There’s a funny lyric in the song “My Man on Willpower” from Sabrina Carpenter’s just-released album in which she sings:

“it feels like just yesterday
He wanted all four of my personalities”

She’s being cheeky, but the visual landed for me for this week — do we all have four, or fourteen, personalities? Or maybe it’s better to say that we’re in constant flux, our capacities changing with the weather, with the degree to which we’ve slept and moved our bodies and drank water, with the demands on our plates, with the mindshare we have available to us, with the amount of love we’ve witnessed, with our pronation to the natural world, that haven that holds the secrets of good living. Maybe we exist as a spectrum, sometimes burning a big red and sometimes quieting into a cold ultraviolet.

I certainly felt that way this week, could feel my energy dip and flow; I had more social commitments on the calendar than usual and by the time we got to the end of the week, while Landon was driving us to what felt like the twenty-eighth social engagement in 72 hours, I said: “I don’t think I have the bandwidth for this. I feel like a shell of myself!” Landon, the original hype man, a person so committed to building me up that he will log onto Instagram (an app he hates) just to heart my stories and ensure people are being decent to me, set to work boosting me up: it would be short, it would be fine, I was doing great. What helped most was jointly reframing the event as an opportunity to show up for others. Forget me; what was love, or responsibility, asking of me? I found myself shedding my petty woes (with some ungainliness) like a winter jacket. I moved through the event. It wasn’t my best work, but I was present, and friendly. That’s all I had!

But what we have is enough. That’s the secret to it all, I think. I’m thinking of the moon, the trees. The way they shed and fill, but are always observable as themselves, are always enough. They still light the sky; they still hold water and house the beating hearts who seek its umbrage.

Post-Scripts: Sunday Shopping.

LA DOUBLE J SHAWL // FINDING FERDINAND MAGIC LIP BALM // ALICE WALK CASHMERE CARDIGAN // ERIN MCDERMOTT BEADED NECKLACE (40% OFF!) // HILL HOUSE NAP DRESS // LINNEA FOG CANDLE // GUEST IN RESIDENCE CASHMERE JACKET // FRAME LE PIXIE (PETITE!) SLIM PALAZZO JEANS // EMME PARSONS MOCS

+I did end up treating myself to this fringed shawl in the gorgeous blue butterfly motif (although I also love the fall colors in the one seen below). I am always looking for little signs, motifs, etc, to celebrate or somehow “mark” certain moments in my life, and I feel very much like I am in chrysalis right now with various new ventures, my book coming out, etc! The butterfly felt like an appropriate avatar.

+I had been hearing a lot about this magic “black lip balm” from sister-founded business Finding Ferdinand and I can’t wait to test. It isn’t as scary as it looks; the color is a buildable semi-sheer ruby, and apparently it uses your natural pH in some way to create the perfect flushed lip. Something about it feels very on-theme with my witchy fall reading programme.

+Magpie reader Erin McDermott has the cutest collection of jewelry, and she recently sent me a few of her gorgeous gemstone beaded necklaces, including this perfect blue number, which she marked down 40% off for us! I have been getting a lot of wear out of this layered with my usual gold necklace stack. The blue just works so well with denim!

+A perfect fall patterned dress from Hill House’s latest collection. Pair with suede flats or boots, a little jacket or sweater — gorgeous!

+This Fog scented candle from Linnea is on its way to me. I know I’ve converted many Magpies to being Linnea lovers — the scents are rich and complex like Cire Trudon and Diptyque, but the price points are much lower. Good throw, good value. Fog: “Step into the hush of an autumn morning. Fog evokes the gentle blur of mist, the snap of fallen leaves, and the crisp bite of orchard air.” Sold! They also have this cool fall candle sampler kit that ships free in case you want to try a few scents before committing to the entire candle! You can get 10% off sitewide with code MAGPIE10.

+This is the chicest belt ever. I have it in the ivory and am obsessed with it. I wore it three times this week — just so happy to be back in belt/jeans territory! I love the gold hardware; it feels like jewelry.

+Talk about fabulous statement outerwear — Guest in Residence nailed it with this gorgeous jacket. Love the Western motif. I’d wear this with jeans, a white tee, and boat shoes for an effortless but interesting weekend look.

+FRAME sent me this pair of petite-friendly jeans in their iconic “slim palazzo fit” and I’m instantly obsessed. The fit is perfection, and I love the everyday wash. This is a perfect silhouette for pairing with fall sneaks, as I did this past Friday (seen here) — I loved the way they worked together. I added these jeans to this selection of my favorite jeans for fall.

+With those jeans, I wore my favorite cashmere cardigan. UGH do I love this sweater. It is ultra-soft and Alice Walk pays such great attention to fit, cut, color, the way the sweater lays and moves. I am in love with it. Wore it all last winter and will wear again all season long. Ann Taylor has a look for less (non-cashmere) here.

+Inexpensive silk bandana. I am really going wild with bandanas this fall; love the subtle shimmer and pattern in this one.

+The most spectacular minimalist-chic suede moc/loafers for fall. I just adore the elevated simplicity.

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