May Discoveries + Vignettes.

I am in a committed relationship with my Appointed notebooks (always have several on hand), but for my book, I wanted something different, and this gorgeous oversized, spiral bound beauty fit the bill. (Fellow lefties will rejoice in the top binding!) In general, I’ve been intuitively segregating all my book work from my normal flow. When I sit down to work on my book, I clear my desk of everything except the notebook above, have a specific playlist, turn off the lights, etc. It’s a different flow and I find it signals to my brain: “It’s time to settle in and get going.” BTW, I believe that the notebook above is included in Rifle’s 25% off promotion for Memorial Day. They have so many adorable gifts — how chic is this set? I am still delighted by any notepad I ever receive. (And I put them all to great use.)

PS – Our local Whole Foods just started carrying the Spindrift Nojito flavor and I love it!

PPS – Above, wearing those Splendid gauze pants I won’t shut up about. They are currently somehow 40% off with code MEMWKND. I can’t rec enough. These and the Pistola utilities are easily my most-worn pants for heavy-duty work days, when I need to write without feeling the faintest distraction. Magpie reader Kelly recently wrote this in a comment: “Things that tell my body it’s okay: fresh air. Water. Physical journaling. Belly laughs. Bone broth. Ripe fruit. Clothes without constriction or itch.” I thought how true that was, how wearing an outfit that moves, breathes, and most importantly as a writer sits comfortably permits my mind to be more fully itself because my body isn’t vying for any attention. You can’t really see the rest of the outfit, but the other elements that make for a great workday: Negative undergarments, the softest t-shirt I own (Buck Mason, where have you been all my life), and a La Ligne marin sweater in cotton. I am always, always cold.

I have framed on my desk this little scribbly MAMAMAMAMA note that Hill made for me when he was first learning to write my name, and I recently scanned it and had it engraved onto this coin pendant. It charms me to no end to carry my son, and his fledgling attempts at writing, around my neck. It’s also just lovely — such a privilege — to be called Mama at all, you know? I read a great quote by Warsan Shire this week: “The sun is perfect and you woke this morning. You have enough language in your mouth to be understood. You have a name, and someone wants to call it. Five fingers on your hand and someone wants to hold it. If we just start there, every beautiful thing that has and will ever exist is possible. If we start there, everything, for a moment, is right in the world.” God, how beautiful. “You have a name, and someone wants to call it.”

This is why I adore this little pendant so much. A great talisman for warding off the occasional monotony and frustration we can feel when stretched too-thin as mothers. Anyhow, the price is reasonable — $138 for something custom — and it’s currently 20% off with code MEMDAY. I really like this jewelry retailer; lots of special pieces. I gave my SIL this connection necklace as a way to signify our closeness even though she lives abroad and we share maybe a week or two a year together, if lucky.

My entire family is addicted to these Jeni’s ice cream sandwiches. All the flavors are incredible, but I might like key lime and mint chocolate the best. Just divine, divine. I feel like a lot of times, the cookie part of the ice cream sandwich is a cardboard afterthought, but the cookies alone on these creations are delicious.

Gingham everything! How fortuitous that I shared my obsession with this Posse top on Sunday only to find it fully restocked the day after! Kismet. Ordered on the spot. And also wore this gorgeous gingham dress over the weekend — it’s linen and the fit is gorgeous. Sadly almost sold out at the time of writing this, but this Reformation is virtually identical (more stock here). And if you’re looking for something a bit more tailored, this $79 gingham lovely also turned my head. Anyhow, I paired with these Madewell sandals, which are 25% off!

Back to red nails! Sparking such joy after many weeks of doing pale white/pink. This is OPI Emmy Have You Seen Oscar? Got it on my toes, too.

Very impressed with this gentle exfoliator — a perfect antidote for summer SPF, sweat, outdoor activities, etc. I used it on Sunday as a part of a long and languid everything shower and delighted in it. Skin was soft and happy and scrubbed clean. It felt like the most delightful way to scrub off the busy weekend and prepare for a full week of writing.

Speaking of skincare: I’ve been using this TikTok-viral cream cleanser daily for the past two weeks or so and LOVE IT. It has an almost mallow-like texture with little exfoliation beads (but not too many — it doesn’t feel like you’re really scrubbing your skin) and I love the effect. Hydrating, smoothing, softening. I use after my nightly cleansing balm application. I absolutely cannot skip the cleansing balm stage. It’s like an invisible cue that it’s time to start getting ready for bed, winding down, letting my heart and head rest. It feels like everyone is running a sale, because the balms are also 25% off. I can’t recommend this trio of balms more. It’s already a discount ($120 value, costs $90) but 25% off this weekend. For me, the balms are instant re-order. The only one I don’t like is the cherry flavor. Fig is actually delightful, but I really couldn’t stand the cherry scent. Stick with rose or the others.

I worked on my book almost all day Saturday and Landon was my hero, ferrying the kids around to soccer, to lunch, to errands, to birthday parties! Halfway through the day, he knocked on my door to deliver Shake Shack, and even had it all plated up. Salvation! It feels unbelievable to have his encouragement and nurture during this time.

You may have noticed the green set in the Shake Shack pic: I wore this Varley shorts set (top, shorts — running low on stock in my color but others available) 3x this past week, mainly in those interstitial times of day, i.e., carpool before workout, errand after workout, just out of the shower, etc. It is SO comfortable and I also think cute! I can say that with confidence in fact because I came down wearing it and Landon said: “That’s a fun set.” A fun set!

I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks: above, my first attempt at a fishtail braid (at my daughter’s request) and…not terrible? I’m better at doing space buns. What did moms do before YouTube tutorials?!

For some reason I’ve been huddling around the idea of talismans lately. I’ve been wearing my courage pendant almost daily, and now often layer it with the Mamamamama necklace featuring Hill’s writing. Both bring me different things whenever I feel for them — they sort of put me in touch with sentiments I reach for routinely throughout the day. I also started wearing this evil eye chain bracelet this week after I had one of those weeks where things were just not clicking right — missed opportunities, botched communications, timing logistics askew. It’s not that I think it will ward off those unpleasantries, but I look at it and I remind myself to think positive: “Every good thing is going to happen.” (Seen above with my beloved Dorsey turquoise bracelet. A $58 look for less here.)

Landon and I are still totally obsessed with Wingspan. We usually play on weekend mornings / at weekend happy hours when we’re home. The kids have learned to accommodate it and it’s taken on its own beautiful routine feel in our home. My sister and her wife also play and after they visited (and played with us), they sent us a few “deluxe add ons” for our set, including these wood bird tokens — and they picked a magpie for me! Is that not the most thoughtful?!

Above: enjoying the best margarita, using the only margarita recipe you’ll ever need. I absolutely love drinking a marg out of these Half Past Seven glasses — it really adds to the experience IMO. And of course those charming acrylic coasters are Proper Table. We have them scattered throughout the house.

Bonus: extra salty Virginia peanuts. Peanuts are the best game snack.

Oh! And we’ve also been playing a ton of Sleeping Queens with the kids — this was the top rec from Magpie moms when I asked which games you enjoy playing as a family. It’s perfect. Easy to learn, encourages math, and has enough luck to it that the parents aren’t always winning. Also a quick pace and overall run of play (most games are over in about 10 minutes?). We also played a few rounds of this drawing game over the weekend, and they loved it, although we had to give Hill a 45 second head start to even things out (he’s five), and we play for two minutes versus the suggested one. I just picked up two adjacent games that I think they’ll enjoy based on Scribbles: Sussed and SketchyTales.

We’ve had an unusually dense few weeks of dining out, and have enjoyed truly incredible experiences. Pascual was unbelievable upscale Mexican (with a little European twist — this is the newer concept from the folks behind our beloved Lutece in Georgetown) and well worth the 45 minute drive into DC. Not pictured above but deeply enjoyed: Pisco Y Nazca, brand-new and in our neck of the woods here in Bethesda. IMO Bethesda is seriously lacking dinner date spots, but now we have Aventino (five stars) and PYN, which is a fun, sort of clubby-vibe Peruvian spot that specializes in ceviches and pisco sours. It was BUSTLING. The music was too loud but we had a really fun time. Would be a good place for a group of girlfriends, too. And finally, Landon and I really celebrated ourselves at Rose’s Luxury last Friday. We’ve been twice now and this last experience cemented it in our minds as the best luxury meal in DC. It is so creative, so beautifully presented, so delicious, and the service and overall experience top notch. We specifically love the prix fixe format, and the way they send out little “gifts” around the menu. These are probably just factored into the cost of the meal but it always feels so extra and indulgent, and special.

One final note: I wore this spectacular statement necklace last Friday to a new parents’ coffee at my daughter’s new school. I wanted to spotlight it because it is from a business run by a Magpie reader: Meg Carter Designs. How show-stopping?! Thank you, Meg!

P.S. What does happiness look like to you?

P.P.S. A poem that makes me feel great.

P.P.P.S. On anchoring in the positive.

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