Vamos a la Playa.

Mr. Magpie occasionally busts out in a little jingle consisting of four words: “vamos a la playa.” (I shouldn’t say occasionally busts out in a jingle — he is the most chipper, chatty thing in the mornings, and when he’s not whistling, singing, or making sound effects to accompany whatever he’s doing, I begin to worry. But his “vamos a la playa” tune comes out only occasionally.) It was apparently an all-the-rage smash “discoteca” hit when he was roaming around South America with some buddies in college one summer. So, in honor of Memorial Day, vamos a la playa? That’s at least where I want to be this sunny Monday morning, spreading out a picnic on Lake Michigan. We had a bunch of friends over last night for Mr. Magpie’s epic pulled pork with all of the appropriate accoutrements (vinegary coleslaw, creamy mac and cheese, curried potato salad, and this ridiculous Thomas Keller recipe for creamed corn that cuts through the richness of the cream with some heavy squeezes of lime juice). Mr. Magpie was up at 5 am smoking his pork, and he had it on there all day long! It was insane. Anyway, we’ll be packing leftovers and heading to the beach STAT. And for this occasion, I’m very into this Soft Joie blouse ($124 – what a great price) with some white shorts (J. Brand, $155):

I’ll be throwing these on over my bikini (Marysia, $128 for top and $128 for bottom):

And then all I need are my sandals ($125), towel ($48), and my current book club read (Delancey by Molly Wizenberg — it’s a quick read and highly entertaining, but parts are surprisingly poignant — $18):