Mornings are sacred things, aren’t they? Limber with promise and forgiveness; open palms. Easily my favorite time of day, even though I’m not an early riser. (Strange to say: I aspire to be one? Dawn suits me. But I am a mother to young kids and I find a prioritize sleep at this stage. Or I should say, I prioritize a little extra time with just Landon before bed, and this means I have less give in the morning.)
A few morning things I love:
+WETA classical station — we listen to this every morning while making breakfast, preparing the children for school. I think we started down this path in the hopes of creating a soothing backdrop when it was a little harder to get our kids out the door, and it stuck.
+Pre-coffee smoothie. Every day, the same one: 20g kale, 3/4 cup cold-pressed orange juice, 1 banana, 1/2 avocado, 1 cup ice, 1/2 cup water. Blend in the trusty old Vitamix (I think she deserves a name; will think on this). This yields two servings, one for me and one for Landon. We always drink them out of these gorgeous heavy duty glasses with reusable plastic straws. For a long time, we used glass straws, which had their merits (made it easier to see if they were in fact clean on the inside; less likely to have absorbed the dishwasher smell/taste), but then we read this story about a woman who had unknowingly smashed the bottom of her glass straw in her smoothie and drank all these shards of glass that cut her throat and stomach! So those were abandoned.)
+Favorite bathrobe. Current favorite pajamas here and here.
+SEY coffee, ground with this and brewed in the Fellow Aidan Precision. I like to measure out the beans in this vintage-style bowl versus a ramekin for no reason other than: I love the bowl. My little morning dose of whimsy.
+I like my coffee in this mug (a gift from my friend Caroline), and I love when I “accidentally” make it a touch too blonde with cream (one of those lagniappes I treasure). I try to drink it slowly, legato style. (Per Mahmoud Darwish: “Coffee should not be drunk in a hurry. It is the sister of time, and should be sipped slowly, slowly.”)
+I usually stretch out my morning skincare process by cleansing and applying my tinctures and tonics and then applying eye masks while I get the kids organized for school. More of my favorite eye masks here. I’ve sort of fallen out of religious use of the LED mask since the holidays, when my schedule was topsy-turvy, but I try to use this every few mornings (it’s kind of like threading a moving needle — I like to use this on days I exercise, just after I’ve showered and before I’ve applied all my skincare, which sometimes just can’t happen because I have a meeting scheduled, need to take the kids to school, etc). I’ve also fallen in love with this depuffing wand. Like an ice cube to the face. This is much easier for me to use on a close to daily basis since it doesn’t require 10 minutes. But I feel on top of the world (and my skin noticeably brighter and firmer) on days I use both, and on weeks I use them consistently.
+Morning prayer thread with my Mom. She selects a new prayer each week and we send one another the praying emoji hands each morning to indicate we’re in the midst of praying (asynchronously).
+My favorite morning poetry: Mary Oliver, toujours. But I also love this singular and distinctly “morning” poem by Rita Dove: “Imagine you wake up / with a second chance.”
+Backyard birds, of course — usually their busiest in the morning. Squabbling over the feeder, singing to the day. We have loads of Dark Eyed Juncos and Blue Jays at the moment, plus my two favorite “plain jane passerines”: cardinals, those familial avatars about which I have written a lot, and the white-throated sparrow, which has the sweetest, most melancholy song of all. I tend to hear the latter mainly in early morning and at dusk, when wrapping up my work. I think this is probably to avoid the red-tailed hawks hunting our yard during day. I use these fancy binoculars Landon gave me for Christmas to spy on them all. (We call them “The Binox” after going on a birding excursion with two seasoned birders, who used this shorthand, and every time we use the term, it’s performative, as if we know what we’re doing.)
+Appointed notebooks, pens, highlighters. I usually start my writing by reading something (highlighter and pen in hand — I’m a habitual, dedicated annotationist) and then hand-drafting in my notebooks. (Tiny easter egg for you: there mayyyy be a special-edition version of these beloved notebooks coming out this spring…!!!!! With yours truly….!!!).
+Exercise. If I don’t exercise in the morning, it doesn’t happen, and I’m generally beholden to a rule I borrowed from a Magpie reader: I exercise every other morning. This pattern means I’m not guessing at which days I’m working out; it’s sort of pro-forma, calendared in heavy and immovable ink. Of course, there are exceptions, but I really try to stick to this pattern, as it takes so much of the mental load out of exercising when you’re not constantly negotiating time for it. (Trust me, I’ll find a million ways to convince myself ‘today’s not a good day’ if I’m presented with a new debate each morning.) One thing that has further helped this habit: scheduling Peloton rides with my Dad, sisters, and sometimes my neighbor! This gives me a specific time to be on the bike, and forces me to rearrange my morning around the time. It’s also a fun/social way to celebrate exercise. I love high-fiving my Dad from the Peleton app just after we’ve completed a 30 minute ride! In general, I am still addicted to Peloton rides (haven’t even thought about my old frenemy, running, in awhile, partly aided by the weather) followed by Peloton strength training, and I love this Stakt mat for the latter. Afterward, I mark up both my habit tracker (the ones I made with Mamey Design are now sold through but I’m working on a second edition!) and my desk calendar to indicate I’ve exercised. This is such a delicious visual reward for me.
+Make the bed (always, always). If it’s not made, it’s like a blinking open tab all day long.
+Meeting-free time — essentially, maker’s time. I almost never schedule meetings in the morning. My “manager time” starts around noon — I take almost all my calls between the hours of 11:30 and 2. I don’t like anything later, as this runs up against school pick-up, and I’m generally drooping and less intellectually limber by 2 or 3. Mornings are for writing. I’m at my freshest and most optimistic. I am more playful and somehow, ironically, at my most disciplined, too. I love the feeling of noontime depletion after a solid morning of work — not a wrought-out feeling, but a soft, gentle slowing down, as though I’ve worn down the edge on a very sharp pencil and am now writing in pliable, broad-nibbed lead. Still capable, but a little less precise. Maybe good for shading.
+The AYR early morning tee, of course. Ideal for throwing on with jeans or over leggings when you need something easy and loose and a little warmer than a t-shirt. This Lands End one is a pretty good look for less, fyi. Slightly wider.
+Gratitude. Much easier for me to slip into this headspace in the warm and gracious pocket of morning. Naming what I love comes easy in the morning, per my post below —
What are your morning rituals and routines? What do you love to touch and use in the morning? What do you avoid during that time?
Post-Scripts.
A couple of quick links I wanted to share:
+If you are also a morning person — my proud plug that I arranged Small Wonders with the morning in mind, and with the hope that it might be a giving and gracious early hour companion. A friend to coffee and journaling and birding and all those morning things we love.
+Very popular over the weekend among Magpie shoppers: your new favorite shampoo/conditioner (use if you’re looking for glossy, smooth, straight hair), my favorite warm weather gauze pants (a gift for your future self — they’re currently on sale for like $60!), and this fun portable crossword game. I mentioned the latter on Instagram as it was a great distraction while we were in the hospital with Emory on Saturday, and my kids played it all weekend long, too! It’s meant for solitary gameplay, but we collaborate together. Really fun and challenging — good for their spelling, too.
+30% off at J. Crew today. Love this chunky beaded necklace, this gorgeous cardigan, and barrel sweats (like my Citizens but less $$$)!
+Pretty Farm Rio. Also love this skirt with scallop edge!
+Some excellent sale finds: Mother Jeans for $139, the coolest denim cape jacket from Frame, a bandana print maxi dress (!!!) for under $200, and a Loewe scarf. Not on sale, but I’m obsessed with this pink dress.
+Veronica Beard makes the coolest jackets ever.
+Chic bib button-down, on super sale. Looks so good with straight-leg jeans. I own in the solid blue!
+Recent Amazon finds here.
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I’m reading this during my every day morning routine: (slowly enjoyed) coffee, a fully packed parfait, on the couch with bestie black lab next to me, and my iPad and pillow on my lap. I love waking up early and target 2 hours of alone time before I wake up the rest of the humans. This is my favorite time of day. I don’t tackle anything important usually and just read my favorite websites. I don’t do this on the weekends and will let our girls wake us up, but something about how this is a workweek ritual really makes it special for me. When I don’t get this time during the week I find that I am quicker to react and long to be left alone, so that’s a big motivator to get me out of bed when I feel too tired to do so. So, your website is a “morning thing” for me, thank you!
So honored to be included in your sacred morning time! Wow! I know what you mean — I also run a short fuse when I do not have enough time by myself, or — this is something I’m trying to figure out — am interrupted multiple times while trying to complete a simple task. I mean, the latter is just par for the course in parenthood but I still struggle with it. Anyway, not your point, but — just love your awareness about what you need. You are a true expert in yourself!
Thanks for sharing this. Your morning ritual sounds lovely — esp the pillow on the lap (why is this so comforting) and the bestie black lab at your side!
xx