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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
Highly recommend watching We Live in Time. Whe i saw your heading with Andrew Garfield in the title I thought you’d be writing a review of this. I loved him in the social network and have heard great things about tick tick boom. Love this post!
Thank you – will check this out! xx
Higy recommend watching We Live in Time. Whe i saw your heading with Andrew Garfield in the title I thought you’d be writing a review of this. I loved him in the social network and have heard great things about tick tick boom. Love this post!
Romance enclave, activate!
Here’s my most recent holiday or holiday adjacent: Second Chances in New Port Stephen: A comic writer falls for a single dad, who was his best friend pre-transition, set in his tiny hometown while between writing jobs. Perfection. TJ Alexander is the champ
10 Things That Never Happened (by Alexis Hall of Boyfriend Material fame) is so funny, I would call it fiction more than a romance, and involved one of my favorite tropes (fake amnesia/fake dating) and a company holiday party.
The So Over The Holidays series by Erin McClellan is for all my ️️️️ folks! First one is Stocking Stuffers, my personal favorite is Bottle Rocket (Fourth of July).
At First Spite by Olivia Dade heavily features Halloween! There’s a spite house, and an ex-fiancé’s older brother. This is not light but it is fun!!
Lucky Bounce by Cait Nary does involve thanksgiving and Christmas as key moments, though they’re not the main focus! Hockey player single dad, gym teacher, very funny and with a distinctive voice.
The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite, historical England, heavily features Christmas.
Tis the Season for Revenge is not my personal favorite since I found the narrative voice jarring, but it IS a knockoff of Legally Blonde over Halloween through Christmas, which is why I read it. It’s fun, but I’d rather watch legally blonde.
And if you just want cozy, Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh, Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater, A Taste of Milk and Honey by Rose Lerner, and anything by Celia Lake since that would allow your her trio of holiday novellas, Winter’s Charms.
YES! Exactly what I was looking for. Will be working my way through these. Thanks Kelly!
xx
The comments deleted my chili pepper emojis, but be warned, that Erin McLellan series is like 3/4 peppers! Lots of heart and emotion too but definitely the spiciest on the list
Thanks for the caveat! Still on the list 🙂
Hi Jen- I recently left a comment on a blog post but can’t find it… I was curious if you wore the tuckernuck cashmere set to/from Italy with dry cleaning during the trip or not. Similar question about cashmere wraps. Have been considering cashmere for air travel but have avoided for this reason. Thank you and sorry in advance if this is a duplicate question! Loved your Tuscany post!
Hi! Yes! I saw and responded but now I don’t know which post that was one either :). I wore the cashmere set twice, on the two travel days bookending the trip, and had it dry cleaned when I got back. I feel like this might be slightly nutty of me but I figured that any germs would have died in the seven days between wears…not scientific but that’s how my brain worked :/
xx
When I’m traveling I spray my cashmere with vodka in a little spray bottle and hang it in the bathroom if it needs freshening, otherwise I spot treat with a solid bar of soap intended for silk and wool!
!!! How clever?!
Jen, I totally agree about flow with writing–it’s the best way to describe it, the words just pour out and it often feels like I’m just transcribing what I hear. For me, it’s a state of being hyper-present like no other. Can’t wait to read your fiction! I love the snippets you share here sometimes. And I don’t work at a literary agency, but I’ve had a literary agent for six years and next year will publish my fourth book so if I can help with anything, would be happy to chat.
Thank you so much! So interesting that others have the same flow experience. Will message you — thank you, friend!
xx
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
Love this – thank you so much for sharing these thoughts/resources! So fascinating! I have a copy of The Artist’s Way that I’ve been flirting with for awhile — maybe this is the nudge I needed to dive in.
xx
I’ve encountered flow in my fiction writing and in my strategy consulting, when things just gel, but also with certain friends, either in person or texting, when you’re “yes, and—“-ing with fluidity and covering years of ground and dozens of topics. I had that recently with a new friend and it was so soul satisfying.
Oo I love the idea of “flow” in friendship / relationships — so true!
xx
I love the idea of flow in friendships as well! Usually I think of it as like a collective consciousness thing yet framed as flow, it makes me think that it’s the times we’re you’re fully present with one another and just able to be in it covering all the ground. Especially with girlfriends. Truly the marrow of life
“The marrow of life” – amen!