Seen above: feather-trim top; Olivet hanging garment bag.

+ELLEN BASS POEM: A warm, evocative poem for the darkest month of the year. I love the elision of imagery and metaphor here — everything collapsing into one center: the protagonist physically getting into bed, the image of the love letter folded into an envelope, the vignette of someone reading the love letter, intimacy against the cold.

+WHICH ARE YOUR FAVORITE PELETON RIDES/INSTRUCTORS?: One of my favorite things this year: Peloton rides with my dad and sisters, two of whom are in different cities. I love our side text threads while we’re spinning — an unexpected channel for connection; a near-effortless way to keep in regular, casual touch with one another. (Lots of skeleton emojis, and whenever we’re coordinating over time and day, I gain a little window into their routines, which I love. It kind of reminds me of when my best friend and I used to send each other “latte Friday” selfies — I always loved seeing her familiar feet, her familiar red manicure. Just a little square of her in my day, and a little peek into where she was — at her office, on the Subway, etc.)

Anyhow: I’m curious if you have any specific rides or instructors that you enjoy? My two favorites are Leanne Hainsby-Allis and Emma Lovewell, for several reasons — 1) they tend to pick music I like (Leanne especially – lots of 70s, 80s, 90s, and her joy for the music is electric!); 2) tend not to be explicit — prefer cleaner tracks and instruction with my Dad!; 3) motivating! Emma always says the exact right thing at the right time to keep me going, and it’s never cheesy or overstated. It’s alway a simple, to-the-pith note — e.g, “let it be heavy”! And Leanne is maybe the first fitness instructor who has made me think: “actually, exercise can be fun and joyful.” No easy feat to convince this 40-year-old after years of considering exercise a necessary evil! My Dad and I just did her “30 Min 90s Pop Ride” (originally released 6/16/25) this morning and it was a BOP. The time just flew by! Britney, Mariah, Celine! Yes please. At any rate, please share your favorite rides / instructors that I may be missing. And a propos: This spoof of a Claire Danes character trying Peloton made me laugh.

+EYEING + BUYING: I shared this perfect cardigan on Instagram this week (wore while I was under the weather) and can’t remember the last time I’ve received so many messages about an article of clothing! She is, well and truly, a perfect everyday sweater. Hearty, warm, soft, lived-in. I have her in gray.

The item I’m most excited to wear this holiday season: this velvet and feather trim top from La Double J! I’ve loved this silhouette for so long. Can’t wait to take her out for cocktails with these Dorsey earrings.

A lot of you Magpies wrote into the comments here with tips on sizing for Citizen’s Miro jeans. You LOVE these. I’m convinced – going to order!

I ordered my holiday cards this week – I always order late because we take our photo on Thanksgiving, and I figure no one will mind if their card arrives just at the stroke of Christmas! I loved this burgundy/hot pink color combo! I learned while ordering these that if you order anything via the Etsy app this week, you can get $15 off orders over $75 — use code APPLEPAY! More of my Etsy faves here.

The warehouse deal on Rag + Bone jeans went away overnight, but I did find close to a full size run on THE BEST BLACK WIDE LEG JEANS EVER here, and at the time of writing this, they’re 25% off. Not bad. Meanwhile, if you’re still shopping Rag + Bone, they offered us 15% off sitewide with code JEN15. I believe this works on our beloved “sweatpant” jean.

Strange timing: I just ordered these Kate McLeod “breathe” shower pebbles last week, and then came down with a cold this week! I couldn’t wait for them to arrive. You rub them onto skin in the shower — they dissolve into a foaming body oil. The eucalyptus scent sounded so appealing to me while congested! While we’re talking shower, I have been SO into the neroli scent this year and I just ordered this neroli and basil body wash to try next. I love that brand – very sophisticated scents, nice amount of lather, but less expensive than brands like Byredo, Diptyque. While we’re talking Salt and Stone: they have these cute hand cream sets you can order and customize which scents you’d like. Another thing about 40: I keep hand cream in all my bags.

What I’m giving as a hostess gift this season, tied up with cello and a big bow! BTW, just updated my Amazon shop with all my latest and greatest finds for the season.

Not pictured below, but heads up that Rhone gave us a covetable 25% off code valid through 12/18. I’m telling you, your husband will LOVE (and look v. handsome in) their Dreamstate sets (pair with this q-zip)!

LA LIGNE CARDIGAN // FAHERTY MITTENS // CITIZENS MIRO JEANS // LA DOUBLE J TOP // DORSEY CRAWFORD EARRINGS // KATE CHAMBERS HOLIDAY CARDS // RAG + BONE JEANS // PEPPERMINT HOT FUDGE // KATE MCLEOD BREATHE PEBBLES // SALT AND STONE NEROLI AND BASIL BODY WASH

+FELICITY VIBES: This week, I basically merged with my electric heating pad. I kept it on my person for hours at a time. I was recovering from a head cold, and I also run perpetually cold (something some of you noted as a unique marker of our 40s) and it brought me a disproportionate amount of comfort and joy. It also strangely brought to mind Felicity with her copper bed warmer. Does anyone remember that accessory from our American Girl Doll past? I love how intricate the accessories were! In a similar vein, two Instagram discoveries that made me LOL this week: here and here. (I feel a similar twinge whenever I put a laundry basket on my hip — instantly imagining myself in a different century, hanging linens with wood clothespins in the outskirts of London.)

+SLOW IS SMOOTH: A Magpie shared this quote awhile back and it’s been on my mind a lot lately, especially while attempting to manage multiple work streams at once: “Slow is smooth; smooth is fast.” The conceit is that you must do things carefully and deliberately in order to make real progress, to get in a real groove. It’s such a good reminder to be the lowest heart rate in the room, no matter what you’re doing. Parenting, a home project, writing, running errands. Steady yourself, and begin as you mean to continue.

+BESTSELLERS: My bedroom rug and these handsome q-zips for our husbands were THE top sellers from Cyber Week! If you missed out on Ruggable’s holiday promotion, you can still get 15% off with code JEN15. They’re very well and fairly priced to begin with I think! So impressed with the quality.

01. MY BEDROOM RUG // 02. RHOBACK Q-ZIPS // 03. J. CREW SATIN MINI // 04. SECOND-SKIN BASE LAYER (LOVE LOVE LOVE) // 05. SOFTEST FEATHERWEIGHT JEANS (TTS) // 06. FRANK + EILEEN SWEAT SET // 07. RAIN-RESISTANT BOOTS // 08. AYR LEGEND JEANS (TTS) // 09. BEST UNDEREYE CONCEALER // 10. TINTED UNDEREYE CREAM

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