Photo Diary from a Great Couple of Ordinary Days.

The past few days have been full of lightness and small comforts. It all started with a long, agenda-less phone call with my sister — you know the kind, where it feels like you’ve turned to the cool side of the pillow? (“Ah, I can rest here!”) I was sitting in my favorite perch on the top step of the flagstone stairway that leads from our kitchen down to the lawn, watching the bees in mayhem in the apricot trees and the birds announcing themselves to the morning while my sister’s comforting voice told me every good and normal thing. I felt like a knot relaxed. The conversation — its feeling of being in a place I didn’t need to perform and could just be — set the tone for the days that followed. A Saturday morning energy. Some of the next few days were “exclamation point days” (Easter Sunday! date night!) but many of them were prose-type, spent in our neighborhood, or at my desk, or in my backyard. Just a reminder that those days are worth dog-earing, too. The proudly ordinary.

I felt drawn to catalog a bunch of italicizable moments from the last few days in a annotated photo dump of sorts — an inventory of the little, good things.

A Good Wednesday.

Last Wednesday, after my long morning chat with my sister, FedEx delivered an enormous box of “author copies” of my book (which comes out a week from today…!). I didn’t know this, but this is a standard part of an author’s contract with a publisher.

Then, Landon and I together picked up my son from half-day at school and treated him to lunch just the three of us. It was the start of his spring break and when we’d asked him what he wanted to do, he requested “brunch” — lol! So we took him for pancakes and enjoyed his six-year-old-ness: all Pokemon and why bees make that buzzing sound when they fly and syrup with a side of pancakes.

Later that afternoon, Landon took me to see “Project Hail Mary” at the theater. We were blown away. It is gorgeously uplifting — but also funny, with a light touch. Serious art that it doesn’t take itself seriously, and that offers a compelling counter-narrative to the gloom and doom that so often defines the content of our times. Beyond this, it is wildly original, with great music and stellar acting. (I know many of you have raved about the book that preceded it — I’ve added it to my TBR!)

MY DOEN SKIRT!

After the movie, we debriefed over a late dinner at the Aventino bar, which is — in my opinion — the best restaurant in Bethesda, and you know my thoughts on bar dining more generally: I prefer it to a table when I’m with Landon. The set-up is so intimate, and implicitly casual. It’s dining with the shirtsleeves rolled up. Dining, sprezzatura style. (And usually the easiest way to get a seat at a buzzy restaurant, often with highly attentive service!) While there, I ordered Aventino’s take on a cosmo, though I’m not typically a vodka girl. (Gin please!) There was something charmingly full-circle about the order. Back when I was first dating Landon, he learned how to make me cosmos, which were — at the time — deeply en vogue thanks to Sex and the City. One afternoon, he took me tubing on the James River and had packed a cooler with all the ingredients to make them, including freshly-squeezed lime juice and fancy, expensive vodka. Can you imagine?! When you are 20 years old and used to bottom-shelf liquor and cheap beer, and you have this handsome older boyfriend making you a cocktail on the banks of a Virginia river?! The thoughtfulness and indulgence of it still makes me weak in the knees…

The date night itself, as a concept, was a joy. I looked back on the month of March and Landon and I had not been out once just the two of us, which is uncommon. (We are determined to date one another, and almost always get out — just the two of us — a few times a month.) We do enjoy a lot of casual dates together: midday lunches, errands, picking up the kids together, and we eat lunch with one another every single day of the week, usually without phones present, but proper dates had run thin on the ground. This is mainly because we’ve had out-of-town guests and then the children home for spring breaks that did not line up. In short, it’s been a lot of family togetherness (a gift!) but very little just-the-two-of-us time. I hadn’t realized how much we needed some alone time. It also felt a little footloose and fancy-free to go out on a Wednesday night, to eat at the bar at 8:30 p.m., to have a cocktail mid-week!

A Good Thursday.

The next day, Hill had one of his best buddies over all morning, and then I took him for a haircut and to pick out a some spring break reading from our local independent bookseller, Wonderland Books. While there, he noticed my book in the window (before I did!). I can’t quite explain the intensely good feeling of the moment. It was part pride and part — “I’m passing something important along to my son.” It felt like I was showing him you can make a creative life; you can do things your own way. You can wool gather and side-wind and still end up doing something meaningful.

He was mainly interested in diving into his new Who Would Win – ha – but I’m confident the moment made some impression on him. He is a sponge!

After, we picked up treats from the new Rosetta Bakery a few doors down. This store employs individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities and differences, and I couldn’t be happier that it’s now in my neighborhood. What a beautiful concept — and a gorgeous, airy space! (The mini lemon tarts were delicious, too.)

OUTFIT DETAILS HERE

A Good Friday.

On Friday, I took a midday break to pick up Easter flowers and get a manicure. My mom happened to be at the salon at the same time I was there! This continues to be one of the sweetest surprises of moving home: running into my parents while I’m in my normal orbit. It gives me the deepest feeling of belonging and well-being — almost a small-town feel — to cross paths organically with people I love in the spaces that constellate my daily life. I’m sure you can feel this anywhere you live but it continues to strike me as uniquely rewarding after feeling like a transplant for so many years in Chicago and then New York. I remember a few weeks after moving to D.C., I was running in Rock Creek Park, and lo and behold, I ran into my Dad running on the same path! I almost couldn’t believe it. I still think about that moment: the shape of a home-coming.

I stowed my Easter flowers in my new Lewis Home flower carrier. The photo below doesn’t do it justice but it’s really such a clever and chic solution if you frequently buy cut flowers. The interior is waxed (waterproof) and features two pockets where you tuck the stems. It also has an interior tie so you can keep the blooms firmly in place.

Landon had taken our son with him to get the car washed (he LOVED it — had never been inside a car wash before and hasn’t stopped talking about it), track down Pokemon cards (they are in that universe together), and have a little bro-time lunch at a Vietnamese spot, so I picked up a ham and swiss baguette and enjoyed it on the back patio before arranging the ranunculus in this pretty vase (designed by Erin Gates but not super $$ — it’s like a resin material but looks much more substantial) next to a brand new poetry book I’d just received in the mail. Excellent new morning poetry, full of uplifting, joyful pieces. I “know” Elise via the Internet and find her to be just as lovely as her words. Her book comes out a week after mine — I feel like we’re pub date twins 🙂

KASSATEX FLOWER CARRIER

It was one of those chilly-to-warm spring days that called for layers. I had two people stop me on the street (!) to ask me about this sweater. I’m not sure the photos capture its particular beauty, but it’s the most gorgeous shade of peony pink, and has a nice, thick cotton rib to it. I layered it over this butter yellow J. Crew tee (a really good look for less for the SoldOut one I always rave about and it comes in great spring colors) and paired with this inexpensive bandana, this Jane Win clover necklace, and the cutest mini bandana bag from Call It By Your Name.

DEMYLEE SWEATER AND ETSY BANDANA SCARF

On my feet: new neutral Sambas. My neighbor (who is very much a Jenni Kayne neutrals goddess) saw them and said she had to get them, too.

Friday night, I went over to my girlfriend’s house to learn how to play mahjong! I really enjoyed it and can’t wait until I’m a little better at reading the card, which feels maybe unnecessarily complex? (The colors and numbers don’t always refer to what you think they refer to…?). I have no photographic evidence of this except for this little lap selfie from the Uber ride to her home in Virginia. I came bearing gifts: a Hotel Lobby candle (<<you must try their impossibly fresh new “Racquet Club” candle) and a bundle of Caroline’s cake bites — two standbys I almost always keep in stock for easy gifting. It’s always humbling to learn something new, but it was such a fun and different way to spend an evening.

A Good Saturday.

Saturday was the best, easiest kind of Saturday. Neither of our kids had started their spring sports schedules yet, so we had absolutely no plans besides a birthday party for my daughter in the evening, and we spent about 70% of it outside in the perfect spring air. I went for my first long run of the season, and then we played lawn sports, went for walks, ate lunch outside, and just sat on the front stoop chatting with neighbors.

Is there anything more beautiful than your own yard dressed in spring bloom?! I mean, really.

I wore this new seersucker-material Rhone set (use code SHOOP20 — shorts here; jacket here). They really make some of the best athletic and athleisure wear out there. They think of everything! These shorts are actually a performance material (and lined!) and you could absolutely exercise in them. I think they’d be ideal for a long walk or hike, but the silhouette/material make them stretch into daytime wear, too. You could wear over a bathing suit or with a tee or tank and it wouldn’t scream “gym shorts.”

Also: hallelujah for weather and outdoor activities that call for SPF! I mentioned this new “milky sunscreen” yesterday or the day before but it is SO INCREDIBLE. The consistency! Every time I apply it, I say “oh my God, I love this!” And, right: perfect spring blanket reading contenders. (Reminder that my code JEN20 is still live!). These are the best blankets, I promise you. I’m guessing most of you own one or several already, but, if not, these are a top “regrettably worth it” purchase.

In the evening, Landon and I mixed up cocktails and played our favorite board game and then re-watched “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” I straight-up love that movie.

His: Negroni (he’s picky about both gin and vermouth — he mixes two vermouths together in a specific proportion and I have it nailed) and hers: margarita. (The only marg recipe you’ll ever need here.) Plus leftover queso and chips from Fish Taco.

My annual reminder that these are my favorite coasters ever. They’re acrylic but have high-end fabric/textile designs. I love that you just wipe them clean. And, left, the aforementioned candle for the season. (Obsessed with it.)

A (Really Really) Good Sunday.

Easter! I love this photo of my girl, radiating with excitement to see what the Easter bunny had left her. (BTW, the cutest pajamas ever, both Petite Plume — my daughter prefers their traditional pajama styles but my son is into the pima cotton ones. I have to say their traditional pajamas are a great value because they can last several seasons (not as exacting in size) and then I’ve handed them all down to cousins — a lot of their patterns are gender-neutral, too. Their new arrivals for girls are next-level cute thought — this cottage stripe! This Liberty-esque floral!

The Easter bunny brought lots of BonBon candies, including a big candy-filled egg left for “Mama and Dada Shoop!” Don’t mind if I do. (The boxes make a great gift — the presentation is so charming, and the quality of the candy exceptional!) Also: how cute are these “backpocket buddies” to tuck into a kid’s pocket or backpack when they’re feeling nervous to separate?

For as much as I write about what to wear to various events and seasons, I’m weirdly last-minute when it comes to dressing myself. I had these two options to pick from: this Cara Cara floral and this yellow striped crochet midi, and I went with my gut about ten minutes before walking out the door. P.S.: above left, new spring bedding and my favorite ultra-soft pajamas. This is maybe a tad morbid, but if you’re preparing for a recovery, you need these. They are so soft and swingy and loose-fit — it just feels like you’re draping yourself in comfort. These are what I put on when I feel sick.

We enjoyed the early Mass, brunch, and then drove downtown to see “Beauty and the Beast” (Broadway production!) at the National Theater with my in-laws. It was such a great performance, and the kids were enthralled. Strongly recommend!