On a whim, I posted this whisper of a curlicue of a thought on Instagram earlier this week, and was overwhelmed by the number of Magpies who messaged me saying they’d screenshotted it, so I thought it deserved some air time here on the blog, too —
When I graduated from high school, my parents took me — only me, and l am one of five children so this had never happened before in my life — to Paris and booked me my own room at the Ritz in Place Vendome. It was the most extravagant thing I’ve ever enjoyed in my life. My parents’ full attention, the most opulent room in France, no schoolwork looming over my head, just the promise of college and who I would become there.
I think a lot about that moment in my life. The unbridled open feeling of it. The indulgence. The close-in sensation of being loved and protected by my parents. I still remember fine-grained, filigree details about it: what I wore to dinner at Bar Hemingway (a strapless Zara dress with kitten heels), what I ordered at Le Taillevent (poulet roti, split with my Dad), a last minute trip to Zegna because my father had forgotten his tie at home!, purchasing my first Longchamp with my mom on Rue St. Honore, an afternoon tea at which my father observed, “I see you take some tea with your sugar.”
God, to have that experience — what a gift.
I don’t know why I’m thinking of it right now but just — take the trip! Spend the one-on-one time with your beloved! Do something wild and out of the ordinary that you will treasure the rest of your life.
As it turns out, those times are fewer and further between than we think —
So onward, into this precious and limited-edition set of days we are given —
Post Scripts.
+It’s just that…life is short!
+Simple things I hope you experience.
+How do you handle household chores? A corollary I am very interested in but do not think could sustain an entire blog post: how do you handle laundry? Do you do it all on the weekend? Multiple times a week? Do you stretch it for two weeks? And when you fold, do you make the piles as they’ll go into drawers, or do you just fold and sort when you get to the room? I have this sneaking feeling I’m doing something wrong because it takes me actual hours every weekend of my life, and, as a Magpie reader recently commented: “I hate laundry with the fire of a thousand suns.” (She smartly said laundry would be the first task she’d pass off to a personal assistant if she could.). Help. What are your smart, strategic, Magpie tips?!
+Image via. I have a whole Pinterest board on Paris…! Le sigh!
Shopping Break.
+I still love the look of a scoat (scarf coat) even 2-3 seasons into the trend. A few favorite entrants this season: this Favorite Daughter, this Toteme, this Zara, this J. Crew!
+OMG, Negative just released a dress version of their insanely soft and comfortable “whipped” series. I’m also intrigued by their new Fino Track pant. But if you’re new to the brand, start with their whipped track pants (go up one size) and waffle pullovers…divineeeee.
+New Linnea winter candle scents out — ! Pinewood, Midnight, Stardust! I’m tempted to order them all…! Use code MAGPIE10 for a little price break.
+My favorite thing in my closet right now.
+Always looking for Baptism/religious gifts, and just ordered a few copies of this sweet book of blessings for babies!
+Cozy ribbed sweater pant to style with cool sneakers and an oversized button down and baseball cap for a model off duty vibe.
+SoldOut NYC fall wardrobe staples: tee in olive green, cashmere turtleneck in all colors. The turtleneck is soooo good — soft (not itchy at all), thin, layers well, hugs the body but not overtight, has a nice stretchy weave to it. An excellent piece.
+The kind of cardigan you live in. A true desk sweater.
+Love this mixed media dress in winter white with a brown seude boot and slouchy bag.
+Weezie just opened its holiday shop. I snagged one of these wreath sashes with our monogram on it! How cute?
+Ann Mashburn has the chicest classics: this sweater jacket (the buttons! the longline silhouette!), these classic cords, this plaid cape.
+Joyful desktop frame, under $30.
+Been seeing this chic belt all over the Internet lately…tempted!
+A great gift for a soccer loving kiddo this holiday season — will probably sell out quickly.
+On the holiday front: I just ordered some of this tea! Going to test for myself but if it’s delicious, wouldn’t this be a cute little gift to give out this season to neighbors, etc?
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links below, I may receive compensation.
Late to the laundry question but I randomly started talking laundry with a mom two days ago and she blew my mind. Monday is laundry day. She works from home Monday and does all the loads and gets them dry and piled in TV room. Then EVERY Monday night she and her husband watch a movie together and fold laundry. They are 5 years in!!! . Folded piles go in their drawers Monday night and in piles outside kids rooms to be put away Tuesday AM by the kids. Every bed has two sets of sheets so every other Sunday sheets changed and then washed Monday. She said it saved her weekends! (Bonus she’s seen all the movies which is actually how we started talking about laundry!)
Woah I love this! I am really reconsidering how I set up my laundry process thanks to these unexpected and interesting takes/approaches…
xx
Raising my hand for an entire blog post on laundry, haha. I mean, lets crowd source the magpies for laundry tips…can’t hurt might help!
I try to deal with all the laundry on Fri-sat but there are often other laundry tasks through the week. I sort all the clothes (except my husband’s as he does his own laundry) as soon as I get back from school drop off. Then I just rotate loads through all day until I have several baskets of clean unfolded laundry in the living room, which I fold while watching tv in the evening. I make piles for each person by drawer. Then I put it away on Saturday. But there always seems to be more laundry to do! IE the load forgotten in the dryer…all the clothes I hung up to dry still need to be folded…sheets need to be changed, etc. I was doing better about having the girls help sort, fold and put away (definitely makes everything take longer!) but since school started they’ve only been helping pair up socks and put away.
OK, this makes me feel better? I also feel like laundry is a full-week undertaking. I actively dread the weeks I’m switching out sheets (we do this every other Friday) because it takes so long to do all the loads and then FOLD. Thanks for giving me this glimpse into your process; it made me feel a little less insane, to be honest!
xx
Even though it is the exact same amount of laundry either way, I do a system similar to Stephanie’s! Main difference is once each load is folded the whole family (or whoever is awake) comes together to grab their stuff and take it where it goes. Otherwise I get overwhelmed by all the piles of stuff. And I give myself permission to stop there. Having an out and the satisfaction of stuff put away often prompts me to do the next bin.
Also our clean laundry bins are distinctly separate from our dirty laundry/sorting bins so stuff goes through the system in one direction only.
The note on clean/dirty laundry bins made something click for me. I don’t have enough! I’m constantly having 1-2 piles on a floor with nowhere to live. This will help. Thanks!
Last week I booked a weekend at Space Camp in Alabama with each of my two sons. We’ll fly down on Friday, spend the weekend having a wonderful time together, and come home Sunday afternoon. I get to spend two weekends in November focusing solely on each child- is there a better gift than that? I can’t wait to see each of their faces when I tell them where we’re going as we get in the car!
To be clear, I mean it’s a gift for me! To get to spend all this time focusing on only one child- it’s the best thing I could ask for!
This is SO sweet. A major goal of mine is to take my kids one by one on a little trip. Going to see if I can take Emory somewhere in 2026, just the two of us!
xx
Also, I love that you said JUST TAKE THE TRIP. We have a lot of travel $$$ coming up this year and we are contemplating another trip and I think we just need to do it!
Do it!!! And tell us where you go and what you love!
Laundry- the bane of. my existence! I do 1-2 loads EVERY DAY. I fold while I watch TV or listen to an audiobook. I can’t stand to have it pile up as that drives me crazy. I fold and put piles in kids rooms and they get to put it away. They are teens ( but very busy with school and activities) so I make them help in the summer with laundry.
Claire – I read this comment on Friday and literally carried it with me all weekend. It helped lead me to a new path. I JUST did the kids laundry on Saturday, and then, two days later, the house laundry (kitchen linens, gym towels), and will tackle my and my husband’s laundry tomorrow. It does strangely make it seem more manageable when you’re just doing a one load and one fold at a time. I really dread the Saturdays where I have this six load backlog of towels, clothes, sportswear, house linens. This may have been the unlock I needed; had never considered doing it this way. We’ll see if this makes it better or worse for me – ha!
xx
My mom made us start folding our laundry at 8 and wash our laundry at 10, but we each got to choose a show to watch with her while we folded ours. If there was time left in the episode we’d help fold her load of laundry too. Tiny chunk of one on one time!
This is so clever! All your notes about having kids help in the house is really motivating me. I think / I know I do too much for them! Needed this wakeup, TYSM –
xx
I wholeheartedly agree. I really believe that traveling to/with loved ones is just about the best money you can spend. I recently took a pricey trip to/from California (with a red eye back!!) to meet my BFF’s new baby and it was worth the expense and exhaustion. We will never get this time back!
I love this – what a special trip. I can’t imagine what that must have meant to your friend! Thanks for sharing this.
xx