A couple of footholds this week:
+In response to my post about claggy family dinnertimes, my cousin wrote me: “My therapist always says, ‘can you tolerate, not troubleshoot’?” Wow! Truly made me think. Another Magpie reader wrote: “Not all rough edges can be smoothed, and the transcendent exists alongside the grind. Parenthood in a nutshell.” Just the encouragement I needed to bear down, hold steady, keep on. All part of the process.
+”Don’t be afraid of hard work,” from a Peloton instructor this week. She was guiding us through some heavy climbs, encouraging us to add another 1-2 bips of resistance, and I found it wildly motivating. I thought: “She’s right; what’s the worst that happens? I peter out? I have to slow down? Let me try this.” Adjacent: I always internalize the note on the back of Spindrift cans (my lunchtime drink of choice): “Proudly made the hard way.” The older I get, the less I believe in shortcuts. Nothing worthwhile happens overnight.
+A Magpie reader shared this ode to the art of re-reading; excerpting a fabulous blurb here:
“Somewhere in the noise of reading logs and endless recommendation reels, re-reading a book has started to feel almost suspicious. It goes against the new logic of reading culture, where every finished book is meant to be displayed, counted and moved past. Today, we don’t just read. We perform that we have read. In that world, re-reading makes no sense. It adds nothing to the stack, generates no fresh proof of activity and offers no new title to parade online. A book revisited does not boost numbers. It quietly refuses to participate.”
The Magpie reader described the post as “an unapologetic love letter to my bad girl book behavior of choice” and observed: “Sometimes I book repeat to learn more about the characters or story. But usually what I find is something new about myself.”
How gorgeous?! I am not typically a repeat reader, but I love that many of us are re-reading Wuthering Heights for this month’s book club pick (I’m in the final tenth of the book and cannot wait to discuss Heathcliff — such a complex, deckle-edged Byronic hero!), and I am usually drawn to women who are repeat readers. (I’m also immediately drawn to women who have little libraries and bird houses in their yards, who shift their body language to include people into a conversation circle, and who are earnest in conversations.) My SIL, one of my sisters, my best friend, and several other close friends are repeat-readers. These are women who know themselves and who take their own joy seriously. I hadn’t thought about the counter-cultural element of repeat reading, but I love it. Cheers to the bad book girl in all her forms.
+”The beauty you see in anything is a reflection of the beauty in you.” Saw this during the week.
Onward into a deliberately slow and beautiful week —
A Few Photos from the Week.
1 // Another transcendent tree in our neighborhood;
2 // On the way to a gorgeous afternoon with my mom (lunch, shopping);
3 // On the way to a trunk show;
4 // At the trunk show! Chic chic chic!
*If you are looking for any outfit details above, you can always find them here in advance of Friday’s WILW post!
Sunday Shopping.
Over dinner, I talked beauty favorites with a few girlfriends this week. I said my current favorite cosmetics are Sarah Creal’s FaceFlex concealer (somehow does not sink into fine lines) and Westman Atelier’s foundation stick. Both are 10/10 elite, instant-reorder for me. What are your top two beauty recs at the moment?
Some of the other recs at the table: this ambient lighting powder specifically in the luminous bronze light color (which I ordered!) and this sheet mask (my friend said her husband specifically mentioned how amazing her skin looked after she wore it!). Another girlfriend separately raved about this long-wear eye tint — she said the good colors can be tough to find (tend to go in and out of stock) but that there’s a full run here.
Meanwhile, a few other beauty exclamation points:
+I’ve mentioned many times but I am addicted to these Soft Services buffing bars. Give you the most luminous, pearlescent skin! You actually become a Vermeer painting after using — ha. This is what I will be giving to any White Elephant / Favorite Things this year. The best! And currently available in a fancy limited-edition D.S. & Durga scent.
+Speaking of D.S & Durga — OMG. Scent enclave! I can’t wait to share more but a retailer reached out and sent me a bunch of new scents to try for winter (I think they caught wind of you fragrance heads in the comments!), and I’ll be sharing all of them and my thoughts on each next week, but I can’t keep my favorite discovery from the project under wraps: D.S.&Durga’s I Don’t Know What fragrance enhancer. It’s designed to be worn on top of other scents to elevate and WOW is it fabulous. I am not kidding – the first day I wore this, I was stopped by a friend who said: “Oh my God, you smell amazing.” It is this clean, radiant, fresh smell that plays beautifully with any scent.
The perfume maker had this to say: “Of course it can be worn as a modern wonderfully transparent aroma, but it can also be layered over anything. Often when I leave the house, I will wear a touch of sandalwood, rose, jasmine, patchouli, oud, etc. These oils are lovely but can be muddy and they don’t last more than a few hours. IDKW sprayed over them makes the oil into a perfume. It does this because it is made with no notes! It is a secret combination of materials that perfumers use to highlight and enhance notes in a perfume.” Cannot rec more!!! I’m obsessed. Try in the smallest size and see what you think. I specifically like to spritz this on around 2:30 pm before heading to carpool — gives a little brightness and lift without being an extra layer of scent.
+These YSE eye patches are spendy so I only use on special occasions but they have slowly become my favorite because not only do they really brighten and hydrate, but they actually cling to your skin / don’t slide off like a lot of the other brands I use. I feel like I’m becoming an expert in this particular product category because I use eye patches in lieu of eye cream almost every day (unless running late).
+I’ve been using this for years and years and it is the only thing that really removes every last trace of mascara. A powerhouse staple. I couldn’t get by without it; I wear mascara daily!
+I’ve shared this dozens of times over the years, but continue to remain in a committed relationship with the softest, plushest cotton squares on the planet. Don’t mess around with anything else. You’ll never go back!
ARMANI EYE TINT // HOURGLASS BRONZING POWDER // SOFT SERVICES BUFFING BARS // YSE EYE PATCHES // BIODANCE SHEET MASK // D.S. & DURGA FRAGRANCE ENHANCER // LANCOME MAKEUP REMOVER // SHISEIDO FACIAL COTTON
And a few other goodies on my radar ATM:
+Just pulled out these skiing jammies for the weekend. We’re going to rent the kids skis for the season today and it felt appropriate!
+Vuori’s latest arrivals were too tempting to resist – I snapped up their new evergreen leggings and matching bra. You have to LEAP on the short inseam pieces! Always sell out so fast.
+Still not over this latest Guest in Residence collection. Everything is perfect.
+A quilted version of my Charlie bag! (I own in suede.)
+Chic compact burgundy zippered pouch. I love a pouch.
+Can’t stop burning this candle.
SKI JAMMIES // PRADA SLIDES // FAIR ISLE SWEATER // HOTEL LOBBY CANDLE // PARKER THATCH TOTE // CUYANA POUCH // VUORI LEGGINGS AND BRA
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I read Anne of Green Gables every year around Christmas. In the fourth grade, it was gifted to me by a childhood friend and first read over that winter break. I instantly fell in love with Anne Shirley. And obviously Gilbert Blythe! Excluding Northanger Abbey, I’ve read every Jane Austen novel multiples times. This post has inspired me to reread other books since I really don’t do that very often. Perhaps I’m guilty of making reading too quantitative.
I emphatically agree with you on the Lancôme eye makeup remover because I wear almost impossible to remove Japanese mascara most every single day. I try to remember to buy Lancôme in duty free because it’s really pricey in the country where I live. As someone with rosacea and extremely dry, sensitive skin who takes a lot of long flights each year, I cannot live without Avene Cicalfate. While I love higher end brands like Cle de Peau and Sisley, nothing compares to Cicalfate. Before even getting on the plane, I apply a thick layer to protect and hydrate my skin. On a recent 15 hour flight, I reapplied halfway through the flight and it helped avoid a rosacea flare.
I also inspired myself to re-read more often by writing about this subject!!
So glad you love the Lancome remover, too — it works like nothing else!
xx
Ooh the re-reading! I consider it a treat to dip back into a book I previously loved and have re-read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn almost too many times. But the one that really sealed it for me was Barbara Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible. I read it first in high school and through the lens of the teenage daughters (embarrassingly, mostly Rachel). Twenty years later, and after becoming a mother, I reread it and related so strongly to the mother’s narrative chapters. An entirely different book! Now I often poke around my bookshelves, wondering what books will be new to me in this different phase of life.
I love when that happens — such rich insight to relate to different characters as you age. I was talking with a friend about Gilmore Girls recently in that light — how we used to relate to Rory, now more Lorelei…maybe eventually Emily?
xx