The Magpie Diary: April 5, 2026.

(Happy Easter, to those who celebrate!)

I sat outside with my children this morning, doing absolutely nothing. I had no agenda, no busywork. To clarify: I did have those things, but I chose to leave them inside. I instead sat in the sun while my son rifled through his Pokemon collection, asking me “which is your favorite on this page?” every few minutes and my daughter occasionally shared her pencil work for my commentary. She was sketching in her “pillow book” — a coinage I picked up this week referring to the journals kept by Japanese nobility as early as the 10th century (stored literally in a wooden drawer by one’s pillow and intended for private amusement and observation)*, crafting graphite stories and vignettes. We observed the birds busying themselves at the feeder — a nuthatch, a black-capped chickadee, always cardinals and wrens and sparrows — and swatted away the industrious bees clustering in the apricot trees neighboring our patio set. It was warm, and I’d just come in from my first long run of the season, and I had that unfussy, easy, soap bubble of a thought: this is good.

I’m pinning that moment — its rest, its lack of demand, its ordinariness — as a new avatar for simplicity whenever I need to reach for it. I needed this because I find that I keep asking myself, during this busy season: how can I simplify? How can I reach for the small thing? How can I make myself as relaxed as possible while doing whatever the week is asking of me? How can I be the lowest heart rate in the room? That moment on the patio is a perfect center note to return to.

Other small moments and decisions that have the rewarding shape of simplicity:

+Going to bed early, with the windows open. I welcome my occasional sparring with the weather in this scenario: if it’s a bit hot or a bit cold — so what? It reminds me of my own smallness and aliveness.

+Putting on Benny Goodman music at dinner. It is redolent of other (ostensibly simpler) times. It feels like open windows and candlelight and rotary phones and those cars with the enormous frog-eye headlights. I listen to this music and I imagine a Fitzgerald heroine at a dinner party, and it’s not so much that his characters had it easy (they didn’t), but that they were so often grappling with the big shapes of life rather than the petty and dull. This also draws me right out of a cluttered headspace.

+Bare feet. I love this spring shedding. Bare feet in and out of house.

+Making a midday meal of good cheese, bread, and whatever produce is in season. (I can’t wait for the cherries and peaches to come in.)

+Reading beneath a blanket outside. Reading itself is a relaxant, but reading while beneath a blanket with the breeze around you takes the experience to an entirely different level.

+Reminding myself “this is the main event.” Last Thursday, I took my son for a haircut and then to the bookstore for some spring break reading. I had a to-do list the size of Texas, and I could feel those loose threads haunting me as I pulled out of the driveway. But I told myself: “This is the main event. You’re where you need to be.” The power of those words! I felt myself set aside the language of the day and instead dial in on my son. If I’m taking him for a haircut and to pick books, that’s what I’m doing with my whole self. I don’t want to be halfway present, the rest of my brain caught up in logistics and emails. (This requires a lot of focus and restraint for me, by the way, and I’m a work in progress. It is a serious help to repeat: “this is the main event.” I imagine whatever I’m doing in marquee lighting, on the big stage. Everything else can remain backstage.)

+Simplifying skincare and wearing as little makeup as possible. Every now and then I realize my skincare routine has ballooned into a six or seven step process! Sometimes I like the drawn-out, indulgent ritual of this and other times I’m frustrated by it. I’m in the latter mode right now, and I like to get back to just a simple cleanser (<<super well-priced, very gentle, really works at getting everything off), a serum (<<my longtime favorite), and a moisturizer. If you’re looking for a one-purchase solution, try The Outset’s skincare trio. Super gentle, packed with good ingredients. I actually keep this trio in my travel cosmetic bag! I’ve also been running with just SPF on this spring. I discovered this “milky SPF” and am completely obsessed with the texture. It absorbs quickly and is easy to apply (doesn’t need to be “worked in”). Really a delightful application experience.

+Unsurprisingly: actually doing nothing for a little bit. (This can feel almost impossible some days!)

What are you doing to simplify this week?

*There is a famous 10th century book of this title that I ordered to read this week.

Sunday Shopping.

+I’m craving simple, easy, practical, comfortable, borderline-leisure-wear outfits this week: an oversized button-down and linen pants; a tone-on-tone knit with Varley doublesoft shorts.

+Obsessed with barely-there sandals right now. I wore these all week. Two more colorful pairs to shop: these (from a collab between M. Gemi and Julia Amory — the colors are so good!) and these seafoam blue-greens!

+While you’re at Julia Amory – OMG! Did you see the release of her Betty dress in eyelet?!

+This is the best best little indulgence. Inessential but divine. The smell, the feel, the way it lightly refreshes your skin, the elegant bottle, the slight toning quality. Divine.

+In other new release news: Boll and Branch just released my favorite bed blanket ever in a beautiful whipstitch trim. LOVE this color combo of blue and white! We just swapped out our gray Boll and Branch bed blanket for Thuma’s cocoon quilt, and I have several thoughts. First: the cocoon quilt is insanely cozy and soft. It does not snag (I know some of you were worried about this). It feels like you’re sleeping in a baby swaddle — plush, thick, cozy. Truly a cloud-like feeling. However! It is warmer than we expected! We might stow the quilt until winter and go back to the B&B bed blanket! Or maybe we will sleep without a duvet if we are going to keep the Thuma. Either way, it’s pretty insulating!

+BUT, I am super impressed with Thuma in general. I didn’t know this brand at all and I feel like I was living under a rock because several of you wrote with some of your favorite pieces. This little side table is brilliant. It can almost work as a lap desk when you’re sitting on a sofa/couch, or a very fancy TV dinner table. Easy to reposition. I find these kinds of small side and end tables that are lightweight enough to move around SO HELPFUL during this life stage. Sometimes we drag them into the family room if we’re having guests over, or we’ll draw up alongside the game table for cocktails, etc, etc.

+Obsessed with the look and feel of burnout/linen tees right now. My top rec is SoldOut’s version, followed closely by Goldie’s. Look for less with J. Crew!