HO HUM, just sitting here on the couch, adding a trillion things to my shopping bag. Thought I’d share what’s currently hanging out in my digital cart owing to the epic sales going on right now — many of these are items I’ve drooled over in various posts over the past week or two!:
So now I should probably whittle the wishlist down from the 03948098 pairs of shoes and 34980348 sweaters to a reasonable amount, right?!
By: Jen Shoop
You may have been wondering about my November book club update, or lack thereof. The shameful truth is that I haven’t been reading over the past month. I climb into bed with heavy lids, and, now that mini is no longer nursing, I find myself with less time over the course of a day to sneak in 10 or 15 minutes of reading. Which is sad, because books give me life. They color my perception of the world. They mediate experiences for me, and not in a negative way, as though I’m living through second-hand experience — rather, they give me the words and frameworks to interpret and understand. And when I’ve gone too long without a good book, I find myself less attuned to the enchantment of the world around me. Books are good at disciplining me into tending to details, wondering at expressions on the faces of salesclerks, musing over fragments of narratives I’ve picked up, bric a brac style — that snatch of conversation about how “Jerry is so sadistic, but you know me…” overheard on a park bench in Central Park, the smell of Korean cooking in the back of the dry cleaner’s (by whom? for whom? is there a kitchen?), the nail technician fussing over the buttons on an elderly woman’s coat: “No, but it’s cold outside, Ms. James, you need to –” “No, I just live around the corner, don’t be silly,” “Yes, you have to button up.”
Books tend to unlock these moments for me.
But, I didn’t get through all of the books selected for October, and now we’re at the end of November. So, I’ll share my thoughts on each of the books I did read and hope that I finish just two books by the end of December, which I’ll share at the bottom.
Book Club Pick No. 1: Upstream by Mary Oliver
Five stars. Excellent, crisp, lyrical writing interrogating the relationship between Man and Nature, which are more or less shorthand for Her Theory Of Life. Upstream is a collection of reflective essays whose occasionally didactic tone can be forgiven once one realizes that the authoress is 81, sharp as a tack, and with an impressive opus of work to her name. Basically, she’s earned her right to lecture if she wants to lecture. But she’s not cloying about it, as her wide-eyed observationism speaks of a fetching humility and wonderment at the world around her. If we want to talk about a writer attuned to the details, look no further than Mary Oliver: there’s a chapter entirely devoted to her tracking of the life of a spider that lives in her house.
Oliver makes me want to live a more reflective life. Maybe buy a journal (I’d use one of these, which I use to keep notes for work, projects, etc.) and take the time to fill it out — although, I suppose, that’s what I’ve been doing here on this little blogletta, isn’t it?
Still, I bow down to the raptness of her attention to the minutaie of the world that turns around her.
Book Club Pick No. 2: A Stranger in the House by Shari LaPena
Four stars. A great beach read thriller. I could eat these by the dozen — such a guilty pleasure. Just as delicious as her first, The Couple Next Door, and just as impervious to serious literary scrutiny. All of these books tug at marital relationship dynamics, but there’s not a whole lot else to say about them, and that’s fine by me. Sometimes we are looking for pure entertainment value.
Which reminds me that many of our friends have gotten into long and protracted debates with us over the “five point scale” Mr. Magpie and I use to rate movies, and I’m using here to rate books. Some say five points don’t offer enough granularity since we don’t permit half-points. (I guess we’re purists on this point?) Others say it’s ridiculous that we can assign the same score to movies as frivolous as A Million Ways to Die in the West (four stars — a truly stupid movie, but we love its kitsch and have watched it at least half a dozen times) as we do to more serious films, like an excellent but incredibly traumatic movie we just watched, Wind River. But our opinion there is that you’re comparing comedies to other comedies along the five point scale and dramas to other dramas along the five point scale, not lining them all up and saying Wind River = A Million Ways to Die. And so, compared to other chick lit beach reads, The Couple Next Door is a 4/5. (My other favorite beach reads.) But it’s not to say that I would consider it anywhere in the neighborhood of craftsmanship to some of the other heftier, more literary books I’ve given four stars to.
Book Club Pick No. 3: Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser
Four stars. Funny, well-written, and easy to read. My one gripe with it is the marketing of the book, which is overly chick-lit-ish. Even the title made me think I was in for a Sex and the City style fluff piece. But Hesser is a talented writer and a serious and well-respected member of the foodie scene. She talks about 9/11 in the book. She draws serious conclusions about the role of food in our lives. She talks about being blue, and getting through it. She is not friendly or girlish: she’s mature, sophisticated, sharp-witted, and even testy at times. She does not suffer fools kindly, and she’s frankly a snob when it comes to food. In short, this is not the cutesy fare the title and cover styling suggest. The marketers behind the book clearly made these decisions with intention, but I take issue with them and think they dumbed down the overall effect. Mr. Magpie would love this book, but I guarantee he never would have picked it up if it weren’t for my coaxing and effusive recommendation. And even still, I’m sure he won’t be reading it on a park bench in Central Park…
Also, full of great recipes and useful cooking tips, and there are many dog-eared corners I intend to return to. (This may be the first book I’ve read a physical copy of since the start of the year!)
+Finally going to get through this, which I think has been on my list since September?
+Watch Me Disappear by Janelle Brown. A thriller billed as the perfect find for fans of Big Little Lies that will hopefully fill the LaPena void, recommended by one of you lovely readers!
+It’s Messy by Amanda de Cadenet. My girlpower book for the month. Known for her edgy interview series The Conversation, in which she speaks with various powerful women, this memoir gives us a closer look at the woman behind the microphone, where she shares her own story, including “a portrait of childhood fame, a stint in juvie, teen motherhood, a high-profile marriage (and divorce), and the sexism that threatened to end her career–all before she turned nineteen.”
P.S. No book club is complete without a lot of wine (Mr. Magpie referred to my old book club as “wine night”), and I was surprised to find that this was one of the most popular items I’ve featured on my blog in months!
We finally bought a proper high chair, the Phil + Ted Poppy Highchair ($119). I explained my rationale for ordering this one and shared several of the other contenders I’d considered under the “Feeding” section here. I am so, so happy we ordered it because it’s provided some much-needed relief for me: it keeps her up and away from our borderline mendicant dog, who has now discovered that nosing around during mini’s mealtimes will often yield unexpected treats for her, and it means I don’t need to crouch on the floor to feed her. (We sold our oversized dining table and chairs in the move and were temporarily resigned to squatting on the ground to feed her in this. However, we just bought a new dining table, which basically has the perfect dimensions for our petite dining room. Now we just need to find dining chairs, and I’m not sure what direction to go in. More on that later.) Plus, she loves the vantage and sometimes I’ll pop her in there when I’m cleaning or cooking and she’ll be entertained with a tray of puffs or a handful of toys for a good while.
The high chair is excellent.
Pros:
+Very easy to clean, which seems to be the principle grievance moms have with other models. The tray in particular is one solid piece of plastic with no nooks or hooks or crevices or crannies to contend with.
+I like the design, which is the perfect balance between modern minimalist and child-appropriate. There are others (Bloom Fresco, I’m looking at you) that are a little out of control in terms of design, in my opinion. (OK, we don’t need our high chairs to look like they were designed by Eero Saarinen…or do we?) But at the other extreme, there are a ton of truly hideous plastic eyesores out there on the high chair market. The Phil + Ted is cheery and youthful (we own it in the cranberry color) but also simple and unfussy.
+The pricepoint is appreciated. It was nice not to have to spend a fortune on a chair. This was a good $100 cheaper than the runner up, the OXO Sprout.
+It collapses/folds up. I think it might be the only high chair out there that does it. You can take off the legs and break those into two pieces, and then you just have the chair, which has a startlingly petite footprint. (I was surprised at how small the box was when it came in the mail!) We can easily store it in our pantry closet if we want it out of the way. Though, let’s be honest: we’ll probably keep it fully assembled 90% of the time. Which brings us back to the design “pro.” At least I don’t look at it and shudder! (I also think it might be convenient on the occasion we travel for holidays or even to upstate New York for a weekend or for something like Friendsgiving at the home of a friend! We could easily toss this in the back seat.)
+It was easy to assemble. I didn’t need to wait for Mr. Magpie to come home and pull out his screwdriver. It took me all of a few minutes to snap in place.
+It converts into a child’s chair when she gets older!
Cons:
+The legs are easy to trip over — they extend out from the seat like prongs.
+I don’t think the over-the-shoulder harnesses do anything — they tend to slip off mini’s shoulders. Which is, truthfully, fine because the waist restraint and the tray keep her safely tucked in. But I do wish they felt a little more secure on her/restrained her a bit better.
+When all is said and done, even though it can fold easily and looks very narrow, because of the wide “spread” of the legs of the high chair, it doesn’t save much space. It actually takes up quite a bit of space — probably more than a more traditional-style high chair.
One thing that I’d been warned about was that the tray doesn’t balance on its own. I don’t know if it’s just because I’ve never known anything different, but this hasn’t bothered me at all. I typically put her in the chair and put her tray in front of her, and then go into the kitchen and bring out a little tray with all her feeding accoutrements: spoon, food, wet paper towel, bib, sippy cup. I’d need this anyway because if I were to put all those things on her tray when getting things set up, they’d be all over the floor and my face within seconds. So, this hasn’t seemed like much of a con, yet, but maybe I’ll change my tune as she ages.
Mainly, though, did I mention it’s really easy to keep clean?
A few other items I recently purchased that I’d strongly recommend:
+These stroller mitts. Where have they been all my life and how did I survive last winter in Chiberia without them? They’re wonderful. At first I thought: this is stupid. Aren’t those what gloves are for? But the number of times I’m out with her and I want to quickly wipe her face or hand her something and then need to remove my gloves, tuck them under my arm or hold them in my teeth, etc? It pretty much happens every time. With these, you’re warm and toasty while you’re strolling, but your hands are free and clear when you need them, without gloves falling on the ground or dangling in your mouth or whatever. Also, they’re very warm.
+I ordered mini one of these footmuffs for her stroller. I resisted for awhile, not understanding their benefit, which is plentiful: you can slide your baby right into it without having to overlayer like a penguin. I was putting mini in like 2398 layers and then her hands would stick out, immobile, as I strapped her into the stroller. And blankets fall off. This is genius.
+Mini still often wakes up once a night. I’ve heard all kinds of suggestions: “Make sure she’s wearing socks — the minute we started putting socks on our son, he started sleeping through the night!”; “Is she wearing overnight diapers? Maybe the wetness is waking her up!”; “Add a little baby cereal to her last bottle and she’ll go longer without waking up.” I’m game to try all these things, and recently started using overnight diapers. I can’t say they’ve worked, but I have noticed she tends to wake up at 5 am instead of 3-4 am and perhaps these are part of the reason.
+I think I already wrote about this, but for a long time, I used regular dish soap to wash mini’s bottles. (Sometimes I think that I fall prey too often to items marketed as “solely for baby’s use” — I’m convinced that I’m overpaying for a lot. Soap seemed to be one of those things.) However, I ate a bite of food off of her baby spoon recently and it tasted, faintly, of Dawn soap. For the record, I do not like Dawn soap. It is too heavily scented in general. I much prefer Palmolive. But anyway it made me worry that mini had been eating soap-scented food for months. I instantly bought this unscented castile soap instead. I don’t think it cleans as well (you really need to exert some elbow grease to get rid of the waxy/greasy residue of formula and breastmilk), but it makes me happy that she’s no longer tasting soap. I’ve also heard good stuff about this, but why do they come in such small bottles?! I feel like I’d need to reorder once a week.
+I ordered here one of these rollable mats for when we’re out to lunch. Much easier to put some puffs down in front of her or have a place to balance her spoon, bowl, etc., instead of on the questionably clean table surface. I swear I’m not an OCD germaphobe, but…
We’ve watched the Macy’s parade on TV while eating Pillsbury cinnamon rolls (deliciously artificial) and drinking coffee for the past few Thanksgivings, and this year, the parade will literally traipse right past our apartment on Central Park West. New Yorkers can be blase about these kinds of magical happenings that take place right in their backyards — or, more acurately, on their street corners — in the way that Washingtonians shrug and roll their eyes when the presidential motorcade blocks traffic on Mass Ave for an hour at a time. Meanwhile, outsiders’ eyes widen as they tuck the marvel they’ve just observed away for sharing with friends and family back home — “you won’t believe it, but the President drove RIGHT BY us!” or “I actually saw the Peanuts balloon in person!”
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about living in outsider mode recently. I’m certainly no New Yorker, but I’m growing increasingly acclimated — though not de-sensitized! — to the happenings of this great city. Central Park takes my breath away at least twice per walk per day. I live two minutes from Lincoln Center, and, colored by a scene from one of my favorite movies, Moonstruck, it always strikes me as romantic. There are nearly always pairs of people clustered on the shallow steps leading up to its magnificence, and I imagine many sweet nothings and proposals and important but quiet conversations taking place between them. The enormous, borderline European-style statues at the Columbus Circle entrance to Central Park still turn my head. And yet — I’ve learned to keep my eyes to myself when the abundant weirdos in this city cloy for attention. I’ve learned to walk with purpose, briskly, traversing certain streets instead of others to avoid the clog of tourists.
Mr. Magpie has a funny reaction to people eating ice cream: he turns schmaltzy, sentimental. He clambered for words one time: “I don’t know, it’s just — grown men, men in suits, adults wanting something sweet. Something totally unnecessary. Something that can only make you happy. It’s just…I don’t know.”
I knew what he was getting it: the sudden, chest-wracking sight of someone’s sweet, vulnerable, and very human side, like when you accidentally see someone dab a tear away, or watch your mother grin ear to ear while watching a performance of Oklahoma, so happy is she with the spectacle in front of her (that happened), or spot Mr. Magpie’s rabbit foot perched on top of his phone for good luck.
There are many ice cream moments in this city of New York, and few involve ice cream. There are skaters laughing and twirling in Central Park’s rink. There are tourists snapping photos of themselves in front of — well, everything. There are visitors on those stupid horse drawn buggies that clod through Central Park (I say stupid because the horses anger Tilly to such a degree that I legitimately must scan the length of stroll in front of us and carefully time our exit from the building, across the roads that cut through the Park, etc., or I will be virtually unable to control her. She hates those damn horses! Also, the blankets the people lay over their legs in those buggies skeeve me out. You know those aren’t ever cleaned.) There are trails of people waiting for Levain cookies (the best the best the best OMG THE BEST).
The past few weeks were murky and overcast, and I recently stumbled into a particularly unnerving fog after weaning minimagpie (more on that in a future post, but — wow, hormones!), but over the last few days, I feel as though my vision has cleared, and what stands in front of me is the realization that not a day goes by that I don’t observe someone in an ice cream moment, living totally and gleefully in the moment, in the transitory pursuit of happiness, in this entirely magical city I have had the good fortune to find my way into.
And it makes me thankful. Thankful to bear witness to the goodness of people, thankful for the reminder of what an incredible life I have, thankful for the gentle but urgent call to take a minute and breathe it all in.
******
Post-Script.
Today, though we will not be leaving our apartment (in part because we are essentially blockaded in owing to the parade), I am wearing a Jill Jill Stuart burgundy lace dress that is no longer available, but similar to this or this (epic budget buy!). BTW, you should check out Jill Jill Stuart when you’re looking for something to wear to a more staid-style event, like dinner with parents-in-law, or a shower at a country club, or — hate to say it — a funeral? They have lots of modest styles, like this dress, which feels both conservative and fashionable.
I will likely spend most of the day barefoot or in slippers, but may temporarily slip into these during dinner proper.
After dinner, I wish I’d had the foresight to order a pair of cashmere joggers — these have been on my list for awhile, though I just stumbled upon these, which are a more attractive price! And there is more well-priced cashmere goodness here.
Also — love the tablescape above. The contrast of the rustic burlap and eucalyptus with the gleaming gold/copper accents is delightful. Those taper candle holders remind me of these, which are at the top of my lust list. I’m not usually super into the midcentury modern style, but pops of it here and there…yes. I also love this gold flatware and these copper mule mugs. For tablecloth/runner, check out this and this. These gilded plates would also fit in nicely. Finally, Trader Joe’s almost always has eucalyptus branches this time of year for super cheap — snag some of those for your next autumn / holiday tablescape! (Also, check out these reusable garlands for your tablescape or mantel!)
By: Jen Shoop
“Who wants to put baby Jesus in the manger?” My mom had a stunning Lladro creche nativity scene (this piece was my personal favorite — and P.S., Etsy has quite a collection of vintage Lladro pieces at decent prices if you’re looking to start your own), and she would always leave Jesus out of the scene until Christmas morning, when all five of us would come tumbling down the stairs like wild banshees on the moor, eager to tear into our presents.
But first, my mom would have us cluster around the creche, place Jesus in the center, and sing “happy birthday” to Him. We always sang it as fast as possible, the girls in sharp staccato as we hustled through the lyrics to get to our gifts, and my brother singing sullenly, glumly, annoyed that this practice was standing between he and his newest computer game.
But, to my mother’s credit, we never forgot that the day was about more than Santa and gifts.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, my mother transformed our house into a holiday wonderland, with Christmas pillows, wreaths, and miscellaneous decor decking every nook and cranny of the house. She would simmer a mix of cinnamon and other spices on the stovetop so that the smell of Christmas was in the air, and we’d play a couple of Christmas albums on repeat. My favorite was a collection of “children’s Christmas carols,” including the perennial classic “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer,” which invariably elicited a heaving sigh and eye roll from my father if not a routine, “This is such a stupid song.” My Dad always preferred Elvis’s Christmas album, which is very much worth a listen if you’ve not heard it end to end.
I am certain my mom will have the creche out, and her holiday pillows fluffed, and Christmas carols on, and probably even the Christmas table set with her beautiful holiday china, when we arrive home for the holidays on the 23rd, and I can hardly wait to introduce minimagpie to the magic. I know everyone loves Christmas (how could you not?) but my mom makes it — and every holiday, and non-holiday* too — special. There’s a line in one of my favorite movies, Sleepless in Seattle, where the love interest (played by Tom Hanks) says of his late wife: “She made everything beautiful.” (P.S. Just try to watch that movie without crying. I challenge you.) I feel that way about my mom, too, and especially around Christmas.
*My mom also invented holidays for us. She had us celebrate “mid-summer’s” — we’d get a special gift from the “mid-summer’s fairy” and have friends over to play in the sprinklers and hoses in the driveway, bob for apples, and eat hot dogs.
A Few Things I’ve Bought / Am Eyeing for Christmas This Year
+I would love to eventually get an advent calendar for mini. Mr. Magpie said his mom used to put a small treat inside each drawer of his childhood advent calendar for the 24 (!) days leading up to Christmas. Sometimes it was a little piece of chocolate or dollar store toy or a little tub of play doh and sometimes it was something bigger and there’d be a little note tucked inside the drawer. Such a fun tradition. Maybe something like this? Or this?
+If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to build your ornament library, I have to rave about these Martha Stewart sets. We bought a few boxes a few years back and they’re great “filler” pieces to layer underneath more meaningful ones. Because it takes a lifetime to collect enough for your whole tree!
+Speaking of trees: Mr. Magpie has long been needling me (pun intended) to get a fake Christmas tree. I’ve always liked The Real Thing — we always had real trees growing up — and it’s been something of a tradition for the two of us to go pick one out together. However. Mr. Magpie’s mother has used an artificial one for years and hers always looks spectacular. I will admit that I like the look of these flocked trees that have been so trendy in recent years — see below. (Flocked trees:Christmas Trees :: Bell Sleeves:Blouses. AKA VERY 2017.) Of course you could do the flocking yourself, but you can also buy them pre-flocked here ($$$) and here ($). For non-flocked trees, I’d consider this or this, both of which get solid reviews.
+I’ve always wanted to get a proper tree skirt — specifically, this one or maybe something more rustic, like this (which gets great reviews!). Mr. Magpie inherited an incredible Lionel train set that we like to set up around the base of the tree, though we skipped it last year thanks to our puppy. You can find select Lionel pieces on Etsy, like this one, which would be adorable if you have a train set, or could also just be a chic piece of decor on a mantle or something.
+I’ll be burning this candle nonstop starting Thanksgiving. I’m also intrigued by their limited edition holiday scents, like this one!
+I’m excited to add one of these to our collection this year for minimagpie! We’ll hang them on a bookcase or our sideboard since we don’t have a proper hearth, and we’ll use these (also like these).
+
By: Jen Shoop
If you’ve been reading for awhile, you know that I like to mix higher-end pieces with fast fashion ones. Investing in a good handbag can make a no-label white t-shirt, worn-in Levi’s, and a pair of simple flats look ridiculously chic. Today, I thought I’d feature a few perfect-for-right-now pieces that are on the more affordable end of the spectrum (i.e., everything is under $150), and most of them inspired by the pinks and grays on the chic pea above….
+Meanwhile, I am literally dying over this sexy sweater dress ($120), which would make the wearer look…tres soigne. Finish with a pair of these ($120) — I own this style in velvet and they’re a great heel height. I also own J. Crew’s Elsie in multiple shades — probably my favorite every day pump. (Though if I worked in a corporate environment with more of an excuse to wear pumps regularly, I’d probably splurge on some BBs.)
+I’ll conclude with something budget-busting — this epic faux fur jacket, on sale for $293. LOVE. I’d layer it over stripes!
By: Jen Shoop
In a business negotiations course, a professor of mine once explained that most people can be categorized as either a purist or a pragmatist. This taxonomy seemed, on the surface, outlandishly reductive, but he insisted that classifying which type of person you’re interacting with will dramatically streamline negotiations and, typically, yield a faster, better outcome. I get his point. And, the more I thought about it, the more I found that most people do, in fact, gravitate towards one pole or the other. I can pretty easily tell you whether each of my good friends and family members are purists or pragmatists — except for Mr. Magpie, who is a curious label-resister in this regard. In many ways, he is a purist, and most people who know him would quickly identify him as such. He has strong, unwavering opinions that he can be rather stubborn about, and is wont to comments like, “It’s 10:30. The breakfast window is closed. I can now only eat lunch things,” and “anyone who owns that particular make and model of car has a major attitude problem,” and “I will never, ever wear black jeans,” and “table salt is trash. Kosher only.” But in other ways, he has the pragmatic mind of an engineer: willing to re-evaluate and try multiple tacks to get something done. Open to changing his opinion if you give him the space to do so. Creative about problem-solving, even when it involves some compromise.
Me? I am definitely a pragmatist. One of you astute readers (Bunny?) pointed out in a comment a few months back (and I paraphrase) that I rarely self-identify with a specific label or philosophy. And it’s true — I think I’m too squarely in the pragmatist camp to do so; I’m more likely to sit in the middle, negotiate, even change sides occasionally — with the notable exception that I do consider myself a Catholic, something that often startles friends new and old alike. “You go to Church every Sunday?” Eyebrows arched, studying me for possible signs of evangelical nuttiness. The scrutiny is often eclipsed by a condescending, “Well–good for you,” as though going to Church is like eating vegetables or announcing that I’ve decided to visit an ashram for a year to cleanse my soul. I generally keep my Catholic-ness to myself, though I trust it permeates my actions and occasionally predisposes my language to include phrases like “Thank God,” and “God has a plan,” and “God is good,” which are all but absent from the vocabulary of most of my friends.
But I digress, and I’m not sure how relevant that whole bit on being Catholic is to the matter at hand anyway, as being a Catholic does not necessarily mean you are a purist, but — yes, I am a pragmatist in nearly every regard. I am rarely so absolutely sure about something that I can’t accommodate another perspective or negotiate a middle ground. On the plus side, loved ones come to me as a peacemaker. On the negative side, I’m prone to being a people-pleaser. Sometimes I envy the purist, all crisp edges and clean lines and pureness of thought. The right answer is never far afield. But purists bear their own albatrosses: I have observed that they are more likely to get embroiled in debate, to ruffle feathers, to flock with their own.
And, I’m not talking about politics here, though I think there are absolutely purists and pragmatists in that discipline as well. I’m talking more about the day-to-day life stuff, like when Mr. Magpie would rather go without meat than buy it from a big grocery chain, and not because he’s snobby, but rather because he has done a lot of research on the topic of the farming industry and has particular standards about what he will eat. I, on the other hand? I see where he’s coming from, but I’d also buy a pound of lean hamburger meat from the nearby Giant and be done with it. (Sometimes you just want a burger, okurrrr?) The same goes for things like laundry — sometimes (horror of horrors) I’ll throw all the colors in at once to simplify life and save time — and grocery shopping, where I might spend a little more on produce at Whole Foods so I don’t need to go to two different grocery stores to get everything done — and especially cooking, where I’ll sub in ingredients or shrug if I don’t have *quite* enough of an ingredient because I don’t feel like going out to get another batch of it.
Incidentally, cooking is what brought this whole purist v. pragmatist debate to mind. I had been reading Cooking for Mr. Latte and was tickled? excited? liberated? to read that the author described a dear and respected cooking friend of hers as “an ambitious cook…but she has the rare qualities of a realist. She scoffs at Martha’s obsessive detail, disdains recipes that call for more than three pieces of equipment, and does not acknowledge garnishes.”
Aha! A pragmatist cook! This is me, and is a common source of tension (admittedly amicable and cartoonish tension a la Lucy and Ricky) in the kitchen with Mr. Magpie who — while he may be a pragmatist in other areas — is the most pure of the purists when it comes to cooking. He will use the exact right implements for a meal even if it means using every single pot, pan, and tool in our entire house. He measures all ingredients by weight. All. Including dry pasta. Dry pasta! So he can be sure he’s actually cooking 1/2 lb so that the pasta is in the right proportions with the sauce. But, dry pasta! He brings all ingredients to their appropriate temperature — “temperature is an ingredient,” he correctly points out, while I nonchalantly toss an ice-cold piece of meat into hot oil. He youtubes videos to make sure his mirepoix is the correct size. He uses cheesecloth to strain things. He even measures the amount of salt to use when seasoning meat: “it should be 2/3 tsp of salt per pound of meat. It looks a lot, but it works out perfectly every time.”
Until Hesser described her friend as a “rare realist” in the realm of ambitious cooks, I’d been second-guessing whether I was cut out to be a good cook or not. I’d taken to denigrating my cooking skills which are, to be clear, paltry compared to Mr. Magpie’s magnificence in the kitchen. He is impressive. He cooks with authority. He runs his kitchen. By comparison, I feel as though I’m half-assing everything — I’m too impatient to get caught up in the details of plating or dicing things perfectly or letting things stand to come to room temperature (with the exception of certain baked goods, because, for example, cold cream cheese will totally ruin a cheesecake), and don’t even get me started on using single-function implements, like — and Mr. Magpie is reading this and smirking because he knows exactly where I’m going here! — the dreaded potato ricer. I hate that damn thing. It’s bulky, hard to use, next to impossible to clean — and for what? A slightly better texture? I’d much rather throw soft potatoes into a stand mixer and shrug it off if I come across a lump or two.
But, all that said, I consider myself a pretty good cook. I love cooking for friends and family and I’ve taken on some ambitious projects of my own, especially in the baking realm. And Hesser’s words made me realize this, made me nod at myself in approval: just because I am a pragmatist in the kitchen doesn’t mean I’m a bad cook. As in most things in life, there are all kinds of kinds.
Just last week, I made a delicious sea bass “bonne femme” recipe from our treasured Zuni cookbook (P.S. — you need all of these cookbooks). You boil potatoes until fork tender, then transfer to a pan with butter, thyme, leeks, broth, and vermouth, and then add the fish and broil for a few minutes. It’s delicious, home-y cooking, and I’m proud to say that Mr. Magpie absolutely flipped out over it. He actually said “Mmmm” out loud multiple times.
Little did he know that I’d very loosely eyeballed all of the ingredients, had overcooked the potatoes before putting them in the pan, and had rolled my eyes at and willfully ignored several of the book’s overly fussy instructions, like when they tell you to transfer the fish to a warmed plate, then tilt that plate back over the pan so that any fish juices drip into the pan, then return to the heated plate, then swirl counterclockwise while holding three sprigs of thyme two inches above the pan’s surface and reciting the Lord’s Prayer (HA, that last one is clearly a joke but, you get my point).
So, it just goes to show: pragmatists can cook, too.
What are you?
Also, some items I really want for my kitchen:
+This electric kettle is so chic ($125), and is shown in the photo at the top of this post in that ultra chic white kitchen that I would tarnish in two seconds flat. Would make a great gift for your tea-loving sister’s kitchen.
+I’ve long wished for a set of holiday china from Juliska. I especially love their country estate pattern, but this reindeer set is darling, too. I bought a great table runner from Pottery Barn last year with deer and wintry foliage all over it in a bronze color that would look like perfection with it. This is semi-similar, but more Christmas-y! Also, I can’t wait to bring out my ceramic turkey tureen I bought last year for my Thanksgiving tablescape — no longer available, but here is the exact one I have on eBay.
+I just bought one of these WS dish soap and hand soap sets since I was tired of the clutter on our countertop, even though I’ll probably replace the soap ASAP with my own preferred brands — I like Mrs. Meyers hand soap for the kitchen since it’s inexpensive and not overly perfumed and we go through A LOT OF SOAP IN THIS HOUSE, and good old Palmolive for dish soap. (I’ve temporarily been using Downy because it was what they had at the nearest convenience store and it is SO STRONGLY SCENTED. I felt so badly when I sniffed one of minimagpie’s bottles — she must have been drinking soap milk the last few weeks! Woof. So, I switched to this for her bottles.)
+Do you keep your salt in a salt pig? We started doing it about a year into our marriage and it changed our lives since we use salt so often and in fairly large quantities when seasoning pasta water, big pieces of meat, etc. So convenient to have it at the stovetop, a finger’s pinch away.
+I do not need one of these, and I do not have space for one of these, but I really want one of these. Our blender is decent but, like most blenders, it occasionally leaks and doesn’t crush ice particularly well.
+Unrelated to the kitchen, but we have a new magical nanny in our lives who doubles as a housekeeper and triples as a cook. (OMG — the urban unicorn. I have her.) She was distraught to find that I don’t own a full-size ironing board (rather a half sizer that stows easily) and also that we didn’t have a mop on hand when we moved in (though in fairness, that was because the movers had lost it). It’s led me to do quite a bit of recon on various new household and home care goods — including a new iron. I really want one of these because every review out there recommends it, but a stubborn (purist?) part of me feels that an ironing board should cost $50. Don’t ask why. Any suggestions? For an iron, people love these, this one is recommended by The Sweet Home, but I’m gravitating towards this budget buy. Also, more of our recent home purchases here.
By: Jen Shoop
OK, a quick update.
I ordered some of this Bumble and Bumble Texturizing Spray and it has changed my life. It is far and away the best styling product I’ve ever used — I’m able to get that Kate Mara beachy wavey bob thing going easily. (More on my new ‘do.) It’s easy to apply with a good spray (do you have any aerosols that apply the product too narrowly? And you end up with like a dense wet spot?) and a less intense smell than this stuff, which Mr. Magpie complained about all the time. And it really adds texture without grease monkeying up your hair. FIVE STARS.
P.P.S. I talk about my favorite peel product here. THE. BEST. Still addicted.
By: Jen Shoop
My Latest Score: Return Address Stamp
With Christmas cards going out shortly (have you ordered yours? do you do this? — I love these!), I decided to have a stamp made with our new Manhattan address to save time and money (it’s expensive to get those return addresses printed!). I scoured Etsy and fell in love with all of the styles from The Stamp Shoppe, including the Christmas one shown above. At the end of the day, though, I went with this one (shown below), which felt classic and very me (and I’ll be using it on errrrythang). I also considered this one, also shown below. If you follow suit, don’t forget to order some of this — I got mine in festive green!
You’re Sooooo Popular:
The most popular items on Le Blog this week:
+My favorite makeup removing pads — I’ve featured these in literally 34898 posts because I love them so much, but a lot of you snagged ’em this week!
+I’ve raved about the utility of this mini brush for, like, a year? But seriously, I have only been using this little power tool to style my hair over the last few weeks. Is that ridiculous? I have a whole bin of brushes but they’re blocked behind something so…
I feel as though I turned a major corner in the course of this move and no longer find myself taking shortcuts when it comes to the management of our home. Mr. Magpie has never cut corners (in our home or anywhere else in his life), but I — well, I would be the one who would overstuff the washer or dryer out of laziness and then cause a leak, or would carelessly throw everything in the kitchen sink into the washing machine and dull the blade of an expensive knife, or would get lazy about keeping an organized closet and suddenly have messy piles of clothing. I’m very tidy, don’t get me wrong, but I occasionally subscribe to the “out of sight, out of mind” mentality and can let drawers and closets get a little hairy.
No longer.
I’ve now become a purist organizational addict. It’s a strict “put that thing back where it came from or so help me” situation, and I’m slightly OCD about keeping things ordered in every drawer, cabinet, closet, and shelf. (Even the spines of our cookbooks are now color coordinated. And our spices are alphabetized. OMG. I am my mom. I’m my mom!) Maybe cramped New York quarters necessitate this rigor? No — I prefer to believe it’s because having a baby and moving to a new city have nudged me (no, nudged is far too gentle — hurled me) into a new level of responsibility and orderliness. I need things to be in their proper place to maximize efficiency — like, the other morning, when I was making mini a new breakfast — a banana-pumpkin mash — from my favorite baby food cookbook, Tilly was eyeing the countertop with a questionably untrustworthy look and mini was fussing, and I needed cinnamon STAT. Thanks to my organizational skills, I managed to find it in 2 seconds flat vs. rifling through a wall of jars for 20 minutes, as was The Old Jen’s way of doing things.
Also, maybe — just maybe? — I’m coping with a feeling of chaos by exerting authority over domains I can: kitchen cabinets and spice racks and slippery rugs.
P.S. I do not need a new runner, but I love the style of this one. It strikes the right balance between modern and traditional for my tastes and I feel it would look perfect in nearly any decor.
P.P.S. If you do order rug pads, don’t worry if they don’t have the exact size of your rug — just order the one closest to your rug’s size and you can trim the pad with scissors.
#Shopaholic: The Blogger Throw
+Love this throw blanket. I feel like bloggers feature “cozy throws” way too much — how many “cozy throws” do you need? (I actually have about 6 too many.) But those oversized poms make me want to curl up with a bowl of popcorn and watch a Christmas movie.
+I ordered a duster-length cardigan last year from Gap and have already been living in it this season, especially around the apartment, and usually with these. So comfy and warm and #basic. Gap has another great style available this year that I am loving.
+While at my mom’s house in D.C., I thumbed through her huge collection of cookbooks looking for weeknight dinner inspiration. She was particularly effusive about this Ina Garten cookbook, whose premise is compelling: all recipes that you can make earlier in the day and finish later on. Very attractive for entertaining or for making the most of time when the nanny is here or baby is napping so I can enjoy a glass of wine with Mr. Magpie rather than launching right into cooking the minute mini goes to sleep…
I wrote recently about some of the space-saving, small apartment gear I’ve found for our new digs in Manhattan, and I’m always surprised and — oddly, perhaps — happy to note how strongly these more practical, less fashion-oriented posts resonate with you. Happy because it makes me think of the hundreds of other working women and moms out there who are not only aspiring to dress stylishly, but to run their lives carefully and thoughtfully, with the right gear and solutions to make their own lives easier.
Earlier this year, I took an afternoon to reflect on what I was doing with Magpie. I sat down and wrote a mission statement that took many iterations and multiple conversations with Mr. Magpie, and came up with:
TheFashionMagpie intends to inspire and politely provoke women to live thoughtful, well-curated, stylish lives.
I would add, as an addendum to this, that I aspire to do so by nurturing a community of passionate and smart and caring women — you know, women of substance. I see some of you chatting back and forth in the comments and I love it. I learn so much from so many of you, and source such great tips, too — like these incredible knobs as an alternative to more expensive styles I’d been eyeing from the lovely Jennifer!
At any rate, as an update to these more practically-minded posts, I thought I’d share a couple of epic finds for our new apartment in addition to those I mentioned a week or two ago:
+To save precious drawer space, we placed these on the interior of a few of our cabinets so we could hang our potholders.
+I keep my sponge and gloves in this, which hangs off the cabinet under the sink.
+My mom has one of these for dish soap dispensing. I like it because it makes the countertop look a little less cluttered with random bottles and a lot more intentional. This could be part of the hardware of the kitchen!
+We have a narrow galley kitchen and doing mealprep underneath the cabinetry is a little dimmer than I would like. I found this absolute MVP of a product as a solution. For only $35, we now have under-cabinet lighting that is controlled by a remote and did not require any drilling to accomplish (you use stickers to affix these lights to the under the cabinet area, because…#renting). The lights are a touch on the blue side for our tastes, but they’re certainly not garish or overbright or cloying. They honestly look like we had much more expensive under-cabinet lighting installed! Mr. Magpie was completely shocked at how well they worked. (You can even dim the lights and put on a timer!) The one downside is that, since they’re battery operated, they’re going to require a lot of batteries over time, but I think they’re well worth the price.
+I’ve already mentioned these, but they’ve truly helped us make the most of our cabinets and I’m ecstatic over them. The brand that makes them, Seville Classic, seems to turn out a lot of well-reviewed storage solutions — pretty much all of their products have nearly five star reviews on Amazon and lots of loyal customers. I can vouch for their quality — far sturdier and better made than your usual storage gear. For that reason, I just ordered one of these for our pantry closet.
+Not by Seville Classic, but I’m considering this to slide in alongside our washer/dryer — at only 6″ wide, it seems like the perfect way to store most of our household cleaners, our iron, etc.
+Our movers did a great job — nothing was broken, despite the fact that they not only had to move like 300 pieces (no joke…300) from our home to the truck, and then from that truck to a temporary storage facility, and then from that facility onto smaller trucks (NYC has intense restrictions on truck sizes in Manhattan), and then from those smaller trucks across a street (because there was no loading zone available…), up two (!) different service elevators, and nearly 300 STEPS (!!!!) into our new unit. Poor moving guys. But anyway, the ONE THING that was lost in transit was a bundle of mops, brooms, and cleaning supplies. This led me to recently order a new mop — specifically, this kind, which our new cleaning lady insisted is the only kind worth buying, has very good reviews, and is incidentally on sale right now, and the corresponding bucket. Weird to think that there are 500 people on this planet that take the time to review their mops and buckets, but there ya have it. Now this Magpie has a primo mop solution. HA. (Also, I only have ever used this on our wood floors, like my mother.)
+For other households cleaners, I’m partial to Method — this stuff is great for granite (the only stuff I could find that wouldn’t leave a cloudy surface) and this stuff is amazing for quickly cleaning our wood furniture when I’m not in the mood to pull out Pledge and a cloth and all that jazz.
+We left our ginormous, circa-1972 vacuum cleaner in Chicago. I’m not sure where we even got it — I believe an inheritance from one of our parents? — but it was insanely heavy and it smelled weird. Also, we used it to vacuum pine needles after Christmas and I swear it would re-deposit said pine needles every where it went for months after, even though we’d emptied the tank thousands of times in between. But anyway! Living in a smaller unit has afforded me the opportunity to consider a few other options. My mother in law goes nuts over this model, which is super lightweight and, she says, works like a dream. And my mother-in-law IS Martha Stewart (I would not be surprised to find out that she is actually the mastermind behind the Martha empire, and Martha is just a puppet of hers. She sews drapes, plants gardens, designs exquisite tablescapes, knits, sews, bakes — I MEAN SHE IS MARTHA.) At any rate, my MIL has recommended this vacuum to so many friends that she swears she should earn a commission from it. HA! I’m torn between that one and this one, because the reviews on the latter are EFFUSIVE. What do we think? Prolly going to go with my MIL on this one…
+I ordered one of these to double my hanging storage space for blouses.
Tell me your hacks! What else has helped you make the most of your small apartment?
I apologize for taking a break from my two-post Thursdays centered around minimagpie! Since we last talked all things mom-related, minimagpie has entered a totally new phase of life, which breaks my heart because I was so busy with the move that I barely noticed when these changes started happening! When I was looking after mini while also trying to unpack, solve/manage various other logistical and practical issues that accompany moving (setting up Internet, interviewing nannies, etc), and figure out the details of living in our new apartment (like how do I take our huge dog outside in the middle of the day? do I put mini in the carrier or stroller? how long? where? what’s our new routine with regards to feeding schedule, running errands, etc? how and when can I possibly blog?), I felt that some days were spent in a strange and surreal “survival mode,” just trying to make it until Mr. Magpie walked through the door to a true hero’s welcome home, Tilly leaping all over him in glee, mini squealing at the sight of his face, and, of course, myself, exhausted and relieved. Somewhere in there, my newborn has become a baby who looks, in fact, more and more like a little girl than anything else. She has a personality. She has preferences. She has a fake laugh and a real belly laugh and I know the difference and both are so freaking cute I can hardly stand it. She’s flirty with strangers and sleeps with her butt in the air in a half-crawl pose and loves feeding herself Puffs very daintily, perched carefully between her pointer finger and thumb. She’ll sometimes wave those puffs in the air, her wrist moving ever so delicately, tantalizing Tilly in the unintentionally cruelest of ways (and Tilly has eaten her fair share off the floor and off her tray, and also recently ate an ENTIRE BOWL OF RAMEN off our kitchen counter) — and other times, she’ll clutch those puffs but not eat them and I’ll find them enclosed in her tiny palm thirty minutes after mealtime.
When mini was about six months, I remember I was preparing to order some more Dreft detergent and I asked myself, “Does she need this phase 2 stuff yet? What qualifies as an active baby?”
I think I am getting a better idea.
Mini can’t *quite* crawl yet, but she’s trying very hard to. I can’t turn my back on her for a second without her rolling over 2398 times and somehow gravitating towards the one semi-dangerous thing within a few feet of her, whether it’s wedging herself under a chair or finding the one stray speck of food or debris on the floor. Church has become a whole new adventure: I come prepared with books, toys, a bottle, and teething crackers, take a deep breath, and begin an hour long entertainment show. She’s honestly very good — she’s never been a fussy baby — but she is very busy these days and I’m especially anxious about keeping her preoccupied while others are in prayer around me.
She loves being held. Loves. LOVES. She’ll be happy playing by herself in her activity center or Ingenuity booster seat, or rolling around on her mat for stretches of about 20 minutes, but then she’ll look up and think, “Hey, why are you up there and I’m down here? Come get me pls and thank you.” Mr. Magpie is better than I am about just letting her hang and whine through things, as she often calms herself and re-engages with her toys, but I tend to cave and pick her up if it goes on for more than a few minutes. Nowhere is she happier than in my arms. And sometimes, when she wakes me up in the middle of the night and I go to her, she clings to me like a koala — legs wrapped around my waist tightly, hands grasping my shirt, head burrowed into my neck — and it kills me.
Her favorite toys right now are bath books (even/especially when not in the bath — she will hang in her activity center and yell at these happily for a long time), plastic measuring spoons (y tho), and small stuffed animals of any kind — I think she loves that they are small enough to grab and turn around in her hand. My mom had a set of mini Winnie the Pooh stuffed toys that she FLIPPED OUT over. She loves talking to them and playing with their tags, too. And she still loves Sophie and will often squeal when she sees her.
Minimagpie at 8 Months: Feeding.
I fully weaned mini on her eight month birthday. We were not ready at six months, not ready at seven months, and then, all of the sudden, we were down to two nursings at night, and she stopped waking up for one of the feeds about half of the time, and the last feed involved about 5 minutes of her trying to angrily, frustratedly, get the milk going. (Did anyone else experience this with their let-down towards the end of weaning?) Anyway, I was telling Mr. Magpie that I kind of felt like a human pacifier and he said, “Maybe it’s time.” I think I needed someone else to say this out loud, because I instantly said: “You’re so right. It feels right. It’s time. OK, maybe I’ll finish this week?” And he said, “Why not tonight?” And again, it just felt right. It was her eight month birthday and somehow it felt like an appropriately ceremonious day to finish our breastfeeding days — symmetric and all.
I told my mom the morning after, “Well, I weaned her.” And she said: “And how are you feeling, physically?” I puzzled over this. “Just fine,” I said, absently.
Only, two days later, things were definitely NOT just fine and I understand what she was angling at. Weaning HURTS! My breasts were — still are, TBH, a week later — so uncomfortable! Mini barely brushes her hand by them and I wince. Any remedies out there?! I don’t want to use a warm compress or anything because that might help things get going and that’s a step in the wrong direction. Eh well. Us moms are used to having our bodies feel uncomfortable in strange and unexpected ways for unpredictable amounts of time…
Meanwhile, on the solids front, mini’s interest in food has suddenly spiked. She loves yogurt and cottage cheese, goes nuts for bananas and pears, and flips her lid over teething crackers and puffs. I wrote a little bit about this awhile ago, but I’ve been super nervous about the possibility of her choking and am still mainly feeding her purees, with the exception of things like scrambled eggs and cottage cheese, which have a bit more texture. I plan on bringing it up to her pediatrician at her nine-month wellness check because I know this is my own phobia, but even with puffs, I’m always anxiously making sure she’s finished what’s in her mouth. (You moms who use the baby led weaning approach — I admire you and sometimes I wake up and say, “I’m just going to try some new things,” but then wait in agony as she gums around a bigger piece of food.) I’m still very much loving all of our food gear, but especially these spoons, which are just the right size for her little mouth, and these uber small tupperwares, which stack into one another like legos. (I’ve taken to feeding her lunch outside in Central Park, so I tend to put just the right amount of yogurt or fruit purees in these for lunch.) I also bought this cookbook and have begun preparing more complicated puree mixtures, storing overflow in the freezer so I can always have a stockpile of food on hand. I like this tray, which plays nicely with these reusable pouches for on-the-go convenience. I’m also drawn to these because you can remove the sections one as a time, as needed. But the first product I ordered was one of these from Beaba, a brand I’ve come to love, and I appreciate that it’s easy to pop single servings out while keeping the others intact.
Finally — and I realize I’m already running long on this post so I apologize! — but we had been feeding mini in this for weeks and weeks but we had to get rid of our enormous dining room table when we moved and have not yet purchased a new set in our “petite” (euphemism) dining room in NYC. (Well, let’s be grateful: at least we have a separate dining room in our new digs!) So, I’d been perching on the floor at mealtime and things would get REAL REUHL REUHHHHHL with our ginormous dog poised to lick mini and steal her food any time I’d turn my bag or sneeze or blink. It got real old, real fast. I finally bought her a proper high chair, which we’d registered for and not received. Guys, I could write a lengthy dissertation on all of the research I did on high chairs. Maybe I’ll write a separate post outlining all the options. But the finalists were the OXO Tot Sprout, ruled out because so many reviewers complained about how difficult it is to clean, and the Stokke Tripp Trapp, ruled out because I read there was a topple-over danger AND it’s pretty expensive once you add on all the bells and whistles. The Phil + Ted is sleek, folds up (!!!!) and can be thrown in a car trunk or closet, and reportedly easy to clean. The downsides I’ve read: it can be easy to trip over those tripod legs (I’ve been warned) and the tray doesn’t lay flat on a countertop when it’s not in the chair, which both sound like nuisances, but not as frustrating as a chair that isn’t easy to clean.
Also, and really I promise I’ll shut up soon (on my second glass of wine and things are FUH-LOWING), but I did consider this ridiculous $450 Bloom high chair — yes, you read that right, $450. $450. $450!!!!! But only because I found a gently used one posted to the LetGo app for a cool $65 and available on the UWS. I thought, “Well, that’s purttttty nice.” But then I read reviews and promptly decided against it despite my momentary obsession with the ultra modern design. Apparently it’s legit impossible to maneuver (hidden handles and no instructions) and absolutely a pain to clean. I read some hilariously furious reviews that had me in stitches and decided, “OK, Magpie, now is not the time to be impractical over design.” For less, you can get this better-reviewed but still ultra-modern looking style, though I don’t much care for the matte silver base (why can’t it be shiny?)
Minimagpie at 8 Months: Sleeping.
Mini’s sleep was a little crazy the last month thanks to our hectic move. There were many days spent in a car or stroller, and over a week spent in a hotel with a dog and parents close by, so we found ourselves in a situation where she was waking 2-3x a night and taking sporadic and unpredictable naps throughout the day. We just rolled with it. We had to! I mean, there were days like the one where we just had no choice but to wander the streets of Soho while waiting for our hotel room to be ready! However, I’m SO happy to say that since getting to my parents’ home in D.C., we’ve been in a great routine where she goes down for naps at 10 AM and at 2 PM, and then for the night at 7 PM. About half of the time, she wakes up around 3-4 AM, but there have been enough nights where she’s slept soundly until 6 AM that I think we’re just on the cusp of having her finally, blissfully, sleep through the night on the regular. We did a little bit of sleep training with her around month five, but I’ll be honest and say that I would let her fuss for a max of 20 minutes at a time and then go in and feed her or soothe her. Even though until a week or so ago I’d not slept a full night for NINE MONTHS (!), I feel like it was the right balance for us all. It never felt overly harsh or unbearable (except for the first few nights when I was getting used to ignoring her cries), and sometimes I genuinely think she was hungry in the middle of the night. My pediatrician insisted that she could go a full night without eating, but I would also usually nurse minimagpie before bed with no formula supplement, and who knows how much milk she was actually getting, since my supply never fully came in?
But the main thing is — I love having her on more of a predictable routine. I wrote that at around seven months we were still very flexible with her napping situation and would follow her cues. With my mom’s encouragement, I started putting her down a bit more proactively at 10 and 2, noticing that these times almost always coincided with her rubbing her eyes and getting a little fussy, and — even if they didn’t — she would usually go down pretty easily. It’s been a gift to be in this schedule while acclimating to our new home, as I can plan my day more easily. I know many moms out there are probably rolling their eyes and thinking, “Yeah, what did you think?!” and “DUH LADY, BABIES NEED SCHEDULES” and “Are you nuts for not putting her on a schedule earlier?” I know this. I know! But it’s what felt right to me. I also had observed — and I mean this with no malice — that some of my mom friends were legitimately stressed out by their babies’ schedules. We’d be out at lunch and their faces would blanche as they’d hurl all their belongings into a tote and hightail it home to be back in time for 1 pm naptime. Or, they’d text me and say, “I have no idea what’s going on, but Johnny hasn’t fallen asleep yet and it’s 20 minutes past his naptime!!!” Or, they would spend about twenty minutes debating how to make something work around bedtime/naptime. It seemed to me that the schedule was causing more stress than anything — but maybe I leaned a little too far in the other direction. At any rate, there are still days where she’s brighteyed and bushy-tailed at naptime and I just roll with it. I try to put her down, but if she won’t sleep, she won’t sleep! And I let her fuss for a bit and then go in and get her up. Balance, I suppose.
If you’re still reading, I applaud you. Sorry to have been so long-winded here, but I guess I did observe more than I thought over the last month! I probably could break these posts up into easier-to-digest pieces…more to come soon!
By: Jen Shoop
Pls tell me you remember when SJP used the cloyingly cutesy phrase: “it’s a cashmiracle” on Sex and the City about a decade ago? Some of her puns were…hard to swallow. Others were charming. Some seasons she came off as screechy and over-dramatic, and others she came off as tender and earnest. I could never quite tell if these vicissitudes were a symptom of bad acting or poor screenwriting, but—
As always, I digress.
Lately I’ve been on a sweater-buying binge (just snagged this), and I’ll admit that I’ve often shied away from cashmere thanks to the hefty price-tag. You can find great (!) sweaters for a decent price from places like J. Crew and Gap, so I’m usually on the budget buy end of the spectrum when it comes to knitwear.
However.
The ladies in some of the street style snaps above and below prove that cashmere can be not only ultra-stylish and ultra-comfy — but styled down and up in the chicest of ways, and all of those ways scream: casual luxury. I love, for example, the way a simple navy cashmere pullover instantly elevates an otherwise straight-forward denim look. (Although, those do look like the perfect lived-in Levis.) And I love the way cashmere plays with edgy sneaker footwear.
For those reasons, I’m contemplating upping my own ante with some cashmere additions. On the more affordable end of the spectrum, I’m eyeing this cashmere crewneck from Everlane, probably in the soft pink or donegal, or this (under $100!) in the orchid or pine (slash moss color), or this in the powder pink or navy blue.
I’ve also been lusting after these cashmere joggers for…weeks now. I feel like I would live in them all winter.
Finally, I’ve long been on the hunt for a sweater with a crossover detail similar to the one shown in the street style snap below. So fetching and unique — how often do you have such an interesting detail on the back of your sweater? This cashmere sweater in the prettiest bone color is the stuff of dreams.
P.S. I’m also intrigued by the frayed sweater trend. Mom, close your eyes. Just do it. But I’ve seen super chic bloggers like Arielle of Something Navy rock the trend and I’m curious about it. I’m eyeing this, which is sort of a refined version of the trend (and on ridic sale!) and this. Thoughts?
