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01. Leftover fajitas for lunch. Felt like such an indulgence in the middle of the day. Fajitas are such a celebratory “main character energy” dish, even without the fanfare of being served them on a garish, sizzling platter at a restaurant.
02. Earlier this week, I met up with a girlfriend whom I hadn’t seen since the beginning of summer for a glass of wine. The morning of our date, she texted me: “So many things have popped into my head recently. ‘I need to discuss this with Jen.’ Haha – let’s hope I can remember them all.” I was so touched!
03. Going to bed with my hair wet on Sunday night: a tiny act of deviant joy. I know my hair will be ruined the next morning, and that my pillow will be soggy, and yet there is nothing more delightful to me than climbing into bed freshly showered, in clean pajamas.
04. Landon calling out: “Bonus coffee!” on Monday morning. I wrote about this here, but it’s his way of saying: “I’ve found some treasure this morning,” and “good things are always happening to us.”
05. Sally Rooney’s new book was released Monday! Starting now.
06. My son telling me: “I’m going to be a famous writer, mama.” He has been carefully sounding out words and creating little booklets that he then brings to my studio to staple. His debut novel was titled: “This is a book. No clipping toenails in public.” (Spelling: “this is a buk. no klipe nals in puplik.” He is five and I have to say, his phonetics are stellar. I absolutely delight in his overuse of the letter ‘k.’ Is this his Polish ancestry coming through?)
07. 62, gray, and rainy on Tuesday morning: a perfect fall scene.
08. Texted my sister to ask if she had thoughts about Tinkle razors, and she said: “No and I don’t like the name. Get your tinkle razors away from me and my family.” I could not stop laughing. (But have you heard about them? I think the gals on A Thing or Two podcast first talked about facial razors. The concept scares me but they were raving about how much better makeup goes on, how any errant dark hair disappears, how necessary they are for women over a certain age, etc! Magpies, do you use these? Please share thoughts.)
09. My daughter muscling a pack of boys out of the way while taking the soccer ball down the field at her weekend game. This is the final year of mixed-gender teams in her league, and she and her mainly-girl soccer team dominated a team of all boys. It was something else. After, she said in the car: “I like playing mid-field. That’s where all the action is.” Let’s go, girl!
10. “Let your light so shine.” I have this pack of beautifully illustrated scripture cards from Camilla Moss on my desk that I rotate every so often, and I currently have this one displayed. Every time I’ve looked at it this week, I’ve thought about the Aldous Huxley quote on going lightly. “It’s dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you’re feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them.”
11. Driving through Bethesda on a crisp fall morning, windows down. Snapped the above photo of someone’s beautiful driveway to their garage. Inspiration is everywhere.
What are your recent slivers of joy?
Post-Scripts.
+I truly believe that finding and celebrating “slivers” of joy is the way we experience happiness.
+Similar thought: publishing the good news.
+A poem on parenting that I love.
Shopping Break.
DRESS // ZARA TOP // POWER BANK // UNIVERSAL ADAPTER // BEST BRA // CHIC CLUTCH // TWEED BALLCAP // TWEED CAPE
+If you’re still looking for a fall family portrait dress, this one is worth a look — under $200 and very Ulla J. Two Magpies also wrote me separately to say they ordered this Cara Cara I shared earlier this week for their family photos. I also ordered it!
+Ordering this for holiday parties — under $50. LOVE the bow.
+I went into Bloomingdale’s the other day, and this clutch stopped me in my tracks. Loved the red lining, and the gleaming gold hardware, and the shape! A chic alternative to the Toteme t-lock.
+As we’ve discussed many times, my favorite undergarments are wireless bralettes, specifically from Negative, but there are definitely clothing silhouettes that call for other underpinnings. I just recently rediscovered how much I adore my Natori Feathers bras. They are so comfortable and flattering. I have in a few of the nude colors, but just ordered black and this pretty balconette style from the same brand. (More notes on building a great no-skips underwear drawer here.)
+In advance of our trip to Italy next month, Mr. Magpie ordered these phone battery banks and these universal travel adapters. He does a lot of research into these types of purchases, so I’d trust his rec.
+OMG! Alice Walk released their spectacular wool cape in the best fall plaid. I own this in brown and cannot wait to pull out as temps drop.
+Speaking of fall plaid, I saw this Celine ballcap and drooled. The price is $$$$$$ but we can get the look for less with this, this, or this. Another chic fall ballcap option: this cashmere one from Quince.
ONE // TWO // THREE // FOUR // FIVE
+I love this style of sweatpant — classic, cinched hem, slightly boxy. My go-to. Gap does a great look for less that I own in a few colors (navy is my favorite).
+Under-$50 statement jacket for this in-between weather.
+My daughter has thick, long hair and I’ve been looking for a really good detangler for her. We used to use California Baby, but I was looking for something new since she now brushes her own hair and wasn’t crazy about the “baby” marketing. I turned to Reddit and found a lot of people raving about this Unite 7 Seconds product. Ordered for her! I also swear by these $10 wetbrushes for her. They are so good at working through tangles/snarls, and so inexpensive! We have four or five that I keep stashed all over our home (and one in her backpack, per her request!). Last note on my daughter’s hair: these hair ties are our favorite. They actually hold hair in place, but do not stretch out or get stuck in her hair!
+My kids have been obsessed with making cootie catchers (remember them?!). I just found this fun Ooly kit that I’m going to give my daughter, and if she likes them, I think they could be a cute go-to gift for 7 year old girls this season, bundled with something else.