My Latest Score: The Floral Midi.
Some of you may have seen this post on Instagram, but I recently snagged this $35 floral midi dress (seen on me in photo above) and have been wearing it on repeat. (I guess H+M has my number these days.)
You’re Sooooo Popular: The Tibi Tunic.
Most popular items on Le Blog this week:
+The Eberjey Romper I wear every time I get out of the shower (on sale!)
+This floral eyelet J. Crew top, which was recently re-stocked in all sizes!!!
+Super chic leggings from Alo Yoga.
+Adorable striped poplin dress for fall.
+This comfy striped tee-dress, even though I featured it over two weeks ago. I’ve had several readers comment and email to endorse this dress!
+My new shades. P.S. — I realized why I like them so much: they look a lot like Fendi’s Sylvy sunglasses, which are, incidentally, on sale for $158 at Outnet!
+The H+M eyelet dress I bought for minimagpie’s Baptism. I’m twinning with a bunch of y’all 🙂
#Turbothot: Jill Santopolo’s The Light We Lost
I just finished Jill Santopolo’s The Light We Lost, a romance that was indulgently enjoyable (I read it in like one night), and that read a bit like a YA novel in its over-the-top romantic flourishes. (It contains statements like “you are my light,” “we orbit around one another,” etc, etc………………[ellipses intentional]) At one point, I told Mr. Magpie that it felt a little bit like the book version of a Dove chocolate commercial–pandering to “what women want” in some sort of vague, marketing-driven way, but then, as we talked through what I meant by that statement, I clarified that it pandered to what millennial women want in some sort of vague, marketing-driven way. The narrator’s ethos around pursuing a career “that matters”–i.e., a vocation rather than a paycheck; her villainization of the i-banking-one-percenter who infantilizes her; her appropriation of significant, history-changing real-world events like 9/11, the election of President Obama, and the wars in the Middle East as milestones in her own romantic narrative. The solipsism of it all. If I’m being overly critical, it all felt a little too studied–or maybe, a little too familiar. The novel held a mirror up to my generation of women and I can’t say I was dazzled by the reflection. This is, of course, not to say that all of these aspects of The Millennial Ethos as reflected in the book are bad things. The narrative’s advocacy of the woman’s right to choose whether she wants to stay in the home or pursue a career, for example, was refreshing if overly heavy-handed.
There are, for sure, more plot-driven takeaways that many of you sharp magpies will be quick to offer, but this is the briar patch of thoughts I found myself entangled in as I reflected on the book.
Thoughts? Reactions? You know where to find me. (COMMENTS SECTION SVP.)
I’m now reading Chuck Klosterman’s But What If We’re Wrong? at the recommendation of several of you lovely magpies, the basic premise of which is: everything we take as a given–everything from the concept of gravity to the seemingly unimpeachable literary classics we revere so greatly today–is probably actually not fully true (or is in fact entirely wrong). I’ve been alternating heartier fare with pop lit and am trying to decide whether to start the new Lucy Sykes or Ruth Ware next as a palette cleanser after Klosterman!
Shopaholic: The Polka Dot Dress
+Have you heard about Caviar’s Invisible Roller spray ($18)? I just heard about it on one of my favorite blogs, The Stripe, and am UBER intrigued. She swears by it.
+I think this may be a case where I’ve been living under a rock or something, but I just realized what a huge cult following Nars’ Turkish Delight lip gloss enjoys. I’m not usually a lip gloss lover (does anyone else have that issue where your hair is always stuck to your lips?), but people go nuts over the color and consistency of this magical wand.
+Cutest pajamas. OMG.
+These earrings majorly remind me of the MISA ones I died over earlier this week, but are on sale for under $60.
+Super cute, on-trend dress on sale now for $54.
+Love love love this polka dotted dress.
P.S. — Check out Le Shop for more recent discoveries!
OK, so I finished The Light We Lost this weekend! Overall, I would give it about 4 stars out of 5 … no more than 4, but possibly a 3.75. Haha! I found it to be a quick, easy read (though I ended up reading it in fits & starts over the course of a month, eek!) and generally enjoyable, though I did find aspects of it to be over the top and unrealistic. I thought you really nailed it in your #turbothot, honestly. It does seem to be tailor-made to what millennial women want in a very calculated way.
I am reading Startup by Doree Shafrir and enjoying it — it’s pretty dishy and fun. The only slight downside is that I can’t see myself wanting to reread it years down the line — it seems super pegged to our current moment. But maybe I’m wrong? Have you read it?
YES, I read it and will share thoughts in my roundup at the end of the month of all the books I’ve read. I completely agree with your assessment: dish-y and easy to read, and also highly tailored to the here-and-now. I also took issue with the thinness of the ending. I found a lot of it very realistic — almost to a fault (the dialogue was littered with “likes” and profanity that were on the one hand a very accurate representation of conversations at the watering hole, but on the other hand — UGH! Is this how we speak to each other?!) — but the ending struck me as overly simplistic and bandwagon-y. I’ll expand on this more later, still sort of collecting my thoughts…
I think the new Ruth Ware book is boring and slow. I really loved the Woman in Cabin 10. :/ I however LOVED fitness junkie! Soooo good in like an “oh wow I’ve actually been to a juicery/yoga class/store like that” or and “I always wondered what kind of person tries ayahuasca in a New York penthouse” kind of way.
Good to know, Michelle!! Bumping that one to the top of the list 🙂
Ahh, so happy to have your thoughts on The Light We Lost … I think I’ve mentioned before that it’s been on my radar this summer. From your comments, I have a feeling that I will be easily annoyed by certain aspects of it, but I ALSO feel that if you ultimately found it “indulgently enjoyable”, that I will, too. I do have such a problem with buying hardcovers that I may not want to keep, though — I am a luddite when it comes to e-readers, but maybe it’s time to find the Kindle that my parents gave me for Easter a few years ago? #oops
I have to agree with you on the iffy feelings about lip gloss — why is it always so STICKY? — but I love pretty much everything that NARS does, so I may have to try the one you linked above.
Those gingham pajamas! Putting them on the list rrrright now.
Hi! Probably worth a read, if only to be up on the latest big hit books — and it’s SUCH an easy read. Curious to hear your thoughts!