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.
+