mouth water. A good addition to your pantry for last-minute guests / an impromptu hostess gift.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve invested in a couple of new products that have been hyped for awhile now and thought I’d share my honest reviews of them below. (I use the phrase “TL;DR” below, which is an acronym for “Too Long; Don’t Read” — so if you want to just cut to the chase and see my “yay” or “nay” vote, skip to the TL;DRs.)
Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer (currently $27?!). I love this tool. Love. LOVE. The main complaints I’d heard about it are that a) it is heavy and b) it doesn’t work well on totally wet hair. Both are true but neither bother me in the least, especially given the exceptionally smooth (!!!) blowout I achieve with it. I am honestly astonished with the results I am able to get — a salon-quality blowout that lasts at least two days — from an admitted hair novice. I will say I can’t figure out how to get much volume in my hair when using it (why is it called “a volumizer”…?) Could be user error, but I am only able to get a super sleek, straight blowout with a nice bend at the end — not the big, bouncy, voluminous look I was expecting. Still, I don’t care. My hair looks fantastic with it. Per reviewers, it’s best to let hair air-dry for about 30 minutes before using it, as it doesn’t work great on sopping wet hair. And with regards to its heft: yes, it is heavy but truly no more difficult than wielding a round brush and a hair-dryer at the same time — at least with the Revlon tool, you can use both hands to hold onto it! One small thing I especially like about it: it blows hot air but not so much / at such a great distance that it blows all the rest of your hair around while you’re styling it. I probably can’t explain this well, but whenever I use my hair dryer, when I’m done curling a section and need to switch it off, I inevitably accidentally point the nozzle somewhere else on my head and it causes a whirlwind that blows my hair in every which way and undoes all my careful styling.
TL;DR: This is a must buy. Five stars.
Vitamix 5200 Blender. This is…insane. Is it too dramatic to say that we had a woefully under-equipped kitchen until we purchased this? Even at its lowest setting, the Vitamix outperforms our old Breville. Mr. Magpie describes it as “slightly horrifying and exhilarating” to use — it is so powerful. It is also very loud. I am most excited about this because I puree micro’s dinner every night (whatever we’re eating, with a little chicken broth or water added to liquefy) and this totally purees everything.
TL;DR: If you are a handy/frequent home cook or a big smoothie drinker, this is absolutely worth the investment. If you rarely use your blender, you can probably pass because it is expensive. But if you do buy it, I think you’ll agree: five stars.
Neutrogena Hydro Boost. I tried this moisturizer after a friend swore it was just as good as Belif’s True Cream. I have to say, I was impressed. For the price, it delivered decent hydration (not AS hydrating as Belif, but very good — just a little lighter-weight) and blended right into my skin. I love the gel consistency. The scent is a bit much (others have noted this) and those sensitive to fragrance should avoid it. I do have to say that I have been more prone to breakouts over the past few weeks, and I am not sure whether this is the cause or not. It’s the only change in my skincare routine of late, so I’m wont to think it might be the culprit — and am therefore switching temporarily back to Belif to determine whether that helps. At the same time, my skin has been testy ever since Hill was born, going wild with hormones and probably stress and sleeplessness, too. Will report back on whether things clear up with a switch back to Belif, and also note that just because my skin might not work well with it doesn’t mean yours won’t. Overall, I was impressed with this drugstore brand find.
TL;DR: Not for scent-sensitives, and curious as to whether its caused recent outbreaks BUT an impressive product for the price. Hydrates well and glides right into skin. The verdict is still out on whether this has upset my skin, but I’d give it a 3 out of 5 at the moment as I continue to evaluate.
MZ Wallace Tote. I wrote a full review on this bag as a diaper bag and the short answer is: buy it. The only caveat is that many find the straps slip off your shoulder. This doesn’t bother me so much because I am often only carrying it short distances / I have the stroller to hook it onto, but I can see it irritating me if I were walking longer distances with it every day. Still, a reader suggested crossing the straps on my shoulder and this has helped a lot — to the point that it’s not really an issue.
TL;DR: This is a fantastic diaper bag, gym bag, everyday tote bag, travel bag. 5 stars.
Moon and Back onesies. I was looking for a brand of onesies that were softer than Gerber but less expensive than 1212 (my absolute favorite — the softest!) and landed here. The cotton is soft and stretchy and thick, and I like the lap shoulder style (easier to get on and off my baby, whose head is enormous!). I will say that they are showing wear much more quickly than I’d like — the fabric is holding up just fine, but the collar always looks kind of distended/curled up in weird places, whereas 1212 always looks as good as new to me. Not sure if it’s just the fabric content or what? Still, as a wardrobe basic / layer, a pretty good value for a pretty good product. I will say I’ve had uneven reviews on products from this brand; their sleepsack was really disappointing, for example.
TL;DR: Four stars. A decent base layer, seems to show wear in the wash.
Woolino Sleep Sack. This and Kyte were the most-frequently-recommended brands for sleep sacks when I polled you all a few months back. I went with Woolino and WOW. The quality is insane — it looks just as good as new many washings later. It is so soft and cozy and thoughtfully made. I love the double zipper design, which makes middle-of-the-night diaper changes so easy and unobtrusive. They are pricey but I think worth the tag, especially since the Moon & Back one I bought as a back-up essentially disintegrated (seriously, the fabric just started snagging and tearing in random spots after a few washings), and the zipper on an Aden + Anais one I’d purchased broke after a few uses.
TL;DR: Five stars. Definite must for me. Worth the investment because of how much your baby uses this — nightly! Anything of lower quality will show wear too quickly. Bought a second as a back-up when the first one is in the wash — because otherwise I’ll end up spending just as much on cheaper ones that fall apart within a few months of purchase (as I already have).
Everlane High-Rise Skinny. This is a fantastic pair of jeans for the price ($68)! They really suck you in and cut a fantastic profile. They do not have much stretch, which is not something I’m accustomed to in denim, so it took a little bit of adjusting for me. I would say these feel a little more comfortable when out on the town / with friends versus running after my children, when I’m crawling on the ground and crouching down and need more give in my denim. Still, a beautiful pair of jeans at a reasonable price. (These run TTS.)
TL;DR: Four stars. Really good value for the price.
Maybelline Volumizing Eyebrow Mascara. I wrote about this elsewhere, but I have been testing drugstore brand variations on cosmetics here and there to evaluate whether the prestige brands are truly worth the investment. This is a solid eyebrow gel — good color and consistency and holds brows in place without leaving them feeling crispy — but I really don’t like the applicator. I don’t know why they wouldn’t just use a normal eyelash brush!
TL;DR: Three stars. Would give it a higher score if it had a better applicator! Will probably try a different brand for this reason next time I’m due.
Nyx Eyeliner. (Somehow currently under $4!!! Just ordered a backup while it’s at this ridiculously low price.) This is, in my opinion, almost identical to Stila’s All-Day eyeliner, which I love. The only difference is that the formula is just a tad runnier and therefore a hair more difficult to apply — you need to use a light hand! — than Stila, although maybe my Stila was just dried-out by the end? I also find that the hairs on the applicator get bent backwards if you aren’t careful when replacing the cap — just a word to the wise.
TL;DR: Five stars. Will probably only use this inexpensive variation moving forward.
Wander Nude Illusion Foundation. I’m super impressed with the formula — good coverage but surprisingly natural-looking. I initially hated the applicator as I tend to like to pour out a little foundation on the back of my hand, mix it with an illuminating tinted moisturizer, and then use a Beauty Blender to apply to my face. But, I’ve figured out a workaround. Now I dab a small amount onto my forehead, cheeks, and chin and then apply a quick, thin layer of tinted moisturizer all over, kind of smearing the foundation as I do so, and then blot it all over with the Beauty Blender. It’s not perfect but it’s what’s happening in these parts so far. Still, the formula for Wander is quite good!
TL; DR: Four stars. Wish it had a different applicator!
Post-Scripts.
+Some of my most well-loved (and very thoroughly evaluated) products for home and for baby.
+Currently testing out glycolic acid pads to address the aforementioned breakouts. Woman of substance Julia Amory recently shared the skincare regimen she swears by on Instastories and she insisted that these $32 wipes single-handedly changed her skin and that she will be buried with these. Ha! Any review that strong from someone with wonderful skin is worth testing myself. Stay tuned…
+This sweater is marked down to such a good price and is SO chic.
+FANTASTIC end of season sale at Jacadi — extra 20% off all sale prices with code 20MORE. A great time to snag a puffer coat for next season (or mid-season, if your little one has outgrown her current size — something that seems to happen to me far too often int he middle of a season) or a sweet dress like this, which bridges the gap between “appropriate for play” and “dressed nicely,” or the line I try to walk with mini’s school attire.
+Pretty sure most moms know this, but these Israeli peanut puffs are a great way to introduce babies to peanuts.
+I wrote online that Mr. Magpie made Paul Kahan’s “perfect hummus” and it was a very involved process. You soak dried chickpeas, bake them, boil them, pluck them out of their skins (!!!! how onerous?!) and use this tahini you can find on Amazon, which apparently puts all other brands to shame. The entire recipe is in this cookbook.
By: Jen Shoop
A home is always a work in progress, especially with small, sticky fingers and mischievous puppies in its embrace, but I feel we are finally coming to a relatively “complete” version of our apartment, where very little feels “makeshift” anymore, even if there are bits I’d like to continue to fill out. I’ll eventually try to do some sort of complete visual home tour, but for now, we’ll need to rely on imagination.
For this room, I’d love to find a small piece of furniture to house my printer (currently tucked under my desk) and other miscellaneous office supplies, including these file folder boxes, which I use to keep all important documents and then shred at the end of the year. I also have to figure out artwork for the room. We have a number of medium-sized pieces of artwork that we are currently leaning against the wall on top of our dresser. I can’t decide if I want to hang them together there in a kind of gallery wall situation, or invest in a mirror, or invest in one of these Paule Marrot framed textiles, which I’ve lusted after for eons and eons? I have also been eyeing this diptych with the thought I’d hang one over each bedside table because the headboard is so tall and dramatic you can’t really hang any artwork above it; I think the room would look excellent with those flanking the bed.
Finally, I’d like to add a squat, oversized lamp to our dresser top. My sister has one very similar to this (might be the exact one) in her apartment that I swoon over all the time.
This room is full of books, objets, curiosities, etc. that I have collected over the course of my lifetime (you can see a few of them above, including this Jayson Home horn vase). I love ceramic animals and have purchased many of them from Etsy; one of my favorite sets is a pair of white ceramic quail similar to this but a little bigger. I also have a pair of white ceramic foo dogs that I cherish in this room, and a boater’s hat my grandfather used to wear. This room is full of so many of my favorite treasures, organized and displayed on our console, bookshelves, and coffee table.
I would love to eventually update our side tables so that they match and are a little more practical (one is particularly small), but they throw an eclectic, “collector’s” vibe, which I don’t entirely mind owing to the fact that a lot of the other furniture in the room is fairly modern and new — so that will be a “down the road” kind of enterprise, if and when I see something I like.
In this room, we made our first foray into house plants. We purchased one plant from Plantshed, a lovely neighborhood plant shop close to us on the UWS, and then ordered second, larger one (a “monstera”) from Bloomscape, a start-up that delivers plants to your home (and that my neighbor recommended!). They have a 30-day your-plant-will-live guarantee, which is enticing for a novice like myself. I would love a Ming Aralia in our dining room (I saw one at Plantshed; they don’t seem to be carried by Bloomscape) but they are apparently a little advanced for novices like ourselves. We shall see.
Finally, Mr. Magpie outfitted this room technology wise with Kef speakers (apparently the best — the gentleman who came to mount our TV to the wall was impressed), had the TV mounted to the wall, and then covered all of the wires himself with a white casing that runs around the perimeter of the baseboard of the room and that you blessedly do not notice.
*We debated for a long time what to do with this couch. We had destroyed its cushions thanks to ill-advised washing of the casings in the washing machine (doh) and a small toddler. But when we looked into reupholstery, it was going to cost north of $2500, which felt absurd. We thought about buying a sleeper sofa instead for guests and the like but at the end of the day reached out to Jayson Home and commissioned them to make a new set of casings, which…were NOT cheap but were far less expensive than reupholstering the entire couch or buying a new couch full-stop. Plus, far less wasteful. We were sick with the idea we’d been getting rid of this elegant couch, which is in great condition save for the cushions! I’m so glad we went this route because the couch looks good as new and will last us at least through Hill’s toddler years I would guess.
**Any time I take a picture in our living room for Instagram, I receive DMs about this carpet. I love it, but the one we brought with us from Louise was a size too small for the space (6×9 and we needed something around 8×10) and it always bothered me. Then, all of the sudden, the bonding at the edge started to fray, and I realized we could either have it repaired for a few hundred dollars or order a new one in the correct size for a few hundred dollars more, and so we went with the latter. That’s how much I love this rug — I bought it TWICE. It’s the perfect rug for a high-traffic area like a living room because it hides dirt and even stains so well thanks to its pattern and colors. I also think it’s a perfect “neutral.” It stands out and has a point of view but it plays nicely with so many other prints.
ENTRYWAY
We have a long, narrow entryway that opens up into a little sitting area by two huge closets. We have debated what to do here for awhile — it’s certainly big enough to be its own, demarcated space. We currently have a vintage, drawered side table with a lamp on it that we use to drop keys, phone, etc when coming home. Across from that, we have an old bookcase flanked by two x-benches, and we’re using a vintage oriental rug that is too small for the area for now. Above the bookcase, we have a beautiful tropical painting my parents gave us — it’s probably the brightest item in our entire apartment.
This space is lowest on the decorating totem pole because it functions perfectly well and handily serves as a home for several vintage items we have no other use for, but ideally, I’d love to swap out the vintage rug (which is a little dark) with this bright coral and aqua rug, which matches the colors in the painting beautifully and would brighten up the entire space. I’d also like to reupholster the x-benches in a fresh new coral/red print — maybe this or this.
We wanted to center this room around a stunning and enormous piece of art we inherited from my grandparents — it’s an impressionistic portrait of a girl and the palette is greens and grays. It has an equally stunning vintage gilt and wood frame — hard to explain but I’ll take a picture at some point, I promise. When I saw the Jayson Home rug I knew we had to have it. It is the perfect foil for the painting. Then the gray table surprised us — I had been gravitating towards a classic polished wood style like this but this felt right against the traditional vibe of the painting and the rug. Also, I love that it has a cleverly disguised inset leaf to extend the table when guests are over. The French chairs are a bit out of left field but I have always, always loved the look and so we went for it. (Bonus: they are on sale.) Overall, the vibe is eclectic but it all works because of the color story — green, gray, brass, and white.
The apartment came with an attractive gilt chandelier, and we are only renting so I will leave it, but I would absolutely die to invest in this chandelier. Instead, I am going to add chandelier shades to the one we already have to polish/finish/refine the overall look of the room. I am torn between going with these inexpensive white ones and these with the metallic trim, which would be a beautiful tie-in with the brass inlay of our table (these scalloped ones are also beautiful but too feminine for the room). I hate decisions like these — the gold trim ones aren’t crazy expensive but then again, we are just renting and we will probably not be able to repurpose these again, so why not cut the price tag in half? Still…
Speaking of lighting, I am also contemplating adding one of these over-the-painting lights because the painting is just so dramatic it needs a spotlight. The downside is that then you have to figure out what to do with the cord dangling down. Mr. Magpie purchased and installed “wire covers” in our living room (mentioned above) and we could do something similar here…but I’m not sure if it’s worth all that trouble?
Two other big purchases we are still trying to figure out for this room:
End chairs. We love those RH chairs so much, but we only bought side chairs with the intent of buying two larger statement chairs at the heads in the future to add additional texture to the room. We haven’t yet figured out what we want there — maybe bamboo style ones? Upholstered parsons? Not sure.
We have been on the hunt for a large piece of storage furniture for this room — a hutch or pie safe or something like it. We want something vintage, with character. Mr. Magpie loves this piece from ABC Home but I’m not convinced. I’m more inclined towards something like this and Mr. Magpie was actually very much on board until we realized how tall and narrow it is — we need something much broader to fill the vacant wall and to be functional for us. The vitrine is also for showcasing beautiful dining plates and objets, and we need something that can house overflow stuff from our packed kitchen, table linens, etc. I also thought this or this might work, but then we’d have too much green going on and it’d look weird.
Last but not least, the room already has very nice window treatments from the previous tenant in a classic neutral color that we will probably keep, but I occasionally waver on this and want to buy this lucite rod (the brass would be a perfect tie-in with the table — or, if Mr. Magpie finds those too extra, this sleek bar) and a pair of dramatic green and blue curtains. We shall see.
Whew. I had intended to include descriptions of micro’s nursery and mini’s bedroom, but I’ll save that for a future post! Please weigh in with opinions on the end chairs in the dining room! I love interior design and typically have very strong instincts/reactions to things, but I was really stuck on the dining room setup for a long, long time — to the point that I almost hired an interior designer to help sort it out, which I then realized was crazy since I can’t imagine we will be here for more than a few years (?). I am so happy with the pieces we bought, but am still debating some of the remaining details and could use some thoughts…
I have been beefing up my childrens’ wardrobes recently — especially with easy-to-wear-and-clean pieces along the lines I shared here. Micro seems to have skipped straight from size 6-12 mo to 18+ mo (what…) and I’ve been scrambling to keep up. I did a big haul from Ralph Lauren (currently, so many basics are an extra 40% off!!), including these polos, which are marked down to like $9 with the extra discount, these tees ($5?!), and these sweatshirts. Also eyeing this set (free shipping with no minimum today!) and a spare pair or two of Osh Kosh.
You’re Sooooo Popular: A Dusty Rose Blouse.
The most popular items on the blog this past week:
+Gorgeous blouse (marked way down) in the prettiest dusty rose color.
I have an irritating habit of over-explaining myself. It feels curt and potentially hurtful to respond to an invitation or a request with a decline, no matter how polite, and I am nearly always compelled to add: “I will actually be busy taking Hill to his checkup then,” or “I won’t have childcare for two weeks and I just can’t make the time for a call this month,” or “maybe another time, but…”
I was reminded of this a few weeks ago when a well-intentioned friend asked me to do something with her that would have required substantial logisticizing (scheduling an early start-time with the nanny, moving an appointment) and that — if I am brutally honest — was not interesting to me, or at least not meaningful enough that I would shuffle my week around on its behalf.
I remembered, all of the sudden, something my grandmother used to say: “No is a full sentence.” And so I replied with a careful: “So kind of you — but, no, thank you. Let’s do something else soon.”
Can I be honest and say I still felt a twinge of guilt? And that I nearly cupped my hand to my mouth to prevent myself from spilling into an elaborate explanation of all the schedule-shuffling that would be required? And that I doted on that friend afterward, almost to compensate for what I felt had been a rude reply to her invitation?
But I felt something else, too. I was aware for the first time of a kind of selfishness in my auditing of the invitation. It was one of the first times where I did not reflexively say yes to an invitation, or rush to “make it work” despite the fact that I did not in fact want to go. And I told Mr. Magpie later that I think I have entered a season of life where I am becoming more ruthless with my priorities. For example, I find it difficult to commit to events and gatherings that start before 7:30 p.m. because I want to put my children to sleep — or at least one of them, so Mr. Magpie is not on his own. Putting them both to bed is doable (I do it routinely) but it often saps the joy out of bedtime, because both are sleepy and in need of my attention and so I am rushing through storytime while micro is whimpering on my knee, or shushing a whining mini while giving micro his bottle. And I have declined a few proposed getaways with friends because it is so complicated to figure out childcare and we are banking on the generosity of our parents for two trips we absolutely MUST make this year (anniversary and my sister’s wedding) and do not want to overstep our boundaries in that regard by squandering their offer to watch our children on a more frivolous excursion. For a time, I felt ashamed of this. I had friends telling me “oh but you really need to get away from your kids now and then.” I am certain they are right in that it would be restorative to get away for a few days (Mr. Magpie and I daydream about it regularly) but — I have decades and decades ahead of me where such trips are much more feasible and much less complicated. Micro is only seven months old! His care is still rather intensive. And ferrying mini to and from school on the subway with a baby in a carrier is no joke if you are on your own, especially if you are not from New York. And so would I tap a separate caregiver to help with transit? Etc.
Even now, as I write this, I am overexplaining it, maybe even to myself. Because the simpler answer is no, thank you. I would rather be with my children. Or — it is too complicated to leave my children. Or — I am just not comfortable leaving my children. At least right now, at least at this stage.
I wonder how this sits with you, whether you have children or not. I feel in some ways that the ambient culture has been all about “saying YES to adventures” and “the year of yes” and “yes, and.” You can scarcely open Pinterest without a meme telling you that you should embrace your bias towards action — JUST DO IT! LEAN INTO ADVENTURE!
+Finally bought a Vitamix for our kitchen — we have basically every other kitchen gadget and tool under the sun, but were stubbornly hanging on to an old, passably-workable blender we bought before we were married that can barely puree cooked vegetables. Very excited to work smoothies and acai bowls into our breakfast routine!
+Planning to reupholster two x benches that have been thoroughly destroyed with grubby fingers over the past two years, and want something in a bold red/coral/orange print. Eyeing this fabric or this one.
I would say this brand generally runs TTS, maybe a hair on the small side. The Cadence dress is the only thing that seemed to run particularly small — I would size up in that one! — but everything else, I’d order in your child’s normal size.
Maisonette is also having a great sale, and I shared many of my favorite purchases from it in this roundup. However, I especially adore these smock dresses (have ordered several of these for mini in seasons past); they look darling with Cienta or Superga sneaks and an oversized hairbow for a playdate / museum excursion. Also adoring this striped cotton dress! So easy to wear and just precious with that collar.
Why is it that certain things pertaining to aging happen in dribs and drabs, like my mounting inability to keep my eyes open while watching a movie past 10 p.m. or my gradual-onset discomfort with leaving items in the kitchen sink (unfinished business) or the slow but perceptible deepening of wrinkles on my forehead, and other things happen all of the sudden, as if a switch has flipped — like not being able to crouch down for more than a few minutes without mild self-injury or Mr. Magpie turning 38 and it dawning on us — with urgency — that we are nearer to 40 than we are to 30 and that we have not one but two children who depend on us and will depend on us for the rest of our lives and how — just how — did we get here, so far from the teens writing I LOVE YOU into one another’s palms — love notes cosseted from the prying eyes of college friends sitting in the backseat of Mr. Magpie’s black boxy jeep (“Party Girl,” we called her) — my hair flying in the wind, his music blaring over its roar, feeling more alive and electric than I’d ever felt before on a wide open route 66 pointed toward Charlottesville, Virginia?
Post Scripts.
+The entire Kule sale is so, so good. I shared a link to their modern long striped tees earlier this week (on sale for $30), which became something of a uniform for me during my stint as a SAHM over the three weeks around Christmas. I also have this tee dress in my bag (perfect with GG sneaks for weekends in the spring) and this lightning bolt tote, which is so fun for trips to the beach/park this summer.
+Leopard rain jacket! So fun. However, I am still holding out for this pink raincoat — I can’t quite legitimize its purchase since I have a lovely raincoat that is perfectly functional but…!
+These denim flats have a Celine vibe thanks to that bow in the back.
+Speaking of hot air balloons — how amazing are these for a nursery?!
+Just ordered one of these personalized collars for Tilly in the blue gingham. We use this harness when walking her which I CANNOT ENDORSE MORE HIGHLY if you have a dog occasionally wont to pull. Tilly is very, very strong (60 lbs of energetic muscle) and though she is actually a very good walker (usually heels / keeps pace with me at my side), when there are squirrels or errant bits of food in her line of sight, all bets are off. This harness actually enables me to control her / tug her back to my side. (More great dog gear here.)
+After reading that I keep a stash of lollipops in my diaper bag for emergency bribery situations, my friend wrote to tell me about these “healthy” lollipops, which are good for your little one’s teeth!
+OK, I have to say — this clip-on strainer is kind of genius, but not only for the obvious reason. In NYC, garbage disposals are very hard to come by in apartments and I have lived without one since moving here. This means that when you are trying to clean a soupy substance out of a pot, it’s kind of a pain in the butt. I’d use this to dispose of liquids and then toss solids in the garbage. Brilliant.
+I love the changing pad covers from Crate & Kids. So thick and quilted — and the cutest prints.
+So many cute, vacation-ready dresses from Banjanan. Love the bows on the shoulders of this style. Already own and love this one!
+GREAT sale going at Todd Snyder — I buy so much of their collection each season for Mr. Magpie. He has gotten into a groove where he basically never buys himself anything and then complains that he owns no clothes, so I have addressed this problem by buying him multiple head-to-toe looks from here and Polo and a few other outfitters once a season, usually when they’re running a sale. I just bought him this head-to-toe look: the blue colored trousers, the pink sweater, and a white oxford. This was one of his favorite shirts this fall, and it is now marked down to $100!
I love Valentine’s Day — mainly because I love any excuse to make a day extra-special and themed, and these winter months tend to drag on after the density of holidays in the fall/early winter. It’s a perfect excuse to deck the halls in the dead of February. Below, a few of my favorite finds, recognizing that we’re still three weeks away from the holiday, but it’s easy to lose track of time and then find yourself wandering the seasonal aisle at CVS contemplating a lot of random impulse buys you don’t need. (Plus, I’m an anticipator.)
My can’t-talk-about-Mr.Rogers-without-misting-over tough guy //
My exceptionally-gifted personal chef, who does things like buy heirloom variety corn to nixtamalize for homemade tacos and travel to four or six specialty grocers in order to get all the right, authentic ingredients for carnitas //
My occasionally hot-headed-for-the-right-reasons protector //
My business partner — the data-minded brains behind this blog! //
My audaciously ambitious and brilliant entrepreneur, always looking for “the duct tape” (i.e., things people do to “paper over” gaps in their lives — where many a good business idea have been born) //
+Speaking of toile, love this shirt dress. (And of course the toile dress I already own and talked about here…)
+THIS MAXI SKIRT is so fun!!! And an extra 20% off! So chic with a white tank/bodysuit and Hermes oran slides.
+How adorable are all of these rainboots?! Especially adore these and these — such good colors and that gingham lining is so precious! I might have to deviate from my Hunters for mini this season. The question is whether to go with a bow or not…
+Just ordered this bow in the sure-to-sell-out “taupe” color for mini — it’s the one Born on Fifth’s daughter wears all the time and is SUCH a pretty pink/lilac/gray blend. I swear it is always sold out!
+Just ordered this striped tee for $28. I am getting such heavy use out of my collection of Kule tees (<<just also bought this one, which is for some reason marked down to $30!!!) this season — thought I’d add this to the mix.
Q: Trying to distract myself from a sad breakup with decorating my first studio. Ideas? It’s hard to know what pieces to invest in for a small space! SOS!
A: Ahh! I’m so sorry to hear that — but what a wonderful project to focus your energy on. I would say invest in 1) your bed (specifically your mattress and bedding — you can find a reasonably-priced, fun headboard at OKL, like this) because you will spend so much of your time in it and you will almost certainly be able to use it anywhere else you move, and 2) good lighting. Lamps fit anywhere (well, almost all of them) and they completely transform a room — both art and function! I love this, this (similar to ones above), and this. And do yourself a favor and invest in Philips Hue bulbs for all lamps — I am obsessed. You can have bright white light for morning/work and a soft yellow light for reading/cocktail hour. All dimmable and pre-programmable in your phone.
I also have found some incredible pieces at reasonable prices at Pier1 and World Market. We were actually very close to buying this traditional table from Pier1 for our dining room! I love it. (We ended up buying something else — more on that soon.) And how fantastic is this upholstered dining bench? Bonus: all of these brands have a decent secondary market, so you will probably be able to sell them all when the time comes versus splurging on something super idiosyncratic/custom that will be more niche and difficult to sell.
Try also to consider everything you buy from a multi-tasking standpoint. An ottoman or trunk for a coffee table can double as seating in a pinch. If you’re doing an upholstered bench, make sure it has storage inside. Dropleaf dining tables (or ones that come with leaves) are brilliant for the occasions you are hosting (or for repurposing in a future home). A friend of mine added a “skirt” to a side table to add pattern to her room — and also to hide bulky items with no closet space.
Finally, go slow. This is really hard because I am always chomping at the bit to have everything set up, but I have waited and waited on a few pieces for our home and things are finally coming together and I’m so happy I took the time.
Q: Do you have a daily prayer or meditation practice?
A: I say the Hail Mary whenever needed — and that’s usually at least three times a day. It is always at the tip of my tongue. I have a special devotion to Mary; she’s seen me through some tough times. My mom and I said the Hail Mary together over the phone when I was rushing to the hospital at 34 weeks pregnant by myself. And at the end, my mom said: “We’re right there with you. Mary and I.” I’ll never forget that — not as long as I live: these two mothers, lifting me up in prayer.
But I often say it when I need to compose myself as a mother, or when I hear a bit of bad news, or when a friend reaches out in a state of stress or agony or helplessness. And sometimes I say it while I’m sitting on the floor of micro’s nursery, feeding him the twelve-trillionth bottle I’ve fed him, because my arms are full and I am staring into the darkness of his room and I realize my heart is also very full and the moment deserves a prayer.
I love the structure of The Hail Mary and I find comfort in its rhythms. But it also appeals to me in the sense that I am saying dozens and dozens of decades of the rosary over the course of my life. This continuity brings me peace.
Q: How do you define success?
A: Making my family proud. Nothing in the world feels better than doing something well — except for doing something well while your loved ones are watching and cheering you on.
Q: Any recommendations for a nice men’s coat?
A: Mr. Magpie owns a Ralph Lauren wool topcoat similar to this in camel and it looks just as good with jeans as it does over a suit. It was the investment of a lifetime — intended to last him for decades! I love the look and you can get it for less with this elegant RL Ralph Lauren style (on sale) or this J. Crew variation. Also love this similar style from Mr. Porter’s house brand. Lobby for the camel color, though I feel like most men would gravitate towards black. It looks SO good with nearly any color and is more interesting and sophisticated.
Q: Any tips for starting babies on food? Did you start with rice milk?
A: I think most pediatricians say you can start with solids at four months but I waited until micro was able to hold his head up fairly well, which was at five and a half months. I started with lots of fork-smashed or pureed vegetables and fruits; the first thing I ever fed him was a mashed up banana. Conventional wisdom suggests you feed them one new food a day to check for allergies — they’ll be easier to isolate/diagnose that way. I made some of the purees myself, but I am a proponent of the pouch, too. (I especially like the new brand Cerebelly.) I also fed him yogurt and infant cereal because I liked to mix other things into them — peanut butter (which my pediatrician urged me to expose him to!), cinnamon, nutmeg, jam, etc. At around six months, I started feeding him two times a day, and now I feed him at every meal. I usually feed him yogurt, oatmeal, or fruit purees at breakfast, vegetable puree at lunch, and whatever we’re having for dinner (thrown in the food processor!) in the evening. Last night, he had leftover carnitas and rice pureed with some water, and the night before it was oven-roasted potatoes with gyro meet (also pureed)! He loved it. Both my mother and my pediatrician encouraged me not to shy away from feeding my babies flavor, so I try to give him everything we eat, with the exception of really spicy things and really salty things (though some of you have in the past encouraged me to try the spicy stuff!).
I also make handy use of pulp feeders, which keep him preoccupied for the second half of my own meal and enable him to try new flavors (I stuff them with grapes, berries, melon, orange wedges, etc). We are almost at the phase where I will start to let him self-feed with things like scrambled egg, pancakes, overcooked pasta, zucchini wedges cooked until really soft, etc. But not there yet!
Oh — and this is our high chair (full review here), though I do every now and then wish I’d bought a Tripp Trapp from an aesthetic point of view. (And I also like the intention of having your baby actually sit at the table with you from an early age.)
Q: What kind of table linens do you recommend for everyday? Napkins, placemats, tablecloth?
A: I love all of the tablecloths from India Amory (a Magpie woman of substance!), especially because they are machine-washable, but most days, we eat on a hard-wood table with this ivory runner down the middle because — with a toddler — it’s easier to just clean the table (we use this wood spray) than having to run linens through the wash on a daily basis. I also love that ivory runner because it goes with everything — no matter what I am using as a centerpiece! — which runs the gamut from cut flowers to our cake dome (love this because it can be inverted to create a punch bowl!) filled with cookies to a pedestal clustered with small votives to a big dish heaped full of citrus. I also always have mercury glass candlestick holders with Caspari taper candles in them on my dining table
In general, I have found buying table linens in neutrals and metallics has paid off, as they can be adapted to nearly any season or festive occasion with the addition of flowers and colorful napkins. We use paper napkins most nights but if we have guests, I use cotton or linen dinner napkins (machine washability is key) and I tend to have good luck buying them at Sur La Table of all places! They often run promotions and the quality is quite good. I love these but I own at least six or seven different sets/patterns of theirs! I also just used this set from Serena & Lily for a dinner party we hosted last weekend and one of the guests could not stop commenting on how soft they were! Ha! So those are going to be in heavy rotation as well.
The other thing I often use for everyday dining is a set of cork-backed placemats. I own this exact set, but I love all the patterns from this brand — these are chic! They are safe for toddler use because they wipe clean easily but are so elegant! Love. These personalized ones are also darling for littles.
If you’re a believer, I also like to think of a quote I saw on Instagram recently: “He’s just moving the pieces around.”
Hang in there!
Q: Any recommendations for a pair of comfortable, chic flats that are suitable for city walking?
Q: For travel, I have walked in these Chanel espadrilles for miles and miles and miles. I’ve never gotten a blister. They don’t have great arch support but it feels like you’re wearing nothing. I traipsed all over Spain in them. LOVE. Cannot recommend these enough if you’re traveling and if they fit your wardrobe/style. (I liked them with everything from white shirtdresses to olive green trousers to jeans to shorts.)
I have also always had good luck with Loeffler Randall flats — I own multiple pairs from past seasons. I like these — the “high neck” style is very in right now.
Finally, I have had these in my cart for over a year. People rave about their comfort and you can throw them in the wash?!
Q: Suggestions for transitioning out of the swaddle? When did you do it?
A: Mini loved the swaddle and so I waited until the absolute last possible minute (i.e., when she was rolling over, and she did this pretty late — five months?) to transition her because the swaddle made us all happy! But once a baby is consistently rolling over, a swaddle becomes a hazard. Micro started resisting the traditional swaddle (hands tucked down at sides) between two and three months and so we transitioned him to one of these Love to Dream sleep sacks (one of my favorite baby products this go around!) until he started rolling both ways, which was maybe around four months. I then tried the Merlin sleepsack but it didn’t work well for micro after the first night (a false positive, arg!) because he self-soothed with his fingers, and he couldn’t get his hands to his mouth wearing it. (With the Love to Dream swaddle, though the arms are “pinned” up, he could still work his little fabric-covered fist into his mouth.)
I ended up doing the same thing with both children: swaddling them with one arm free for about a week (with the Love to Dream swaddle, you just unzip one of the arms — genius! — but you can also swaddle with one arm in a traditional swaddling blanket) and then transitioning them to sleeping with both arms free. The first day or two are pretty rough as they tend to wake themselves with their newfound freedom, but hang in there — it doesn’t take too long for them to adjust. (Also, try letting them sleep on their tummies around this age/once they are rolling over! I found both children started sleeping better and longer when on their stomachs.)
Once this transition was complete, I started having them sleep in sleepsacks. I am obsessed with the quality of the Woolino ones (thanks for all of the recs from my readers!) They are so soft and warm and well-made, and they hold up beautifully in the wash.
Finally, if you have a harder time transitioning to one arm free / both arms free, consider the Merlin sleepsuit! Did not work for micro but MOST of my mom friends swear by it!
Q: Recommendations for a dress for my toddler daughter to wear to meet her new sibling?
A: I went with a super traditional smocked BIG SISTER dress I found at Cecil and Lou that they no longer carry. Here is a precious similar style; look for less here or here. If smocking isn’t to your taste, I love Jacadi for special-but-not-too-frou-frou styles, like this or this. We had mini bring a present for micro (one of these darling personalized De Buci bears) and vice versa (Bullseye for her Woody doll, which she LOVES and I thought the notion of companionship was cute), which was super special.
Q: Thoughts on division of labor at home? How do you do it? Major topic among my mom friends!
A: I’ve actually thought a lot about this topic and I think the key here is knowing that it’s never going to be perfectly equal, and that’s OK. (Or, if the balance is not OK for you, flagging that early and being vocal about it. I was pretty up front about things I did not want to do early in our marriage — taxes, yardwork, etc. I told Mr. Magpie I’d outsource or neglect those things if left to me and he’s handled them on his own without further comment since.) In our home and in our marriage, we both recognize that there are all kinds of labor that we perform, and much of it is invisible. (I wrote more on this topic here.) Though I currently manage a lot of the nuts and bolts of running our house and keeping our children fed, bathed, and dressed (with the giant exception of cooking, which Mr. Magpie does the majority of), I am at peace with the arrangement and in fact take pride and pleasure in it. (I hope that’s not setting our gender back a couple of decades, ha!) I recognize that Mr. Magpie handles a lot of things I am entirely uninterested in or ill-equipped at — finances, utilities, fixing things around the house, negotiating, vetting and hiring vendors, technology — and that this is the current season of life we’re in and that things can and probably will change in the future. We’ve gone through phases where Mr. Magpie has done more of the household management (pre-kids) and now I carry most of the burden because I am at home and have a more flexible schedule and it just makes sense. Like, why would I have him take off of work to coordinate schedules with the plumber? Sometimes practicality flies in the face of ideals, you know? (The old purist v pragmatist debate.)
Q: What to wear to a law school alum interview? Not sure how formal to go.
A: I always err on the side of over-dressing when there’s a question. I would probably wear a conservative dress and pointed toe flats or pumps. Some options for a dress:
For heels, cannot encourage you to buy yourself a pair of these more. Well-priced, the perfect heel height, and just beautifully proportioned. I wear the black and camel ones at least once a week.
Q: Vacations/travel destinations you are eyeing for 2020?
A: We will go to the Hamptons over the summer and then are hoping to get away just the two of us for our ten year (!) wedding anniversary in August, and are thinking of visiting Napa, the Adirondacks, or the Inn at Little Washington for the occasion. We also have weddings in Austin and Boston!
We aren’t big travelers anymore — we have friends who travel constantly, but it’s tough with two small children and parents who live out of town, and at this stage in our lives, we choose to use our money differently. (Different priorities!)
Q: Ideas for toddler meals? Your meals and recipes look amazing, but do your kids eat them?
A: Eh, sometimes. Mini has just emerged from a horribly picky phase where I swear she subsisted off of fruit and peanut butter sandwiches for months on end. It was exhausting and irritating, but she seems to have suddenly emerged on the other side and become much better about trying new foods. A reader made this suggestion and it helps: always include a few things that you know she likes on a plate. So if we’re eating shrimp scampi, I will also put a side I know she likes alongside it (cucumber, green beans, cheese, any fruit, bread and butter, etc.) . We’ve also noticed that a few things seem to help: first, when we all sit down together and eat the same things as a family. This has not always been practical for us given Mr. Magpie’s work schedule, but it really helps with her willingness to taste and enjoy new flavors. (Related: she ate very well when sitting alongside her cousins back in D.C. and whenever I blend up what she’s eating to feed her little brother! I thinks he likes the encouragement.) Second: I’m not above bribery. If she eats a good dinner (moving target as to what that means), she gets dessert. This is highly motivating to her and she will try things with the promise of a cookie afterward. I always told myself I wouldn’t be that type of parent (“my child will eat what we’re eating and like it!” “I will never force them to eat food!” etc.) but my mother once told me that she went to her pediatrician when one of my sisters was being particularly recalcitrant on the toilet-training front, and he said: “Elaine, it’s called B-R-I-B-E-R-Y. Some kids are highly motivated by it. Others aren’t. I guarantee you this one is.” Mini is one of those types. Take that advice or leave it — but we’ve gotten good results with eating and toileting by celebrating her achievement vocally and then rewarding with an M&M or cookie. Third, there is an episode of Daniel the Tiger where he talks about trying new foods and that really got through to mini (look it up!). She was talking about eating peppers and carrots “just like Daniel!” for days. Thank you, Daniel the Tiger.
All of these observations gesture at the obvious: that kids are highly impressionable and will model the behavior they seem around them! (Duh. I’m sure all of you are way ahead of me on this one.)
But, I know that’s not exactly what you were asking. I don’t have a ton of great and creative menus for toddlers as my ambition is to get her to eat whatever we are eating, though I do like this toddler cookbook when I’m feeling inspired (the recipes are just involved enough that they do require some time and planning). Things I make A LOT at home that she consistently enjoys:
Breakfast: overnight oats, cereal with milk, pancakes (she loves the Trader Joe’s pumpkin mix), yogurt, scrambled or fried egg, banana bread, toaster waffle with peanut butter or syrup, toast with peanut butter and banana.
Lunch: PBJ, vermicelli noodles with pork and cucumber (girl has always loved Vietnamese food), leftover fried rice, cinnamon raisin bread with cream cheese, deli meat and cheese cut out into shapes with these, chicken noodle soup (I drain a lot of the broth), bagel with cream cheese or peanut butter.
Dinner: Quesadilla, roast chicken/fish/pork, buttered noodles, meatballs, rice/couscous/orzo, pizza, steak (she loves loves loves steak — #chicagobaby), and breaded chicken cutlets, always with a vegetable or two on the side (cucumber, green beans, broccoli, carrots seem to go over well fairly consistently).
Q: Did you sleep train your babies? If so, when and what method?
A: No — it’s not for me. I have, however, learned to wait a few minutes before going in, as micro often shifts in his sleep and will cry for 2-3 minutes until he’s settled back down at least once a night. But if he cries for more minutes than his age in months, I will go in. That’s my general rule. (So, if he is five months, I’ll wait five minutes before going in. Now we’re up to seven. I think I picked this up from a Magpie reader!)
Realizing that every baby is different, I will share that the two best things I did to get micro to sleep through the night (which he has done most nights since he was about five months old) were:
1) Spacing feeds throughout the day. It is hard, but if you can push the baby to eat every 3-4 hours versus every 2-3, it really pays off at night.
2) Putting him in his own nursery. This was a stroke of good fortune in that we moved just after his five-month birthday and he got his own room out of the deal. Within days of moving, he was regularly sleeping from 10-6. I know pediatricians recommend babies sleep in their parents’ room until the age of one (!) but having micro in his own nursery worked wonders for us.
I want to add something important: mini did not sleep through the night until a year of age. I swore to myself that if I had a second baby, I would be “stronger-willed” and would employ the cry-it-out method as I am fully aware that I enabled her to hang on to one middle-of-the-night feed for way too long. But then micro arrived and that went out the window and — you know what? — that’s OK. It’s who I am! It’s how I feel most comfortable as a mom!
Q: How do you stay motivated (in work and just in life in general)?
A: I admire other successful people and think of my parents. I feel that I owe it to them in some way given all their generosity and love.
My Latest Snag: Staud Garden Balloon Sleeve Dress.
Already covered this in a post earlier this week, but my Staud dress arrived and I am smitten! I shared a few snaps of myself in it on Instastory earlier this week and so many of you wrote to say you’d ordered it, too. The sleeves are super dramatic and of course I love a good toile. (A few of you also asked about the length — I’m 5’0 and I’d say it’s a little bit too long on me as it should hit well above the knee. I don’t usually wear mini dresses anymore but I thought the sleeves and the demureness of the print warranted it. I would say I’ll hem it maybe 2-3″. If you’re iffy on the length, Staud also came out with this tiered maxi version of the dress, which is so fun and dramatic, too! Would also work with a bump!)
You’re Sooooo Popular: My Bedroom Rug.
The most popular items on the blog this past week:
It reminded me that happiness, like pressure, is at least in part an act of will. Or is it? After posting this here, Mr. Magpie and I got into a conversation about the plausibility of this statement and determined that it is overly reductive — though a good reminder that, like many hands, a good mood makes light work.
Post-Scripts: A REALLY Really Good Cocktail Dress.
+URGENT: THIS DRESS. IT IS SO SO SO GOOD, CURRENTLY AN EXTRA 30% OFF, AND I’M DYING OVER IT. IT’S SOLD OUT IN MY SIZE. (More great options for wedding guest attire here.)
+I’ve begun to buy Mr. Magpie what I call “cooking shirts.” He has splattered and stained so many shirts while elbow-deep in his latest cooking project that he needs an entire category of shirts reserved exclusively for his favorite hobby. These are welcome additions to the roster (extra 30% off!)
+Hard to think about Christmas right now, but this is a great price on a classic tartan dress! (Brother can coordinate in this.) I am always grateful when I order a season ahead!
By: Jen Shoop
*As a preface, because I am often asked, mini wears a school-issued backpack (every child has the same one, with the school’s insignia on it), but we also have this mini Lorimer backpack in the blue toile for trips/excursions and I think it’d make a fantastic option for school — lightweight, the right size, and wipeable. I also love this one from Livly (seen above!) if having a water bottle pouch is a requirement! For lunchbox, we have a monogrammed seersucker style from Saddle Stitches, which is almost always packed with one of these “easy lunchboxes” or a Yumbox.
For the better part of the first two years of her life, mini wore bubbles, smocked dresses, and items that often required hand-washing, ironing, and general supervision. Sending her to school this past fall required me to re-think her wardrobe for a few reasons. To begin with, we commute via the subway to school in rain, sleet, shine, snow. So for the cooler months (most of her school-going existence here in NY!), I have been more inclined toward layers and less attracted to dresses, which require tights (and I have an informal rule that if it is under 45 degrees out, it’s too cold for tights and she needs proper pants!) Further, the school was adamant that children wear clothing that “permits freedom of movement” and specifically indicated that frilly/long dresses were to be avoided. And I do find that she comes home with stains and markings and snags, which incidentally makes me happy, as it reminds me that she’s had a busy, adventurous day learning and playing and exploring — but it also leaves me hesitant to send her off in a $80 heirloom-worthy dress. Finally, most of mini’s classmates look like miniature versions of their chic, downtown parents: lots of jeans, biker boots, chunky sweaters, vests. You don’t see much smocking in those parts and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything with a monogram on it. Not that I cow to the fashion preferences of others, but it has factored into my thinking as the vibe is more dressed-down and downtown.
Still, I will put mini in a peter pan collar until the cows come home. (Or she turns five or six and refuses?)
In short, we currently fall somewhere between her dressed-up infant days and her downtown-cool classmates. I aim for a traditional look; if the weather would cooperate, I’d send her in a jumper and peter pan collar blouse with knee socks every day, but that’s not entirely practical.
Below, a few of my favorite recent purchases for her school wardrobe, almost ALL of which were purchased on sale and many of which were purchased with the intent of easing us into warmer weather!:
