Jen’s Weekend Drafts: How to Measure a Day.

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+MEASURING A DAY / A WEEK / A YEAR: When you reached the end of 2024, how did you measure the year? What inputs went into determining whether it was a year that asked or answered, whether you were happy, whether you achieved what you had hoped, whether it was, writ large, a good or bad year? Two quotes this week really got me thinking along these lines, via Sophie Joan Short and Olivia Ann Rose:

What if we measure a year by how much time we spend with people we love? Or what if we measured it by degree of presence versus productivity? You know how there are those “goal tracking” notecards / graphs where you can indicate whether you achieved your goal each day, e.g., “drank 1 gallon water,” “exercised,” “wrote 250 words,” etc? What if the goals were “spent meaningful time with someone I love,” and “stopped what I was doing to really pay attention”? I would do well to audit my days against these rubrics. This is hitting me hard today because now, on the 13th day of my children being out of school, when I am trying to find ways to get some writing and work done, my son is sitting at my feet, begging me to play the board game he just created, complete with “pawns” marked “mama,” “dada,” “Emory,” and “Hill.” I am desperate to carve out just a few hours of quiet work, and yet. He will be back in school Monday (ha, Mother Nature is suggesting otherwise – we are expecting several inches of snow and I anticipate school will be canceled), and the opportunity to sit and play his game will have evaporated into thin air.

+SPECTACULAR PHOTOGRAPHY: These photos of Estelle Manor, a hotel and private club in Oxfordshire, by Mark Anthony Fox, and these New England portraits by Chesley McCarty absolutely took my breath away and made me want to write multiple different stories at once.

Images via Mark Anthony Fox

Images via Chesley McCarty

+LIVING OUT CONFUSIONS: Stirred by this quote from Anais Nin: “You live out the confusions until they become clear.” This past year, I had a number of different breakthroughs — in writing, in business, in relationships — and I was struck by the fact that the “answer” or “the path forward” had seemed completely obfuscated to me for months (sometimes years), and suddenly, the mist had drawn back. This was particularly true in a relationship that was causing me a lot of pain. I was so deep in it, I couldn’t see anything rightside up. It took an enormous act of strength to lever myself out. But I think a lot of important things take a long time to resolve, or to manifest, and we must be patient in working through haze for a long while. I had a younger creative reach out to me and ask “how did you grow your following?” and I had nothing material to offer her — just that I show up every day with the belief that what I am creating feels in some way essential to get out there, into the world, whether just for myself or perhaps because it might resonate with someone else rowing a narrow strait, and that I must try (and often fail) in dozens of ways. But the art, the thing, the joy in creating, comes first. I know there are other creatives who have catapulted to success and perhaps they are better suited to answer the question more pithily. But for me, it’s been a slow and steady dance. I have had to take the long view. I have lived through decades of confusions! Onward!

+EYEING + BUYING: The main thing on my radar — KBeauty! I’m late to this entire world but polled Magpies via Instagram for a few favorites. The top, top vote was Beauty of Joseon daily SPF — dozens of Magpies swear by this. Other common responses: Mixsoon Hyaluronic Acid and anything Incellderm, but especially the cleanser and oil mist. You can find all my latest beauty discoveries here.

NEW FRANK + EILEEN COLOR // THE COOLEST SHOES FOR THE NEW YEAR // K BEAUTY SUNSCREEN VALENTINE’S DAY FROM LAKE // LA LIGNE SWEATER // BUZZY FANTASY BOOK // MY FAVORITE HOUSE CLOGS

+BESTSELLERS: The top sellers were this Varley half-zip, 40% off and this gorgeous suit, which I can’t rave about more. Perfect amount of coverage, not uncomfortable, runs TTS.

01. VARLEY HALF ZIP // 02. FOLLOW SUIT SWIMSUIT (BEST WINTER GETAWAY SUIT! RUNS TTS) // 03. GLASS SKIN COLLAGEN MASKS // 04. TUCKERNUCK DRESS // 05. KULE CARDIGAN (ON SUPER SALE, PLUS EXTRA 10% OFF) // 06. PINK CHICKEN GIRLS PUFFER // 07. BEST AFFORDABLE SHEETS // 08. SWEATER KICK FLARE PANTS // 09. MADEWELL BARREL JEANS (SO GOOD – GO DOWN A SIZE) // 10. EXFOLIATING PADS // 11. BEST SOCKS // 12. AYR EARLY MORNING TEE