Children’s Outfits for a Barefoot, Simple Summer.

Jen Shoop

4 years ago

I’m going to tuck this in here quick and then superstitiously not write about it until we close in June (!), but — two Fridays ago, our offer on a home was accepted. I remain in (happy) shock and (joyful) disbelief and am for whatever reason waiting for the other shoe to drop, as it feels too good to be true. I will often find Mr. Magpie thumbing through pictures of the house on his phone. He’ll pause, look up at me in bewilderment, and ask: “It’s…this is…ours?”

One of the aspects that most thrills me about the home is the backyard. The house is lovely, but it wasn’t until I stood in the grass looking back up at the house that I felt a peculiar cinching in my chest: this is it. I was overwhelmed by a thousand future memories at once: the shriek of my children running through the sprinkler, ice cream cones dripping in the grass, Tilly tearing around the perimeter, my man at the grill, cocktails with friends on the covered porch that overlooks the yard, tanned and bare feet pumping on swing sets, fireflies in mason jars, Tim McGraw on the sound system…

This is it.

Oof! I am overwhelmed by the prospect and anxious to get those keys. 30 days and counting…

In anticipation, I have been thinking about easy summer outfits for a barefoot summer — nothing fussy or starched, think Huck Finn in overalls and a straw hat — and thought I’d share some favorites here…