This star-print midi dress has been on my radar for a few weeks, and it’s just gone on sale. I love the ladylike, Victorian feel of it — the micro-print, the high-neck, the elegant length — but it looks so fresh, too: the star print is whimsical, the detailing at the cuff and the slight flare of the sleeve feel relevant. Check out the whole RT sale section — lots of pretty finds! (You can also occasionally find amazing scores at Nordstrom Rack — check this one out!)
Pick No. 3: The Bow Slingbacks
Remember those suede Carven bow slingbacks (seen below) everyone had for a minute?! These pretty pairs from J. Crew ($148) fill the void left by the absence of Carven in my closet. I think they’d look excellent paired with of-the-moment mom jeans and a white tee.
Pick No. 5: The Parenting Book.
My sister-in-law is not big into parenting books, but she said she’s been thoroughly enjoying this one, and I majorly respect her as a parent, so I’m on board. It’ll have to come after I finish this (just started over the weekend), this, and this.
I’m still on the hunt for a backpack that suits my needs (now thinking I might splurge on a Gucci), but ever since Deb mentioned her penchant for belt bags, I can’t stop thinking about it. I mentioned this when I first moved to NYC, but I think it’d be the perfect solution while walking Tilly. I’m very into this two-tone python one from a designer I’d never heard of before, Ximena Kavalekas — I think it’d look so surprising and chic with jeans and a denim button-down in particular. I also really like this because I’m super into the return of the retro Gucci print, especially since I happened to have one of my grandmother’s Guccis from way back when in my closet! My friend Hitha also has a cute new belt bag she’s been wearing.
Pick No. 8: The Rollneck Sweater.
I bought this classic J. Crew sweater last fall in a millennial pink, and wore it constantly — love the fit and the color — but now I’m intrigued by these new colorways…
How impossibly cool-looking are these invisible lightswitches? Would be so chic over (as shown) wall-papered walls! The lucite and gold situation reminds me of this side table — epic!
[Ed. note: in snap above, mini is wearing Donsje booties, Old Navy leggings (sold out), and a Kissy Kissy bodysuit. I love the way she crosses her ankles when she sits.]
I remember a good friend telling me that babies don’t really need toys for the first few months of life — and she was right.
I also remember my mom telling me that household items like tupperware, measuring spoons, post-its, and water bottles are a baby’s favorite “toys” — and she was right, too.
I have therefore tried to keep mini’s toy collection to a minimum, though it’s borderline impossible to prevent an accumulation of them, whether they’re given as gifts, inherited as hand-me-downs, or — let me be honest — purchased in a moment of parental weakness (i.e., “I’m going on a three hour flight tomorrow and need to pull out all the stops” or “everyone says this is the best toy for her age!” or “it’s just too damn cute…”). Mini received so many gifts for her first birthday that Mr. Magpie and I put a bunch of them away to bring out later — for trips, for rainy days — and I recently went through her toy baskets (we have two sea grass baskets similar to these) to retire and donate items that are too young for her or that she’s never played with. (Does anyone know where to donate gently used toys and clothes in Manhattan?! Please leave a comment! I have been searching online for a good spot!)
All that said, babies do need stimulation and mamas do need to find ways to afford themselves much-needed breaks (Mr. Magpie is a strong believer in giving mini time to herself every afternoon — time to sit in her crib, playing with her own toys and books, entirely on her own), so I thought I’d share a list of the very best toys we’ve come across by age. I’d say that if we only had these toys on hand for mini, she would have been just as satisfied and stimulated by her toy collection!
The Best Baby Toys: 0-3 Months
+Sophie the Giraffe. Mini responded to the spots on Sophie well before she could actually grasp her — I think the size, the smile, the pattern on the back, the shape all attracted her. I can remember her cooing and smiling and batting at Sophie early on. She then liked to chew on Sophie and clasp her legs and turn her around in her hands as she became more dextrous. One thing I really like about Sophie is how soft and lightweight she is — some of the other rattles and teethers we had were too heavy and she’d occasionally drop them on her face.
+Art Cards for Baby. My mom is skeptical of the whole black-and-white trend for babies; people say that babies recognize the contrast between black and white earlier than they do between softer/more similar colors. I don’t have a horse in the race so I just go with the flow, picking some items in black/white and others in color. Setting aside the color question, these cards are wonderful when babies are itty bitty — I used them with mini when she was just four or five days old! — and I’ll tell you why: they’re like a book with training wheels, but are WAY EASIER TO HOLD in front of a baby reclining flat in front of you than a book with many pages that you have to awkwardly maneuver with one hand, while other pages fly into her face, etc. These cards also gave me a tool for making conversation with mini — what else do you say to a four-day-old child besides how obsessed you are with her? I found myself creating little stories based on the cards and pointing out various features of the animals on them, and it made me feel more motherly.
+Munchkin Rubber Duck. Mini’s first and only bath toy until about the age of six months. The shape and color are great, and she still adores it, especially now that we’re teaching her all the animal sounds. Plus, you can’t beat a $2 thrill.
The Best Baby Toys: 3-6 Months
+Fisher Price Rattle and Rock Maracas. It’s true what they say — when it comes to toys, the more plastic and garish, the better; here begins the gradual decline of attractiveness in toys. Mini loved these from the moment we gave them to her — they were easy for her to grasp, she liked the sound they made, and she enjoyed gumming both ends. I had looked into getting her some wooden maracas, but I liked that these were lighter weight and had brighter colors.
+Baby Einstein Take-Along Tunes. She was mesmerized by the music and flashing colors at this age — I remember holding it up in front of her for stretches of several minutes as she’d watch the flashing lights and take in the music. She still loves this. She’ll press a button, clap her hands, and rock back and forth.
+Baby Banana Toothbrush. She’s loved this forever — it’s a great size, easy to grip, and the texture of the bristles at the end is exciting. I still carry this around in my diaper bag when I need something easy to entertain her for a few minutes.
+Fisher Price Rainforest Activity Mat. We started using this when she was much younger (for tummy time), but I think she really started enjoying the mat during this age. I loved that you could remove all of the dangling toys, so she could swat at them for awhile, and then I could hand her them individually so she could chew on them/turn them around in her hands. She especially loved the monkey attachment, and I can remember many car and stroller rides with her screaming at the monkey (happily), in some sort of urgent conversation.
The Best Baby Toys: 6-9 Months
+Fisher Price Rock a Stack. A classic for a reason. Mini still adores this toy, and I think it’s helpful with dexterity, beginning to teach shape and order, etc. Is it a reflection on how overly-congratulatory I am of our daughter that when she slides a ring onto the center piece, she looks at me and claps?
+Haba Croo-ak Frog Rattle. I was devastated to learn that mini recently dropped this in the supermarket, and we couldn’t find it anywhere. One minute she was happily playing with it; the next, it was no where to be seen. She LOVED this little guy — she would hold it by its rope arms, swing it back and forth to make the rattling sound, chew on it. We gave it to her earlier than six months, but it’s a little heavy (since it’s made of wood) for an uncoordinated baby — she would occasionally drop this on herself and cry.
+The First Years Stack-Up Cups. Oh man, these are a bargain. Mini enjoys nesting these inside one another. She hasn’t quite figured out how to stack the right sizes on top of one another (when you invert them, they can stack into a tower, but they’ll only stack if they’re in the right size order), but she loves to knock down the towers I create. It’s also, I think, a good tool for teaching colors, and they’re a nice, petite size for her tiny hands. We’re constantly losing them, though — rookie mistake to have brought them on a train trip with us recently!
+Hape Music Set. She plays on her drum every single day. Another reader wrote about this, but babies ADORE the drumsticks! Mini will often crawl around with them in her hands and then bang on walls, books, toys, etc. I also noticed that she learned, fairly quickly, how to strike the drum — at first, she would miss the drum by a few inches; she’s gradually learned to focus her movement so she can strike it in the center.
+Skip Hop Bath Squirties. We received these as a gift and mini DIES OVER THEM. LOVES. The balls/animals are just the right shape for her tiny hands, and she is mesmerized when she dunks them under water and they float back up to the top. In general, any toy that has a lot of different little parts are fantastic for her. She’s not quite sure how she feels when we squirt her with the water, but it makes for an entertaining bathtime for us.
+Skip Hop Explore Toy. This battery-operated toy moves around on the floor and encouraged mini to crawl. I also think it helped her learn cause and effect — when you lift the bee out of the cloud, the cloud stops moving and the music changes. The music on this one isn’t as bad as some of the other tunes we’ve had to sit through…
+Skip Hop Activity Center. I hesitate to call this a toy because it’s more a sanity boost for parents looking for a place to stow their active babies when they’re too tired to hold them or chase them around — but mini truly loves this thing; we still use it with her, though she’s honestly outgrown it. It’s genius because you can adjust the foot plate so that it’s the right height for your baby as she grows — and it can then convert into a toddler table when you insert the plate into the middle. The toys can be removed off the side if the baby doesn’t care for them, though the little musical keyboard has been a favorite of hers since she first received it (she still loves it), and she even now will sometimes spend a few minutes playing with the other toys. (Also, Mr. Magpie and I have a special dance we do when our favorite tune comes on…)
The Best Baby Toys: 9-12 Months
+Corolle Mini Baby Doll. I’ll never forget when she took this out of the wrapping paper on Christmas morning. She started panting heavily and grabbing for it, and she’s never let go since. She loves this babydoll! She will cradle “Lulu” (the name we’ve given her) in her arms and rock her back and forth — I think her nanny taught her this and it’s absolutely adorable. She recently received one of these magic milk bottles and she loves to “feed” her doll, too — we were astonished when she immediately knew what to do with it! She put it right up to the baby’s lips! She’s also learned how to point out her doll’s eyes — can’t quite remember the ears or nose, but baby steps…
+Maileg Princess + The Pea Set. I sound like a broken record here, but mini absolutely adores this set. She’ll sit in her crib playing with all the “mattresses” and her little mouse for a good 30 minutes each day. Heads up: make sure you remove the mattress with the pea stitched to it if she’s little like mini — it’s the perfect size for her to pluck off and try to swallow. This brand has the most precious collection, and I gave her another one on her first birthday and may have splurged on another for her Easter basket.
+Edushape Sensory Balls. She loves chasing these around the apartment. She’s coordinated enough to hurl them a few feet in front of herself and then dart after them — and she loves when I then punt it out of the way just before she reaches them. She shrieks and hustles to follow! My only gripe with them is that our dog seems to love them as much as she does, despite many discipline sessions reminding her that they are Emory’s.
The Best Baby Toys: 12 Months
+Vtech Sit-to-Stand Walker. So bulky and ugly, but this has been a serious source of entertainment at multiple different stages. She likes sitting in front of it (in her crib or on the floor), opening and closing the doors, pulling on all the various toggles, and pushing buttons. You can actually remove the “activity panel” from the walker, so she just has the flashing lights. She also started kneeling in front of this and pulling herself up as she got stronger — and then just recently started pushing it around and walking behind it! It’s a great tool for teaching babies to walk (and you can adjust a setting on the wheels so that they move more slowly, then more quickly, as the baby gains balance!), and all of the sounds and activities on the front keep her entertained. (The songs are my worst nightmare, however.)
+Brio Pull-Along Dachsund. She received a number of pull-toys for her birthday and loves them all, but this one is the best because it is very easy and lightweight to pull and it rolls really well. A couple of the others had other moving parts or weird balance, so she’d end up just sort of dragging it behind her on its side. This one pretty much always stays upright and turns on a dime. Also, it’s a classic.
Miscellaneous.
+You’ll note that while mini has received dozens of stuffed animals, she rarely plays with them, with the exception of one black dog she received for her first birthday (is this the case for all babies or just ours?) That said, she has long loved her oversized stuffed giraffe — every morning, I pick her up and we walk over to greet giraffe. She’s taken to tapping it on the head, almost like she’s petting Tilly.
+Mini inherited a set of wooden nesting blocks from when Mr. Magpie was a babe sort of similar to these. She has LOVED them at every age — even when she was itty bitty, she reacted to the shape and the colors on the sides; now she loves nesting them and stacking them, delicately, on top of one another.
Baby Toy Wishlist.
+I’d like to get her a kickball — she loves those little edushape balls, but I think she’d get a kick out of something slightly larger to roll back and forth. I’m debating between this one by Melissa + Doug and this one by Crocodile Creek. I like the dinosaur print on the latter, and it’s a little smaller than a classic kickball, which might work well for her at this age.
+Like most babies, mini loves music, and I think she’d find this roll-out piano keyboard exciting. As a Manhattanite, I also appreciate that it rolls up and can be stowed easily!
+Play microwave. I don’t know why, but this gets rave reviews! I think she’d like the activity of opening and closing the door, the interaction of the buttons, etc.
+Cupcake set. As noted above, mini is drawn to anything with multiple parts that involve stacking/nesting. I think these would be an interesting change of pace from the usual blocks/rings.
+Doll stroller. Now that she’s walking behind her v-tech walker, I am dying to get her one of these strollers for her baby. I’m obsessed with the wicker style (there’s also this more expensive one in white), though maybe this corolle one would be more reasonable.
[Headnote: In another life, I will have a Smeg fridge (seen above), and the kind of aesthetic that permits said Smeg to live, happily and peacably, in my kitchen. For now, this will have to satisfy my craving for that retro-cool kitchen vibe. In that other life, I will also have open shelving artfully displaying white serve-wear that curiously never suffers from dust or cooking splatters or the very real clutter that comes with living a very real life.]
I recently wrote about how telling your Amazon Prime orders can be, and I love the intimate look into the personal lives of celebrities that Grubstreet Diet (a series that tracks what people eat over the course of a week) and Into the Gloss (a series that tracks the beauty habits of said celebrities) afford — but it dawned on me the other day that looking into someone’s refrigerator can tell you an awful lot about who she is and what her lifestyle is actually like. One of my friends has only smartwater bottles, alcohol, and maybe a block of cheese at any given time. (She orders out all the time.) Another’s is organized like a Kardashian’s — full of mounds of pre-washed fruit, rows and rows of sparkling water and juice and soda, and stacks of Siggis yogurt. Another’s is a gridlock of take-out containers.
Ours is…well, crowded, for one. And both boring and diverse on the other, showcasing our wide culinary interests at dinner and the unvarying routine of breakfast and lunch.
There are always at least three or four bowls or plates with Saran wrap over them — right now, a bowl of leftover spicy pork ragu (from this recipe, which we tested after our order of delivery ramen accidentally arrived with a ton of extra noodles and we had no idea what to do with them); a plate of pancakes for mini’s breakfasts; and a bowl of buttered cavatappi noodles, the antidote to the stomach bug I’ve been battling the last week.
Our condiment collection is unwieldy, full of the usual suspects — ketchup, Sir Kensington’s mayo, three mustards, pickles, hot sauce — but also less common ingredients from recent cooking forays, like red miso paste and chili bean sauce and a tube of tomato paste.
There is always a squeeze bottle of simple syrup on hand, for Mr. Magpie’s occasional post-prandial old-fashioneds, and usually a mason jar of bacon grease, which Mr. Magpie collects over time to use in dishes like collard greens and cornbread. Back in Chicago, when we had the space and time, the first shelf was always an assortment of science experiments: beets and carrots, cultivated from his rooftop garden and pickled; a questionable-looking baggy of homemade yeast; a plate loosely covered by a kitchen towel, under which a thick, well-marbled ribeye or petite chicken might be dry-brining with a heavy handed application of salt.
And then, there is the expansive collection of drinks — LaCroix, usually in two flavors; Coke Zero Sugar, which Mr. Magpie likes to pair with his weekend lunches, but only his weekend lunches — he’s Spartan about these kinds of things; a large jug of Bolthouse mango smoothie; sparkling grapefruit soda; club soda for my very occasional Tom Collins; sparkling wine (almost always a cava, which tends to be drier than prosecco and less expensive than champagne); sauvignon blanc; a six-pack or two of craft beer — usually Bronx label these days.
There is always fruit, which we eat for breakfast, and which mini loves at any time of day — berries (berries will bankrupt us! — mini could eat an entire carton of $5 raspberries in one sitting if we let her!), Fuji or Pink Lady apples, an orange with bits of the rind peeled off from recently-made cocktails, a bowl of lemons and limes, grapes, melon or pineapple cut into chunks, kiwi pre-diced for mini’s next meal. And, next to the fruit, an eyesore: a mound of baggies with half-used vegetables–right now, two different kinds of onions, parsley, zucchini, cucumber, and a few loose carrots.
And then there are the staples: unsalted Plugra butter, eggs, peanut butter, yogurt (Noosa or Liberte), Bonne Maman jam, whole milk, half and half, shredded cheese, jarred tomato sauce for easy pasta dinners for mini, tortillas, a block of good cheese for snacking (right now, a wedge of nutty Midnight Moon gouda), rye bread, wheat bread.
We’ll usually buy our protein the day-of — right now, there’s a package of chicken breasts waiting to be pounded out, dredged in flour, dipped into egg wash, and then battered in Panko crumbs, which Mr. Magpie will in turn pan-fry in butter and douse with a lemon shallot sauce and serve with angel hair pasta and steamed broccoli. It’s a pain in the ass to make, but we love it, and call it “mmm chicken,” as in: “What do you want to eat tonight? Fajitas? Pasta? Mmm chicken?” Then we heave an enormous sigh as we scan our eyes across the kitchen: this meal dirties about 34 different pots and pans, and every square inch of our admittedly limited counter space.
It’s a good day when I find Thomas English muffins in there — my preferred breakfast, smeared with butter and sprinkled with Zaatar seasoning or a slick of jam — but it’s hard to find a package for under $5 in Manhattan, and I am outraged at this, as they were $2.50 back in Chicago, and nearly always on a buy-one- get-one-free promo to boot. I have no problem spending $5 on a carton of strawberries, but gouge my eyes out if I need to spend the same on muffins for some reason — an odd eccentricity that reminds me of the sudden, strange new outgrowths of stubbornness on certain topics as I age.
And then there is the possibly embarrassing presence of a small container of Fairway’s chicken salad, which I think I eat three out of five days of the week for lunch, on a slice of toasted rye, with Trader Joe’s everything seasoning and a sliver of swiss cheese on top. What can I say? I’ve never been the picture of healthy eating, and it is so good. I eat this with pickles on the side — how unglamorous and passe — usually while on hold for some technician or other to get back to me. Next thing I know, I’ll be eating cottage cheese out of a scooped-out melon half, but that’s at least a few years out, right?
+Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables. I am the world’s most boring vegetable cook. I’ll pull out all the stops on the main dish, but when it comes to sides? Buttered orzo and roasted broccoli is about as interesting as I get. I could use some new ideas when it comes to veggies, and this won a bunch of awards.
+Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. Mentioned this recently elsewhere, but I love that this book includes a section where the author has organized his recipes into meals. How handy; I almost always follow the author’s suggestion in the recipe head notes as to what to pair with a given dish!
+Dinner: Changing the Game. I’ve received a number of emails asking what our go-to weeknight meals are, and the truth is we could use some new material! Our go-tos when we aren’t feeling adventurous:Zuni’s roast chicken, minus the bread salad, and plus orzo and steamed vegetables; Mario Batali’s weeds pasta; linguine and clams; hangar steak with red wine-shallot sauce, sauteed mushrooms, and oven fries; America’s Test Kitchen tacos with turkey instead of beef; stir-fried vegetables and rice; Old Bay spiced shrimp with oven fries and steamed veg; mmm chicken with angel hair and veg; pretty much any pasta dish from this cookbook. We could use some weeknight inspo, and this one looks intriguing.
+Dining In. For the same reason above — I could use some more approachable, weeknight staples. That, and Alison Roman is having A MOMENT, HENNY.
+Buvette. A reader nudged me in this direction and how can I say no? We love Judy Williams around here.
Post-Post-Script: Also on My Radar, Unrelated.
+Adding this classic to mini’s Easter basket. (More Easter picks here.)
+I am ADDICTED to these pickles, and I haven’t yet found them in Manhattan, so Prime will have to do…
+I am dying over this dress. It is SO me — the shape, the pattern, the startling color. One of my friends told me that I always pick unexpected colors and now I can’t un-hear it and I always puzzle over why I gravitate towards certain hues…
+These are at the tippy top of my wishlist. But how many statement pearl shoes does a girl need? [Ed. note: TRICK QUESTION. Unlimited.]
+I have forbidden myself from buying any additional decorative serving pieces because WHERE WILL THEY GO IN OUR APARTMENT, but I 100% need this. Come to think of it, I’ll take the whole collezione.
+I have been poring over Etsy in search of cool vintage jewelry lately, inspired by some of the costume jewelry I’ve inherited from my grandmother and great aunt. How cool would this brooch be, pinned to a little tweed jacket? Or this pair of oversized bow Givenchy earrings?!
+Very into floral statement earrings, as I’ve mentioned dozens of times here — check out these!!!
By: Jen Shoop
I recently refreshed my beauty routine, and thought I’d share some honest reactions to some of the products I’ve used recently, including several I’ve been using for a couple of weeks/months…
+Weleda Wild Rose Day Cream. I liked this product for the first few days I used it, with the exception that I found that my skin felt sort of tight after applying it — not necessarily uncomfortable or unpleasant, but it left my skin feeling…affected. But about day five or six, I started to find the scent cloying. I normally love scented products, but this took on a weird “fresh paint” smell for me after a few days — I’m not sure why it didn’t strike me as bothersome the first few days, but by the end of the week, I was decidedly unexcited about applying it in the morning. I’ll be testing a different facial lotion next month — this one is on my wishlist after many readers recommended it.
+Tata Harper Regenerating Cleanser. I’ve used Proactiv for nearly two decades now (yikes) and I swear it is the only formula that prevents breakouts for me. Any time I’ve switched to something else, I’m always dismayed by the outcome. After testing a sample of Tata Harper’s formula, though, I decided to take the plunge. I am OBSESSED. I like that it has the same exfoliating texture as Proactiv, but it’s a bit gentler on the skin. It lathers up nicely and has a light, herbal kind of smell to it. I also love that it comes in a pump bottle (I bought the bigger size) — so easy to apply in the evening!
+Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask. In conjunction with the cleanser above, I’ve been using this mask every few days. I can’t tell if it’s the cleanser or the mask, but my skin is clearer and more dewy than it’s been since before the pregnancy. I like that this mask doesn’t leave your skin overly tight and dry. My only gripe with it is that it’s pricey for the amount you get, and because the texture of the mask is sort of gel-like, it’s hard for me to tell when it’s all rinsed off. I never feel like I know! One of the now-realized perks of having a clay mask or something that does have color — you know when you’ve cleared it all! (BTW — if you want to test a few of Tata’s products without investing in full-sizes, check out this miniature set!)
+Garnier Micellar Water. I have to be honest — I was very skeptical when many readers suggested that I try this $7 drugstore variation instead of my $42 Dior micellar stuff. While I certainly prefer the lightly-perfumed scent of the Dior product, I have found that Garnier’s works just as well when it comes to removing makeup — and, honestly, I found the Dior “applicator” frustrating to use, as a little spray of product would always escape through my fingers, even when I was holding a mound of cotton! Much easier to apply a little dribble of Garnier!
+Origins Night-A-Mins Mineral-Enriched Renewal Cream. I like the texture of this cream — thick, emollient, but non-greasy. It feels lovely to apply after cleansing my skin at the end of the day, and while it feels like it’s hydrating, it also contains salicylic acid to combat breakouts. Just what I need. (If you aren’t prone to breakouts, I also LOVE this stuff. It has a strong scent — sort of like laundry and roses — but you wake up with the softest, most glowing skin.)
+Origins Night-A-Mins Refining Oil. I was torn between this and Sunday Riley’s Luna Sleeping Oil, but went with Origins because I’m trying the accompanying cream and thought they might work in concert with one another. As I write this post, I’m realizing I probably should have staggered the start of using my new face wash and adding this cream/oil into the routine, as I’m not totally sure which is helping my skin out the most. But, at any rate, the new beauty regimen seems to be working well altogether. The only thing with the oil? I find that it’s not as…oily? as some other formulas I’ve tried. With my favorite Chantecaille rose oil, for example, I found that just a drop or two of oil would sufficiently coat my face. This stuff seems to absorb so quickly into the skin that I can barely get the oil to cover my cheeks without needing another drop or two for the forehead, and another for the nose.
+Tata Harper Creme Riche Moisturizer. I received a decent-sized sample of this moisturizer with my recent Tata Harper purchases, and was completely disappointed. It just doesnot blend into your skin! I spent a good few minutes applying it and then tried to put tinted moisturizer on, and my moisturizer swam around on top, in odd streaks, because it couldn’t absorb into the skin through the layer of impenetrable moisturizer. UGH! I had to remove everything by washing my face and starting over again. I decided I’d use it instead at the end of the day or maybe on top of makeup instead of underneath, but was still dismayed at how impossible it was to blend in. So disappointed, as I’ve loved everything else of theirs!
+Vaseline. I have started applying plain old vaseline to my feet every night before bed — they are so dry from this interminable winter, and it’s been embarrassing in my pilates class, where I have to be barefoot! I’m sure no one notices, but it drives me nuts! This stuff really works. I also like this very expensive body balm, which I received as a generous gift from my bestie, but Vaseline is way cheaper and, honestly, works a little better in the sense that you don’t need to work at it to have it absorb into your foot/heels; you just swipe it on and it does its job. I usually apply it to my feet, step onto a bath mat, and then go through my nightly routine to give it time to soak in before getting into bed.
+Oribe Hair Mask for Beautiful Color. OKAYYYY THIS STUFF. Oh my God, it REALLY works. I’ve been using it in lieu of conditioner for the past week and my hair’s texture has completely changed. It is so soft and polite (ha) — it obeys my commands! I also feel it’s given my color-treated hair a little extra oomph; the color looks shinier and brighter. Will definitely be using this for a long time.
+Christophe Robin Delicate Volumizing Shampoo. I wanted to like this shampoo so badly. I’d seen a couple of other bloggers rave about it — but I just can’t recommend it! The shampoo barely lathers and has an unsatisfying feel to it — it does not coat the hair in a way that makes you feel you are actually doing anything. As a result, I end up using more shampoo than I normally would just to make sure I’ve actually covered my head. And, I think it leaves my hair feeling kind of dry? If you’re going to splurge on fancy schmancy hair products, the only brand I trust is Oribe. I love the mask (as noted above), and I also the shampoo and conditioner. I also really like Drybar’s shampoo — it smells so good and lathers up nicely.
P.P.S. Just added a tube of this to my cart — need to keep my brushes ship-shape!
By: Jen Shoop
Just when I’m content with my closet situation, Shopbop launches a ridiculous promo code that leaves me scrambling for my wallet — an extra 25% off select sale items. Items currently enjoying their own web page in my browser, as I click through them repeatedly and worry that they’ll sell out before I make my move…
P.S. I splurged on this at full price for a wedding last summer and it’s now ridiculously marked down!
P.P.S. Apropos of nothing at all, how absolutely darling is this for Easter?
By: Jen Shoop
I have been sleeping well. Soundly. Like a log, some might say — another phrase I hate for some reason; it feels indelicate.
I do not take this for granted. I have struggled with sleeplessness throughout my adult life, starting with my first year of college, when I could not, for the life of me, adjust to sleeping in such close quarters with a stranger. A kind stranger — a smart, talented stranger — but, nonetheless, a stranger. Does it strike anyone else as bizarre that, owing to collegiate customs, for a year of your adult life, you are asked to sleep within a few feet of a complete stranger?
“Start with your toes — my pinky toe is asleep, my big toe is asleep, all my toes are asleep. Then, the top of my foot is asleep, my ankle is asleep, my whole foot it asleep. My shin is asleep…” my mom instructed me, pragmatically, on the phone.
“I need something else,” I informed her a few days later, the bags underneath my eyes taking on an as-yet-unseen blue-black hue.
“OK, then — are you hungry? thirsty? cold? hot?” she asked, rattling off a checklist to use when battling sleep.
“I need something else,” I whined, urgently, a few days later, frayed.
“When I can’t sleep, I don’t let myself stress about it,” interjected my father. “Just know that the next best thing to sleep is letting your body rest. So just lay there, awake, letting your body rest and your mind wander.”
This suited me better. I would lay awake, traveling the familiar constellations of imagery that comprised my adolescent daydreams: what would my husband look like? (Hot, blond, tan.) What would my children look like? (Adorable, blond, tan.) How would I dress them at Sunday Mass? Etc.
I would still not fall asleep — the sound of my roommate’s breathing and turning agonizingly unwelcome interruptions.
And so, when it dawned on me the other morning that I have been sleeping soundly, sleeping well, I thought two things, simultaneously: “Tsk, tsk. How quickly we forget” and “Praise God for this stress-free time, when the coordinates of my life feel more or less set, and I can focus on the here and now versus the unknown of tomorrow.”
But — I thought I’d write this post because I know how lonely and defeating sleeplessness can be, and I thought I’d share how I’ve passed those many red-eyed nights, striving for “the next best thing to sleep”: letting my body rest and my mind wander.
Things to Do When You Can’t Sleep.*
+Try to remember every classmate in your high school homeroom.
+Say a novena to Mary.
+Imagine what your children will wear to Easter Sunday in 2030.
+Scroll through Instagram. Go deep. So deep you accidentally click on your own name for liking someone else’s post.
+Start Roseanne, from Season 1. (Believe me, you won’t regret it.) If that’s not your cup of tea, try Downton Abbey or Gilmore Girls — something with duration, with multiple seasons, with fairly complex plot-lines, but nothing so serious that you’ll stress yourself out.
+Imagine you’re being interviewed by Bazaar for one of those “24 Hours With ____” features and go through your day, hour by hour. What products would you mention? What would your average day look like?
+Fill your Sephora digital shopping cart with a whole new makeup regime and imagine yourself looking like Bella Hadid afterward. (All of these are in mine.)
+Have a glass of wine.
+Try a white noise machine. People rave about this one.
+Put on When Harry Met Sally or Sleepless in Seattle. Nora Ephron is chicken soup for the sleepless soul.
+Take a bath or shower.
+Eat saltines, standing up, at your kitchen counter.
+Put on Norah Jones or Stacey Kent.
+Re-start your bedtime routine: re-wash your face, apply lotion, put on new pajamas, etc.
+Download the Shopbop app and heart all of the things that tickle your fancy.
+Create a Wunderlist focused on to-dos or worries so you can put all of the things running through your mind down on paper. Digital paper–but paper, nonetheless.
+Listen to a soothing podcast, like The History Chicks’ podcast on Jackie O., or What It Takes featuring Oprah. Oprah’s voice is like butter.
+Say the rosary.
+Text your sister in London when it comes to be an appropriate hour.
+Change into more comfortable jammies — something warmer, something cooler, something softer. Sometimes just a change of jammies, period, does the trick.
+Adjust your pillows so you’re more elevated.
+Empty your inbox.
+Lower or raise the temperature in your room. (I always sleep best when I’m a little cold.)
+Put on socks.
+Take off socks.
+Create a new Pinterest board focused on street style and pin aspirational fashion-forward looks.
+Download “Churchill Solitaire” or “Threes” and gradually fall asleep to the mind-numbing interactions of these stupid but addictive games. (I’m sorry.)
+Remind yourself that the next best thing to sleep is rest.
*From a non-expert, obvi. If you have serious trouble sleeping, turn to the experts, as I’m fairly certain all of them will tell you to remove your TV from your room and place your phone on a different floor, drastic measures to which I was never able to commit.
+These pillows got great reviews from multiple sources, but a reader suggested these, and their reviews are even stronger.
+This down comforter gets rave reviews — 854 five star reviews, to be exact (ZERO bad reviews?!)
+I’ve mentioned this a bunch of times, but Yves Delorme’s Etoile towels are the fluffiest, softest towels known to man. I first discovered them while staying at a hotel a few years ago and I was so obsessed with them, I tracked down the brand and ordered myself a set. My one gripe with them is that they lose color quickly when washed. When I order my next set, I’ll stick with white and be done with it.
+Just downloaded two books to my Kindle: this one, which everyone I know is reading, and this one, given my recent obsession with Jackie O. (Thanks, Hitha, for the rec!)
+On my bedside table: a glass carafe with water, my Kindle, three framed photos (one of mini and I the day she was born; one of Mr. Magpie and I the day we were married; one of my mom and I when I was about four); Elizabeth Arden 8-Hour Cream (magic — cures all); a trinket dish for my everyday jewelry — I love these valet trays for the same purpose, though; a candle (<<love this scent right now); and, when I’m lucky, a small bouquet of flowers. I have long lusted after these ones from Jonathan Adler, in the lavender colorway.
+This is my all-time favorite tea. I give it to pretty much everyone — when they’re sick, when they’re pregnant, when they need some comforting in general. I’d love to drink it out of these elegant mugs. And, ICYMI, this is THE BEST electric kettle. We use it daily for coffee and tea.
+This is our bed. I love it so. These are our bedside tables, and we have one of these double gourd lamps on each. I would love to eventually buy one of these framed Paule Marrot fabric panels to place over our bed (this is my favorite), but we are not investing in any artwork until we buy our next place. Instead, over my bedside table, I have a framed, hand-calligraphed quote from a Van Morrison song that has particular meaning to my sister and I and that I custom ordered from here (my sister has the same one in her apartment) and a small, vintage ceramic plaque I found on Etsy that has the image of Mary and reads Mater Misericordiae underneath it, to remind me to pray. (It actually looks a lot like this, but it’s bigger — about 3 x 5.) I have a special devotion to Mary; I tend to pray to her first in times of need, as you might have gathered from the above.
I have a few friends who are thrifty with their shekels when it comes to shopping, but always look like a million bucks. I’ve noticed that these friends follow similar shopping approaches: seek out the tried-and-true brands that have timeless cache to them (think Ray Ban — if Audrey wore them, and they’re still around $100 a pair, they’ve got to be good), or invest in inexpensive pieces that look high-fashion, whether because of a dramatic cut or a flashy detail — like pearl embellishment, or oversized buttons, or a severe pleat in an asymmetric top. That, and sticking to non-trendy colors — think black, white, red, blue, denim. Check out the snap above for inspo: this babe is wearing red Supergas, a denim jacket, a simple white skirt with interesting detailing (similar here for only $56), and a non-flashy canvas-and-leather tote — and yet she looks so impossibly chic!
Below, a couple of finds that are around $100, but will give you that high end look.
+I’ve written about these extensively, but these shades are SO epic, and at only $69, look a helluva lot like a designer shade for a fraction of the cost. Something about the dimensions screams designer to me.
+A classic white polo shirt ($85) will legitimately never go out of style, and hearkens to that country club lifestyle. I like this paired with my favorite jeans.
+Supergas are timeless and classy, and go with everything from sundresses to jeans.
+When it comes to bags, canvas has a preppy, summery, beachy feel, but is rarely too expensive — and a monogram, particularly one that looks Goyard-esque, like the one shown below, will elevate even the simplest style.
+Jean jacket — the perfect rebel-without-a-cause accessory for anything from a floral sundress to a pair of jeans. I like ones that run a little snug.
+On the trendier side of things, a faux fur slide for $100?! YES. (And almost sold out…!)
+Meanwhile, this Cult Gaia ark bag continues to rule amongst the street style set, and at $128, you can get that super-RN look without breaking the bank.
+I wrote recently about the statement sweatshirt trend — this $18 steal, with its fringe and balloon sleeves, looks like something purchased from a super-hip boutique in Soho.
+This super-soft alpaca scarf ($75) comes in the prettiest, most ladylike colors and looks like a timeless investment piece.
+Meanwhile, the poms on this sweater suggest a higher price point than it actually bears ($118). More sizes here.
I mentioned this earlier this week, but I snagged this $28 boxy tee from Everlane in the peach-and-white stripe and am anxiously awaiting its arrival. It looks to be a perfect transition-to-spring piece, and you can’t beat the Everlane price. If its dimensions work on me (I’ve never been able to pull of the classic St. James nautical shirts because they are so darn big), I’m also planning on buying the white and the green and white stripe.
You’re Sooooo Popular: The Best Oven Mitts. (Yes, Oven Mitts.)
The most popular items on Le Blog this week:
+The best oven mitts. Ever. Am I revealing my inner dorkiness in admitting this is one of my most exciting purchases this year?
+The book everyone I know is reading. I just heard this will be made into a movie with Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon?!?!? COULD IT BE?
I have to be honest: I sort of exhausted my emotive side earlier this week when I wrote about my friend E’s death eight years ago. Instead, today, I’m sharing a couple of things that have made me stop and think for one reason or another:
+This company sends moms words of encouragement/empowerment via text message.
+I’ve referenced this podcast on Jackie O. a ton recently (sorrrrryyyyy), and while I have my reservations about the way the narrators tell her story, the format has made me stop and think a number of times. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve rushed back from my 20- or 30-minute stroll with Tilly to look up an image that they reference — what did Black Jack (Jackie’s dad) look like? What did Jackie look like wearing her blood-stained pink suit after JFK’s assassination? What did Lee look like as a child? What did Aristotle look like? It’s made me think about how much has changed in the age of the Internet. The commentators make this point in their telling of the Jackie story: Jack and Jackie Kennedy were tailor-made for the TV-era, in that they were wonderful at branding themselves and portraying a very on-point message of youth, vitality, wealth, culture, class. But they would have been horrible in the Internet age, between Jack’s extra-marital affairs, the booze and pill-popping, Jack’s poor health. (Not that people would have held his health against him, but — they would not have been able to pull off the whole lets-play-football-on-the-front-lawn image he projected!) Interesting to stop and think about format and medium, and what we’ve lost and gained, in this Information Age of ours.
+Speaking of medium, I came across this essay by Larry David (king of screenwriting) in The New Yorker. He certainly maintains the same voice here as he does elsewhere — but, I think something’s lost without the visual component he’s afforded on TV…
#Shopaholic: The Pearl Slide.
+I bought these pearl-encrusted slides ($158) at the tail end of last summer and was obsessed with them. I paired them with all black everything — black jeans, black sweater, black shades, and felt supah flyyyy. (They’re v. similar to a pair by Miu Miu!) They’re back in stock! See below for inspo.
+There is something about this t-shirt that I can’t get out of my mind. I’m obsessed with it.
+This $100 midi skirt is in my basket. I can just imagine wearing it with a white bodysuit and my straw basket bag…
+This easy t-dress would be ideal for a summer vacation — throw on over a swimsuit, and it can easily dress up for a BBQ or cocktail hour…love the cabana stripe and the volume at the elbow!
+THIS SHOWER CURTAIN IS SO CHIC. It looks like De Gournay! Would give so much character to a bathroom outfitted in white or rattan in particular…
+I wore these joveralls all the time last summer, and they’re baaaaack. I like them layered over frilly tops like this (budget buy version), or boxy tees like the Everlane above (or this one).
+These little dishes would make a great gift for someone who loves entertaining…perfect for scattering little heaps of nuts or olives when guests drop by!
By: Jen Shoop
A friend of mine once told me she shared her Amazon Prime account with her brother and it was just a leeeetle TMI. So funny to think how the digital age has enabled new forms of intimacy, right? I remember when Mr. Magpie suggested we share a cell phone plan before we were even engaged, and it gave me a tingly feeling — “oh, so this is serious.”
I was thinking about what my Prime orders say about me in particular the other day because I was scrolling through past orders looking for something and I noticed how dramatically our orders have changed over time. Sorta like my musings on what your grocery bags say about your lifestage. At any rate, I thought I’d share my most recent Amazon order…plus some of my absolute favorite Amazon purchases over the past many months, and items on my wishlist, too.
My Last Amazon Order.
+Philips Avent bottle warmer. This was on my registry and marked as purchased, but it never made its way to me — and it didn’t matter much, anyway. Mini has always been un-particular about the temperature of her bottles — slightly cool, room temp, warm — it all goes down fine. BUT. We just transitioned from formula to milk and she, understandably, hates a fridge-cold bottle. And I, understandably, hate boiling water and then sloshing a cold bottle around in boiling water for a few minutes first thing in the morning, when she’s fussing for her bottle. Problem solved. There are some negative reviews, but one consistent: this is the fastest bottle warmer on the market, and will heat a bottle in under 3 minutes. Done and done.
+Lee Raziwell book. I’m nearly done with the two-part History Chicks podcast on Jackie O. and have found it both riveting and devastating. Do not listen if you’d like to retain some illusion of the happy life of Jackie and Jack Kennedy. HOLY COW. This podcast really exposes some of the many skeletons in the Kennedy family closet. (Did you know Jack didn’t even want to marry Jackie? That Jack suffered from horrible scoliosis his entire life and, when not on camera, was often in a wheelchair?! That Jackie survived not only a stillborn birth but the death of a baby two days after his birth?! Oh my God. The tragedy of her life is…!) WTTW: the narrators on History Chicks take a minute to get used to; it’s sort of like two gossip-y friends talking through history, dwelling on certain indelicacies, judging historical figures for their decisions, etc. But they really get in there, giving you a detailed and behind-the-scenes look at some of history’s most famous women. At any rate, after listening to the podcast, I’ll often pause and spend some time looking up pictures of the moments and figures they’ve mentioned, and I’m now obsessed with Lee Radziwell and her incredible style. I had to order her beautiful book, which I’m excited to pore over in bed, and then display in our blue-centric living room. (Shown at the top of the stack on the coffee table above!)
+Mr. Clean gloves. I automatically get a new shipment of these every month — a good reminder to toss the current pair. These are THE BEST (super soft lining, super thick!), and the key to extending a manicure.
+A keepsake Bible I’ll be giving as a gift at a Baptism this weekend. This is darling, and I was impressed with the quality.
+Chicken salt — finally back in stock after being sold out for weeks!!! Can’t wait to put this on popcorn and fries!
+A reusable snack bag for mini — I’m actually using it to stow her little toothbrush and toothpaste by the dinner table, because (shame on me!) it’s so easy to forget this step if I don’t do it just after she’s finished dinner.
I still stand by all of these picks (amazingggg, all of them!), but a couple of more recent additions:
+Party Gear: for mini’s birthday, I ordered tons of great stuff on Amazon, but I especially loved these darling cupcake boxes, which I used to house mini’s cupcakes and give away as party favors, and these pretty napkins.
+Travel: these compression bags, which are great for storing dirty laundry, and these wipes, which I use to wipe down plane seats, stroller, etc, while on the go.
+Home: Hoover Linx cordless vacuum (currently on sale for $99!) << I love this thing for our Manhattan apartment. It stores upright (!), takes up virtually no space since even the “foot” is narrow, and charges via removable battery. (Don’t underestimate the importance of how it charges — a lot of other lightweight competitors need to charge against a huge charging pad, or while laying down, etc, etc. With the Linx, you have a small charging unit that plugs into a wall, you remove the battery from the vacuum, and charge it on its own. GENIUS for those of us short on space.) It wheels around with ease, is incredibly lightweight, and has decent suction. The only drawback for me is how frequently you need to empty the chambers and unclog the suction section, which can easily get clogged with hair/dust bunnies/etc. It’s a totally fair tradeoff for its tiny footprint, though!
Rowenta iron. I’m so glad I upgraded my ironing game — I had no idea what a disservice I was doing to my clothes before this iron! I use this ironing board, which I like because the dark cover shows no stains, and it does not wobble! (So many of the ironing board reviews complain about wobbly legs!)
I also — so random — love my OXO Clip-On Dustpan. Another great innovation for those of us short on space. It clips onto basically any broom and has this rubber tip that means all of the dirt particles actually get into the dustpan (!). I know this sounds weird, but I’ve had dustpans that don’t lie as flush with the ground, and it takes like 23 swipes to get the dirt into the pan! (I bought this broom on the great reviews of The Wirecutter, and don’t think it’s anything special, TBH. I find that the head of the broom keeps loosening from the stick and I’m always screwing it back on, which annoys me. I would buy the OXO one the next time around — OXO seems to know what’s up when it comes to design.)
Shelf risers. These are SO high-quality — super sturdy! — and they really make the most of our limited cabinet space!
+Kitchen: the best oven mitts ever (the silicon tips mean you can hold onto a piping hot pan for several minutes without a problem, but they’re still pliable!) and my mise en place set (<<so amazing; they stack; you can use the longer end to scoop things up; and they are dishwasher-safe).
+Random: Tree Genie. OMG. Do yourself a favor any buy this while it’s off-season and on-sale (currently $100, was $129 when I bought it). This is MAGICAL — Mr. Magpie and I always used to get into horrible fights when putting the tree up because it was such a royal pain to use those cheapie plastic stands with the metal screws. This is super-easy and super-sturdy.
My Amazon Wishlist.
+I need some new cooking inspo — this Alison Roman book is on my radar (she is everywhere these days!), as is Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, which just won the IACP cookbook award. I looked through it in the preview tool online and I like that he has a section where he proposes menus. I loveeee when cookbooks do that!
+New pillows. I don’t know what happened, but during our move, we either lost our good bedding pillows or they deflated while in transit, but Mr. Magpie and I wake up every morning angry about our sad, flat pillows. I’ve heard good things about these and these.
+Mentioned recently, but I want a new set of tupperware and am looking at these.
+Rowenta garment steamer. I steam a lot of my clothes and am now a Rowenta fangirl. This has been in my cart for like three months.
Mini has been an exceptionally easy baby. Everyone comments on how easy-going and happy she is — and it’s true. With the exception of refusing to sleep through the night until nine months of age (and now, back in a weird teething-related sleep regression where she routinely wakes, angrily, at 4 or 5), she has been a complete joy.
That said, I hit a bumpy patch when she turned 11 months old, when she started crawling and pulling up, getting into everything, and expressing frustration and anger when I would tell her “no.” I was suddenly, without warning, exhausted and overwhelmed by the exertion of looking after my very active little girl. I remember one morning where we’d gone through two outfits, multiple crying fits, and innumerable “no, don’t touch thats” while trying to resolve the dishwasher issue on the phone and wrangle a very naughty Tilly, who not only ate an entire blueberry muffin off my desk (liner and all, which was a joy to coax out later on, if you get my drift…) but shredded an important receipt and snapped at a neighbor on the elevator. When I looked at the clock and saw that it was only 9:39, my heart sank into my stomach.
“I can’t do this,” I said aloud, tears pricking my eyes.
I felt like a horrible failure. Why, and how, was I unable to care for one small child, one two-year-old dog, and one seemingly simple household task (install a dishwasher)? My mother had FIVE of us and a house about 34 times the size of ours, and she always kept it together. I felt even worse when I realized I had been wishing it would be 10:30 a.m. so that I could put mini down for her morning nap. The mom guilt was crippling.
I texted my sister Lizzie, mom to two boys, and she said: “I know it’s hard. I’m sorry. Put the baby in her crib, put the dog in her crate, and just take a minute. Breathe.”
I’ll love her forever for this, because she gave me the space to feel bad for myself for a second, but then got practical, tactical — which is what I needed. I needed someone to acknowledge how hard these days can be, and then to tell me how to regain control of the situation.
I did as she said and, to my surprise and delight, mini sat quietly in her crib with a stack of books while Tilly took a snooze, and I sat down at my desk and did nothing but glaze over for about five minutes.
Believe me, I still have moments of frayed exhaustion — but my sister changed the course of things for me. She made me realize that some mornings, Tilly needs to stay in her crate a little longer than usual — and that’s OK. And some mornings, I will literally accomplish nothing but reading a handful of books to mini — and that’s OK. And some mornings, I will feel like a failure — and that’s OK. It’s all part of the mom experience.
As with much in life, more than half the battle is setting realistic expectations. I’ve written about these observations elsewhere, but a couple of tricks/mantras I turn to frequently in my role as a new (errr, not-so-new!) mom:
+Make a list of the things you want to get done on a given day — even the itty bitty things, like “clean kitchen after breakfast,” “wash bottles,” “do laundry,” “order dog food.” These things are microscopic, but they make me realize that I have, actually, been busy doing things and have been successful at completing them. A reader recently wrote to say that, as a stay at home mom, she constantly feels as though she needs to account for her time, in perennial fear of the inquiry: “What do you do all day?” This checklist makes me realize I am actually quite busy keeping our home together all day long.
+Get outside the house. When I’m suffering from cabin fever around 4:15 p.m. (for some reason, the hour prior to her dinner at 5 p.m. seems to stretch on forever some days — especially during this interminable winter, when we’re stuck inside so often), I’ll go grab an afternoon coffee or smoothie, or run an errand at Duane Reade or Whole Foods, or just walk around the neighborhood. It really breaks things up. I also think there’s some sort of magic to taking things into your own hands — “OK, child, out we go!”
+I struggle the most with this, but: I don’t need to pack every day with activities for mini. I try to take mini on an “adventure” one of the two days I’m alone with her each week, i.e., to the children’s museum, to a class, to the library, to lunch with a friend, etc, but I cannot feel guilty if there’s nothing “special” for her on a given day. One of you readers wrote this recently, but sometimes the adventure is a trip to the grocery — and that’s OK.
+Everything is a phase. This was especially true when mini was itty bitty, and her schedule/routine/habits were changing every few days, but I seem to have forgotten this adage when mini turned 11 months old and I was overwhelmed by the changes that seemed to take place overnight — gone was my docile, mild-mannered baby; I now had a very active almost-toddler, with a big personality! As with every other phase, though, it was a matter of adjusting to and accommodating her new preferences and abilities. I now love this age, especially since she’s gotten a lot sturdier and I don’t feel I need to spot her when she pulls herself up. I can let her tumble around in front of me while I check emails or place an online order for groceries, and — best! — I enjoy her company while doing chores! She loves to play with the laundry and especially the laundry basket — she’ll sit with me for the twenty minutes it takes to fold it all, just babbling away, playing peekaboo, placing clothes on her head, putting the socks back in the basket, pulling herself up on the basket, etc. (BTW, this is the best laundry basket ever — does not warp, has handles, is stackable!) She feels like a companion instead of a charge when I’m completing this task. When I’m vacuuming, she likes to chase the vacuum around with me; it’s become a game.
+It’s OK for mini to spend time on her own, in her crib or playard or activity center. Every mom needs some time to GSD or, honestly, NOT GSD — sometimes I need 10 minutes to space out. Being a mom is physically demanding; sometimes I just need to sit, unencumbered, for a few minutes.
+The household/admin aspects of staying at home with a child are part of the job. I used to be baffled by how much damn time I was spending taking care of “admin” things like stocking the pantry, organizing travel, dealing with technicians, scheduling appointments, cleaning the house, making minimagpie’s more involved meals, etc. I remember telling Mr. Magpie that I felt like I “wasted half the day” on them. Now I see them for what they are: completely necessary, meaty components of managing a well-run household — part of the job as a mom, not getting in the way of my job as a mom. These tasks, trivial as they may seem to the outsider, take time, commitment, and organization. I now know that I need at least an hour a day to deal with these things, and I try to arrange them on my to-do lists, which are organized against a calendar. So, for example, on Sunday, I’ll look across the week and mark down which day I’ll do a big grocery order, which day I’ll call to schedule doctor’s appointments, which day I’ll do a deep clean of the foyer, etc, etc, and try to make sure every day has a little something, but no one day is over-saddled with too much.
What are your tips when you’re overwhelmed as a new mom?
Post-Script: New Mini Discoveries.
+Would it be super embarrassing to admit that the inspiration for my hunt for a perfect sweatshirt actually arose from this Instagram post of a toddler? Not just any toddler — the daughter of the very chic and stylish Arielle of Something Navy. I was obsessed with that sweatshirt! I can’t seem to find it in mini’s size anywhere without having to pay unreasonable shipping (for some reason, it costs 40 euros to ship a 57 euro sweatshirt…???), so I’m toying with the idea of buying it here and saving it for a few years. I also really like these simple single-colored ones, but they’re sold out in mini’s size in all colors. (What great colors, though! Love the lilac and the sunshine colors.) I also love this and this, but can’t quite bring myself to drop that much coin on a sweatshirt for a baby.
+Testing out some new sippy cups with mini, and she loves these. In general, I’ve been a big fan of Philips Avent stuff — we’ve used their no fuss bottles since she was born. I’m also contemplating these. Love the colors, but mini’s been so picky about sippy cups / straw cups that I’m loathe to stray from something that works. (*Yes, I know it’s better for her oral development to use a straw cup, but she’s just never drank from them! And I figure — better to have her hydrated now and fully orally developed (?) a little later.) When she’s older, I like the simple designs and colors of these kids cups.
+These jammies (which I recently wrote about — come highly reviewed/recommended as the softest!) are in my cart. I’m not crazy about most of the prints, but I like them in the solid blue and stark white.
+I’m usually all about BIG BOWS ALL THE TIME, but I bought a set of these little ones for clipping her hair back when she’s eating dinner or not in the mood to tolerate her bow (<<an increasing occurrence — doesn’t she know it’s part of her signature look?!)
+One of the cool things about mini’s activity center is that in converts into a kid table — you just take the little tray that hangs down beneath and insert it into the center. We did this for mini’s birthday, actually. I am thinking that I will soon add two kid chairs so that we can feed her lunch there once she becomes a little older, and my initial research has revealed the following contenders: beyond adorable Scandi-inspired bear-shaped ones from Oeuf; these simple ones from PBK; a chic ghost chair (<<!!!); my favorite, but I know I’ll never drop $200 on a kid’s chair; these modern looking ones. But if I’m reeeeeaaaallly going to splurge — how funky-cool is this rabbit chair?!?!?! Almost a piece of art, n’est-ce-pas?
+This was just re-stocked after being sold out in mini’s size. I can’t decide if I think the OTS detail will be too annoying for mini? But it’s SO KEWWWWWT.
+Snagged a box of these a few weeks ago, and they’re perfect for mini as she tries to coordinate the process of feeding herself. (I now routinely bring out two utensils for each mealtime — one for her to “use” and one for me to use when I’m sneaking bites into her mouth.) The shape and length are perfect for her right now, and they’re easy to clean and kind of chic-looking, if you ask me. Plus — 10 utensils, on sale now for $11? Get it!
+I bought mini these zebra jammies for her first birthday, and have been very impressed with the quality. Super soft!
By: Jen Shoop
I’m not huge into athleisure as a general category — errrr, I should say, I like to think of myself as someone not into athleisure as a general category, but can completely understand its appeal now that I spend most of my days running after a soon-to-be-toddler and a will-never-not-be-a-puppy.
That said, I have been on the hunt for a perfect weekend sweatshirt. Something that says: “I’m cool and hip” and can distract from the macaroni gummed onto my jeans, or the messy bun I seem to be sporting more often than I care to, or the vague look of exhaustion I occasionally see in the mirror come 6 p.m. Sorta like the clothing equivalent to my Golden Goose sneakers, which still — after these many months of use — make me feel just a little bit happier with myself every day. I am torn between something with some sort of logo on it, which would make it a better fit for jeans and aforesaid GGs and maybe a baseball hat with a well-curved brim (I will never ever get on board with a stiff brim…jusssst no), or something plain jane that could be dolled up as shown on the street style starlets above and below.
+This boxy white embroidered style from Yeah Right NYC ($150), which maaaaajorly nails Le Look right now — that uber-boxy, oversized, snarky vibe that’s everywhere.
When I was seven or eight, my sister Elizabeth — two years my junior, and shown above when we were itty bitties — caught up to me in shoe size.
“No, I WEAR A SIZE 3! I PROMISE!” I screeched at my mom as the poor salesman at Stride Rite held my foot to that odd silver shoe sizing contraption that every shoe store had, and which I now recollect and think, “My gosh, some lucky dude holds the patent to that gizmo and is living his best life” — but I digress. The salesman looked down.
“Ahem. I think, miss, you are a 2.”
“I am not!” I said, looking to my mother pleadingly.
I can’t remember the outcome of my tantrum (well, that’s not entirely true — I’m 100% sure my mom won, as she did in all such childhood disputes; I’m just unclear on the ugliness of the interaction) but what I do remember is the illogical desire to be something I was not just because I thought it was Right or Pre-Ordained by my myopic understanding of the workings of the world. How dare Lizzie catch up to me in shoe size?! I am the big sister! I get the new things, and I do everything first!
Around the same time, my brother took to teasing me about my “raven black” hair. I have never had black hair — only light brown — so the source of this needling is unclear. What is clear is that I’d somehow internalized a vision of beauty that looked a lot like Cinderella: blond, thin, and fair. In other words, my sister Elizabeth.
A few years later, when I was pudgy and brace-laden and attached to unfortunate accessories like tamagotchis and butterfly clips, and Elizabeth was a lean, golden-haired ballerina-type, a teacher at our school pulled me aside: “Wait — are you…are you Elizabeth’s sister?” she asked incredulously. I nodded, the inquiry fairly routine, as I was one of five and there was always someone who knew one of my siblings somehow. “You look nothing alike!” she puzzled, her brow knit. My heart sank.
To me, Elizabeth was the fairest of the fair, and I have long looked up to her — and for reasons well beyond the scope of her beauty. More on her to come soon (shhh — a very cool post forthcoming), but I have been thinking a lot about sibling-hood and the often blurred lines between envy and admiration that it typically encompasses, because another sister, Eleanor, recently shared something that stopped me in my tracks:
“One of my high school teachers always called me Jennifer,” Eleanor said, laughing, searching my face for a reaction. I paused.
“But you’re…eight years younger than me. And she’d gone through…two other sisters…before getting to you.”
“I know,” she shrugged.
“And she was even teaching at a different school when you met her–” I was starting to actually get annoyed at this teacher. How could this teacher not have recognized the brilliance and individuality of my sister? How dare she be confused with my milder, less impressive academic style? (For reference, Eleanor was writing eight-page exposes on the subtle gender dynamics in Brideshead Revisited by the age of 15, while I recall, with horror, a particularly “creative” essay I submitted at the same age in reaction to Interpreter of Maladies, in which I used the line, “these characters are collected, like dolls on a shelf, in front of us.” DOLLS ON A SHELF, people. My English teacher circled it and put a question mark to its right. I still color at the memory.)
“There are worse things,” she said, interrupting my silent furor.
There are worse things. How gracious. How impossibly sophisticated. How wise. How flattering. Even the turn of phrase —there are worse things — stands a testament the intellectual elegance of this sister of mine.
Oh my, oh my. How often my sisters have taught me things — how often they have put things in perspective for me, reigned me in, cut me down to size, built me up. With her one casual utterance, a string of discoveries tumbled out. (Almost…like dolls on shelf? Nope, still doesn’t work.)
How impossibly self-involved was I as a child, angry that my sister was different than I was, outraged that I didn’t have her blond hair and fair skin and large(r) feet, furious when strangers told us that we looked nothing alike — the presumption being that SHE SHOULD LOOK LIKE ME!!!! Or, I should have looked like her first, and she should have looked like me next — or something akin to that bent logic. Meanwhile, my three little sisters trailed uncomplainingly in my shadow for years, never called the right name, always wearing hand-me-downs, and, I’m fairly confident, unwittingly beholden to the same high academic standards to which I held myself. (The “dolls on shelves” phrasing notwithstanding, I was an excellent student and consistently first in my class.) And yet, I’ve never heard one of them complain about it. My sister laughed it off, decorously — There are worse things.
+A vintage Patek Phillippe. MONEY. My Dad has one of these, and he inherited it from my grandfather, and I’ve just always thought these are the coolest of the cool.
+Long-sleeved Polo tees and Polo shirts (<<both on RIDIC sale right now; we stocked up on lots of these for Mr. Magpie!) in good colors like “andover heather” and “partridge.”
+A striped sweatshirt — because he is usually game to try things that are a little outside the box.
+A sweet off-the-shoulder statement blouse because bows, stripes, and smocking are all up her alley, and she loves nothing more than a date night with her husband as an excuse to get dolled up.
+This ultra-elegant LWD, because even though it’s very much NOT her style, she would SLAY in it with her petite little frame and stunning blond hair and twig-like legs.
+A certificate for a two-night stay at The Homestead for her and her husband so she can spend time reading, relaxing at the spa, and recharging her batteries.
For my bold-hilarious-well-read-true-blue-loyal sister C.:
+This “oui” ring — which I gave her maybe a decade ago, and she lost, and she needs again.
+An IRO biker jacket, because she’s the kind of person who wears cool things like this.
+The entire Drunk Elephant skincare line, because it’s her favorite. True story: Mr. Magpie bought her some Drunk Elephant for Christmas and I’ve never seen her more excited. “OH MY GOD!” she shrieked, with glee.
