My week, in photos, followed by the usual Magpie Edit guide to everything I’m buying, wearing, and obsessing over at the moment….
Organizing this week’s finds and favorites into vignettes this week —
01. I had some girlfriends over for aperol spritzes, Ina Garten tea sandwiches*, whipped feta*, and chatter a few nights ago and was excited to have the opportunity to style my new Hunter Blake tablecloth, which boasts the sweetest lily of the valley floral pattern in stirring orange and blue hues, as well as coordinating napkins. I love the scalloped edges on both the napkins and the tablecloth! Like, why not?! I love that detail. I asterisked the menu items because I served nearly the exact same menu to a different group of friends awhile ago and I am imagining them reading this and thinking I’m a one-trick pony. But I love those little sandwiches (an odd but bright pairing — scallion cream cheese, smoked turkey, basil on walnut-raisin bread) and was reminded of them when I saw that Ina is going to be hosting Stanley Tucci on her show this Sunday! I love this pairing. I was a reluctant Tucci fan (I initially found him a bit full of himself on his show — that skepticism quickly warmed into affection), but his memoir stirred something in me. I mourned the end of that audiobook! I had carried him with me on so many walks and long drives, and each time, it was like strolling with an old, charming friend. Anyhow, in honor of Ina and that upcoming spectacle, I needed to make the tea sandwiches. I buy the bread at Bread Furst, which is the absolute best bakery I’ve ever been to stateside. (I mean, you just can’t compete with France.)
Also seen in several of the snaps above: some of you spotted the big ginger jar full of roses in my Shopbop try-on earlier this week, and I moved it around the house as my week unfolded. Does anyone else do this? When I was sick, my husband had an enormous arrangement of flowers delivered, and I had him bring it to my room while I was unwell, and then I brought it downstairs to our kitchen afterward. I just want to be where the flowers are! Anyway, the ginger jar was a gift from new home/entertaining boutique Half Past Seven Home, which I’ve shared a few times recently. I can’t find the exact style on their site, but this is similar. I love ginger jars because you can use them as vases or style them on shelves or use as centerpieces with branches — ! Mr. Magpie teases me that I have a strange obsession with them and I won’t deny it.
I used these inexpensive botanical-print melamine plates (20% off with code YOUROCK) just to tie in with the color palette. I really love those plates and often eat my breakfast off of them. They are unbreakable and dishwasher-friendly. Great for al fresco dining and for children, too. I would be remiss if I didn’t also share these pretty scalloped spring garden melamine plates that have been haunting me the last few weeks. Aren’t they divine? Finally, these beaded-trim melamine plates have been a Magpie bestseller for nearly two years. Such a good value! They remind me of something Juliska would make.
02. These matte, almost retro-90s hair clips spark such joy for me. I can’t explain it. I have one with me at all times and they have a great sort of rubberized finish/hand feel (not like a brittle plastic surface). My mom gave me one in my stocking for Christmas and my sister and I both squealed with joy. I cannot explain the affinity, but there you go. I ordered this entire pack of backups.
03. The sweetest new online children’s boutique, Little Grasshoppers, just launched earlier this week! The lovely founder of this business, Shannon, sent over the cutest little boys set for micro to wear this spring. Congrats, Shannon! Rooting you on. (And P.S., more of my favorite early spring finds for boys here.)
04. It will come as a surprise to absolutely no one that I purchased Katherine May’s book, Enchantment, after listening to her podcast on Goop earlier this week. Gwyneth says multiple times that Enchantment “pierced” her. And “piercing” is le mot juste — it is the kind of thinking and re-framing and probing and extrapolating that shifts the earth beneath you and provokes (willingly or not) the shedding of exoskeletons. Because of it, I undertook some serious internal reflection on the grief I was carrying around with me related to the pandemic and lockdown. I’m about a quarter of the way through and I find her writing transportive, and its thrust provocative in generative ways. It is also timely, because I wrote a little post on signs earlier this week that touched a lot of you (you must read the comments — some brought me to tears, and others sent shivers right down my spine), and one takeaway from that conversation was that a lot of it comes down to receptivity. An orientation toward the mystical. An openness to magic. It sounds hippy dippy, but the more we spoke this week, and the more I reflected, the more I felt assured that there is no other way for me to live. May arrives at a similar destination in Enchantment. She talks a lot about opening oneself up to mystery and delight, especially in the natural world, and expecting “responses” rather than “answers.” She models, beautifully, the intellectual maturity that gives way to what John Keats called “negative capability,” or the ability to sit in pleasant confusion, absorbing the world without needing to explain it.
Whew. A lot to chew on. It probably doesn’t belong in this little Magpie Edit post, sandwiched between hair clips and children’s clothing, but then again — of course it does. This is the way life, and any grand insights about it, happens: sometimes fluidly, sometimes inconveniently, always according to its own inscrutable imperatives.
05. Of all of the pieces from my Shopbop try-on, would you believe that one of my favorites was this plain white gauze top? I reached for it three times this week alone. Forgive my redundancy, but it is just a great option when you don’t want a crisp poplin blouse but want to look polished. It is really easy to tuck in. I love the neckline. Did I mention it’s soft? Like, pima cotton soft? (You can get the look for less with this J. Crew top, currently 50% off.) I’m pairing above with my Apiece Apart Merida pants (more white pant/denim favorites here) and my favorite FRP Collection bag. I know I’ve shared that bag a thousand times but the color is so fantastic and unexpected. Here is my thing: go for the weird color. You’ll be surprised at how fun it is! An exclamation point! A contrast! A reason to buy a dress with a particular pattern! Don’t play it safe! FRP just launched some new handbags and I’m now eyeing this Irene bag. So pretty!
I always get asked about my faux Goyard iPhone case. I found it on Etsy awhile ago but my exact style is no longer available. This one (in punchy green!) is similar.
06. I have eyed this J. McLaughlin dress for several seasons — they’ve release it in different colors/patterns — but wasn’t sure the drop waist would work on me since I’m so short. It does! It is SO cute and such a great, versatile everyday dress for spring and summer. It’s nice enough to wear to work or a nice brunch/lunch, but you can easily dress down with sandals. Mine needs a good steam but it arrived and I had to wear it — inside, at least. It was 35 degrees outside that day, so I wrote in it from my studio and then switched begrudgingly into jeans after. Note: It is breastfeeding friendly, too, so could be a good Easter/family photo dress for my new mamas. In the pink, it would be a sweet newborn shoot dress for a baby girl, too! It comes with a matching pink belt but I swapped out for their raffia Elizabeth belt, which is…amazing. I love (!) that it does not have pre-bored holes, so you can cinch at the exact spot you want to. It has a good amount of stretch to it, too. Pretty, pretty!
07. I actually got this Wander Beauty lip cream and conditioner duo (I have it in the Boss Babe color) for free as a part of a promotion when I ordered their eye shadow a few months ago, and lo and behold if I don’t reach for this duo most mornings? One side is a conditioning, near-sheer balm and the other has buildable, semi-sheer color. I’m wearing it in most of the photos I snapped of myself this week. It’s amazing! I am realizing that I prefer lip products that are semi-sheer and glide on like a treatment. I hate being ultra-precise with lip, and I also hate dry lips. I inevitably end up with a little outside the line that then looks blotted/weird. The Wander Beauty pen is the opposite — easy to apply sans mirror, hydrating, buildable color. I give it a ten.
08. I mentioned yesterday that I finally snapped up a Naghedi tote after eyeing them for years! I actually got mine in the medium in buttercup yellow. Will share all my thoughts after it arrives and I’ve battle-tested it, but I just love the punchy yellow hue and think it will be great for puttering around after the kiddos this spring/summer — looks promising for pool given the neoprene fabrication. I saw a lot of moms at the pool last year with them so I’m thinking it’s a good bet. You can get the look for less with this Amazon bag, which I know many of you have purchased over the past few weeks. We’re twinning!
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