This week, in vignettes…
This dog! Guys, this dog. She is seven and 65 lbs but still delivering big puppy energy. I remember a fellow Airedale owner approached me in New York and Tilly jumped up on him — playfully, but still. “I can see your Airedale is just as well behaved as mine,” he joked. It was a generous thing to say because Tilly — all terriers, really — is a handful (feisty, determined, full of personality) and it was nice to have someone “get it.” Lap dogs they are not. This year, she has eaten multiple toys and countless plates of the children’s food, barked at every single delivery person who has come to our door, done wild zoomies around the basement and first floors every time my father-in-law (her favorite person) arrives, and started to lunge at trucks when we are on our morning walks. She didn’t always do this business with the trucks, but I suppose the construction happening a few doors down has led her to link “F-150s” with “stranger danger,” and she is woefully under-informed about what will happen if she actually leaps out at a moving vehicle. Of course, I am so grateful for her, too. Our companionable morning walks are essential to my wellbeing. A reader recently asked how I get my day/week off on the right foot, and my first answer was: “A good night’s sleep!,” which I still consider to be the top ingredient in a productive day, but I also mentioned how important it’s been for me to get outside every single morning, feel the sun on my face, stretch my legs, consider my surroundings. And, yes, steel myself every time I trunk rumbles by. Tilly’s companionship has been a meaningful component of these daily constitutionals. She’s always been pretty good on a leash, which is startling because she’s not so obedient in a lot of other areas, and will often keep gait with me, walking immediately to my side. We spent weeks training her to “heel” in Chicago. I can still remember walking up and down the length of our city block, feeling like it would never click. But it did. And, so long as no truck or squirrel impedes our way, she is my buddy. One of my favorite things about her — and I know this is not idiosyncratic to my girl — is that when I say her name, her tail starts to wag. Sometimes, I’ll be walking along, lost in thought, and then I’ll look down at her fluffy little head and say, “Oh, Tilly,” in my dog mom voice, and her tail will wags and it’s — I dunno. An affirmation of love, of life.
Above, you can see I am still wearing my same old Gap kick fits. These are just my favorite pants to pull on when it’s mildly chilly out and I just need to get out the door. They are so comfortable and easy and they look great with all kinds of shoes — sandals, sneakers, canvas furlanes (mine are Vibi Venezia — lots of other colors/styles available, and many an extra 25% off this weekend; these neon ones are SO fun). It was chilly, so I had paired with my favorite $15 Uniqlo tee and a white half-zip sweatshirt from Target — I alternate between that Target one and my Alice Walk.
My son “graduated” from Montessori this week — he’s actually leaving the primary program a year earlier than most children do because we decided to move him over to the Catholic school my daughter attends. Why are these transitions so rough for us mothers? I think any major event that marks the passing of time, the ends of things, for our children make us realize how distressingly short their childhoods are. I always find myself asking impossible questions, like, “Did I adequately treasure our morning drop-offs, just the two of us? Will I miss that window of 10 minutes we’d have to kill every single morning between my daughter’s drop off and his?” One of my girlfriends gave me the best, most reassuring advice along these lines awhile back. I’m paraphrasing here, but she said: “Let yourself feel it all. Cry if you feel like it. It just shows how much you love your role as a mom.” Wow! That changed everything for me.
Above, my son wears J. Crew dock shorts (the best! and currently like $20/pop) and this Zara shirt. He got so many compliments on this little look!
Last Friday, some of my neighbors hosted a “come one, come all” happy hour. “We’ll have some snacks, but bring some wine to share!” We’re all meant to sign up and take turns hosting these informal Friday affairs, and it’s perhaps one of the loveliest traditions I’ve yet encountered here in Bethesda. I have never enjoyed this kind of community before. Even growing up, we had a corner lot on a busy street in N.W. D.C., and it wasn’t a situation where you’d mosey over to the neighbors to see if Tommy and Caroline could play. I find this low-key, borrow-a-cup-of-sugar, chat-while-walking-the-dog, chips-in-a-bowl-in-the-backyard-happy-hour situation delightful and also deeply reassuring. It feels good to braid myself into the place I am living.
I wore one of my Mille Thalia tops, my white Gap kick flares, my Pam Munson Teddy tote (currently 25% off with code MEMORIALDAY25), and my Gucci sandals. I came bearing pimento cheese straws and that hot honey I’ve been raving about.
Some new favorite beauty products arrived — I know I’ve made much about these new-to-me oils from Olio E Osso but they truly are incredible. The glow oil and regular body oil are currently 15% off at Shopbop. Unfortunately, Shopbop is now sold out of the shave oil because we all bought so much of it last week, but you can still find it (free ship) at Revolve. Also above: Summer Fridays’ lip butter balm, which I am addicted to. I received it in a press package from Talbots and have been carrying it around with me everywhere since. They also sent over this hot pink linen shirt, which is SO cute, and which I will be wearing with white denim.
It felt like summer this week, between graduation and the warm weather. I guess I took a lot of selfies of my feet this week – ha! Above, I am wearing my Antik Batik Flavie dress in a past-season pattern. They have the same dress in a really pretty lilac print on sale here. Love the braided belt! Outnet also has a good little collection of Antik Batik pieces on super sale. I paired with Hermes sandals and my Paris64 bag.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when the gorgeous house-shaped box at left arrived on my doorstep — just the package alone was stunning. I kept the box to use for something else — maybe a doll house for my daughter’s Barbies that she can decorate with stickers/markers? Or just something to package gift in. Wow. Inside, Mme Mink had sent me this adorable basket bag (!). I cannot wait to style. So gorgeous!
This week, I took a day off. It might sound odd to write that, since I work for myself, and my work is free-form and configurable, but I do sit down at my desk every single day with an agenda, and so I have found that I actually need to schedule days off and treat them like proper “vacation days.” This week, I took one to go for a long run, do a big final shop for my son’s birthday, have a lunch date with my husband, go on a long walk with my neighbor, take my son for a haircut (he had a half day), read by myself, and then get everything ready for my son’s graduation — which wasn’t much, but did mean that my children needed to be fed early, re-dressed and brushed, etc. It was nice to have that mid-week, just-before-summer pause: a little admin, a lot of self-care. I’ve mentioned this a few times, but my neighbor and I go for 45-minute walks every Wednesday, and they are a wonderful kind of therapy, and a much-needed mid-week imperative to “get outside,” in more ways than one. Our walks take me out of doors physically, but also take me out of the flow of my own work, my own thoughts, my own life, really. Strongly recommend finding a walking buddy in your neighborhood!
Above, wearing my Madewell fitness dress (30% off), Target sweatshirt, Pam Munson Teddy bag (25% off this weekend). I’m seriously tempted by this Lululemon fitness dress, which just arrived in a few new colors. People are raving because the shorts underneath detach from the dress so you can use the facilities without removing the entire thing.
P.S. Favorite athleisure / athletic wear at the moment. To this I will add that I ordered this hot pink tank and the matching bike shorts.
P.P.S. Join me at the trees.
P.P.P.S. Recently updated my Amazon shop with some great finds.