By: Jen Shoop

A couple of scattershot thoughts on things I have been loving in these two weeks since micro was born.

+I bought this Aesop hand cream the day before micro was born as a little treat for myself in the hospital and am obsessed! The scent and texture are heaven.

+I have been watching Schitt’s Creek, Russian Doll, and David Letterman’s My Next Guest Needs No Introduction during late-night feeds. Wonderful company, all three. Russian Doll is quirky and dark but interesting (and produced/co-written by Amy Poehler), Schitt’s Creek is hilarious, and I am finding all of the Letterman interviews fascinating — especially the one with Tina Fey. She holds her own.

+I traded in those *elegant* hospital mesh underwear for these high-waisted postpartum ones and they are so comfortable (love the elasticized lace waistband) and surprisingly non-hideous. Highly recommend for fellow c-section moms.

+Have been keeping mini busy while nursing micro by giving her a few activities to use while sitting next to me in bed: these two-piece puzzles, some special books (like this), puffy sticker sets, and especially this Curious George magnet set have been very popular with her.

+I have an undersupply of milk again so I have been eating tons of oatmeal, eating these, and drinking lots of fenugreek tea. And chugging as much water as I can stand in my favorite water bottle. (The sports nozzle makes it so easy to drink with one hand and prevents spills!) I’m so glad we stocked up on these stage one Philips Avent bottles and this formula so we were prepared. This go around, we made sure to buy tons of bottles so we’d never be stuck hand-washing at the last minute.

+Having major baby bag lust over this utility tote from new-to-me label L’Uniform. Love all of the options for customization (!!) — I think I’d get the navy canvas with white trim and white monogram on the side, or maybe the natural canvas with white trim? Love.

+Though I wrote an entire post on what to wear while nursing, I kind of forgot to think about the awkward time immediately after giving birth where literally nothing fits. I’m too small for maternity clothes (and don’t want to accentuate a bump…) and too big for pre-pregnancy. Also, everything needs to be nursing-friendly. I’ve been getting a lot of wear out of this floral beauty, my Storq caftan, and my Sleeper dress. I also just ordered this $28 SZ Blockprints-lookalike after seeing a bunch of fellow bloggers post about it, as it appears to button down lower than the SZ ones, which makes them impossible to nurse in (will report back on quality and nursing access). I ordered it in the pink color as I already have a ton of blue in my closet, but I think my favorite colorway for this style is the blue on blue one. Finally, I have my eye on this gorgeous (discounted!) maxi (more of a pull-down style for nursing, which looks gloriously forgiving and would look super chic with my Newbark sandals — on serious sale!), this floaty cover-up to wear around the house, and this adorable Banjanan dress. And I’m also wondering whether this tunic-style SZ Blockprints dress has a low-enough button front to accommodate nursing…

+At night, I have been living in these nursing nightgowns, my favorite Cosabella maternity jammies (great for during pregnancy and after), and my Eberjey robe (I own it in the pale pink). I have to say that switching into my own soft robe (and, on day three, my own nursing nightgown instead of the hospital gown) at the hospital made me feel so much more human, and I was so glad I had both on hand.

+In general, I packed well for the hospital (I especially loved these individually-wrapped toning pads, which I used the first 24 hours to clean my face when it was hard to get out of the hospital bed; a plain old bar of Dove body soap, which smelled like heaven to me during my first shower; my trusty 8-hour cream, as my lips were so dry!; and this cream). My only regret: I wish I had packed more snacks for myself — the hospital food was disgusting and I ended up spending the second two nights on my own (sent Mr. Magpie back to our apartment both so he could sleep and so mini had more of a sense of continuity) and often woke up ravenously hungry. If I could do it again, I would pack saltines/crackers, some of these single serve peanut butter pouches, and some fruit (apples, bananas, etc).

+With micro in our room until we move, quarters are tight. We have this striped Gathre changing mat to use for changing at the foot of our bed and space in one of the window-sills for all of his diapering essentials. I have my eye on this to better organize this — wipes, diapers, creams, vitamin D, brush, nail scissors, etc.

+Janie + Jack has so many precious things available right now. I’m so glad it was bought out by Gap (did you see it almost went under and disappeared and Gap white knighted at the last minute?!). I have my eye on this one-piece, this kimono set, these swim trunks, this collared situation, and these saddle crib shoes. And this would be so sweet for mini on the fourth. Also — have my eye on these as a gift for friends having baby girls in the near future. So darling!

+OMG THIS SUIT. It’s splash pad season in NYC! I do usually put mini in a rashguard to keep her skin safer (and it’s so hard to get a toddler to sit still while rubbing sunscreen on her…), and I love the ones from Minnow (more styles, with free shipping!, here). Also ordering her this adorable peplum style from Amazon.

+I have been finding micro often pees through his pajamas and swaddle at night — !! — and it took me awhile to figure out that it was a combination of folding the diaper down around his umbilical cord and not having his anatomy pointed in the right direction, if you get my drift…and so I have been doing a lot of laundry and spending a lot of time evaluating the merits and demerits of various swaddles. I am absolutely in love with the scent and quality of this baby detergent and honestly have yet to find a swaddle that is better than Aden + Anais’. There are literally hundreds of swaddle brands out there, many of them cheaper than A+A, but the muslin is thicker and stretchier and all around better with the Aden + Anais classics (and I’ve probably tried half a dozen other brands). Strongly endorse A+A even though there are others out there with cuter prints. I know a lot of moms have better luck with the velcro/zip swaddle styles, but we’ve always loved plain old fabric swaddles in our home. If you’re the same way, stick with A+A.

+Drinking a glass of wine at happy hour is heaven.

P.S. My ultimate baby registry and 10 baby products that changed my life.

P.P.S. Inspired by the royal baby.

P.P.P.S. Random things that make me very happy.

By: Jen Shoop

Landon Hill Shoop, Jr. was born at 8:49 a.m. on Friday, May 31st. (We are calling him “Hill.”)

Even though I make a living writing, the intensity of the experience of hearing his first cries is beyond words. Beyond comprehension, beyond expression, beyond beyond beyond. But it was something like elation, heartache, relief, shock, awe–and I will never recover from it, in a good way. Life and the way I carry it in my heart has permanently changed shape.

Blessedly, I was not shaking as violently as I had been during Emory’s birth via c-section, and so I was able to hold onto Hill a few minutes after he was born, after Mr. Magpie placed his little body right up next to my face and while the doctors completed the c-section. He was quiet and squirmy and his little mouth found its way to my cheek and though he was probably rooting around for milk, or my smell–it felt like kisses. A hundred little kisses on my cheek. I cannot even think about that moment (or that stretch of moments — time seemed to warp) without weeping. Ten months of waiting, all the agony and discomfort and anxiety over his pregnancy and his birth, all the fear around the c-section — and there he was, loving on me.

A big part of the emotional enormity of that morning was Mr. Magpie — his calm, solicitous presence at my side, squeezing my hand, locking eyes with me, saying nothing but holding my entire world together while I tried my damnedest to get through the 15 minutes of tugging and pulling and odd sensations until Hill was born. When they brought Mr. Magpie into the operating room after the anaesthesiologists put in the spinal, the beep-beep-beep on my heart monitor nearly doubled in speed. “Uh oh,” laughed the doctor. But the moment was tender rather than comedic. Somehow seeing myself on the table through Mr. Magpie’s eyes, laid out and ready to give birth to our son, nearly broke my heart. I could read the anxiety and empathy and gratitude on his face, and I was so overwhelmed by the intensity of the imminent birth of our son with Mr. Magpie at my side, I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest. I will never forget the way I felt when he walked into that OR, or the look on his face during the procedure, or the expression of exhausted triumph and relief he wore when they wheeled us back to the recovery room. Because it was love. And there was something beautifully reaffirming about our relationship as husband and wife in that OR and in the hours and days since.

The last ten days, I have been living on heartstrings. There have been happy tears and overwhelmed tears and a few exhausted tears but mainly there have been gleeful smiles, the sweetest moments of siblinghood, and the biggest sighs of relief.

I will eventually write more about his delivery (blessedly different from and far more positive than the first c-section) and the recovery (also blessedly different from and smoother than the first) and the transition into a family of four, but for now, as I sit here with Hill laying beside me in my bed, I’m going to soak up these fleeting moments of newbornhood…

Thank you for all of your delicious words of encouragement, support, and love. xoxo

By: Jen Shoop

Chintz has been a major trend in fashion and interior design the last several years, shedding its formerly English countryside stodgy vibe for something that feels more like feminine nostalgia. I’m into it. I love in particular accessories like the slides shown above from Tabitha Simmons (on sale for 50% off!). A couple of other points of inspiration:

Tory Burch’s Home.
Emilia Wickstead. (A variation on this dress is currently on sale.)
Lee Radziwill’s Former Apartment.
LoveShackFancy — dress on sale here!
Rita Konig. Love how she mixes chintz wallpaper with D. Porthault’s iconic coeurs bedding.
Hanna Seabrook’s home, using Lee Jofa’s Althea chintz. Get a throw pillow in the fabric here.

A couple of other chintz scores I’m eyeing:

THIS STUNNING VERONICA BEARD (ON SALE)

THIS LADYLIKE SKIRT

THIS TOP-HANDLE BAG

THIS SWIVEL CLUB CHAIR

THE PERSONALIZED PLAYING CARDS

THIS $69 JUMPSUIT!

CHINTZ DESSERT PLATES

THIS SWIMSUIT (ON SALE!)

THIS SCHUMACHER PILLOW HAS BEEN IN MY CART FOR WEEKS FOR OUR MASTER BEDROOM

THIS ALICE MCCALL DRESS

THESE EMILIA WICKSTEAD MULES

ASYMMETRICAL DRESS

DANA GIBSON LAMP

EMILIA WICKSTEAD DRESS

Not chintz, but play well with the vibe:

EMBROIDERED LINEN NAPKINS

SCALLOPED PIQUE SHAMS

SKIRTED TABLE

PINK CANDLESTICK HOLDERS

SKIRTED OTTOMAN

BOW SLIDES

CAMEO EARRINGS

P.S. Another chic home-and-self trend and the best candles for spring/summer.

P.P.S. These glasses are so elegant.

P.P.P.S. An alienation from cricketsong.

By: Jen Shoop

A quick FYI — you can score an extra 25% off all sale items at Shopbop with code SCORE19 starting now! A few items I’ve been eyeing that are in my basket…

THESE POLKA DOTTED LOEFFLER RANDALL MULES (ONLY $120!! — SEEN ABOVE IN ANOTHER COLORWAY)

A ROOMY TRAVEL/BEACH TOTE (SHOULD’VE MADE MY ROUNDUP OF BEACH BAGS!)

ONE OF MY FAVORITE SWEATERS (ONLY $60 WITH CODE!!!)

A SUPER PRETTY SUMMER BLOUSE (UNDER $100)

THIS PLAID FROCK (LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT)

SO TEMPTED BY THESE PATRIOTIC STRIPED HEELS…

LSF MAGIC

ONE OF MY FAVORITE EVENING LOOKS – I OWN IT IN RED; WOULD BE STRIKING FOR A BRIDE IN WHITE!

P.S. Dream Hamptons wardrobe.

P.P.S. What are you reading this summer?

P.P.S. Some great new arrivals at J. Crew today. I ordered this…because, y’know, blockprints.

By: Jen Shoop

Four stars. In the forw0rd to these notebooks from a trip Didion took to the South in the summer of 1970, Nathaniel Rich writes: “Didion’s notes, which surpass in elegance and clarity the finished prose of most other writers, are a fascinating record of this time. But they are also something more unsettling. Readers today will recognize, with some dismay and even horror, how much is familiar in these long-lost American portraits.” I agree heartily with the first observation: even in draft, scattershot, off-the-cuff observational mode, Didion’s writing is more piquant, evocative, and well-put than prose to which the rest of us dreamily aspire. Behold the precision and breadth of such impressions as: “In New Orleans, the wilderness is sensed as very near, not the redemptive wilderness of the western imagination but something rank and old and malevolent, the idea of wilderness not as an escape from civilization and its discontents but as a mortal threat to a community precarious and colonial in its deepest aspect.” The quality of her discernment is unparalleled in any other writer I have to date encountered.

But the second bit I grappled with. Didion notes early on that she has long held certain conceptions and constructions of the South whose origins are dubious — snippets of memories, impressions gleaned from pop culture. And so she travels south to “find out, as usual, what was making the picture in my mind” (a phrase I underlined and returned to with fresh marveling at least six times). I admire her mission: she travels directly to the root to observe and unpack and, if appropriate, unseat her presumptions. However, I felt frequently throughout the journals and also as I sat back and mused over the context for their publication now, in 2018, of all years, that I was being tugged towards certain anti-Southern biases. “How bizarre and backwards,” was the subtext (at its most genteel)–a difficult one to dispute given the range of vignettes Didion presents, ones showcasing dark and despicable racist traditions to sickening gender slurs. The book in this sense seemed to have an agenda: to remind its readers of the recalcitrant backwardness of the South. Didion at one point writes: “The isolation of these people from the currents of American life in 1970 was startling and bewildering to behold. All their information was fifth-hand, and mythicized in the handing down.” Rich’s foreword states outright what its publication intimates on this front: “Not much has changed.”

I idle over this not so much from a “is this true or not?” vantage but from a “what are we achieving by burrowing into such regionalisms”? Constructing some kind of coastal elite — the enlightened liberati of the West Coast versus the retrogressive dullards of the South? Where do such distinctions land us?

But then — it is not for Didion to propose solutions and so perhaps my concerns are misplaced. She is a keen observationalist and journalist, an incisive observer of the times. But I will admit to wondering at the rifts that are deepened in the publication and reading of this book.

Perhaps this was the book’s intent, though: to put in front of us the stark topography of social, economic, and political difference between regions in this country.

What were your thoughts?

Note that one of Didion’s books made my list of 10 books that will change your life. Please, please read it; it will not disappoint.

July Magpie Book Club Pick.

For our July Magpie book club pick: I am going rogue. We’re reading a YA novel: Nicola Yoon’s The Sun Is Also a Star. This book won substantial praise (and several prestigious awards) and, as I mentioned in a recent post, my sister — whose literary tastes normally run higher brow than my own — admitted that it is on her reading list this summer, too. The premise:

“Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?”

I feel this will be substantive fodder for conversation. And go.

Post Scripts.

+What else to read this summer.

+A sweet option for a Fourth of July outfit for an itty bitty. (More ideas here.)

+A smart way to keep all those pouches for babies/toddlers organized.

+These ikat loafers are amazing.

+Love the print on this dress — not sure if I prefer it more in the blue or the pink!

+Smocked tops are all the rage this season. This one ($30!) would be cute with high-waisted linen pants or white jeans.

+Thinking ahead to the school year: how cute is this Barbour-esque field coat for a little boy?

+My favorite home products.

+A friend gave me one of these house-brand baby towels from Nordstrom and I have to say it was the thickest, most absorbent baby towel I used for mini — I always reached for it over every other brand I tried (including PBK!)

+Adore the back of this dress, and that brown linen color is so unexpected!

+10 maternity musts.

+The thrill of the chase.

By: Jen Shoop

I feature a lot of pricy picks but in all honesty split my purchases between bargain finds and investments. Below, twelve incredibly stylish finds for under $120:

THIS PEPLUM BLOUSE IN SUNNY YELLOW (SEEN ABOVE)

LOVE THE SHAPE AND SLEEVES OF THIS SUMMER DRESS (ALSO AVAILABLE IN A COOL GREEN EYELET COLOR) — WOULD LOOK INCREDIBLE IN THE BLACK WITH THESE SHADES

NAIL THE TIE-DYE TREND FOR LESS — LOVE THIS FOR A MORNING COFFEE RUN WITH WHITE SKINNIES AND METALLIC SLIDES

THIS SMOCKED LINEN SCORE

THIS RIC-RAC TRIM SKIRT

BLUE AND WHITE STRIPES IN A STARTLINGLY ELEGANT CUT — HOW INSTAGRAMMABLE NEXT TO A BOUQUET OF BLUE AND WHITE HYDRANGEA?!

THESE SANDALS, ESPECIALLY IN THE FIRE ENGINE RED

A FUN GINGHAM MINI

THIS POLKA-DOTTED, BELTED SWIMSUIT IS EPIC

OWN AND ADORE THIS BOTANICAL PRINT SHIRTDRESS

THIS $30 PRINTED AND TIERED DRESS IS IN MY CART (!!!)

SWOONING OVER THIS BLUE AND WHITE PRINT DRESS

P.S. At the other end of the spectrum, on my lust list: this Cecilie Bahnsen dress (she is master of the voluminous white silhouette); these nude Pradas (I’m normally highly impractical with footwear; I just know I’d wear these CONSTANTLY); this Emilia Wickstead; this Hunting Season bag; this straw hat.

P.P.S. The best beach bags for summer.

P.P.P.S. How do you meal plan? (Loved all the comments on this one!)

By: Jen Shoop

My Latest Snag: The Staud Maya Dress.

Amidst all the incredible sales raging around the Memorial Day holiday, I snapped up a few pieces but am particularly excited about this Staud linen tie-front dress in elegant ecru. Chic and versatile! Could be worn with Hermes Orans during the day or with little kitten heels and big earrings (<<these are a current favorite and will look incredible against the cream linen dress!) in the evening.

You’re Sooooo Popular: Pillow Covers.

The most popular items on the blog this week:

+These ultra-chic and ridiculously discounted pillow covers — an easy way to spruce up your couch for the new season.

+The best food storage containers.

+My favorite caftan.

+This skirted one-piece, which I have, on good authority, heard is incredibly flattering. On sale for less in different colors here and here.

+An easy-to-wear linen blend dress for under $35.

+A darling and affordable scalloped + striped dress.

+One of my favorite sweaters, on sale. Would look so chic and timeless with white skinnies.

#Turbothot: On the Eve of Micro’s Birth.

By the time this post is published, micro will have been here with me for at least a week, a fact I can scarcely fathom despite the fact that I am writing this at four days overdue and therefore this pregnancy feels like it has lasted an eternity. But I wanted to to take a minute to capture how I feel right now, on the eve of his birth, as I did the same just before mini was born.

The third trimester of this pregnancy has been challenging. I am absurdly fortunate that both my pregnancies with micro and mini have been straight-forward and largely without complication from a health standpoint, and so I recognize that I am lucky. But between chasing a toddler, carrying a baby that has been sitting very low and therefore sending shock waves of pain down my abdomen and legs with every twist and movement, and a “dry run” that sent me to the hospital with contractions at thirty-four weeks, I feel emotionally and physically drained, as I have been sitting on the edge of my seat, convinced I am going to go into labor virtually every day — every minute — for the past six weeks. Because mini was breech and I knew I would be having a c-section, it simply never dawned on me that she might arrive early and throw everything into chaos. I focused on the scheduled date and assumed that would be the day she’d be born. With micro, I have been convinced that I will go into spontaneous labor at any minute — and so things like ironing my sheets and getting manicures and ensuring that the fridge is stocked have left me on the edge of my seat: “Will I be able to get this done?” “What if my water breaks while I’m in the middle of this?” Of course, these are inane and irrational concerns. Who cares if the sheets aren’t ironed or my sister has to run out for a gallon of milk while looking after mini? Life will continue. But they have been on my mind, plaguing me, urging me to rush through the quotidian activities of my life — in large part, I know, because I am accustomed to looking after one child and the thought that I might not leave everything just so, prepared, gives me deep pause. I think, too, because micro initially settled into a breech position, then flipped to head-down, and is now four days overdue and is likely going to require a c-section for delivery, I have been agonizing over the details of his birth. So many of you have written (beautifully! encouragingly!) to relinquish control and just accept what will come. I pray for the strength of mind to do this, even in these final hours before he arrives. But it is tough, mentally, to prepare for one eventuality that I am familiar with (c-section), then shift to wondering what a vaginal birth might be like, only to realize that I will probably need a c-section after all. The emotions, the concerns, the unknowns teeter in front of me and tear through me. I continue to want to prepare for something — but don’t know how.

But, these anxieties are nothing compared to the emotional weight of deep mom guilt. Though I know this is a brief season, I feel a heavy mantle of self-reproach resting on my shoulders as I find myself with less patience for mini’s two-year-old-ness. I am lethargic by the time her nap rolls around around 2 P.M. During these last two weeks leading up to micro’s scheduled c-section, I have been too afraid to take mini out on my own on anything but the briefest (and most contained-in-her-stroller) of excursions, as there are times where sciatica pains make it feel as though my legs are about to give way from beneath me and it is frankly too hard to chase after a highly-active and exuberant mini. And there have been nights where I wonder how I am possibly going to make it through her bedtime routine. I am embarrassingly pleased with myself when I give her a bath, as it is painful to bend over the tub and chase her around for a thorough hair scrub, and exhausting to wrangle her naked little body afterward, as she invariably defies my attempts to lotion, diaper, clothe, and brush her. But by the time she is laying across my lap in the dark of her nursery (often after about a dozen micro-crises and skirmishes) and I am saying her prayers and affirmations, I feel a swell of emotion — part tenderness, part remorse — so wild and intense that I find myself fighting back tears. I feel frustrated with myself, with my body, for lacking the energy and enthusiasm to be the mother I know I can be. I feel upset at the thought that her final weeks as an only child might not represent me at my best. And then there was one night where an over-tired mini and an over-tired me got into a battle of the wills over brushing teeth and Mr. Magpie and I decided to put her into her crib without the entire bedtime routine. I heard her wailing from her crib: “I want my mamaaaa” for twenty minutes. I wept. I was convinced I would go into labor and her last night as my only baby would be overshadowed by one of the only times we have ever skipped her entire bedtime routine. Mr. Magpie convinced me that it was more important to draw boundaries — to show her that we meant it when we told her it was bedtime — and that in the grand scheme of things, this was a moment of positive parenting.

Deep sighs, deep breaths.

I am surprised that I have not experienced several of the emotions that many other mothers have warned me about on the eve of the births of their second children: concern that they will not be able to love the second child as much as the first, wistfulness that they have not felt the same tender excitement about the birth of their second because they are too wrapped up in caring for their toddlers. Neither of these seemingly common anxieties have crossed my mind, to be honest. I am principally — deeply — worried about how mini sees me, whether the changes in our interactions now and especially in the near future will harm or upset her. I have never felt that I would not be able to love micro as much as I do mini. Maybe it’s easier because I am having a boy rather than a second girl, and so everything feels new and fresh and different? And — I feel connected to micro, anxious and tender-hearted to meet him, overwhelmed by the responsibility of raising him as a man of substance — many of the same emotions I felt on the eve of mini’s birth. I spend less time dwelling on all of this than I did with mini, but there have been countless 5 a.m. wake-up calls where I lay in the preternatural quiet of our bedroom and feel him move and can hardly breathe I feel so excited and overcome and shocked that he will soon be here, in my arms, my own to love and nurture. Who is he?!

But if my experience with mini’s birth taught me anything, it’s that childbirth and motherhood consistently outsize, warp, and defy any expectations I carry into them. And so I am in some ways not surprised that I have felt so differently from the many other mothers in my tribe.

At the end of the day, I have returned to two thoughts that reassure me in my irrational, possibly hormonal, though candid and true frettings over mini’s wellbeing in all of this:

First: “Does she feel loved?” I know the answer is yes and so I force myself to keep moving.

Second: I am working on giving her one of the best gifts a child can receive: a sibling. In the long run, these few weeks will give way to what I hope will be one of the most important, nourishing, meaningful relationships of her life.

And so we keep marching…

P.S. My registry for baby number two and what to wear while nursing.

Blast from the Past: Reading, Elasticity, and the Greater Than / Less Than Equation.

Musings on my most cherished pastime — reading — in relation to the death of my grandmother:

“That evening, as with countless others to come, I took comfort in the escape of fiction, but something had changed.  I now saw a disparity, a widening gulf.  I felt that I had seen something in real life that could never be approximated on a page, that would be illicit or impossible in the world of fiction.  I realized, for the first time, that whereas I had formerly seen the magical worlds of Ann and Nancy and Laura as greater than my own, the “right arrow” in the equation had flipped: I now saw my own experience outsizing theirs.

The arrow’s direction has flipped and flopped with time, with the quality of books I am reading, with the relative quietude or amplitude of the happenings in my life.  There are stretches where I find myself drinking in the experiences I am reading in a hungry spectatorship, anxious for the thrill or drama of another world; and there are other times where I feel that everything I am reading is a footnote or a corollary to the enormity of my own life.  There are times where the words of others seem to negotiate the terms of an experience — like when I saw that lilac bush while walking along the northside of Sheep Meadow and my day was instantly transformed via the magic of a poem it conjured— but there are other times where everything I read is adjunct to the swell and swing of my own emotions.  And I am grateful for this give-and-take, this elastic relationship I have had with fiction as it alternately fuels and receives my soul.”

Post-Scripts: Extravagant Bath Oil.

+As a post-partum treat to myself, considering buying this bath oil, which receives RAVE reviews. It feels like just the thing a sophisticated mother would treat herself to once the children are asleep, along with a big glass of red wine and a good book.

+Adore these limited edition jammies for Maisonette. Mini loves the carousel in Central Park and I think she’d get a kick out of them.

+I have it on good authority that this toffee is worth shipping to yourself.

+Love the look of this plaid bubble/romper for a baby boy with a big navy monogram on the chest.

+You know I love a good polka dot…

+I’ve had a couple of moms suggest that I put together a little box of special treats for mini to use when I’m nursing micro, as (understandably) this is often a time of jealousy, i.e., “Why is mom only paying attention to the baby right now?!” I’m thinking of buying a few of her favorite puffy sticker sets, a new coloring book and special bag of crayons, a new play-doh set, a couple new books, and a couple of special snacks (she loves freeze-dried fruit like this, which is somehow cheaper to buy on Prime than it is to buy at Whole Foods, where it retails for $6.99).

+My sister — whose tastes in literature tend to run a bit more “high-brow” than my own — claims that this YA novel gets really good reviews as a well-written book on its own standing. Contemplating reading it alongside her.

+Pam Munson magic.

By: Jen Shoop

+A small bowl of cherries as an afternoon snack.

+The way mini says “ladybug”: “way-dee-bug.”

+Falling asleep to the sounds of baseball. Mr. Magpie watches virtually every single Nats game through an MLB sports package and I find the pop of the ball off the bat, the muted roar of the crowd, the monotone of the announcer deeply soothing.

+This Vornado fan. We live in an art-deco, pre-war building on Central Park West and so at the dawn of every summer, the porters lug boxy AC units into our apartment. I despise and loathe those monstrosities. They do not cool particularly well and they are insanely noisy. As a result, Mr. Magpie and I try to make do without them until we absolutely cannot bear it, instead preferring the gentle whir and surprisingly effective dynamics of this fan. (Recommended by Wirecutter; read the Amazon reviews, too. It’s a really good buy.)

+New words. Just logged and have been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to use “etiology.”

+Climbing into bed early and reading, TV off, lights low. Currently devouring this.

+Weird admission: the smell of Mr. Magpie. I don’t know what it is, but his natural musk is irresistible to me.

+The message in this incredible children’s book, gifted generously to mini by one of my in-person book clubbers (thank you, thank you!). It’s all about listening and empathy and making space for your own emotions. It’s also reminded me that sometimes the best thing I can do as a mother is just listen–not problem-solve, or cheerlead, or afford a sense of perspective. Just listen.

+Country music at the dawn of summer. I put together a long list of “chick country,” much of it borrowed from the 90s — Shania, Faith, Dixie Chicks — and it is giving me life. It reminds me of open windows and rusted jalopies on dirt raods and wheatfields, though I’ve never lived that country life.

+My new Sleeper dress. Love love LOVE. Will be wearing with my Hermes Orans and these shades all summer long.

+Snail mail.

+Mr. Magpie’s many nicknames for me, many (all?) too embarrassing to write here. But I’m rarely referred to as “Jen” in these parts.

+Wooden toys for children. Mini had a few beautiful pieces like this from German line Haba and plays with this close to daily.

+Toile anything. Currently eyeing this gorgeous little bag, this headband, these leggings and this dress for mini, these crib sheets, this dog bed (in the onyx toile), and this dress (on sale!) for me.

+A bold lip on a Saturday night. Loving this color.

+A cold, full-sugar Coke.

+Impractical footwear. (No, really, it’s my calling in life.)

+Freshly laundered and ironed bedding. (And, in between cleanings, the Laundress’ Crease Release spray. I love the smell and it does a pretty damn good job of making your bed look tidy.)

+Watching Southern Charm — the only Bravo show I tune into these days. I can’t explain why; it’s an enigma unto myself. I think it has something to do with its seeming proximity to the truth, whereas other reality TV shows feel so blatantly fabricated. I mean, the fact that Thomas Ravenel fathered multiple children with Kathryn Dennis stands as proof paramount to me that there are some aspects of truthfulness to the show.

+A good deal on a gently-used/pre-loved designer item at RealReal, like this ODLR children’s outfit.

+A steep discount on a very trendy accessory — like this Staud bag or this Cult Gaia.

+Reading your comments and emails. Truly, one of the primary privileges and joys of my life.

+The way Tilly (our airedale terrier) jumps into Mr. Magpie’s arms and rests her face on his in the evenings. He is her person. They have a special bond that occasionally makes me sniffle.

+The occasional morning where I think — “I’m just not going to rush anything.” And we break precedent and invite mini into our bed with her breakfast and let her linger in her jammies and maybe watch an episode of Sesame Street and enjoy an extra cup of coffee without bustling through the usual quotidian tasks.

+Equally — the mornings when I have everyone dressed, fed, brushed, and happy by 9 a.m., with the beds made and the dishwasher empty and the kitchen cleared of breakfast debris. It’s that middleground kind of morning that kills me, when I’m hauling ass trying to get everything done but nothing is cooperating.

+A cold glass of rose at happy hour.

What random things make you happy today?

P.S. Chasing golden moments and (an oldie!) finding slices of joy.

P.P.S. A daily check-in worth trying.

P.P.P.S. What to wear on the Fourth of July, ICYMI.

By: Jen Shoop

It’s no secret that SZ Blockprint caftans were one of my favorite discoveries last year (it all started with this style from J. Crew) and that I’ve been gradually amassing a collection of their dresses. They represent the perfect solution for pre-jammies, post-dinner relaxation. (Has anyone heard of / worn Mirth Caftans, BTW? Cute, but pricier!) But after featuring them dozens of times and then showcasing India Amory’s blockprint linen collection, I realized that I’m drawn in general to the blockprint aesthetic. It’s a boho-meets-Andy-Warhol vibe and I love it. Today, I thought I’d share a couple of blockprint and blockprint-esque finds:

IN LOVE WITH THIS SUNNY BORGO DE NOR MAXI (AS SEEN IN SNAP ABOVE)

THIS TODDLER BLOUSE IS PERFECT WITH LITTLE WHITE LEGGINGS

THIS DISCOUNTED THROW PILLOW IS GORGEOUS (AND $30!)

AN UBER-CHIC COVER-UP (PEOPLE LOVE THIS LABEL!)

ADORE THE SMOCKING AND SHOULDER TIES ON THIS LITTLE GIRL DRESS

THIS GARDEN STOOL (PERFECT ACCENT PIECE FOR STACKING PRETTY BOOKS OR A CUP OF TEA)

LOVE THE JAMMIES FOR KIDDOS FROM LEWIS HOME

I BOUGHT MICRO ONE OF THESE PRINTED QUILTS FROM ROLLER RABBIT (AND I LOVE THE SHEETING HERE FOR NURSERIES/CHILDREN’S ROOMS!)

I LOVE THIS QUILT FOR A GUEST BEDROOM

A FUN TABLE RUNNER FOR A MEDITERRANEAN FEAST

DANA GIBSON ALWAYS HAS FUN BLOCKPRINTED PIECES FOR HOME, LIKE THIS DECORATIVE BOWL, THIS GINGER JAR, AND THIS EPIC LAMP

THIS GORGEOUS ONE-PIECE

THIS FEMININE TABLECLOTH

THESE STUNNING SLEEPING BAGS FOR LITTLES

I’VE BEEN LUSTING AFTER THE LABEL LADOUBLEJ FOR A LONG WHILE — THESE OVERSIZED CLUTCHES ARE A GREAT WAY TO GET THE LOOK FOR LESS

MY JAW DROPPED AT THE SIGHT OF THIS GOWN

P.S. The block print lewk would go well with all of these wicker and rattan beauties.

P.P.S. Little luxuries for even the smallest of homes.

P.P.P.S. Another microtrend that will never go out of style.

By: Jen Shoop

I met the lovely and talented Aurelia Demark at an event with two other women of substance I’ve featured here in the past, Pam Munson and Laura Gelfand (it was a room full of inspiring female founders), and instantly fell for her gorgeous, heirloom-able line of fine jewelry and charms. I was especially drawn to the way Aurelia spoke about her own collection, which she designs with her mother (!): her eyes alight, eager. Here is a woman deservedly proud of the beautiful wares she has created. Her passion and confidence were electric, and her chops impressive: Aurelia has over 10 years of experience in fashion merchandising and marketing, including roles at Stuart Weitzman and, most recently, Tory Burch.

The back-story behind her brand is beautiful, too: inspired by a bespoke animal charm Aurelia’s mother had designed when Aurelia was born, the two reproduced the design to celebrate the arrival of Aurelia’s own first daughter decades later.

All of her beautiful keepsake pieces are crafted in New York City with solid 18K gold, precious stones, and engraved details. Incidentally, I first learned of this line of pieces, which are — in her words — “meant to mark life’s greatest, most personal moments” from yet another woman of substance I featured in the past, interior designer Jen Hunter, who just recently launched her own design business (and her taste is EXQUISITE). Jen often wears a beautiful charm necklace by Aurelia that I have eyed with envy for some time. It’s just a WOS network around here, eh?

I love her entire collection of whimsical pieces, but am especially smitten with this bracelet (seen above) — a charm for micro and a charm for mini!

Below, her answers to my Proust Questionnaire:

Your favorite qualities in a woman. 

Loyalty, humor, integrity, kindness.

Your favorite heroine. 

My dog, Scout.

Your main fault. 

Perfectionism.

Your greatest strength. 

Perseverance.

Your idea of happiness. 

Sleeping in. Snuggling with my daughters, husband, and dog, Scout. Swimming in warm ocean water where I can see my feet. A French baguette with good butter.

Your idea of misery. 

Having your ski boots hurt on a cold ride up the chairlift. And terrible turbulence on a plane — I have an overactive imagination.

Currently at the top of your shopping lust list. 

I love perfume. My love for perfume started very young, as my grandmother would literally douse herself in Guerlain and my mother wore Chanel #19 throughout my childhood. Smelling a familiar scent always brings back powerful memories. I saw that Carine Roitfeld launched a collection of perfumes — excited to get my nose on them.

Desert island beauty product. 

Oh…I love beauty products! I can’t live without these: Clarins Toning Lotion with Camomile; Origins Tinted Moisturizer; any mascara that makes my lashes look good. I’m not loyal to any particular brand; I wear anything from DiorShow to L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradie Mascara, which I’m currently using. Also — I love putting on a good, scented lotion before bed that’s not too overpowering. This is a favorite.

Last thing you bought. 

Tabitha Simmons light pink kitten heels (on sale!!!). Perfect with jeans and dresses. The light pink is really neutral so I’m wearing them with so much!                                      

I feel most empowered wearing…

Any sort of blazer and my original duck and elephant pendants, designed by my mother, which are now a part of my fine jewelry line.   

Favorite Magpie post.

Recently, your “Affirmations” post hit home. We live in such a crazy world — it’s important to take time with your loved ones, show your love, comfort them, and teach them to grow confidently. You wrote that “we have already established a baseline of love and affection and admiration that I hope she will carry with her forever.” It’s so true; the love you put into your children you will receive back for the rest of your life.

Aurelia Demark-Inspired Finds.

Below, a couple of pieces inspired by this elegant, driven soul (you’ll note if you follow her on Instagram that she loves a good stripe, just like me):

+Co wool and cashmere stripe sweater (on sale!).

+Monogram applique pillow cover.

+L’Oreal mascara.

+Aurelia Demark bracelet.

+Pam Munson bag.

+Self-Portrait floral dress (on serious sale).

+Santa Maria Novella body milk.

+Aurelia Demark diamond bow pendant.

+Tabitha Simmons heels (on super sale!)

+Linen quatrefoil monogram coasters.

+Theory blazer.

+Doen blouse.

+Benoit Missolin headband.

+La Double J dragonfly plates.

+Clarins Toning Lotion.

+Lake Pajamas.

P.S. I love that Aurelia’s line was founded by a mother-daughter duo. I’ve learned so much from my own mom; beautiful to see these lineages brought to bear in a thoughtful collection.

P.P.S. As a fellow beauty junkie: some recent beauty finds.

P.P.P.S. Another kind of affirmation.

By: Jen Shoop

A few weeks ago, I listened to a fascinating podcast interviewing Katherine Paterson, an author you likely remember from your childhood. She wrote Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved, which — along with Judy Blume’s Are You There, God? It’s Me Margaret — remain among the most formative works of fiction from my preadolescence. I didn’t know about periods until I read Judy Blume, and (spoiler alert) Leslie’s death in Bridge to Terabithia was among the first fictional traumas I encountered outside of the high parent mortality rate in Disney movies. The latter haunted me more than the (in retrospect) more deeply troubling bullying and abuse that play a prominent role in the work.

I was intrigued to hear what Paterson would have to say, as her work has clearly become cornerstone content for the middle school crowd. And she did not disappoint. She was refreshingly unassuming and delightfully anti-authoritarian on the subject of empowering children to read, explaining that she has often told children that if their teachers explain “the meaning” of her works, they would do well to absorb it so they can parrot back the facts for testing purposes — but that, in so many words, the true meaning of a work is up to the individual reader. Can you imagine receiving such a message as a wide-eyed, authority-conscious twelve year old?! I think it might have changed my life. I don’t think I came to such a conclusion until I was in my early 20s — and even then, as a graduate student, I still labored on occasion under the misapprehension that there were “right” and “wrong” ways to read a text. And in a certain, school-bound, sense, there were: earning strong grades was always more about reading the professor and his/her predilections and philosophies than it was about the text itself. Any professor who denies this has developed a severe case of intellectual myopia. But, more broadly, I agree with Paterson: books are living, breathing, movable feasts and they bear individualized meaning and nuance for each new reader.

Paterson shares a number of insights into cultivating good readers as children. One message that has stuck with me on the subject of asking children about the books they are reading and that I hope to trot out as mini ages and our conversations around books deepen: “If you know the answer to the question, it’s not a real question. You have to ask a question that you don’t know the answer to and then you’re engaged in the discussion of the book.” I’ve begun applying this sagacity to other realms as well. On occasion, I find myself prompting mini to detail her day: “What did you do? Did you go to the zoo with your nanny?” I’ve aimed to re-direct my mode of inquiry, asking her questions to which I have no clue of the answer. “How many sea lions were there?” “Was the monkey eating?” Etc. Her answers are fascinating, imaginative, and possibly previcatory in the best possible way. (Yesterday, as she was heading into my bedroom: “Where are you going?” “To buy cookies.” “What kind?” “Two.”)

But then there was this brilliance, which at once resonated deeply with me and stirred me:

“Fiction allows us to do something that nothing else quite does. It allows us to enter fully into the lives of other human beings. But, you may argue, these are not real people; they are fictitious, merely the figments of one writer’s imagination. At this point the other side of the brain takes over. There is nothing mere about Natasha. We know with what Walter de la Mare calls ‘the compelling inward ring’ that Natasha is true. She is more real to us than the people we live with everyday because we have been allowed to eavesdrop on her soul. A great novel is a kind of conversion
experience. We come away from it changed and just as a season with Natasha and Andre and Pierre may make us wiser and more compassionate people, a season with Heathcliff or Jude Folly has the power to shake us at the roots. The fake characters we read about will evaporate like the morning dew, but the real ones, the true ones, will haunt us for the rest of
our days.”

How true: [good] books grant us permission to “eavesdrop on someone else’s soul.” I felt this way in particular with Sally Rooney, of whose books I wrote: “I have never met such round, complex characters in my life: they feel real, beyond fiction, as if they exist somewhere in the world and Rooney has only happened to eavesdrop upon them and afford us glimpses into their heartbreaks and hopefulnesses. There is something unforced, natural about the way she captures them.”

And with that, a roundup of my top picks for summer reading:

For the best character portraiture and a modern take on love: Sally Rooney’s Normal People.

For juicy pulp fiction on 1970s-era drug, sex, and rock-and-roll: Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones and the Six.

For dark, female-centric, twisty-turny suspense: Ruth Ware’s Turn of the Key. (Please, please skip Liv Constantine’s The Last Time I Saw You — a true train-wreck of narrative improbability and absurd authorial convenience, though I thoroughly enjoyed their first book, The Last Mrs. Parrish.)

For thought-provoking familial drama: Sally Hepworth’s The Mother-in-Law. This book startled me — I picked it up thinking it would be a dark suspense, and while there is a death with mystery around it at the core of the narrative, found it elegantly written and provocative in the sense that it left me thinking about the expectations we carry into relationships with the families we inherit and the ones we build. I have a big bone to pick with one element of the plot design but won’t ruin it here…

If you liked Madeline Miller’s Circe (who didn’t? a full review here): Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls. A reimagining of “the timeless legend of The Iliad, as experienced by the captured women living in the Greek camp in the final weeks of the Trojan War.” People are loving this book.

For an exceptional food-centric memoir: Ruth Reichl’s Save Me the Plums. From the description: “This is the story of a former Berkeley hippie entering the corporate world and worrying about losing her soul.” I’ve read a number of Reichl’s books/essays in the past and she’s among the best. Cooking and memoir-writing go hand in hand, in my opinion — all about nostalgia, memory, place, feeling.

Because it just won this year’s Man Booker Prize award: Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi. Description: “Set in the village of al-Awafi in Oman, we encounter three sisters…who witness Oman evolve from a traditional, slave-owning society slowly redefining itself after the colonial era, to the crossroads of its complex present.”

Because it’s bound to be popular and controversial: Elizabeth Gilbert’s City of Girls. Gilbert is polarizing. I just recently learned that she has a rather idiosyncratic theory about creativity that people either love or reject (I’m in the latter camp, I think), and the disparities between Eat Pray Love and The Signature of All Things, two of her most famous works, are countless and jarring. (I actually did not believe that they were written by the same woman and in fact thought there were two Elizabeth Gilberts for a stretch. I strongly preferred the latter, which was dizzyingly impressive in its careful, painstaking detail-orientedness and scope.) The former tends to evoke reactions of anger and eye-rolling among a certain set (“ugh, the unexamined privilege she represents in that book!” seemed to be the rejoinder among many of the women my book club) and admiration and conviction among another (“go! be free! namaste!”) In her latest book (just released today!), Gilbert shares a love story set in the New York City theater world in the 1940s; it is “told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (but mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity, as well as the idiosyncrasies of true love.” 

If you loved The Handmaid’s Tale (I could not stomach the series and so abandoned the entire enterprise wholesale): The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, due out in a few months, positioned as a sequel that promises to “answer the questions that have tantalized readers for decades.”

For something light: Frances Mayes’ Women in Sunlight, recommended to me by several Magpies. Written by the author of Under the Tuscan Sun, this is “the story of four American strangers who bond in Italy and change their lives over the course of an exceptional year.”

Post Scripts.

+Ordering this 100% mineral stick-sunscreen for mini. I’ve heard it’s a wonderful formula for applying on squirmy little ones (swipe instead of rubbing/making a mess everywhere)!

+The best beach bags.

+Love the print and unusual seafoam green color of this maxi.

+These gorgeous mules finally went on sale!

+This was a big hit for mini at the beach last summer — and it left me reassured that she wouldn’t get too much sun.

+Still swooning over this scallop-trim, bow-shouldered top. Pretty much all my favorite details in one place. (ON SALE!)

+Uber-chic cover-up (on sale for under $100).

+Love this dress and this one, too. Basically I want an entire closet full of brand-new maxi and midi dresses.

+These $22 earrings are FUN.

+Just ordered this bin for micro.

+Another day, another caftan. Love the print.

+Itching to order this Marysia one-piece. I mentioned it last week — so many people rave about its flattering fit! — but now I’ve found it marked way down…and I think I need it…

+A really good children’s sale raging here. I always get a bunch of pieces from here for mini when they run their sales — very well-made, but also a bit spend-y.

+My favorite beach reads.

By: Jen Shoop

As I’ve mentioned fifty three hundred times, we are heading to the Hamptons in early July and I cannot wait. Between the crazy Memorial Day Sales and the eager anticipation of stowing all of my maternity wardrobe, I have been on a wardrobe expanding binge. Truth be told, I’ll probably be wearing a lot of the pieces mentioned here and, depending on how confident I feel a month out of delivery, my favorite one-piece swimsuit with some huge shades, as the house we rented has its own pool and I intend to sit by it for long stretches of time, reading a juicy thriller (this is next on my list). And for daytime, I’m drawn to the idea of loose-fitting linen jumpsuits (Everlane generously sent me this style in the indigo! — and I also love this style by Mara Hoffman, worn with my go-to plaid bag), SZ Blockprints caftans, and trousers like these. But there’s also my rekindled interest in tennis and an aspiration to wear lots of breezy maxi- and midi-length dresses. I am especially drooling over this boat-print Emilia Wickstead, this fun printed Mira Mikati (love the back!), and this inexpensive gingham beauty — as well as, of course, my linen Sleeper dress, which is possibly the most practical and beautiful thing I’ve bought for myself in a long while (nursing-friendly, season-appropriate, and flattering). I also don’t normally reach for minis anymore, but this breezy bow-shouldered polka dot number (under $150) and this similar style (under $85!) are calling my name for morning-time lounging. Below, a collage of some of my other favorite picks for a dreamy Hamptons wardrobe:

+Pam Munson Audrey Hat. I also love this style from Zimmermann.

+Pleated Tennis Skirt (on sale).

+Babolat Tennis Racquet.

+Parker Thatch Tennis Bag. (This “grumpy” Tory Burch backpack is also really fun.)

+Hermes H Heure bracelet (pre-loved). This is one of my all-time favorite possessions. I wear it close to daily.

+Evi Grintela Shirtdress (on sale! In love with this brand…)

+Anniel ruffle slides.

+Monogrammed canvas pouch ($60!)

+Emilia Wickstead swimsuit (drool). Also love the pretty floral swimsuits from LoveShackFancy.

+Ganni eyelet top.

+Pastel Vejas (on sale!)

+Carolina K Parrot Dress (on sale!)

+The Mother in Law by Sally Hepworth. Other books on my vacation reading list: The Vanity Fair Diaries, which a friend recommended as the perfect gossip-y book for a trip to the South Fork, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (which many of you have written to let me know you LOVED), and this biography of Bunny Mellon.

+Donni bucket bag (so chic!)

+Frosted monogram cups for backyard and beach-front rose-drinking.

+Birkenstock Arizona Slides. (Get the look for less with these $13 scores!)

+La Double J Pellicano Dress.

+Staud bag (on super sale!)

+Polka Dot Headband ($10!!!)

I’ll need to do a separate post on what we’ll actually be packing, practically, for a week with two kiddos in a rental home, but here is a good start: the best travel gear for kids. Also contemplating buying one of these as a kind of portable bassinet for micro…so darling!

P.S. Also raiding my own Fourth of July roundup for more vacation dressing inspo.

P.P.S. The FOJ reminds me of sparklers, which in turn draws to mind the summer I was recovering from surgery as a child and how much my siblings endeared themselves to me.

P.P.P.S. Wild geese.

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