Puffers + Things.

1 // Channeling the street style chic pea above (note to self: must start carrying bag like that, a la Eva Chen), how cool is this leopard puffer from Veronica Beard (currently 25% off in the promotion)? The oversized, boxy look would be epic with black skinny jeans and a black cashmere sweater. Get the look for less with this stylish score. (And if leopard is too too for ya, check out these solid-colored ones. The lavender is perfection and the shape is deliciously Yeezy or Balenciaga or some other urban-cool brand I can’t quite put my finger on.)

2 // Our new apartment is old-fashioned and highly charming — arched entryways, high ceilings, radiator covers with embellishments, chair rails, and even tile in the pantry with hand-painted fruit emblazoned on it. I love everything about it except for the builder-grade frosted glass sconces in the living room. The highly kind super offered to remove them and install sconces of our choice. I selected these. (Runners up: these, these, and these.)

3 // We have a few pieces of furniture we will need to buy and the get-everything-done-NOW part of me is desperate to put everything else on hold in order to order them now. Mr. Magpie is more rational about these things, noting that our current drop-leaf dining table will work, temporarily, in our larger dining room, until we find the right (larger) piece. And that damn old dresser in our bedroom will suffice for now. He’s right. He’s far more patient than I am about waiting for the right piece, but we’ve scored some beautiful finds following his suit: a custom-made console for the foyer, an enormous bull painting (we call him “Augus”) who will likely take up residence in our new, grander dining room, a couch we invested in and have loved over the past six years. But on the point of that couch-we-have-loved: it is now thoroughly destroyed, the cushion fabric threadbare and tearing. I suppose it was not meant for heavy, everyday use, including flailing toddlers, sticky fingers, and a revolving door of guests. We looked into having it reupholstered and were gobsmacked to learn it would be nearly the price of a new, very nice sofa. (We’re talking several thousand dollars.) Even having a slip-cover custom made would be obscenely pricey. And now we are thinking it wiser to donate the old and invest in a sleeper sofa to accommodate guests — one that is slipcovered and therefore easier to keep clean. We are considering this or this — or mayyybe this, for extra seating. Practical, inviting, gracious, albeit not entirely exciting. But that’s OK — that’s what throw pillows are for.

4 // On the subject of throw pillows: Serena & Lily recently sent me a whole mess of beautiful ones and I’m thrilled with how quickly they elevated and changed the vibe of both our bedroom and our living area in our current (soon to be former!) apartment. They were a breath of fresh air. I’ll share pictures next week, but throw pillows are the greatest way to update a room that feels stale — or a couch that has lived beyond its years.

5 // While searching for sconces, I tumbled down a rabbit hole examining chandeliers/ceiling wall fixtures and — this is making all my nursery dreams come true. Can you imagine this whimsical beauty in a little girl’s room, the centerpoint?! It’s too good. I am separately, thoroughly smitten with this modern chandelier for a dining room. I love the modern and judicious use of lucite. Because I was surprised that Mr. Magpie tilted his head and then agreed that we should swap out the sconces in the living room of our new apartment (he is usually fairly pragmatic about things like that — i.e., “let’s not buy something like that for a rental”), I am wondering what else I can cajole him into upgrading. Ha. You give a mouse a cookie…

6 // I was overwhelmed and humbled by the responses I received to this post, in comments and emails and even phone calls/texts from a few loved ones. I must have touched a nerve. Its reception has left me hungry to carve out more time for that kind of writing, which requires a bit more sequestration and focus than I typically have on hand these days. And it also left me pulling up the patchy draft of a fictional work I have been returning to in fits over the past two years. Maybe one day. In the meantime, if you’re looking for more of that kind of reading, consider:

LADYBIRD, LOSS, AND THE VISITATION

SHE WAS HOW SHE KEPT TIME

A SECOND APPROACH

I HOPE I AM THAT KIND OF PARENT

SIBLINGHOOD DOES THAT TO YOU

ANYTHING FROM THE M SERIES

7 // These loud and splashy dessert plates would be a fun gift for a colorful bride and groom.

8 // Loving all the hair accessories at LR right now, although I should not that this $3 Amazon score (I own this exact one) is an easy, low-commitment way to get this look. (P.S. — How can you not take advantage of the Shopbop sale by snagging a new Lele headband?!)

9 // Speaking of pearls: I adore these pearl-heart earrings. Perfect bridal accessory. Or accessory for any gal TBH. (Look for less with these.)

10 // This has to be mini’s. The end.