My Latest Snag: New Vuori + New Dresses.
Continuing on my fitness buying bender (I really was due for an overhaul — I had so many shorts/tanks that were really, really old and showing significant wear and discoloration in my closet), I snagged a few pieces from Vuori (this daydeam crew, this performance cropped tank, and these boyfriend shorts — unfortunately, they’d sold out of these shorts that were also sitting in my cart by the time I ordered!). Heads up that you can get 20% off your order as a new customer with code NEWVUORI-V220. Can’t wait for them to arrive, especially with all the rain we had this week. I kept wishing I had that daydream crew to throw on over my tanks and leggings to walk Tilly in the morning. It seems like the perfect top layer?
I need a new nap dress like I need a hole in my head, but I also snagged this red and white striped one, as I just kept thinking how comfortable those Ellies are and how cute it would be for daytime FOJ fun. While at Shopbop, I also ordered this Fanm Mon dress a lot of you also bought this week as a contender for my end of summer wedding guest look. And I picked up another one of these seamless sports bras — one of my longtime favorites. Love the neckline and thin straps.
This Week’s Bestsellers.
This Week’s Bestsellers.
01. FANM MON ANIM DRESS // 02. TRACKSMITH X J. CREW RUNNING SHORTS // 03. LULULEMON TWIST-FRONT FITNESS TEE // 04. PACKIT FREEZABLE SNACK POUCH* // 05. COIN NECKLACE // 06. RAILS EYELET FLORAL DRESS // 07. GINGHAM RUG // 08. GOOP SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER SET // 09. ZARA EMBROIDERED SHORTS // 10. XIRENA LARK TOP // 11. GOLD HOOPS // 12. DAGNE DOVER BACKPACK // 13. CHARLOTTE TILBURY PILLOW TALK BLUSH WAND // 14. LAKE PAJAMAS NIGHTGOWN** // 15. OXO STRAWBERRY HULLER***
*A Magpie wrote in to mention that these freezable pouches are also great for breast milk storage! Such a clever idea. You toss them in the freezer (they do collapse!) and then they keep contents cold for hours. Come in larger sizes, too. I bought them for my children’s snacks and now might go back for the lunchboxes because this week, they are at tennis camp, and their lunches are just sitting in their backpacks outside! Even if nonperishable, no one wants 100 degree peanut butter?
**Runs big. Most sizes still available in the white seersucker!
***I was SO tickled to learn that this gizmo was invented by a Magpie reader’s friend while she was working at OXO!
Weekend Musings: Something I Love about My Mom.
One of the many things I love about my mother is that I can tell her things without knowing my point. This might sound like poor or inconsiderate conversation-making on my end, but I consider it a testament to our relationship and I believe the feeling goes both ways, as my mother recently mentioned in passing that she felt she could tell me anything, and I walked around on clouds with that knowledge for the rest of the day.
Over lunch this past week, I found myself telling her about the construction worker who had been paving the cul de sac in front of our home and saw me struggling with a gallon of milk and two full grocery bags as I was edging around the hot, freshly-poured asphalt. (We’d had to park our car a few blocks away to accommodate the work.) He gallantly jumped up and helped me carry the bags to my door. Why did I tell her this story? And why did I tell her about the way I’d stayed up for hours worrying in a medical anxiety spiral? And why was I talking about how surprised I was that we actually use all four of the occasional chairs in our family room even though I originally felt like four occasional chairs felt like a lot of chairs in a room? I don’t know! I had no point to any of these utterances; I simply felt full-to-the-brim with observations and needed to share them with someone else. None of them were well-turned, or insightful. Most of them just floated right out of my thoughts — strange and sweet and tiny things on my mind. She is perhaps the only person who can draw these thoughts out of me before I’ve had time to polish them for company. She just listens, finding the bric a brac of my life amusing or silly or normal, and keeps the volley going.
Someone once told me that when your children act out with you but seem great, polite with everyone else, you should take it as a compliment. They are straining to follow instructions and keep it together when out in public, and they feel they can let themselves go when at home — it is safe there, and you’ve made it so. I feel this deeply, even as an adult. I can go to my mother and just let her into the wild and unsorted maelstrom of my day and its attendant emotions. And she sits and tuts or laughs or pauses with a concerned wrinkle between her brow, but it’s all so easy and nonjudgmental. (Except for when I’m wearing ripped jeans — then there’s judgment aplenty.)
I guess what I mean is that my mom receives my whole self, the one unvarnished and unbrushed, and probably not fit for company. And I hope to be the same landing place for my own children.
P.S. Things I have learned from my mother.
Shopping Break.
+I basically want everything Doen is cooking up this summer. This gingham dress looks like a dream!
+This berry print dress for girls is beyond sweet, and under $30. It has a vintage / Doen vibe to it!
+Well-priced summer napkins. Would look so chic with this patterned tablecloth.
+I need this striped seersucker blouse. Under $100 and SO chic.
+Pair the blouse with everyone’s favorite denim shorts.
+I adore my personalized notepads from Erin Wallace. Have one in the kitchen and one on my desk at all times.
+Classic breton stripe sweater for summer. It comes in children’s sizes, too — such a classic, and unisex! Very well made. They run small/snug. This was one of my favorite items in my son’s wardrobe this past year.
+Cute woven crossbody.
+Love these soft-sided coolers.
+This lace knit caftan from H&M is fabulous.
+Two REALLY cute striped minis: this Reformation and this Faithfull. And one REALLY cute striped midi: this La Ligne. La Ligne can do no wrong! I wish I owned every single one of their dresses.
+Been hearing a little (positive) commotion about this book. Has anyone read?
+These are such chic and well-designed salad dressing / oil and vinegar jars.
+A pregnant friend of mine recently wore this dress with strappy sandals like these — so cute!
+Love this skirt with the matching top from Parterre.
+On does the coolest color combos in their sneakers!