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+ON BURNOUT AND BOUNDARIES: A fabulous, candid essay by Jess Nell Graves. I hung onto every word. I was reminded of Mary Oliver: “When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the beech, the oaks and the pines, they give off such hints of gladness. I would almost say that they save me, and daily. I am so distant from the hope of myself, in which I have goodness, and discernment, and never hurry through the world but walk slowly, and bow often.” I love the line “I am so distant from the hope of myself”: I love that feeling, the way you walk into nature and slowly shed all of the expectations and personas and projections you carry around with you.
+DREAMY SUMMER IN A PHOTO: I loved everything about this photo of Cecilie N. Hartmann and her babies. Wow! The classic swimsuit, the chunky baby legs, the vintage food cart. She’s wearing Konges Slojd suit. Similar here. And…do I need flip flops? I’ve started seeing these all over the place again lately. They remind me of the 90s, but not the part I liked…still, she just looks fabulous from head to toe!
+TRUE LOVE: I shed a tear watching this fisherman talk about how in love he remains with his deceased wife. I was reminded of the prompt I shared at some point this year: “If you knew you had one year to live, what would you do? How about one month? Finally, one day?” When you get down to the one-day level, people forget their hopes to see the Northern Lights, go sky-diving, and travel to Italy and simply want to be with their mothers, children, and significant others.
+PACKING FOR ASPEN: Did a big purchase of travel / destination activities for my kids. Several of you had great suggestions on traveling with children a few weeks back, the prevailing wisdom being not to overstuff their carry-ons with activities, as they tend to just want snacks and screens. I’ll keep hold of most of them for restaurants / afternoons while there. I stocked up on Usborne activity and sticker books as well as Lonely Planet brand ones. I think those are the best ones out there! More car / travel activities for kids here. I am still totally clueless about what I’ll pack, but am seriously tempted by these boots! (Also love in the bone color.) Lots more inspo for a Western-destination wardrobe here.
+STRAWBERRY MILK MAKEUP: Have you heard about this TikTok beauty trend, started by mega-influencer Addison Rae? I had no idea who she was (elder millennial over here), but I loved that her video was so…skin-positive? Like, breakouts are no biggie! She looked glowing and happy! Rae uses four Ilia products to achieve the sweetest summer flushed look: skin milk, skin tint, the multi-stick in poppy red, and mascara. I don’t love Ilia’s skin tint (I found it broke very easily and did not apply well on my skin — maybe a “my skin’s chemistry” thing, because I know many people love this product) but I might need to order the skin milk and the multi-stick in the poppy red hue she uses. I already own and love their mascara — great natural-but-better lash option for daytime. (If you’re placing an order there, you must try their liquid powder eye tint! I wear in the matte “cork” color daily. It looks like it might be dark on the lid if you have a similar (fair-medium) complexion, but it just evens out the eyelid and gives dimension to your eyes without looking like you’re wearing anything. It’s magical!
+EYEING + BUYING: At the top of my shopping radar this week…
LIFEGUARD STYLE HAT // SOLID & STRIPED SWIMSUIT // MARCH HARE DOUBLE WRAP WATCH (20% OFF WITH MAGPIE20) // G LABEL CARDIGAN // LA LIGNE KNIT PANTS // GOOP MASCARA
+POLISHED SHORTS: How CHIC are these white cuffed shorts from J. Crew?! Obsessed!
+BESTSELLERS: We love a stripe. Top of the heap: this spectacular Veronica Beard dress and this Tuckernuck blouse! I own both of these! Will style the dress this week — she’s legitimately perfect for country club / slightly more conservative environments. Could be dressed up or down. I love her. Also wanted to mention that VB is running an extra 25% off sale with code FIREWORKS2024. Don’t miss my favorite blazer (orig $698, now under $375), this gingham waistcoat, and this chic knit dress.
All bestsellers below…
01. PERFECT STRIPED DRESS // 02. PERFECT STRIPED BLOUSE // 03. POPOVER DRESS // 04. DOEN MARIANNE DRESS // 05. FLEECE CARDIGAN // 06. AURATE EARRINGS (30% OFF WITH JENSHOOP — I ALSO ORDERED!) // 07. JULIET DUNN DRESS // 08. DORSEY CLEMENCE // 09. BOXER-STYLE SHORTS // 10. SHELL HAIR CLIP // 11. HHH ONE-PIECE SWIMSUIT // 12. BEST SUNSCREEN FOR FACE // 13. MY FAVORITE CARDIGAN FOR SUMMER // 14. STRIPED SUMMER NAPKINS
On the topic of kid activities – one of the most interesting changes we’ve made in the last year is really, intentionally, telling stories to our kids at restaurants. Like, ok we’re going out to dinner, now it’s grandpa’s turn to tell us about a time he was really mischievous as a kid. It really, really occupies the kids – they are so excited by the wandering storytelling and sit in rapt attention to stories from their grandparents and parents’ lives. It helps that I know my parents’ stories so well that I can help prompt them to talk about that one time they did this, or that one time that thing happened. I love watching the conversation and I feel like my kids are getting to know my parents so much more, and it’s my sincere hope that by hearing the stories of my grandparents, their great-grandparents, growing up in another country, and my parents’ adventures as kids in that other country, perhaps, hopefully, these stories will live on. And, if nothing else, someone telling a few funny stories really is a great restaurant activity.
I love this! How beautiful. Going to see if I can work this into our big family trip this summer, where we’ll have aunts, grandparents, cousins around us at mealtimes!
xx