My Latest Snag: Fabric Face Masks.
What an odd time in our lives, but I have been shopping for reusable fabric face masks for my family as New Yorkers are now required to wear them in public when social distancing is not possible. (And honestly, it’s usually not possible to maintain a six foot berth because we live in such tight quarters.) A couple of sources for fabric face masks I’ve found:
BUSY BEES KIDS — MAKES ADULT SIZES TOO
BUCK MASON (GREAT FOR MEN)
P.S. On a more frivolous front, shared some ways to make the everyday a little more special during this time inside here. And if you need a distraction from it all…
You’re Sooooo Popular: Everyday Earrings.
The most popular items on the blog this past week:
+Just the prettiest most sunshine-y dress ever.
+One way to make laundry day a little more elegant.
+Sweetest ($10!!!) romper for a baby girl.
+My spring floral mug (on sale!!)
+Old Bay seasoning to make BBQ shrimp! YES!
+Gingham romper for a little boy under $20.
+One of my favorite bulk storage bins is on sale for $5 off!
#Turbothot: Kitchen Countertops.
We have a problem with kitchen countertop clutter at the moment. I have been daydreaming of one of those enormous kitchens with a huge island and expansive, spare counters and only, like, an intentional arrangement of flowers or a bowl of artichokes on one surface. Our countertops, by comparison, are lined with appliances, a salt pig and pepper mill, a knife rack, an implement holder, bowls of produce and potatoes, a drying rack for bottles and sippy cups, oil-splattered cookbooks, a stack of hand towels, the Home Pod, a canister of formula, a tray of just-made Rice Krispie treats. Every time I feel I’ve found some clever way to consolidate and hide, something new crops up in its place: a glut of citrus that needs a new home outside the fridge; an arrangement of fresh herbs (we find they keep longer if you place them upright with their stems in water, like flowers); a too-long box of cereal that won’t fit in the darn cabinet; shallot oil from Mr. Magpie’s most recent cooking project.
And yet.
These counters are a perfect mirroring of our lives as young-ish parents to young children: full, busy, occasionally inconvenient, sometimes, necessarily, more focused on function than form. They are also a reminder of how well we eat and how fortunate we are to stock our home so fully.
“Any advice for me now that I have two?” I asked a friend just after micro had arrived last May. She paused and said: “embrace the chaos.” That’s not my style, of course. I am hyper-organized and find it difficult to sit if there are toys spilled across the carpet, or crumbs on the counter. But I am slowly beginning to accept a kind of sanctioned disorder in certain spheres–our countertops being one such site. I have learned how to make the countertop feel more organized and tidy by arranging the bowls of fruit around one another in a cluster, hiding the stand mixer beneath a cover, stacking the bottle racks on their side against the wall when not in use, organizing the spines of the cookbooks by color.
Of course I aspire to one day get my expansive slab of clutter-free marble, sans drying racks and the mound of tomatillos currently sitting on my counter, waiting for taco night.
But for now, I’ve made peace with those tomatillos and with the — well, spillage — that comes with this life stage.
P.S. All that said, I contain, sort, label, and organize what I can. Countertops are tricky.
Post-Scripts.
+Random hunt: looking for some trivets and currently debating between this unfussy “farmhouse” style, this traditional cast-iron, and this fun brass pineapple.
+In love with this dress!
+Love the print on this top. Can’t get enough of that ditsy/ribbon/old-fashioned vibe! (Also love this in the roquefort print for the same reason.)
+It feels like mini’s birthday party was a different life.
+Sweet bodysuits for itty bitty girls.
+Very into this look for Hill this summer.
+Fun bedding for a boy’s room.
+Chic way to stow diapers and accoutrements on your changing table.
+Dying over these elegant sconces!!!
+My favorite bra – 25% off!
+Obsessed with the cut of this dress — and it’s 70% off!
+OK, I might need to order this daisy dress to go with my new earrings.
“Embrace the chaos” — haha, I love that! I’m so glad I’m not alone in the countertop clutter situation.
I used to be the type of person who would organize each pair of underwear/socks in its own slot in a grid-style drawer organizer. Fast forward to being a toddler mom, and that habit is gone. I’ve decided that if I have a moment to rest, I will rest instead to recharge my batteries — particularly during this phase of parenting a strong-willed toddler.
I read somewhere that cleaning your house with a toddler around is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos and I laughed so hard at that. I felt SEEN.
100% to all of this!!!
I completely understand. I live alone, with a lot of kitchen cabinets, and I STILL have stuff that doesn’t fit and needs to be on the counter! It drives me crazy. When people come over I overstuff all the counters and will even put stuff under the sink or in my laundry area so the countertops are totally empty hahaha.
Haha!! I have done the same. On a related note, whenever we have guests, we stash our stroller outside the service entrance to our apartment and hope no one notices until after the last guest has left. New York problems.
xx
Thanks for the recs. Just ordered a masks for myself and the two and three-year olds from BusyBeesKids.
Also re: face masks Love Shack Fancy has them but they’re out of stock until May. Very cute though!
https://www.loveshackfancy.com/products/loveshackfancy-protective-face-mask-multi
I love that all these lines are using their resources to create face masks! Thanks for the tip on LSF!
Thanks for the face mask recommendations! I picked one up from a friend-of-a-friend, made with Marimekko fabric, and it’s one way to bring a little cheer to a serious & sad situation. Prior to that, I’d been making do with some furoshiki and bandanas … not ideal!
I SO feel you on the countertop clutter battle. Our kitchen is large by city standards, but it’s the weirdest layout and only has one main countertop (and not much cabinet space to boot). We’re lucky to have a large pantry and an extra cupboard, but the counters! I try to keep them clear except for a canister of larger kitchen utensils (spatulas, tongs, etc.) and a small tray with our salt cellar and pepper grinder … and mayyybe a carton of cherry tomatoes or a small bowl of produce … but other things creep their way on. It’s a Sisyphean battle for us to keep them clear! Maybe that’s just the way it goes.
For trivets, I love that whimsical pineapple option. My friend designed this one and we use it all the time — love that it’s adjustable! https://www.burkedecor.com/products/little-big-trivet-in-natural-design-by-areaware
xx
So I am NOT alone! Why is it so hard?! Ugh!
xx
Thanks for all the good recs this week! The Innika Choo romper, a blouse, those sweet pajamas you shared and a few special dresses. My summer closest will be stocked when everything arrives!
Yay!!! Mine too :). xx