I had planned to wear this dress with cowboy boots to the Tyler Childers concert on Sunday, but it was canceled! So I wore the dress with little heels and a cardigan and clutch to dinner instead. I absolutely love Rixo. I find the silhouettes so flattering on petites!
I am queen of the utility pant. I love them so much — the casualness of them, especially when offset with a little blazer; the looser, more comfortable fit, which enables me to sit at my desk all day without the rigidity of denim! The more I think about it, the more I realize this is me in my most writerly state. Ina in her denim shirts; Jen in her utility pants. I really like both of the pairs below; the first is from Paige. I went up a size in these because I usually find my true size a little snug in Paige but these are pretty loose on me — I feel like maybe take your true size in this particular style.
Really testing the pant silhouettes this week! I styled these La Ligne Dunton high-waist, wide-leg white jeans with my favorite soft Negative henley and a gray cashmere sweatshirt from Quince (it’s $50!). I was really cold this particular day after a morning run, and I felt cozy in this outfit. The henleys are SO good. Second-skin softness. I own in three colors. They are pretty low-cut so I layered over this bralette. I think I mentioned this recently, but the older I get, the less tolerant I become of wearing anything but really soft cotton against my skin in the winter months. I just run too cold if I don’t have that first soft layer!
This little coat from Cinq a Sept was kind of surprise to me — it looked online like more of a blazer situation but it’s a true coat and the shape, pockets, and gold buttons are so fabulous. I don’t know if you can see how tired I am in the photo below — the dark circles under my eyes were next level. Another joy of perimenopause: randomly not sleeping all night. Has this been happening to anyone else?
I felt very cool in this outfit, but I only got terrible pictures of it. I was wearing this TWP shirt and these TWP jeans and just felt very polished. I love the silhouette!
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may receive compensation.
By: Jen Shoop
Magpies, I can hardly believe I’m writing these words:
I signed a book deal!
Coming May 2026: a collection of musings, poems, lists, and moments noticing the small everyday things that bring joy and meaning to our lives, published by Quarto, authored by me.
May 2026 feels far away right now but, as we say: it takes a long time to become. And I am learning about the long, recursive, and beautiful process of making a book, and seeing it through edits, and having a real, live editor (and copy-editor!) to collaborate with, and talking about design and layout. In truth, the book began a long, long time ago, when I was six years old and first stapling together stories written on construction paper for my mother, and feeling that strange, never-ending compulsion to translate my observations into letters. That’s probably the truest origin story I can find in myself; the bulk of the intervening 34 years has been a blur of revision.
The entire thing feels like a woozy dreamwalk; maybe this is what I was grappling with when I asked whether you believe in fate, or magic, or what have you. All I can say is that I wrote in my New Year’s Bingo Card that I wanted to query agents for a manuscript I was working on, and here I am in April with a book deal. Through some combination of mystery, grace, and hard work, here we are.
But let me get to my point, which is to thank you for making this possible. Every time you have visited my blog, or shared an essay, or left a comment, or liked a post on Instagram, you have paved a little bit more of this path for me. In many ways, this book is a product of our little community of noticers, and I am so proud of us for it.
+Have you seen Banana Republic’s new April arrivals? Absolutely gorgeous dresses for special occasions. I love this robin’s egg blue fit and flare, this patterned midi (Alemais vibes), this khaki utility style (Ulla Johnson, is that you?!), and this breathtaking poplin midi.
+Speaking of sets: I just ordered this white linen two-piece set from Few Moda. It’s made by the same manufacturer that produces Jenni Kayne, but $89 if you’re a member at Few Moda, which — just through 4/21, is free for the first quarter if you buy any item there.
+As you know, I love a pouch. I am the pouch queen! I have one of these Minnow ones in a different pattern, but love this one too! The ones from Pehr are also excellent, whether using for baby/children or just yourself! I love to give those as baby gifts. They’re a great, roomy size — I use now for packing undergarments while traveling — but excellent for holding diapers, pacifiers, little sets of clothing, etc.
+Speaking of Pehr, I just saw they released sleep sacks! Their swaddles are so incredibly soft and charmingly printed; I know these will be the same. Our favorites when my babies were little were by Kyte. (Quince has a good look for less.)
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may receive compensation.
By: Jen Shoop
Today I thought I’d pick a few pieces for spring and spotlight how to mix and match them over the course of a few looks — I realized sometimes I get into a rut where I only style the same things in the same ways, and this felt like a good creative challenge to take a few pieces and re-imagine them in a couple of different ways. I am especially loving these classic raffia ballet flats from Mansur Gavriel, seen above. I feel like you could throw them on with anything and instantly look spring-ready. Margaux has a great mary jane option for a little less.
Below, more finds that scream “spring,” and how to style —
Earlier this week, a friend of mine wrote to let me know she was preparing to start her own business (further proof that, for many of us, life truly does begin at 40), and that she was feeling scared, and that she’d found encouragement in my post about magic and possibility. (“Reality is about 65% if.”)
If I can do nothing else for this community of generous noticers and giving creative spirits, it is to let you know:
Yes you can. And you’re going to love it.
If you are sitting there nodding but still grappling with the reality of taking a big step — starting a business, leaving a job, taking a demotion to pursue something you love, let me ask: what is stopping you? Really, what is it? If it is financial, that is one matter, and a tough one. (I could talk at length about this as it pertains to young entrepreneurs — you must be clear-eyed about the fact that you will likely not make any money for a long time; how long can you truly sustain yourself with no salary? Are you willing to move in with your parents and eat ramen? Really, really. Map out a year without salary. Is it doable for you? This is something that cannot be overstated. The exception to the rule is the hockey stick growth chart. For most of us, it takes a long time to become. Every overnight success story is ten years in the making.)
But if it is voices of criticism (real or imagined — often-times the imagined ones are the most vicious), I always try to evaluate how much attention I should be giving them. (Are they the howling wolves?). If I find myself not doing something I’m driven to do because of what someone might say, that person holds power over me — and I ask myself: am I OK with that locus of control? Is it permissible; is it healthy? Sometimes there are such voices. For example, I routinely evaluate my own decision-making through the lens of what my paernts and husband might say, or think. I do this because I trust their opinions and expertise, and I know that they will only ever act out of love and my best interests. So if I am contemplating doing or writing something, and I imagine them reacting with confusion, or hurt, or disquiet, I will often pull the project. But I’m OK with that balance of power.
Now, if it is your own inner voice holding you back — well, welcome to the messy middle of the entrepreneurial journey. My inner voice is as Janus-faced as they come. I can sit down to an essay on a Monday and think: “Amazing, Jen, wow, you nailed it” and sit down on a Tuesday and look at the same page with the same words and say, “That’s total and absolute garbage.” This, though, is the creative’s condition: it is impossible to get enough critical distance from your own work to assess it fairly. (And it may be a fool’s errand anyway, as once I release my work into the world, it ceases to belong to me entirely. It takes on new legs and wings and hearts and feet as you, the reader, pass it through the filters of your own experience.) I think all creatives must find a way to balance healthy delusion with humility. That is, you must somehow believe you can do something as well as or better than other people in the same space as you, and you must also continuously question your own handiwork in the name of improvement. The sooner you accept this cognitive dissonance, the better.
And finally, if it is some unknown collective of voices — what your boss might say when you quit, what your friends might say when you announce you’re leaving your comfortable and respected job to pursue the unknown, what some person on LinkedIn might think of you changing your title and role — well, most people aren’t going to give what you do much thought, so you might as well do as you please. This is not because people are heartless; it’s because they are wrapped up in their own wild and precious lives, as they should be.
What I mean is —
No one is paying attention to your life as much as you are, so you might as well —
Go blonde to see if you’ll have more fun;
Play against type;
Read what you like;
Order the burger when everyone else is ordering the salad, or vice versa;
Laugh when you whiff;
Take the selfie;
Pursue whatever you are passionate about as far and fiercely as you can;
Wear the edgy ear cuff, or the barrel jeans–or don’t!;
+We have been burning this “roma tomato” candle around the clock and it is absolutely divine. Smells like a sun-ripened vine. Earthy, vegetal, fresh.
+Love this sardine motif scarf. I’d layer over a white tee and jeans with simple leather sandals.
+Cleobella sent us a code that is valid only through Sunday — jenshoop20. I am packing this outfit of theirs (tried it on here) and this fantastic swimsuit (opaque, runs tts, very flattering!) for spring break!
One of my favorite ways to elevate a sundress or casual everyday look in the spring and summer — statement jewelry. Even just a pair of white jeans and a white tee become something else when layered with a bold tangle of beaded necklaces. Let me begin with something out of my personal budget to set the aspirational tone: these playful, colorful beaded necklaces from Carolina Bucci. I’ve been looking for similar styles to work into my own wardrobe for a pop of unexpected color and whimsy. All my best finds below —
01. This Etsy shop has some Bucci-inspired pieces, including this bracelet and this necklace!
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may receive compensation.Image via Pinterest.
By: Jen Shoop
In The Berry Pickers, Amanda Peters tells the story of a young Mi’kmaq girl, Ruthie, who is kidnapped by a white couple devastated that they are unable to produce their own child. Ruthie’s absence from her family leads to five decades of family trauma, mainly lived out through the character of Joe, Ruthie’s brother, who holds himself accountable for Ruthie’s disappearance and in turn succumbs to addiction, violence, and various forms of self-neglect and self-loathing. The novel shuttles between the perspectives of Joe and Ruthie until the two are reunited at Joe’s death in a moment that Peters paints as a — if not curative, then rightful — denouement.
I found the novel’s character expression powerful, and specifically appreciated the low-fuss way in which Peters reveals the inner workings of her two protagonists through quiet, hard-won insight expressed in monologue (and occasional, catchy aphorism). I don’t think I’ll soon forget the cinematic vista of Joe driving west, blood stains on his jeans, as he grapples with his own failings, or Ruthie hearing the voices of children while the waves break on the beach. Peters has a masterful way of conjuring deep and conflicting sets of emotions in her characters without straight exposition.
The book is also powerfully atmospheric: it is a sparse and elegiac, painterly and quiet. Whenever I picked it up, even when encountering the violent scenes, I had the impression of being in a library, where everything is hushed and echoing. I can’t pinpoint the exact technicalities that brought this to bear, but it gives the book a distinctive sound and tone.
At the same time, I found the plot distractingly heavy-handed. The siblings’ path-crossing in Boston, the aunt’s discovery of the obscure news clipping, the berry farm owner’s willingness to shell out sensitive personal information all read like roughshod contrivances. And Ruthie’s seeming lack of awareness about her appearance relative to her parents’ and the synchrony between her “dreams” and the onset of her mother’s headaches felt farfetched, too. But I think the plot’s weaknesses are forgivable within the broader commentary Peters is making about the Mi’kmaq experience, forced assimilation, and the devastating history of taking indigenous children from their families and sending them to white schools where (borrowing/adapting the words of Ruthie’s eldest sister, Mae): “they try to erase the Indian out of you.” In a sense, this is what has happened to Ruthie: she has been forcibly taken from her Mi’kmaq family, and re-introduced to herself as “a white girl with Italian ancestry,” and the book operates sufficiently at that meta level, too, by demonstrating just how grave forced family separation can be. Her abduction leads her to lose much of herself — her memories, her culture, most importantly the deep love of her family — and deeply wounds multiple generations within her birth family. It is an unimaginable crime, and I think where the plot falls short, Peters is underlining this point by showing us the extreme lengths to which people will go to keep or restore their families. This book, then, is about family ties — the delusions and lies we tell ourselves to keep them, and the beautiful ways in which they can hold us together. We even see this lived out though Ruthie’s “adoptive” (using the term ironically) family: they somehow convince themselves that their abduction is excusable because they genuinely love and care for Ruthie. And Peters cultivates some pathos from her audience on this front, too. (How hard do we come down on her Aunt June?) On the other side of the story, we have Joe, who continuously injures himself by deceiving himself into believing he has been the cause of his sister’s abduction and brother’s death — misapprehensions born of deep familial love that destroy his body and spirit.
Mainly, though, when I think of this book, I see a sprawl of loneliness, in which characters isolated from their families whether by choice or crime or violence or some combination of all three hang suspended in their own inner turmoil. Even when the characters are able to connect with one another in various ways (including at the novel’s tidy ending), the book still reads like a set of isolation journals, with the characters anxiously watchful, and their monologues verging on the solipsistic. I am thinking not only of Ruthie and Joe and their relationships with their siblings and parents, but also Ruthie and her husband, from whom she chooses to distance herself after a miscarriage. She makes herself be alone. Again and again, the characters withdraw and withhold–until the novel’s end. In this way, the storyline runs like spilt milk, the liquid running every which way but together, filling little grooves and cracks, running further and further down the table. I felt helpless watching it unfold, a sensation furthered by Peters’ decision to give us early access to the truth of the situation. We know, within the first few chapters, exactly what has happened; the characters don’t find out until the novel’s end.
My concluding review: I would recommend this book as a perfect fit for a book club, capable of sustaining substantive conversation but easy enough to read in a couple sittings.
The Berry Pickers Book Club Questions.
I used to write book club questions for our book conversations and have somehow fallen off. I have a high suspicion that this book will be heavily read in book clubs the world over, so am sharing a couple of conversation starters here in case you’re in that boat:
+Why do you think Peters chose the title “Berry Pickers” for the novel? Why not, for example, anchor a title in Ruthie’s abduction, or in the family itself? How does the title draw us out of (or into) a specific narrative?
+Why do you think Ruthie chose to leave her husband after her miscarriage? What did this decision do within the broader themes of family tie, bloodlines, isolation, etc?
+How did the narrative structure make you feel? Do you think the dueling perspectives worked?
+Why do you think Peters let us know the truth of Ruthie’s abduction so early in the novel?
+How culpable do you find Aunt June? What do you think Peters is saying about her complicitness in Ruthie’s abduction?
Post-Scripts: What to Read Next.
+Books in a similar vein: The God of the Woods (which I’ve read; full review linked) and All the Colors of the Dark (which I’ve not, but is often mentioned by well-read friends in the same breath).
+Currently reading: The Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (a literary thriller; the cover copy summarizes the gist with: “A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon.”). I know a lot of you read and loved this book; can’t wait to compare notes.
+Next in my TBR: The Book of Alchemy by Suleika Jouaud, which I happily pre-ordered (a great way to support an author you love — the volume of pre-orders matters heavily to the publishing houses and literally is no effort at all for those of us already planning to order the book). I absolutely love Suleika and her warm, curious, earnest Substack. One of her essays led me to generate my own list of “Energy Multipliers.” She has such a giving creative spirit.
+More of what our Magpie community is reading right now here!
+Trending among Magpies the past 48 hours: these suede sandals. I believe they’re still 50% off. All my favorite J. Crew new arrivals here.
+My friend Inslee’s new botanical prints are gorgeous! I love this one. You can still purchase two of the three prints from our collaboration earlier this year here!
+Fun sun print dress and a beautiful embroidered skirt.
+For fellow mothers with children about to celebrate their First Communion — a few gift ideas! This necklace, scripture cards like these or these, or tiny cross earrings.
+I just ordered this tee and these shorts for my daughter from La Coqueta. While we’re talking kids, have you seen the Hunter x LSF collab?! SO adorable. Also love these Adidas x Liberty London sneakers!
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may receive compensation.
By: Jen Shoop
Today, sharing a couple of fun and different silhouettes for sandals for the season ahead — fun to think about expanding my sandal range a bit. For years I wore slides almost exclusively in the summer, but these Ancient Greek Eleftherias and my Margaux wrap sandals (seen above) changed my tune on that front. I wore both an absolute ton last summer. They look lovely with midi and maxi dresses in particular, and have the bonus of never flying off your foot. Ha.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may receive compensation.
By: Jen Shoop
On Sunday, Landon and I drove down to Charlottesville to see Tyler Childers perform at John Paul Jones arena. Only Childers postponed the performance at the last minute, so we found ourselves Virginia-bound with no itinerary.
“You still want to go, right?” I asked, wondering if it would be possible to reschedule our hotel accommodations or dinner reservations at such short notice.
“Of course,” he said. “Why not?”
The day unfolded with vacation ease. We rolled into town and found seats at the bar at Guajiro for a late lunch of Cuban sandwiches and empanadas; we were able to check into our room at Keswick several hours early; there was a perfect table in a perfect spot of sun at Gabriele Rausse’s wine tasting shop, and we visited with the winemaker himself for a bit, and he told us that two of his secrets to a happy life are “singing out loud” and “eating a little bit of everything.” The undulating roads through the lush and hazy verdancy of the Virginia countryside were untrafficked and sun-dappled; we were able to reschedule our dinner reservations for later with no penalty or impingement; we sat at the pool finishing books. Green lights all the way.
Above: Driving through Virginia farmland; at Gabriele Rausse’s wine tasting; Keswick Hall — our favorite resort within two hours of DC
After I’d finished my book (The Berry Pickers — full review coming later this week!), I turned to Landon and told him: “I’m so happy right now.” I’d never have finished the book at home; and there I was, sitting by the pool with no agenda but my own desire. I saw the afternoon for what it was: an unflashily perfect moment of chasing what felt good with no hard timelines or plans in sight. We’d not seen Tyler Childers, but his absence had in turn given us a day of true rest and connection.
Sometimes magic happens when the plan falls through.
These thoughts fell into easy companionship with something I’m shedding in my 40s: the ersatz appeal of busyness. The pressure to have my children enrolled in loads of sports and afterschool activities. The blocking out of the calendar. The need to have weekend plans, period. I want the wide open white space of an empty calendar day. (When was the last time you saw that?). I want to avoid the sensation of rapid movement with little depth.
This spring, let me make more space for the unplanned. Let me live in the in-between and under-scheduled, where the wildflowers grow and the moss collects.
+I own this exact poplin shorts set in the bold red color — a great fit; shorts are a tad long on me (I’m 5’0) and might be ideal for slightly taller Magpies, but I still rock them all the time. I just saw Quince has a really good look for less for $29.
+While we’re talking Quince, Landon is wearing these $49 linen pants in the above photos! So handsome and I can’t believe the price.
+Just started reading this book after finishing Berry Pickers!
+Rothy’s new espadrilles are CHIC. You may recall how obsessed I am with their clogs. I live in them at home! LIVE IN THEM. Like a massage!
+Such a sweet and thoughtful mother’s day gift. Something else I am going to rec for mother’s day: this Aura digital frame. Landon told me he’d been planning to buy me one, but Aura generously sent me one on their own! We have it in our kitchen and I can’t tell you how much joy it’s brought to us. I’m often packing lunches, or clearing plates, and I catch sight of a happy family moment and it makes me realize how incredibly lucky I am. My kids often stop what they’re doing as they pass through the kitchen to comment on the photo in-frame, to re-live a memory, etc. It’s truly an incredible gift.
+I’m so bummed that I totally missed the launch of the Kate Spade x Target capsule! So many adorable gifts and tabletop finds (and the kids tshirts and sweats…!). Linking here in case you can find any local ones in stock close to you!
+Rhone has some really great new arrivals in pretty spring colors. I love this brand for elevated athletic wear — my favorite item they have is this course-to-court half zip. The fit is really good — slightly long, and flares out the tiniest bit at the hem so it easily skims over your leggings. Such good colors, too! SHOOP20 gets you 20% off!
I mentioned this last week, but I’ve been doing a serious spring shop for Landon. He rarely asks for anything — almost never buys himself anything — but he’s mentioned twice in the past week that he’s in “dire need” of some new spring clothes. The first thing I bought him were these handsome loafers, and then I sort of built a spring-to-summer lookbook out from around them, featuring lots of linen. The vibe is European yacht summer? Ha. Couldn’t be further from our plans.
This week, I purchased him everything the collage below except the Brad Pitt sunglasses (the exact style Brad owns), which he already owned, but the top collage features a broader roundup of items on my radar.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may receive compensation.
By: Jen Shoop
I feel like we’ve been planning this Florida trip (to Disney) for twenty two months. We’re finally in the home stretch! I will share all our thoughts and reactions after we come back because I’m sure we will have notes on what we could have done differently after, but I will say that Lan and I opted not to stay at a Disney resort because we wanted to have a quieter experience “off-campus” once done with the parks, and are looking forward to some time spent relaxing poolside. Planning for those stretches of time (and watching White Lotus) has left me very excited. A few recent finds and old favorites I want to spotlight:
+SPF: Tula for me; SuperGoop for the whole family (Landon loves this stuff especially; in the summer we get a few of the giant pump bottles and keep them in our Bogg bag for the pool and by the back door); Pipette mineral spray for the kids. I have to be honest: I generally avoid sunscreen sprays because we have destroyed multiple things using this — carseats, stroller pads, even the front flagstone pavers of our house. It is HARD to get off. But for a trip when we’ll be sitting by the pool, totally welcome (and so easy).
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may receive compensation.
By: Jen Shoop
*Above picture taken at Passalacqua on Lake Como this past fall. I’m writing about magic in this diary installment, and there is no other way to describe this hotel. Magic.
Do you believe in magic? Not the kitschy kind, a ball disappearing into a hand, or cards showing up in strange places. I mean the unexplainable coincidences. Or maybe the word I’m looking for is fate, or maybe I’m talking about manifestation? I mean do you really believe in it? On a bone deep level? It’s always this way for me: I have to shut my eyes and make a leap; I imagine myself hopscotching over the carefully-laid pipes through which my logic, schooled by the circumspection born of 40 years on this earth, flow. Just jump right over it. And then I can get there. When I find my thoughts drifting down into the ductwork, I lose sight of the possibility of magic completely.
It’s easiest for me to accept “magic” when I’m looking at the world and noticing patterns that seem to draw me to the heart of things, or the things of the heart, I should say: I see my grandparents in the 8101 street address in my neighborhood; I see Tilly in the cardinals in my yard. This is, I know, because I have enormous faith in love: the heart will always find itself out in the world; love is always looking for us.
I find it more challenging in situations of business, and life’s strange twists and turns. But a friend of mine was talking about how she started her business, and the immense stress and worry this caused her at first, and then, no sooner had she made the decision to form the LLC, three clients came to her out of the clear, wide blue. She’d not advertised her services in any way. She’d not even mentioned it to anyone but her husband. She was known in the field, but she’d never done any consulting. By what forces had they come to her, and in such a timely fashion, one after another?
There is a realist in me who thinks: that happened by no accident. It was years and years of effort on my friend’s part — not magic. Like, you don’t just wake up and become an expert in non-profit fundraising, and have people asking you for your services. No; you’ve spent decades networking, shuttling between jobs, getting to know the space, earning trust and respect. (Most “overnight success” stories are ten years in the making.)
Still. So unusual to have that happen so soon after she’d put the thought out into the world. I am willing to see it as magic. I am thinking now of a line from Dean Young’s poem, “Belief in Magic”:
“I believe reality is approximately 65% if.”
Reality is, in other words, mainly possibility. Mainly “could bes” and “we can’t be sure buts” and “I wonder ifs…” I think I’ll plant myself there, on the 65% side of “hmm, maybe.” Let myself be surprised –enchanted — by life’s unfolding.
Shopping Break.
I bought two books this week: this gorgeous version of one of my favorite texts (couldn’t not) and this Amy Tan book, which a Magpie reader charmingly messaged me about: “I saw it in a bookstore and immediately thought of you. The lit x birding crossover brand is strong hahah.” (Thank you, V!)
I am also super excited to try this cold brew / cold espresso / nitro coffee machine en route to me now. I have wanted to make iced espresso drinks at home forever, and this new brand called Cumulus reached out and offered to send me one of their makers to try. I will report back with thoughts but I am so excited for iced latte afternoons!
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may receive compensation.
By: Jen Shoop
+THE PLUM YOU’RE GOING TO EAT NEXT SUMMER: I’ve shared this poem before, but I keep returning to its sentiment when I’m uncertain, or in wait. Landon and I have been in a steady, comfortable groove for the past few years, since moving to Bethesda, and yet I have also been working on big projects that are changing my day-to-day work, and shaping my creative process. I keep wondering where it will lead, and then I think of this poem, and I stand reassured. Trust the process. The plums are growing just for me. Related: I absolutely loved the energy of this reel I found this week (“she doesn’t know it yet, but the random guy her friends recorded her talking to at the bar last St. Patrick’s day was about to end her four years of being single” — wow!) Love is looking for us everywhere! Good things coming.
+IN PRAISE OF A NORMAL DAY: My daughter keeps a daily journal and I am disciplined about avoiding the temptation to read it; I want to honor her privacy, and keep it a sacred space for her. I have this searing memory of an afternoon that I find my childhood nanny reading my journal, and I was devastated! I had written a lot of nothing in it, but I had also documented petty complaints against her, and my siblings, and my parents, and I was sick with worry that she’d encountered one. I remember tiptoing around her for weeks, wondering whether I’d offended, and not knowing. I can’t in good conscious give my daughter that same experience. However, the other night, I was reading her “The Borrowers” as she was writing in her journal, and I accidentally saw what she’d written: “Today was a normal day. I felt good today.” I thought: That’s the heart of it, girl. To feel good on a normal day. To stretch out comfortably in the center of your life, not needing anything but its comfortable contours to feel good. Wow! From the mouth of babes. Also: in praise of a normal day.
+BESTSELLERS: So many of you picked up my favorite cropped terry sweatpants from Frank and Eileen, currently almost 50% off. I love them because they hold their shape nicely and look a bit more polished than your run of the mill sweats. I own them in white, navy, and pale blue. Several asked about sizing/fit; I take my true size in these (xs) and the fit is perfect. I am 5’0 and they are a perfect cropped length on me — hit an inch above my ankle maybe?
+JUST FOR LAUGHS: This video on stopping into a tiny boutique (how familiar is this?!), how I feel when I eat a croissant (I can’t not love Timothee Chalamet, even though I have no interest in the Dylan movie; he was a very convincing Laurie in Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women,” and he had absurdly big shoes to fill after Christian Bale, and so I’ll forever love him), and some inside baseball humor for those of us in the field of letters.
+EYEING + BUYING: A few things on my radar at the moment…I am so excited about this TWP shirt I got. I think it’s the most excited I’ve been for a wardrobe addition in awhile! I just love the unusual silhouette — elevated and interesting basic — and this is exactly what I want to wear right now, with statement jeans.
I also wanted to give you a heads up that most of the Dorsey paracord necklaces sold out in under 24 hours of going live to public, but a few colors are left, and I think this khaki/green colorway is wildly chic. I have the navy and it adds such great dimension and interest to my daily stack. I love it layered beneath a button-down.
Lastly – I’ve mentioned these a bunch but I can’t stop raving about these open Bose earpods. They are one of my favorite upgrades for running. Not only do they stay in the ear (they have an over-ear design and never fall out) but are much more comfortable (a looser fit) and safe (you can hear more ambient noises). But one of the top selling points for me? It holds its charge for, like, ever. I think I’ve charged them once, or maybe twice, since I got them a few months ago.
