Magpie Musts: The Pre-Summer Edition.

FIRST: I’m beyond delighted to announce the WINNER of the generous LittleBlackShop stationery giveaway: Anna! The touching story about your bestie overnighting you a thoughtful scrapbook so that you’d feel at home in your new Seattle digs left me teary-eyed.  I’ll email you to follow up on your win!  Yay!  So many of you shared such amazing stories — from engagement rings to college acceptance letters to care packages from thousands of miles away, y’all get a lot more exciting mail than I do!  Thanks to all of you that entered, and a BIG thank you to the amazing Jennifer of LittleBlackShop for the giveaway!  If you didn’t win but are still drooling over the goodies in her boutique, Jennifer has kindly extended a 20% discount to you through the end of June with coupon code: FASHION.

Second: realized that I haven’t run a MagpieMust edition in awhile, and that there are sosososo many things that I’m dying over at the moment.  So here, without further ado or fanfare, are the things I must have for this in-between season, or I might implode:

1.  Cat-Eye Sunnies. If you’ve been reading this bloglet for awhile, you will know that I’ve been on a quest for a new pair of shades for awhile now.  I tried the Karen Walker Deep Freeze Sunnies that everyone and her mother was wearing, but they showed up and made my face look oddly shrunken.  Now, I like a pair of oversized sunnies, but the proportions of these were all wrong.  I then contemplated a new pair of aviators to replace the drugstore ones I picked up at the beach a few years back.  But I was sort of yawning about it and dragging my feet on placing the order, so I went back to the drawing board.  Now I know what I need: cat-eyes.  While I do seriously adore the Thierry Lasry pair that Olivia Palermo sports, this uh-may-ZING style from Elizabeth&James ($155, Shopbop) is far more wallet-friendly and just as chic:

2.  Bold Summer Jewelry. I’m sort of getting into this space where I like the unexpected mix of craft-looking jewelry and polished separates, i.e. a conservative black shift dress with enormous tribal-style beaded jewelry.  This BaoBao necklace ($199, BaoBao) is first on my list, and this Roberta Chiarella find comes in a close second ($128, Max and Chloe):

3.  Anything and everything flame red. I’ve been into this color for the past year straight, and cannot get over it.  I’ll take this crossbody ($238, J. Crew) and these strappy tootsies for starters (ToryBurch, $350, FootCandyShoes) to begin:

But would love to pair with these Suzanna Dai danglers ($190, SuzannaDai), which coordinate perfectly with my favorite cheek stain du jour, Tarte’s “Tipsy” ($30, Tarte):

Why not spice things up with flame red undergarments (Deborah Marquit, $195 for top, $110 for bottom — Net-A-Porter) beneath an OLE-ready dress (love.this. in a serious kind of way — Milly, $240, Shopbop):

Perfect with those GORGEOUS espadrille wedges by MyMu that I’ve been lusting after all season (seriously, I need you in my closet — $298, MyMu):

4. Speaking of drool-worthy shoes, I need some neon-accented flateroos. I fell in love with the Kate Spade Tipsy in hot pink, but it appears to be sold out everywhere.  I’ve only been able to find the style in the orangey-melon color ($198, FootCandyShoes), and am seriously considering snapping ’em up.

I loooove the way the neutral wheat looks against the pop-o-bright.  Delightful.  If those don’t work out, these J. Crew “CeCes” ($128) come in next on the list, although I’ve found that J. Crew shoes are fairly uncomfortable in past years, SO I’m a little scurrred.

5. Cambridge Satchel Company Messenger. I don’t know what happened, but suddenly all of my favorite fashionistas are wearing these messengers ($160 and up), and I’m kind of jealous.  They can even emboss your initials on the side!

Check it out: not only was Hanneli Mustaparta seen sporting a neon version —

{image via Vogue}

But Emily of Cupcakes and Cashmere, Carolina Engman of FashionSquad, who appears to own the bag in multiples (as shown here and here, among other places), and Taylor of Sterling Style:

{images from Cupcakes and Cashmere}

{images from TheFashionSquad}

{image from SterlingStyle}

I like the smallest size (11″) — the larger ones look a little too…large.  But I must have.  And soon.  With my initials on the side.  Done.

6.Home Spa Day. It’s been, like, a bajillion and three years since I unwound my tense little self at the spa.  I don’t think a day of self-pampering is in the cards at the moment — hard to justify when Mr. Magpie hasn’t yet found out how much I spent on his graduation party (he graduates from his MBA program in just a few short hours!), and I’m not looking forward to breaking the news to him.  (But he deserves it!)  So instead I’ll create the spa day at home.  I’ll begin by sleeping in (ha, never happens — when I turned 26, I suddenly found it impossible to sleep in past 8 a.m., and I’ve now begun an alarming trend where I’ll occasionally rise with the sun at, like, 5 am, to get my day started…sick).  Maybe blocking out the sun with this cute little eye mask ($24.50, MaryGreen — the designer behind the famous sleep mask that Audrey Hepburn wore in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”…but that mask terrifies me a little bit…):

And I’ll canoodle in my bed with one of these adorable printed robes ($95, JohnRobshaw):

After lighting my favorite candle, Tocca’s Florence ($36, Tocca) —

I’d begin with some skin treatments — and I just so happened to rediscover two of my favorite drugstore finds from middle school recently.  Did any else obsess over Mint Julep’s face mask and St. Ives’ apricot scrub?!  Am totally re-obsessed with both.  Brings me back to middle school sleepovers, and the prices are hard to beat (St. Ives, $3.99, and Mint Julep,$4.19, ) —

— and then I’d exfoliate the lips (need.this — $22, Fresh) and slather on my other obsession of the year: Laura Mercier’s Mega-Moisturizer ($50, LauraMercier).  This magical serum came highly recommended by a girlfriend of mine who literally has porcelain skin.  So I followed suit and haven’t looked back once.

Finally, I’d finish by giving myself my own “spa” mani-pedi.  I’ve gotten good at freshening up the nails when in a pinch.  I begin with a cuticle oil treatment ($15, ButterLondon), and then follow with a nail strengthener as the base coat ($9.50, Nailtiques):

Then two coats of polish (I’m loving these bright colors for summer by Deborah Lippmann — $16, bottle, DeborahLippmann) —

Follow by a quick-dry top coat (SecheVite, $9, Ulta):

7.  Perfect Perforated Pumps. I saw these Miu-Miu peep-toes ($650, Net-A-Porter) awhile ago, and pouted at the price tag while still ogling over them.

Something about the design just spoke to me as fresh — sort of safari-looking in a way.  They add some edge and interest.  And then I found their cheaper doppelganger over at FootCandyShoes ($195, FootCandyShoes) and was beyond.thrilled.

I can’t decide if I like the fuschia or the nude better — but both would be happy new solemates.  {As an aside, just realized that this entire post has been largely about footwear.  Woopsiedoodle.}  If you’re in the market for a flat version of the above, I’m swooning over these perforated Lanvins ($565, ShopZoe), and their less expensive counterpart from J. Crew ($148, J. Crew):

8.  Vinho Verde. Have you had this varietal of wine?!  It’s the perfect easy-drinking summer wine.  It’s very light and tart — almost grapefruity — and has a slight effervescence (not like champagne — more like seltzer water) that is uber-palatable in the summer.  My favorite comes from the label Famega — it’s inexpensive and beyond delightful.

They sell it at my favorite wine shop, BestCellars, but I’ve also seen it at Wegman’s.  If you can’t find this exact bottle, try any label’s version of VinhoVerde — I’ve been consistently impressed.

That’s all she wrote for now!  Happy weekend!