My Latest Snag: Spring Sneakers.
I bought a number of things for my spring wardrobe this past week, but I am mainly excited about these perfect pink Vejas, which I plan to wear with jeans now and dresses later. I also like them in the dark blue colorway.
You’re Soooo Popular: Spring Footwear + More.
The most popular items on Magpie this week:
SILVER WATERPROOF SANDALS FOR THE LITTLES
SUEDE FLATS FROM PRETTY BALLERINAS
BLACK FLARED TROUSERS — A COMFORTABLE, ELEVATED CLASSIC
FLORAL PUFF SLEEVE BLOUSE
GORGEOUS MULTICOLOR PRINTED MAXI SKIRT
FLORAL SANDAL WITH BOW DETAIL
CUSTOM STATIONERY IN FRENCH BLUE
WHITE PANTRY BASKET
LIGHT BLUE KNIT SWEATER — STYLISH AND AFFORDABLE!
STAR-SHAPED MADEWELL EARRINGS
STRAPPY AMAZON SANDALS
GREY STRIPED BATH MAT
TAN LEATHER APPLE WATCH BAND
Weekend Musings: Castles of Possibilities.
Nigerian poet Ben Okri wrote: “Reading is an act of civilization…because it takes the free raw material of the mind and builds castles of possibilities.” Okri’s sentiment perfectly distills my view of the relationship between text and reader: elaborate negotiations between imagination and the concrete presence of letters on a page. I wrote not long ago that the “or maybes” — that is, the multivalence of a text, a page, a word — are “the great gift of a degree in English, the vindication I might offer my friend, should we ever revisit the topic: the accommodation of a multitude of narrative possibilities. English trained me to look at a single word and ask: “but why this one?” and to recognize a certain rhyme scheme and ask “what if it were another?” I am forever shaped by the way those questions both exact and forgive.” I was reminded of these thoughts in our exchanges on Marilynne Robinson earlier this week and more specifically of the way in which texts uniquely intersect with our interests, personalities, life stages, orientations around faith. A book we hated ten years ago might suddenly catapult into a meaningful foothold in the personal canon we carry with us. A book that might one week disappear into the ether, floating in one ear and out the other (“hm, that book sounds familiar — oh yes, I did read that one”), might bring us to tears the next. “Everything is copy,” wrote Nora Ephron. To which we, as readers, might reply: “Context is everything.” And by virtue of the transitive property, “copy = context.” Which tracks, I think. Texts are mirrors: we strain to find ourselves in them.
Shopping Break.
+I’m not usually much of a mini dress gal these days, but three total standouts: this blue floral, this Zara steal, and this LoveShackFancy-inspired mini!
+Nantucket Kids is running a virtual sidewalk sale with everything under $25! Mini has this sweater and these leggings and the quality is incredible! I have purchased a lot of their pieces over the years using these insane promotions. Great quality.
+While in NYC this week, I stopped into Sephora and picked up a few things and this Ilia pigment is my favorite new beauty find! I bought it in the coral “temptation” color and wear on lips and cheeks. So pretty and fresh for spring!
+These shorts give me Zimmermann vibes (under $100!)
+Sweetest LWD for any number of occasions — graduation, bridal shower, anniversary, etc. Love the $118 price tag!
+This rash guard for a little love is darling. Also love this one! More children’s swim here.
+Still can’t believe these earrings are under $30. Ordered for myself!
+Another under-$30 wonder: these chunky knit cardigans. Great if you need a little something to tide you over through the final weeks of winter but don’t want to spend a fortune. (More transitional knits here.)
+For more of an investment, you might consider this absolutely spectacular embroidered cardi or this navy one (the latter on sale with code SHOPTOUNLOCK).
+Great bookcase for a nursery.
+These stackable bins are clever for a play area / child’s room.
+These Nikes in the pink/green colorway are fab.
+Perfect little Easter bonnet for a little lady.
+I still wear this zodiac pendant nearly every day. Thank you to the talented Magpie and jeweler, Lizzie Scheck, for it! What a lovely gift.
+Another great recent release from Talbots. I feel like this would be fun paired with chartreuse/citron shoes (or these).
+This bold patterned midi skirt is an extra 25% off its sale price, bringing it down to $88!
+Another ultra-chic patterned midi. Skirts are IT for spring!
+LOVE these knotted linen heels.
+Fun scalloped trench at a great price.
+In love with these dramatic cat eyes.
+Floral rain jacket!
+If you want to give the bucket hat trend a try, I like this one.
+More woven/rattan finds here.
Hi Jen!
I have a suggestion for link round-ups, if that’s okay! A few years ago I decided to stop shopping at Amazon (especially after hearing what a typical shift is like for delivery drivers). I absolutely don’t begrudge anybody who still shops there, but I personally don’t like to even give Amazon my “clicks” if I can avoid it. I don’t know if there are other readers who maybe feel the same way. But would you maybe consider, when you link out to something from Amazon, pointing out that the link goes there in case anyone wants to avoid the site?
Hi Leanne – Always open to feedback — thank you! Feedback is a gift. Let me think on this — will take into consideration!
xx
Just wanted to share a belated book reflection jumping off the earlier Marilynne Robinson post and your thoughts above:
I had an unusually clear about-face with respect to a book early last year when I decided to revisit Vanity Fair. I had read it as a precocious teenager and *hated* it: it felt brutal, savage, aggressively unhappy. I was both shocked and bored by the story and the narrative voice; I couldn’t identify with any of the characters. I was reading a lot of Dickens at the time too, and Thackeray just felt like a cynical (and therefore lesser) version of Dickens. I finished it, but it was a slog.
Then last year it was a book club candidate that got overruled, but I was curious enough to pick it up to see if I would still hate it. And I didn’t! Fifteen or twenty years of experience later, almost every incident and character read differently, I laughed out loud frequently, and was particularly surprised by the uprush of feeling for Rawdon Crawley, whom you expect to be villainous and who turns out to be both sympathetic and pitiable. It was an interesting experience because more clearly than anything else recently–even reading old journals or looking at old pictures!–it made me confront how I’ve changed in my perspectives.
(And made me revisit my thought that I was done with 19th c. British literature–I was, as I mentioned, very into Dickens as a teenager but find him now a little oversentimental, and had recently written off the whole category. And then last year I found Wilkie Collins, and Anthony Trollope, and Thackeray, and I feel like a whole category of reading has opened back up! It’s very exciting.)
Venia – Thank you so much for writing in on this front! I loved the specifics of your change in perspective on Thackeray. It’s funny how that goes. I also have found myself aligning myself with different (usually older) characters as I age. This is absolutely frivolous, but Mr. Magpie and I love the Christmas movie “Christmas Vacation” and used to commiserate with the children accommodating the idiosyncrasies of their parents and grandparents, and now we watch and commiserate with the parents, and this transition has been so insanely surprising to us both. Like, weren’t we always meant to side with the kids?! No! Texts are mirrors.
Anyhow, thanks for the lovely and eloquent note — your insights make me want to revisit some of the books I absolutely crawled through in graduate school, probably for many of the reasons you cite.
Thanks for writing in!
xx