I’m back with more icebreakers! I know we all love this series. I absolutely treasure reading your answers. (You can read — and respond to! — previous installments of our icebreaker series here, here, here.) Here are this month’s —
01. What is the backstory behind your username (or if you’re more of an offline Magpie, one of your nicknames)?
02. Something that made you swoon recently.
03. A “dead giveaway” you can’t help yourself from noticing in other people. This could be something like — “I always know someone’s a fellow mother when…,” “I instantly know if someone worked in the service industry when…,” or “I get a leftie vibe from someone whenever…”
04. What do you like less and less as you get older?
05. What do you like more and more as you get older?
06. Vending machine snack pick.
07. Your best scar story.
08. Habit you’ve picked up from a loved one that you now can’t shake.
09. Popular food combination you can’t stand.
10. Something that moved you today.
Copy and paste this list into a comment below with your responses!
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I’ll go first!
01. What is the backstory behind your username (or if you’re more of an offline Magpie, one of your nicknames)?
I initially chose the name “Magpie” because of the myth that magpies are drawn to shiny objects. When I first started this blog (previously titled “The Fashion Magpie”), I was hunting for and curating pretty things, and the magpie seemed like a sound avatar. I later learned about more resonant characteristics of the bird, including the fact that they can thrive almost anywhere and are incredibly resilient; are tolerant by nature; and are voluble in their vocalizations. I associate with, or aspire to, a lot of those traits.
02. Something that made you swoon recently.
“Blue Valentine,” with Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. The movie is gutting, but there’s a scene where Ryan Gosling’s character has been thoroughly dressed-down by Michelle Williams’ character’s parents, who clearly think he’s unqualified to be dating her. RG says: “Look, I know I’m not good enough for you,” and she says: “No, stop saying that; it hurts my feelings.” He says: “No, but no one is good enough for you. And as long as that’s the case, I’d like the job.” (…!!!)
03. A “dead giveaway” you can’t help yourself from noticing in other people. This could be something like — “I always know someone’s a fellow mother when…,” “I instantly know if someone worked in the service industry when…,” or “I get a leftie vibe from someone whenever…”
Being married to a man who studied electrical engineering, I can almost always pick an engineer out of a lineup. It’s the way they approach problems — everything broken down into smaller parts, then arranged sequentially, including simple things like “let’s order wings and a few sides for everyone coming by on Sunday.” He’ll turn this into a series of estimates and measurements, arranged incrementally — “OK, how how many wings per person per hour do we expect them to eat?”, “how many wings come in a single order?”, “what are the volumes of the side dishes in ounces?”, “how many ounces of food would look like a normal amount to a normal male when arranged on our plates?”, “how many sides does the average person want?” Also, they love problems in general; they thrive on them. A Magpie recently wrote that the quickest way to mobilize an engineer is by saying, “I wonder if we could do this more efficiently?”
04. What do you like less and less as you get older?
Being busy.
05. What do you like more and more as you get older?
So much. 1) People’s idiosyncrasies — I feel like your teens and 20s are a cult of normalization. Now I’m drawn to people who do things differently, who have weird passions. 2) Poetry — used to feel overwrought and academic; now it’s a major creative lifeblood for me. 3) Places I don’t need to perform, and can just let my whole self hang out. 4) Looking out my window — who knew how much time I’d spend looking through the glass, asking Landon ‘whose car is that?’, commenting on birds, observing the weather?
06. Vending machine snack pick.
Chips of any kind. I love a Frito.
07. Your best scar story.
Generic, but my c-section scars! I don’t love the way they look but they brought me my babies. (BTW, I always feel the need to add: they are routine, but C-sections are intense!!! A major surgery, and you’re awake, and the recovery is brutal.)
08. Habit you’ve picked up from a loved one that you now can’t shake.
Cooking / preparing food by weight. Mr. Magpie (engineer!) uses a scale in everything — even measuring how much cream to put in my coffee and how many ounces of kale to put in our morning smoothie. Now I do the same, too.
09. Popular food combination you can’t stand.
Strawberries and chocolate. It never tastes right to me — yuck.
10. Something that moved you today.
Mr. Magpie mentioned that one of his colleagues had just suffered the loss of a beloved pet, and asked whether he could send my essay on losing our dog to him, as a gesture of solidarity. I was standing in my husband’s office next to him while he was asking me this, and I happened to glance at his computer and see the exchange he’d had with this colleague about the death of his cat. The colleague had written: “The apartment feels so empty without him.” My eyes filled with tears. I remember that painful silence too well — for weeks I thought I heard Tilly’s paws, her collar, and would strain for her footfall and displeased grumbling growl whenever the mailman approached. If you are in similar shoes: it does eventually get easier. But those early tender days are rough seas.
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Post-Scripts.
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+This chic short anorak just launched at Everlane and is already selling out. Love the red.
+These TB sneakers caught my attention. The colors are fun.
+Love a great white tee — the mild mock neck on this one makes it interesting.
+A perfect casual sweater jacket.
+Quince just launched their bestselling $60 cashmere crewneck in a stripe! While you’re there, you might consider this white maxi skirt — great look for less for Doen’s Sebastiane.
+Such a sweet storage solution for a nursery.
+Loving Boll & Branch’s new scalloped duvet options! Contemplating snagging a new set for spring. Such great colors!
+Back to jackets: this butter yellow utility jacket is selling fast, too…look for less with this!
+Look for less for my fav SLVRLAKE wide leg crops.
+Chanel vibes with this Zara steal.
+Gorgeous monogram applique toiletry bag.
+Obsessed with these whipped track pants. You’ll never want to take them off.
+Perfect spring/Easter Mary Janes for your little love.
+My daughter’s first communion isn’t until April but I think I’m going to grab this dress. It’s so beautiful and I feel like such a classic that it will sell through!