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+ANDREW GARFIELD ON WHY ART IS IMPORTANT: I loved this clip of an interview with Andrew Garfield, in which he is visibly moved by a short essay he is reading aloud. He explains: “It’s so mysterious. This is why art is important — because it can get us to places we can’t otherwise.” I recently re-watched “Little Women” (Greta Gerwig version, though I love both) and found myself crying for almost its duration. There are some overtly sad parts of the film that would challenge even the stiffest of upper lips, but it was stirring something else inside me, too: the powerful emotions around the complexities of sisterhood and the shock of growing up. (The morning Meg is getting married, Jo says: “Our childhood is over.”) It took me to a set of emotions I didn’t even know I was strumming, or needing to strum.
+SPEAKING OF ANDREW GARFIELD: Did you join the millions of romance-loving woman who went insane over the Andrew Garfield-Chicken Shop Date situation? Here’s all you need to know: Amelia Dimoldenberg hosts a YouTube show called Chicken Shop Date where she goes on first dates with celebrities and she and Andrew Garfield have been seriously flirting on the red carpet for awhile (watch these charming clips of their banter here), and they recently had a Chicken Shop Date. Heart-racingly adorable flirtation. By the way, one of Chicken Shop fangirls described the show as follows, and I love it:
On that note, a) apparently I need to watch “The Last of the Mohicans” (seemingly, a Magpie Reader Starter Pack essential — see comments here) — I have penciled this in for when Mr. Magpie is out of town on business in a month; and b) any seasonal romance recs?! I’m looking for something cozy holiday vibed.
+A REMINDER TO SEE WHAT’S AT EYE LEVEL: Loved and needed this message this week. Love often speaks to us in narrow widths, you know? The WD-40, or your dad picking weeds in your backyard.
+LESET LAUREN PANTS: I keep coming back to these chic knit wide leg pants from Leset. I absolutely love the elegant styling on the site — has anyone ordered?! I know they’ll be too long and will require hemming…but I’m obsessed with their ease, their silhouette, their simplicity. Which color should I try? Meep!
+FLOW WRITING: Do you have a hobby that occasionally consumes you? Gardening, painting, golfing, etc? Every now and then when I am writing, I get into this state of mind I call “flow” that almost feels out-of-body, or self-displacing, and I am completely unaware of anything I’m doing and instead in the grip of some other greater sensibility, or force. It’s as though the words are floating through me onto the page, unmediated. I had one of these sessions this week with my fiction project. I’m curious if you’ve experienced something similar, and whether you ever been able to discern its provenance? Is it related to conditions, or somehow inducible? I am probably halfway done with this project and it nips at my heels constantly, and occasionally draws me into a flow. Fascinating and mysterious.
On a related note, do any of you Magpies work for a literary agency? I am not trying to query/pitch, but I have some questions I have been unable to get the answers to. I would be indebted if you would be willing to chat!
+ELEVATED SWEATS ON SALE: Today and tomorrow, PerfectWhiteTee has discounted their popular Ziggy and Heart sweatshirts as well as their Steve sweatpants — use code ZW2024 for 20% off. I really love the mushroom colored sweats.
+EYEING + BUYING: So many of you ordered this brushed cashmere sweater and now I want in, too! When I was at Lupaia in Italy, the concierge had the chicest nail polish color; I asked after it, and it was Chanel’s Rouge Noir. A perfect dark burgundy. I ordered immediately! Also on my mind this week: can I be a fedora gal? I was on the fence but Janessa Leone generously offered to send me one of their classic fall hats and I took a risk with this gorgeous beauty. It arrived and I think I can pull it off. Stay tuned for styling. It is so chic and packable! Great cool weather solution for the many of you who wrote that you are religious about avoiding sun. Finally, I am shopping for my children’s Thanksgiving outfits. I now know enough to serve up an edit of options to my daughter and let her pick from the curation. I am wondering if she’ll pick this one (my personal favorite of the lot).
J. CREW SWEATER // JANESSA LEONE PACKABLE WOOL FEDORA // LA COQUETA DRESS // LESET LAUREN PANTS // CELINE-INSPIRED HAIR CLIP // CHANEL ROUGE NOIR NAIL POLISH // CUYANA SYSTEM TOTE
+THIS WEEK’S BESTSELLERS: As mentioned above, this brushed cashmere sweater has been very popular among Magpies! I have been seeing lots of brushed/fuzzy sweaters recently. Love the idea of pairing with a sleek pair of coated or leather pants.
01. J. CREW BRUSHED CASHMERE SWEATER // 02. J. CREW FACTORY HERRINGBONE BLAZER // 03. TUCKERNUCK THANKSGIVING DRESS // 04. OLD NAVY FAIR ISLE SWEATER // 05. Z. SUPPLY KNIT COAT // 06. H&M BLOUSE // 07. FANCY LAUNDRY DETERGENT // 08. ADIDAS KICKS // 09. WESTMAN ATELIER VITAL SKIN CONCEALER // 10. SKIMS LONG-SLEEVED TEE // 11. VB BRICK-RED JEANS // 12. J. CREW SEQUINED GOWN
Jen, it’s really meaningful to hear you share about your experience with flow through writing. I’m soooo excited for your fiction writing to be available in the world!
Specific to your experiences, there is actually a whole area of psychology devoted to researching flow as a state of being! In a nutshell, it’s endlessly fascinating and there’s so much to explore, learn, and experiment with when we talk about flow state. It’s actually one of my most favourite points of conversation to have with people that are creatives/artists because of the relationship between “the work”, routine, and communing with “the muse”. My husband is a music producer and sound engineer so we’ll often discuss our work days in terms of the quality of our flow. Digging into it, you might be interested to watch/listen to this episode of Lewis Howes’ The School of Greatness with one of the world’s leading flow academics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oKly7bsGiQ
There’s ways to view flow in terms of creativity and through the lens of our being + doing, plus recently researchers have been testing flow state control groups as a form of trauma therapy! The results are bonkers!!! It’s extraordinarily compelling.
The last two things I’ll say, is: one, Julia Cameron writes about flow in The Artist’s Way, which I’m currently working through, and you might find this enriching, too?; and, two, I find that the more consciously I embrace flow-based doing into my life (writing, journalling, walking, cooking), the more all kinds of flow are tapped and bubbling forth — which is to say, my experience is that flow begets flow in the same way creativity begets creativity. I would love to hear more about your journey with this!
Have a beautiful weekend xx