My Latest Snag: Brass Knobs.
First – hoping your weekend looks like the luxurious situation above. That’s what I wish I was doing right now. Second, you should know that the dress I featured in last weekend’s “latest snag” is now marked down to $217!!! DARN. (And there are so many other great sale finds at Shopbop right now. Also love this striped dress, these snakeskin booties, and am thinking of buying these sandals — marked down to $12?! — for next summer, as they remind me of my favorite Alexandre Birman sandals!) And third, my most exciting purchase this week was a set of brass knobs to update the dresser in mini’s room! I spent way, way, way too much time looking for a set of knobs I liked. To the point that it took me about two weeks to make a decision — and on something so small! I could never renovate a house on my own…
You’re Sooooo Popular: The Jewel-Embellished Blouse.
The most popular items on the blog this past week:
+This perfect-for-the-holidays plaid dress.
+My favorite athletic shoes, marked way down.
+This stunning, Saloni-esque dress (under $100).
+My favorite moisturizer (under $50)!
+This personalized puzzle for little ones.
P.S. I’ve been adding lots of the most popular items I feature on the blog here!
#Turbothot: The Problem with Jasmine.
I have been having all kinds of hot takes on movies lately, and I apologize in advance for my sauciness, but have you seen the live-action “Aladdin”? I was underwhelmed by it, much to my surprise, as I tend to like almost everything by Disney, and rather indiscriminately. I was not a fan of Will Smith as the Genie (he does not seem animated or big-hearted enough to fill the void Robin Williams left!) and I was especially disappointed in Jasmine, whose tone throughout the movie read as spiteful and self-righteous rather than spunky. I can accept that and even come around to the idea that seeing a female protagonist express a range of unexpected, potentially gender-norm-defying emotions is a good thing (…?), but the bigger problem, to me, is the fact that Jasmine is sexualized in the movie in a way that distracts and potentially competes with her broader message of standing up for herself and asserting her voice as a woman. I think back to other live-action Disney movies made more recently and can’t recall having a similar thought about any other Disney heroine — certainly not Emma Watson in “Beauty and the Beast,” for example. To be fair, Jasmine as a cartoon was surprisingly voluptuous with her bra-like top, low-slung pants, and curviness, but why the producers preserved that look and even amplified it confused me. There were certain scenes in the movie where the first thing I noticed was Jasmine’s cleavage! It’s an odd pair of messages: I am a woman who will not be silenced! I will not conform to the wishes of others more powerful than I am! (Namely, in the context of the movie, men who wish to “purchase” her.) And yet Disney dresses her in a way that plays up strangely outmoded gender dynamics — where the female’s beauty is privileged over her brains, where women dress to attract and appeal to men, where women are portrayed as sexual objects rather than individuals.
Am I over-thinking this?
Pls share your thoughts.
Post-Scripts: Baby Monitors.
+I have and very much like this baby monitor. It’s been great with micro’s arrival as you can add extra monitors and it will toggle between views of the different rooms (or you can have it only focus on one room if you’d like) — perfect for our needs right now. My two gripes with it are that it can randomly go in and out of range (I don’t think the signal is super strong) even when no one has moved the monitors, and the jack where the cable goes in (not sure if jack is the right word) fits kind of loosely, so I find myself jiggling the cord around often to make sure it’s plugged in firmly enough. But. Over 32K good reviews on Amazon are pretty compelling. It also was one of the top recommendations across a range of different sources. That said, I’ve been hearing good things about this Vava monitor, which people say has even better range.
+These party crackers are SO GOOD.
+Contemplating buying one of these little lounge chairs for mini to read in. One of the things Montessori insists upon is accessibility/scale for little children. All of the toilets, tables, chairs, brooms, sinks, etc are child height, and they even hang artwork at their eye level.
+How fab are these boots!?
+These pink sherpa-lined boots are so cute and cozy (and affordable!) for little ones.
+This sweater is speaking my love language. More ladylike looks here!
+This vintage KJL brooch is stunning — very into the idea of a sparkly brooch for festive holiday wear.
+I’ve had a couple of you ask for more affordable variations on the Manolo Hangisi I am lusting after. TB has a great pair of embellished flats and Veronica Beard has some lovely mules — both reminiscent of Manolo.
+Our Staub is easily one of our most-used cooking tools and we picked it over Le Creuset because the lid handle is made of metal and can withstand even the highest of heat (whereas LC’s are a kind of material that shouldn’t be in an oven over a certain temp). Love this stark white one from a special collab with Goop! And more great, thoughtfully-reviewed kitchen gear here.
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After just seeing your post title, I was so excited to commiserate about my stubborn jasmine plant that hasn’t bloomed since last winter! I was a little too quick to assume 🙂
HAHA! Sorry to hear about your jasmine woes, though…!
Adore that KJL brooch! I am mildly addicted to The RealReal. I didn’t love it so much as a seller (my first couple batches of items sold super quickly, and then afterwards, things lingered FOREVER and I ended up having them send back the unsold items after about 6 months!) … but I love it as a consumer!
Also loving the VB mules as a Hangisi alternative!
xx
Interesting – wasn’t sure how it worked if things don’t sell! That’s annoying to get those back after you’d mentally thought you’d sold them.
LOVE those mules!
I think you have the option to request them back after 3 months — at least, that was how it was when I was selling there. I waited a bit longer to see if they’d sell, and no dice. I think after a year, they either send the items back or donate them. But I was able to sell the last stragglers at a local shop, so all’s well that ends well! xx
I agree that Jasmine’s portrayal was problematic and and a missed opportunity!
(An aside – Emma Watson starred in Beauty in the Beast! Had to comment as my childhood obsession with Harry Potter resulted in an unfailing loyalty to both the series and their actors. )
MEEP! I had multiple people point out this typo — sorry! YIKES! Updated the post. xx
I just bought those same Sam Edelman boots but in a different material; they just arrived yesterday so I haven’t tried them yet. They’re beautiful but the heel seems a bit high? Not sure yet if that’ll be a problem, and I may keep them as a dressy boot. TBD!
I like that you mention a brooch…in my unpacking, I uncovered a sparky Christmas tree brooch my Dad gave me one Christmas (bless his heart lol). I’m at a bit of a loss as how to wear it. It is pretty, though!
Haha – I am so on your page about heel height. Back in college/early post-college days I’d teeter around in 3-4″ heels like it was nothing. Now I can barely stand in them for more than 20 minutes without wondering when I can kick them off.
LOVE the brooch — so sweet of your dad! I would pin it right on the breast of a cashmere sweater or wool coat OR use it to secure a wool/woven scarf around my neck. I have also seen very chic women wear it at the top button of a button-up blouse/shirt — and it sort of looks like a necklace?
xx
Just bought the Vava and it far surpasses any monitor I’ve used (and we’ve had several). My only issue with it is that we have multiple cameras and it’s a few more steps than I’d like to switch between them.
Love that Philip Lim sweater.
Have a good weekend!
!! Thanks for writing in with this review, Amy! I will probably start recommending friends look at the Vava over the InfantOptics we own based on that review (and so many strong reviews on Amazon!)
xx