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Since the dawn of this year, Landon and I have kept Margaret Renkl’s The Comfort of Crows on the kitchen counter with the intention of reading a chapter or two of her meditations on the natural world whenever the morning lays open to us, but it had been buried beneath “kitchen papers” — that determined mass of forms, mailings, children’s art, and other scrap that continues to accrete despite best intentions — for some time. I rediscovered the book this past weekend and restored it to its visible perch. Metaphorical, really: me, pushing back upon the march of the administrative in order to make space for the poetic.
The first chapter I read after my inadvertent lapse sketched out a low place in the Alleghenies that turns into a pond during certain seasons. It made me think of the way, even when emptied out, we can become the gathering place for something new. The way we can regenerate and give back the sky.
And the shocking, telic naturalness of this transformation: just–today I am bare earth; tomorrow I am the shallow resting place for other life forms. And there is mystery but no drama to this evolution, no point at which cymbals are clashed or trumpets blared. It is a humble change, accomplished by rainwater and time. The world modestly making whole what was lost.
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Post-Scripts.
+On truly apologizing. (“An apology asks for nothing in return” is a phrase that truly changed my life.)
+Life rearranges to accommodate for our losses.
+Life lessons from 40 trips around the sun.
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Shopping Break.
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+Hill House is offering 30% off sitewide with code EVERYTHING30. An ideal time to pick up a last-minute dress for Thanksgiving, or a tartan for your holiday party lineup. I also can’t stop thinking about this precious plaid dress for my daughter!
+Frank and Eileen released some of its fantastic fleece sets in new wintry colors, like this set in oxblood and this one in a pine green. My favorite set of theirs is the latter (the Carmel). I love the fit. Quince has also released a new sweatsuit that reminds me in silhouette a lot of the ones I love from Frank & Eileen, but for much less.
+These under $40 gemstone drop earrings are a good look-for-less for these Dorseys. While we’re at J. Crew, I’m drawn to the 90s-esque minimalism of this velvet dress.
+One of my favorite parts of our newly decorated living room is a round “game table” we put in one of the corners. Mr. Magpie and I love to play board games with our morning coffee (we’ve more or less stopped playing anything but Azul, which we continue to love despite the fact that Landon beats me 90% of the time), but for the past few weeks, we’ve been putting out 500-piece puzzles that the entire family works on. My children more or less completed this holiday-themed Rifle one by themselves. We have loads of 1000-piece puzzles, some of which would also fit on the table, but be a tighter squeeze, so I’ve been stocking up on 500-piecers. I bought a few of these holiday Cavallini ones (which I’d initially bought with the intent of gifting friends / hostesses / etc but will probably now just use at home given the rate of my children’s interest), but I also just picked up this adorable one from Piecework. Their designs are so charming! I also ordered this one as a gift for a friend. My parents also love puzzles and sometimes we will swap sets — going to see if they have any they want to loan us for this busy puzzling phase.
+One of my favorite childrenswear brands, Bisby, is offering 30% off today only (discount goes down to 20% off tomorrow). I like these combo dresses (comfortable enough for everyday, but sweet enough for going out to dinner, etc), and my daughter owns this cute plaid skirt. I believe my code, JEN15, gets you an additional 15% off!
+Every year, I buy Mr. Magpie a new ornament. (Do you do this too?) I think this might be this year’s. Or maybe this quirky hen, or these tweed sheep? And I also have this fox ornament on my mind for my children. There is a fox (more likely, family of foxes) that lives in the thicket just at the edge of our property. We see him (them) in the mornings and at dusk, and we call him Frederick.
+Swooning over this holiday cardigan.
+I love these acrylic “hooks” — they apply with adhesive. I use them for hats and lightweight robes in my closet. They’re sort of a temporary fix because I have grand visions of eventually redoing my entire closet but they work! Just make sure you apply the adhesive and truly let the hook set for 24 hours before hanging anything on it!
+A great top to pair with all the dramatic trousers we’ve been talking about for holiday parties.
+Goop is running a big sale, with pieces both from their house line and other brands up to 40% off. I’ve never seen Savette discounted, and this tote is still a big splurge, but beyond chic. I also own and love this striped popover dress, which is one of those rare unicorns that works across most of the year. Pair with a sweater and loafers, or throw on with barely-there sandals. If you are headed somewhere warm for the holidays or just after, this sale is your gold mine: Natalie Martin cover-ups, canvas Rue de Verneuil in a charming awning stripe, terrycloth shorts.
+I just discovered a new, female-founded small fashion line, Lapeyre, with some truly beautiful evening gowns on offer.