*Image above: Patrick Demarchelier for Vogue, May 1992.
My Latest Snag: My Target Summer Order.
I did big shops at Target and Amazon this week in preparation for summer and shared most of my purchases in this post, but I can’t wait to surprise my children with a bucket full of new pull toys, including these shark divers and these torpedos at the pool this weekend!
I also ordered a few things to try from Shopbop, including this Alemais dress and this striped AYR dress. Will do a try on soon.
This Week’s Bestsellers.
01. FARM RIO EYELET DRESS // 02. OLIO E OSSO SHAVE OIL // 03. GOOP BEAUTY BALM // 04. SANDRO TWEED DRESS // 05. EMBROIDERED MINI DRESS // 06. ZARA DRESS // 07. COTOPAXI ANORAK // 08. J. CREW SHORTS // 09. PISTOLA DENIM SHORTS // 10. MADEWELL SKIRT // 11. FROSTED CUPS // 12. CAT AND JACK DRESS // 13. GIRLS’ KICK SHORTS // 14. EVERY SUMMER AFTER // 15. LULULEMON TEE
Weekend Musings: This Is Water.
Have you read or listened to David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech, “This Is Water“? It is long but worth a read. I found myself nodding to so much of it, but especially its central thesis, which can be extrapolated from the following excerpts:
“There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes “What the hell is water?”
This is a standard requirement of US commencement speeches, the deployment of didactic little parable-ish stories. The story thing turns out to be one of the better, less bullshitty conventions of the genre, but if you’re worried that I plan to present myself here as the wise, older fish explaining what water is to you younger fish, please don’t be. I am not the wise old fish. The point of the fish story is merely that the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about. Stated as an English sentence, of course, this is just a banal platitude, but the fact is that in the day to day trenches of adult existence, banal platitudes can have a life or death importance, or so I wish to suggest to you on this dry and lovely morning.
…None of this stuff is really about morality or religion or dogma or big fancy questions of life after death.
The capital-T Truth is about life before death.
It is about the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over:
“This is water.”
“This is water.”
It is unimaginably hard to do this, to stay conscious and alive in the adult world day in and day out. Which means yet another grand cliché turns out to be true: your education really is the job of a lifetime. And it commences: now.”
Wow! This rang true to me, especially in the way we can occasionally let the drudgeries and comforts of life, its responsibilities and cushions, dullen our senses to the absolute magic of living and to the real work of being a human in this world, which is — as I see it — to stay alert and open-minded and attentive.
As Mary Oliver put it, “Attention is our proper and ceaseless work.”
This is water — this is water!
P.S. I still think these are the most beautiful, wise words to bestow on any graduate.
Shopping Break.
+I don’t need another cover-up…but this one is in my cart. I love the flounce at the sleeve!
+Obsessing over these Gucci sandals.
+ICYMI: this Lake “brunch” dress is seriously cute, and well-priced.
+Fun little rainbow dress for a little lady. Also love this knit seashell dress!
+This bow-backed floral maxi would be so pretty for a summer wedding. More summer event dresses here.
+Sweet dollhouse bookshelf for a little lady.
+Like the colors of these NBs. These sell out so quickly!
+This little pink J. Crew bag is FUN.
+My son adores Bruder trucks. They are highly detailed replicas of real vehicles. He’s also completely obsessed with this Schleich Jeep, specifically because it has this retractible pull cord that you can hook onto various items and drag around. The back door/gate also opens and there are lots of fun little accessories. He could play with that retractible cord for hours! Whenever I pop my head in his room, some poor toy is being dragged around the floor with it.
+These Hannah short pajamas are on sale for $25.
+The kind of dress I dream of wearing on a tropical vacation.
+A fabulous Wiggy Kit dress.
I love that speech so much I bought the book and it’s in a stack on my mantle. Such a great thing to return to regularly 🙂 have you read any other DFW? I have not. I did enjoy watching by a movie on Netflix about him, I think it was called the “End of the Tour”? (not that it was great but it was thought provoking enough).
I have read nothing of his!! I was really provoked by that commencement speech, though. Maybe I need to!!
xx