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What does it take to draw you out of the sublunary fracas and into the heart of things?
More often than not: my son’s moondrop eyes, the sun on my skin as I sit on our pavestone patio, the no-sound-no-smell of snow, standing still by running water, the shape of my husband shoveling in the drive. What I mean is: many ordinary things are fragile bells calling me to the other world, that boundless meadow of goldenrod, that peaceful Olympus undisturbed by wind. That other world that is love only.
The secret is training to listen for their tintinnabulation, and then making the listening as essential to your day as breathing. I am not there yet. I make the bed in distraction, or make the breakfast in a hurry, when I should be making room for the holiness that reminds me of how good life is, how giving. My children downstairs, my husband at his desk; the memory of the raspberries we take from the garden in summer; the joy of writing; the gentle weather in the window; the soup on the stove for later lunch. There, while folding sheets, and putting away the discarded clothes of my children, and pecking at my keyboard, I can hear the chimes and faintly —
quiet now,
through the maddening palaver,
or you’ll miss them altogether —
these ringings that bear all things
Post Scripts.
+It’s just that — we have so little time with the ones we love.
+And, to balance things out, thoughts on long days of parenting.
+Motherhood is a form of long division.
Shopping Break.
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+These free weights are so chic and clever! You can add pieces on to increase the weight. Brilliant if you’re low on space, too. I would have loved these for NYC.
+Quince just restocked its extremely popular $49 cotton crewneck sweater in SUCH great colors, including of-the-moment ice/pale blue.
+I’m having my photograph taken for something and one of the options I ordered was this denim skirt (more sizes here) with matching top (more sizes here). SO chic. I’m very into the idea of a denim skirt so also ordered this style to compare.
+We just did a huge pantry clean out over the weekend – it felt SO good. We actually had a good supply of these bins and by the time we’d thrown out all the expired flours, spices, etc, we didn’t need any additional ones! So delightful to have all the flours, sugars, etc organized. The only new org solution I ordered was this water bottle rack (stackable!).
+Speaking of org, Pehr just restocked their fabulous canvas bins. We have lots of these in different shapes, colors, patterns. Great for organizing smaller sets of toys, or for nursery — diapers, swaddles, burp cloths, etc. I love to use these as the “gift basket” for baby showers. Fill with books, baby essentials, etc and then wrap in cello with a big ribbon.
+More Varley goodness — love this zippered sweater-trim sweatshirt.
+Nordstrom has some great limited-time markdowns, including on my favorite glitzy flats (these are the most comfortable flat — also available on sale in solid red leather, rhinestone mesh, and woven gold) and straight-leg faux leather pants.
+I just added this stick lamp to my closet and it is sparking so much joy! To have this soft light on top of my dresser in there — it adds instant ambiance (and brightness).
+Annie Selke makes the best rugs and I think for fairly reasonable prices given quality / pattern options / etc. Currently 20% off!
+Just bought this pretty tiny dish set as a gift for a friend.
+Still very much loving this daily gentle cleanser-moisturizer-serum set. It feels so gentle and nourishing, which is what I feel intuitively I need since we use the Dennis Gross peels at night. You can try the lineup in travel size here.
+I can’t explain how much I want this ribbon book. So trivial but so lovely.
This is such a beautiful post Jennifer. Many of your phrases read like poetry. It should be required reading every morning as we face the day ahead. Thank you!
On another note, I am loving The Outset trio, and the Dennis Gross peels on your recommendation. They are skin game changers. Another thank you!!