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This week’s inspirations —
+THE MESSES OF LOVE AROUND LIFE: I keep a journal filled with words, quotes, random lines that skitter through my mind — it’s always on the left hand side of my desk. This week, I added Magpie reader Molly’s comment on this recent essay: “I love the way you are exploring the messes of love around life.” The expression was perfect. I immediately imagined footprints from muddy shoes at the back door; a smattering of markers on a coffee table; spilt coffee and crumbs on the tablecloth. Proof of life. (Per Mary Oliver: “listen, are you breathing a little and calling it living?”). Life, and love, are messy! Imperfect! Happening right now!
+THE LITTLE DESK THAT COULD: Speaking of the imperfect now, I am sitting here writing at the same crappy little white desk I’ve had since my second year of college. It is rickety, and its surface is chipped and water-warped from years of heavy use. It’s also too small (I often throw my notebooks off the surface in frustration when I’m feeling too hemmed in while writing); the monitor dwarfs the writing surface. And I’ve always hated the one narrow drawer in its center — too shallow to be of true use. I have thought about throwing it away, or covering the surface with something (I am sure there are solutions), but I find myself irrationally attached to this little desk, at which I have discovered so many version of myself. (“We write to find out what’s inside,” per Vonnegut.) The distressing, the imperfections — battle scars. And they’ve never once gotten in the way of me finding myself in words on the screen.
+AYR RARE 20% OFF: This weekend only, AYR is offering 20% off. A perfect time to buy a first (or second or third) Early Mornings Tee. I’ve lost track of the number of times people have written to say how much they love this perfect heavyweight top layer — somewhere between a tee and a sweatshirt. This is “Magpie Core.”
+A MEDITATION ON PURPOSE: Do you have Apple Fitness? Landon and I love the cycling and core videos (specifically the ones by instructor Sherica), and I recently discovered they have an entire library of meditations. I’ve been listening to the 10-minute ones while wearing my LED mask in the mornings, and the combo is incredibly grounding. I loved this specific meditation on purpose from Joanna. In it, she talks about setting intentions, and suggests jotting one down on a piece of paper to keep at your desk — to keep at eye level. I’ve kept two at my desk this week: “go with grace,” and “No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself” (a quote from Virginia Woolf). The latter is more of a triptych of intentions, but they all flow together, don’t they? My life is happening at the exact right pace. My direction is more important than my speed. What’s meant for me will not miss me. Etc!
+EYEING + BUYING: This week, I finally bought a pair of Birkenstock Bostons. Lord knows why I’d resisted for so long. I’m a Birk girlie! (You can get the look for less with these.) I also picked up this wrinkle pen — I’m impressed! It’s not going to like dissolve your wrinkles but it does sort of smooth and blur and tighten everything. And this simple habit tracker. I sort of organically started to do this to incentivize myself on my new approach to exercise (i.e., shorter daily workouts vs trying to squeeze in a few perfect, long, full sessions, which I was finding easy to talk myself out of; I talked about this mindset shift in the context of fractionality — something is better than nothing!). I’d cross of any days I completed a workout on my desktop calendar. Then I realized I also wanted to do this for my red light therapy and meditation and a few other things. I tried to find an app for this but they were all so overwrought and cumbersome! This inexpensive notepad makes it easy for me to jot down and visualize my progress.
MAX MARA PUFFER VEST // GAP BARREL JEANS (MAGPIE READER FAVORITE!) // ULTRA FINE POINT PENS (MY FAVORITE – LIKE RAZOR SHARP) // HABIT TRACKER // BIRKENSTOCK BOSTONS // WRINKLE PEN // BEST DRY SHAMPOO PERIOD – I SWEAR BY THIS // THE NEW VB DASH CLUTCH!
+WHICH EMOTION ARE YOU WILLING TO ACCEPT? From a vulnerable essay by Lauren Martin: “My therapist asked why I was anxious when I arrived…I told her when I got home from therapy it would be 3:30. The kids would be home by 5. That gave me an hour and a half. Before I left, I noticed the pile of laundry hanging out the dryer. The unpacked dishwasher. The dirty kitchen. I told her I felt I had two choices. Either I go home and do all the chores, clean the house, and feel resentful and annoyed I didn’t write. Or I write, and ignore the chores, and feel guilty.
Well, she said. Looks like you’re just gonna have to choose which emotion you’re willing to accept.”
I was drawn to the concept of approaching tricky tradeoffs by recognizing that I have the power to choose the resulting emotion I am willing to accept. Not the emotion that I’m more comfortable with, or better at handling, necessarily. But, when I get down to brass tacks, which is better in line with my core values, my goals?
+BESTSELLERS: The clear bestseller — my prints with Inslee! We are beyond thrilled; these were so popular that we have placed additional print orders to keep up with demand. “Marriage Is” has been the favorite so far — a lot of you told me you ordered to frame in your bedroom, or to gift your husband for Valentine’s Day. I have been walking around on a cloud — I am beaming, and so delighted!
The other major bestseller was my CurrentBody red light mask! I was so thrilled so many of you bought this — I just know you’re going to love it (thoughts on it here). I meant to add that a few Magpies recommended the skincare account Goals to Get Glowing as a reference point for learning more about red light therapy and evaluating the different brands. She’s a social scientist but applies her research skills to skincare, and is a red light therapy enthusiast as a result of that analysis. (CurrentBody is a top rec!) Use JEN10 for 10% off the mask. As an aside, this week, I’ve been using my 10 minute red light mask sessions while listening to meditations on Apple Fitness. It is such a powerful combination — a pause, a reset, a grounding. I can’t tell you how impactful this has felt during a particularly busy and intense time.
01. MARRIAGE IS PRINT AND THESE CLEAR BLOCKS TO FRAME THEM IN // 02 . CURRENT BODY RED LIGHT MASK // 03. J. CREW UTILITY PANT — FIT IS PHENOMENAL! // 04. UGG TAZZ SLIPPERS // 05. CELINE TRIOMPHE GLASSES (BOUGHT THESE TOO) // 06. MY FAV BARREL JEANS (UNDER $150) // 07. LESET POINTELLE HENLEY // 08. TORY BURCH ROMY BAG (I OWN THIS TOO!) // 09. VERONICA BEARD DENIM VEST (IN MY CLOSET ) // 10. J. CREW POINTELLE HENLEY // 11. DOEN TOP // 12. VITAMIN FACIAL PADS
+RILEY GREEN SINGS “SLOW DANCING IN A BURNING ROOM”: It’s actually impossible to outperform John Mayer on this one, so I’m not even going to compare, but I did enjoy country singer Riley Green’s rendition of this Mayer classic, just launched this week on Spotify. (I know a lot of you are Mayer fans — still shocked by how many comments this random, roaming essay collected last year.) Of course, the O.G. version made it onto my romantic playlist.
+FRAME X SIENNA MILLER: Did you see the ads Sienna Miller did for Frame (with her boyfriend)?! Um! I need these jeans from the shoot. Iconic!
