Perhaps the most niche post I’ve ever worked on, but hey! We’re living in the age of athleisure, even for littles, and I’ll admit I just spent an afternoon (!) going down deep rabbit holes looking for statement sweatshirts for my children as we ease through the current cold snap. A lot of the children at mini’s school rock a downtown-trendy-cool vibe and I am specifically drawn to some of the trendy statement sweatshirts I’ve seen them wear from quirky European brands like Bobo Choses (this lion!) and The Animals Observatory (this dog!). Below, a range of options at all pricepoints, and for a range of styles, from the feminine to the nautical to the whimsical…
This post has been a long-time coming, but I wanted to give my new skincare routine a solid, thorough run before reporting back on results. I’ve been sticking to the exact regimen below since mid-December and the TL;DR is that my skin has never looked better. How do I know? Mr. Magpie, out of the blue and unprompted, told me over dinner about six weeks into the regimen: “You’re looking awake and virile.” Ha! But I also know this because, like all of you, I have spent a lot of time studying my pores in the mirror, and this skincare routine has dramatically reduced their size, while also making my skin much (!) brighter and more even in tone. I still contend with occasional breakouts, but we are moving in the right direction.
If it’s a run morning, I go through my usual a.m. skincare routine, jog, and — after I get home — wipe my face down with a Billie wipe and spritz with the rosewater spray before applying makeup.
+Living Libations Cleansing Oil. Wow. Wow! This and the Clarins serum have been revolutionary for me. I had read from Caroline Hirons that it’s best to avoid a super-drying cleanser in the morning, so I started using this oil, and it is unbelievable. You pat it on and suddenly transform into a post-pilates Gwyneth Paltrow. Skin is radiant, dewy, glowing. Does it even look slightly bronzed by the California sun? It’s insane! Caveat: this oil has a very strong botanical scent that I absolutely love but that might be off-putting for those sensitive to fragrance. Personally, it makes me feel as though I’ve been at an Aveda spa all morning. Je l’adore. This is a no-brainer re-order once I’m out.
+Vitamin C Serums. OK. So my big discovery over the past few months has been that layering a separate vitamin C serum helps tremendously with skin brightness, which I consider a quality distinct from dewiness, evenness, hydration, elasticity, and smoothness. You can have hydrated, smooth skin, but if I want all the lights on, I need vitamin C! I know this because after I’d run out of my bottle, there was a shipping delay on my new order and so I went a week without. I noticed a marked difference. To be honest, I’ve found all of the Vitamin C serums I’ve tried so far achieve about the same result: bright, awake skin! This is good news for us because there are a lot of affordably-priced Vitamin C serums to consider. For me, it all comes down to quality of formula. I found the Mad Hippie unpleasantly sticky after application, the Vichy a bit too runny (and therefore difficult to apply without it slipping through fingers or running all over face), and TruSkin (which has a major cult following, costs $20, and has earned close to 62K in five star reviews) off-puttingly cloudy and uneven in mixture. To be clear: all of these cost $30 or less and achieve very solid results, so I will likely return to one or several of these without batting an eye, but I plan to continue to test different brands until I find one with a winning formula. Next on my list is La Roche Posay’s formula, recommended by a Magpie as better than Vichy. I find most of LRP’s products (several of which made my roundup of great European pharmacy favorites) exceptional, so I have high hopes.
+Clarins Double Serum (<<currently 15% off here, no code required, and at a steep discount at Walmart, though I’ve written elsewhere that I proceed with caution when buying cosmetics from Walmart, as some of the sellers are not authorized/sell counterfeit). OK, OK, OK, OK. This serum is incredible. The best all-around serum I’ve ever tried. I don’t know what it is about the combo of Living Libations + Vitamin C serum + Clarins Double Serum, but they play so gorgeously together, and it’s like flicking the lights up a notch with each new product. Living Libations = good morning, you’re awake! Vitamin C = OK, now we’re cooking, got the sunshine streaming in through the windows and the music playing. Clarins Double Serum = HOLY HELL, IT’S HIGH NOON IN HERE! This serum specifically makes my skin look more hydrated, plump, elastic. I don’t know that I believe anything in this regimen is truly “erasing wrinkles,” but I would isolate this product as the holy grail for achieving more youthful-looking skin.
+Differin. I wrote about this last year after only giving it a try for a short period. At the time, I was frustrated by the fact that it seemed like I had more breakouts than less. Readers and research reassured me that you kind of need to be in it for the long haul with this product, as it takes awhile for your skin to adjust and even “purge.” I do notice that my skin is a bit drier than it usually is, which I attribute to differin, but it has helped with evenness and especially pore size. Wow. It almost erases, or airbrushes, your pores! I still have about two weeks to go before I hit the 12 week mark, which seems to be the magic milestone where things totally clear up. Will report back on this.
As a recap, below are the main effects I see achieved by each of the individual products mentioned above:
-LIVING LIBATIONS CLEANSING OIL: SKIN DEWINESS AND HYDRATION
In sum, I am a big fan of most of these products but am still a little bit iffy on the differin. Will wait a few more weeks to see if there’s a big corner turned down the road.
Other miscellaneous products I’ve tried this month:
+Le Blanc Linenpress Spray Starch. Oh yes. Big yes. Fellow ironing enthusiasts rejoice — this is la creme de la creme. Smells incredible but more importantly works much better than any other starch I’ve tried (including industrial-strength Niagara). I like that this leaves linens satin-y smooth rather than crisp. Will never look at another starch again.
+Anastasia Brow Gel. I don’t know why I cheated on my monogamous relationship with Hourglass’s brow gel, but I did, and I regret it. The main problem with Anastasia was I found the color very fake-looking — almost like using a brown Crayola marker on your face. I find Hourglass infinitely more realistic and subtle-looking. Will never betray again.
+Nyx eyeliner pencil. I love Nyx’s liquid liner (almost identical to Stila IMO) and I was equally pleased by this sub-$5 pencil, which is easy to apply and fairly long-lasting. One benefit to the pencil formula: I find the liquid liner’s applicator “frays” over time, with strands of the applicator splaying every which-way, which in turn makes it impossible to achieve a clean line. The pencil applicator does not present with this issue, but then again, you can’t get the same level of fluid precision with it, so it depends on your aesthetic/technique/preference.
+OPI Cuticle Oil-to-Go. Works well but equally importantly — the brush applicator is genius! No more smudging thick ointments onto cuticles! I love that feature. I also think it has been great for conditioning my cuticles. Will buy again.
+Bliss Peppermint Foot Cream. Smeh. A peg below O’Keefe’s, but nothing will ever replace LRP’s podologics foot cream, which has been discontinued. I specifically did not like how thin/runny this formula is — I want something thick! (Any other recs?!)
+The Laundress No. 723 Detergent. Pricey, but I bought this for laundering our bedding (still swear by Tide for our clothing). It has the most delightful rose scent, though by the time our sheets have been through the dryer, the scent is fairly muted and then further hidden by the appealing scent of Linenpress starch spray. I might shift to use this on my running gear, which I launder separately and then hang dry (less likely to loose scent). It does smell heavenly!
OK – what are you loving these days?! Anyone else an enthusiastic convert to any of these products? Share thoughts in the comments SVP!
I’m already looking ahead to warmer weather and have been ordering items for micro’s summer wardrobe over the past week. (I’ve done a good job of stockpiling shorts and sundresses for mini, but have a lot of gaps for micro at the moment.) My inspiration? A tiny JFK Jr. with short shorts, a polo, and tousled hair — and throwback classics like overalls and jon-jons, too. Below, my favorite finds for this summer:
*Sizing notes: The most urgent note is that Cadets shorts run very small. Hill is a tall boy (90th percentile height), but at the age of 12 months, I bought him a size 2T and he fit into them for maybe a handful of wears. I bought him a 3T for this summer, and I’m already anxious as to whether they will be too small for him. I would size a full size up.
In general, TBBC and CPC run on the large side, so I size down if there’s a question or between sizes.
Osh Kosh, Old Navy, Lacoste, Florence Eiseman, and Busy Bees run TTS. (Though I think the Busy Bees tees are pretty boxy, so there’s wiggle room — Hill is currently wearing both 18M and 24M in those tees and he’s 20 months.)
I would say Janie and Jack, RL, and Jacadi run just shy of TTS. Usually, Hill takes his true size in these, but if in question or between sizes, go up.
*Image above from earlier this week in Central Park, when I witnessed the coolest low-lying fog.
My Latest Snags: More Champagne Coupes.
I accidentally knocked one of our champagne coupes into the sink and it immediately shattered. Gah! Don’t you hate when you do something careless like that? Of course, these things happen, but I just bought them a month ago! Gr. I ordered a few more this go around. I absolutely adore these! We’ve had classic flutes for the entirety of our marriage, but the coupes are fun and festive to drink out of, and this particular style doubles (conveniently) as a cocktail coupe for drinks served up — which Mr. Magpie tends to gravitate towards. (I’m more of a shaken and served on the rocks kind of cocktail lover.) Can’t recommend enough if you want to shake things up in your at-home happy hour scene. (Just don’t leave them sitting on the edge of your sink.)
+Nap dresses! Still a couple of the Ellie and Caroline in the pretty pastel trellis print available! And (!) some of the all-black in the Nesli, which is probably my favorite HHH nap dress style at this point.
The other day, Mr. Magpie and I decided to have a very impromptu, very rare, very New York midday date by grabbing a few slices from a local pizzeria with the intention of eating our lunch while taking a stroll through Central Park. But can I tell you that carrying our meal through the slush lagoon (photos are absolutely disgusting — you’ve been warned) that is Manhattan in the aftermath of multiple snowstorms took the wind right out of our sails and that we instead made a beeline back to the clean confines of our apartment to eat at the table? Snow in Manhattan is magical for about 24 hours. Then the snow banks that line the curbs become icebergs of filth, excrement, and garbage that remind me how dirty the city is and how — it must be said — inconsiderate people can be. I know this is not a message I normally float in these parts, as I generally prefer to focus on the positive, but — ick!
All, though, part of the give-and-take that is living in New York. Because for those couple of hours when the city is blanketed in snow and children make snowmen on the sidewalks — well, it’s a kind unifying, cleansing magic across a diverse and edgy metropolis. It brought to mind, at last snowfall, the final paragraph of Joyce’s The Dead:
Yes, the newspapers were right: snow was general all over Ireland. It was falling softly upon the Bog of Allen and, further westwards, softly falling into the dark mutinous Shannon waves. It was falling too upon every part of the lonely churchyard where Michael Furey lay buried. It lay thickly drifted on the crooked crosses and headstones, on the spears of the little gate, on the barren thorns. His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead.
Post-Scripts: Clarins Serum.
+Clarins Double Serum for $59 (usually $89). Caveat emptor: always buy carefully from Walmart. I have heard that some of the sellers on their platform (as on Amazon) sell counterfeit goods, or are not authorized sellers of particular brands. I feel encouraged/reassured by this particular deal because the seller listed has earned “Pro Seller” status on the platform. But just a heads up! If you want to buy with 100% confidence, Clarins itself is offering 15% off all orders (no code required!)
+This top in the white deserves a spot in everyone’s wardrobe. So feminine and versatile!
+I have to say I have become quite the sweatshirt enthusiast this year. My favorites are by Kule (perfect length — a tiny bit long on me, but I am 5’0 — and level of heft) and Everlane (very thin so ideal for layering), but I’m now eyeing the ones from The Great. Love the embroidered flowers style, but this patterned style is fun, too (and on sale).
+A lot of you were very into the minimalist (almost all black) color palette here.
+What are you doing with your children this weekend? A few of you have reached out to share that you’ve adopted my Tuesday-afternoon-planning practice so that we can arrange to have all materials for sensory play and other activities ordered and organized by Saturday morning. This weekend, we are making play snow (mix 1/2 cup white-colored conditioner with 3 cups baking soda — I am adding glitter to the mix, too — #livingontheedge) and hoping to extend play time by introducing arctic animals to their sensory trays when they’re getting bored; coloring on a roll of kraft paper that I’m going to tape to the floor of our long hallway (imagine 15 feet of coloring space!); and using these paint-with-water pads I ordered. We also have a new Kiwi Crate mini will do with Mr. Magpie.
A: Too sweet — I would reach for either Luli and Me or Feltman Brothers. Both offer sizes as small as 3M and are traditional/formal. I love the crib Mary Janes from Elephantito to go with these looks!
Q: A traditional but low-profile/minimal — and extendable! — dining table.
A: Exciting! I remember agonizing over this decision, too…a few that read traditional but not ornate:
*We have bought a couple of pieces from Room & Board and I am consistently very impressed with the quality. I would say a class above Pottery Barn, West Elm, etc.
Q: End tables that have storage (like a small chest).
A: I think this Crate & Barrel might be what you have in mind — attractive and functional. This one is so clever — love the pull-out tray for drinks! For an industrial-meets-rustic vibe, this one is well-priced and interesting, and for something very traditional with less storage, this one.
Q: A white feminine blouse with no strings and no high neck — we need to see some collarbone!
A: This one is gorgeous, and I guarantee this will be a workhorse in your closet. This Brock is also stunning.
A: It’s going to be all about blouses and/or cardigans. (I have been very into the latter this season because you can throw them on over white tees or turtlenecks or even dresses and feel so comfortable!). A few cardigans I love at the moment:
A: I have tiny wrists (child-sized) and one of my favorite investments I’ve made in my entire life was this Hermes H Heure watch. It will never go out of style and it brings me joy every time I look at it!
Q: Chic storage/organization and baby boy room decor.
A: I love the olive green Hampshire collection at Crate & Kids (especially this bookcase). The style is sporty but not too childish and the color is unexpected and fun. These S&L hampers/bins are great and attractive for stowing (and hiding) bulky toys, and — I mean — this as an elegant alternative to a toy chest (can be repurposed as child ages for end-of-bed storage!). I have lots more nursery storage ideas here!
Q: 1-piece bathing suits for playing with the kids after their swim lessons.
A: Fellow one-piece wearer! This post might be a good start. Specifically, I think the Summersalt bathing suits and Solid & Stripe Anne Marie style are decently priced and have a low likelihood of having a Janet Jackson-at-the-Super-Bowl incident, but both are fun and chic.
Q: Maternity swimsuit — and maternity clothes in general!
Some sale news to cheer your spirits: Bergdorf’s is offering an extra 30% off closeout sale prices, and there are loads of Manolos (and more) to be had at an unbelievable discount…
P.S. One of my favorite everyday baby boy bubbles is on sale for $17 in a range of colors. These are great for messy play at the park and the like since they are so affordable!
By: Jen Shoop
Etsy has been a total treasure trove for me lately — I just added this personalized sweatshirt for Hill (seen above) to my cart and ordered this applique letter pouch (as a new home for all my portable WFH essentials) from the loveliest Etsy storefront! The owner of the latter shop, Michele, helped me source a pretty dusty blue color for the bag (and we’re doing mid-blue applique letters — very Magpie!)
My father kept a treasure chest on the top shelf of his closet in my childhood home. It was a small trunk the size of a shoebox and inside were bibelots and baubles he’d collected over the course of his life — unusual coins, arrowheads from his youth, a pocket-watch, miniature framed portraits, medals from his time in the military, opal-studded stick pins too hazardous for our small fingers, and — my favorite — a tiny silver jumping jack whose arms and legs jutted out if you tugged the pull string on its underside. He’d bring down the treasure chest with metered sparing so as to ensure it never lost its mystique, and we’d pore over the memorabilia, arguing over who got the jumping jack first. These novelties felt otherworldly, other-generational. I think now of the childhood keepsakes I might bequeath my children — American Girl dolls, Barbies, that enormous shopping bag filled with Beanie Babies, my collections of yellowing Baby Sitter’s Club books and Nancy Drews — and all lack the quaint luster and hefty redolence of my father’s treasures. But then again —
In my bedside drawer: a rosary from my grandfather on my First Communion and a thick gold cross pendant with my great Aunt Jennie’s name and the date of her Confirmation — relics of faith that have accompanied me at the births of my both of my children. A vintage tortoise barrette that reads ELAINE in fading gold script — my mother’s first name. On my bedside table, a blown glass Magpie figurine from a college girlfriend, a small limoges trinket box from my grandmother. Elsewhere in the apartment, the rabbit’s foot Mr. Magpie inherited from his father that nearly tore my heart out of my body; a traditional French enameled house placard numbered 18, Mr. Magpie’s jersey number as a high school baseball star; portfolios of treasured letters and prayer cards and photographs. The butterfly-embroidered cardigan that belonged to my grandma; the boater hat that belonged to my dapper grandad. A strange obelisk-shaped marble bookmark that once belonged to my father-in-law. A framed recipe for pierogis in the old-fashioned hand of Mr. Magpie’s grandmother.
The other day, I shared some good news with my sister, and I caught her wiping away happy tears on my behalf.
It is good to be loved, I thought, my heart in my throat.
Our apartment, then: a menagerie of artifacts of love. I think about this now and my father’s treasure chest sits in a different light. The arrowheads — always, I suddenly remember, accompanied by stories of my father’s adventures and misadventures with his brother, honey-sweet and golden through the lens of nostalgia. The stick pins, the pocket watch: bagatelles and bequests from loving family members. Even the medals: love of country, love of brothers.
If you need a pick-me-up today, consider spending a few minutes looking through that drawer where you stuff photos and birth announcements, or that jewelry box filled with knickknacks, or that old hat box of letters. Because I sit here this morning and look around my apartment and realize I am surrounded by curios of kindness. I think:
First — starting at 10 a.m. today (in just a few minutes from when this post is published), Lake Pajamas is running one of its rare sales. If there is something you’ve been eyeing — maternity pajamas, robe, kids jammies, I would jump on at 10 a.m. to see if it’s been discounted and move fast. I’ve never been able to score a pair of their children’s pajamas in the sizes I want when on sale because they go so quickly. If discounted, going to try to snag this pair for micro!
Second — wow, just tumbled down a shopping hole ogling at the spectacular designer dresses on sale at Matches. So many of these are smashing for spring affairs and summer weddings!
Easter is several weeks away (Sunday, April 4th), but as today is Ash Wednesday and this past year has taught me to plan well ahead (especially on likely-to-sell-out items like themed pajamas, or pieces I want to personalize, or items that take awhile to ship), I’m sharing some of my recent finds for the occasion in this post and in this section of my shop.
I have already ordered this Kid Made Modern Easter Craft Kit, as they take some time to ship and this will be a perfect activity for mid-March, as we gear up for the holiday. I’m also already building another cart at Michael’s with goodies like this little bunny craft set — I like to keep items along these lines on hand in the closet for these slow weekend afternoons…
Easter Baskets.
LOVE THE CLASSIC LOOK OF THIS BASKET WITH ITS ELEGANT SCALLOPED LINERS
*I find this book outrageously boring but my children love it. I gave it to mini for Easter last year, and something about the rhyme and illustrations of this series are very attractive to young children!
“During this pandemic, there are moms who — whether because they were sold out everywhere within walking distance or couldn’t afford them — have had to diaper their newborns in plastic bags and washcloths.”
That was all I needed to hear to double down on my commitment to The Good+ Foundation, a non-profit that provides diapers, cribs, and other essential baby gear to families in need. In the past year, Good+ has distributed over 4M (!!!) diapers and $11M (!!!!) in tangible goods to new parents facing tough times made only tougher by this pandemic.
I’ve written about this best-of-breed organization before the blog, but had to share that they are running an Amazon Drive for urgently needed items, like infant thermometers, potties, and tiny winter coats for itty bitty babies. You can purchase these items via the link above and they will be sent directly to the Foundation, who will in turn distribute to the families that have requested them.
I wanted to share in case you are willing to participate or spread the word.
By: Jen Shoop
It has been difficult, this past year, to figure out how to date Mr. Magpie while we’re more or less homebound. We managed two al fresco dinners in the late summer, when case counts were very low in NYC and we were feeling mildly encouraged, but this fall’s spike put a quick end to that habit, and we’ve had to get creative. A few fun ideas we’ve enjoyed or I am planning…
+Roll out fresh pasta together. We have a hand-crank pasta roller and there is something delightful antiquarian about it, but you can also buy the attachments for your Cuisinart. We love the (very complex — you’ve been warned) recipes in Flour + Water. (One of our favorites was a tomato farfalle with chicken polpettine that required the purchase of tomato powder and took us basically all day to pull off.). You might also draw recipe/menu inspiration from two of our favorite Italian restaurants in NYC, Misi and I Sodi. (Hone in on a dish that sounds good, then hunt for a similar recipe in a reputable cookbook! This cookbook is The Pasta Bible in our house — almost like an encyclopedia for pasta dishes.). While you’re cooking together, drink a fruity red Italian wine and enjoy a charcuterie plate.
+Elevate delivery. One of my favorite recent meals entailed ordering in the fanciest burgers from Polo Bar and serving it on wedding china with champagne in coupes while dressed to the nines. But you don’t even need a $30 burger to achieve the same effect — Shake Shack works, too! Other thoughts: if you always eat at the dining room table, or at the kitchen table, or in front of the TV, switch up the location for the evening! Set up dinner around the coffee table, with floor cushions and candles, or set the formal dining room table with candles and a tablecloth (<<this one is at the top of my tabletop lust list at the moment, but there are more spring tabletop finds here). One other little hack I love — getting creative with plating! We have a range of solid white, flat ceramic trays, platters, and serving bowls and it’s fun to, for example, re-plate fries in a big heap on a tray with little ramekins for various dipping sauces, or to arrange falafel alongside a stack of pita, pickled vegetables, and mounds of hummus on a long narrow tray. Or even just serving up a range of snacks on a tiered serving dish like this would be fun and dramatic.
+Have a proper movie night. Buy way too much classic movie candy (I’m thinking SnoCaps, Junior Mints, RedVines) and then pop your own popcorn (you can even buy super fancy kernels from Anson Mills — it is delicious), doctoring it to your tastes with, say, truffle oil or parmesan and butter.
+Pull out all the stops on an elaborate dinner. A few of my favorite romantic dinners at home this past year / ideas for future meals:
STEAMED LOBSTER, NEW POTATOES, AND DRAWN BUTTER
STEAKHOUSE: BUY THE MOST BEAUTIFULLY MARBLED RIBEYE (!!!) FROM A REPUTABLE BUTCHER AND SERVE WITH MASHED POTATOES, WEDGE SALAD, CREAMED SPINACH, ONION RINGS, OR ANY OTHER STEAKHOUSE FAVORITES
SEAFOOD PLATEAU: WE KITTED OURSELVES OUT WITH CRAB LEGS, OYSTERS, SHRIMP, ETC FROM LOBSTER PLACE IN CHELSEA MARKET, BUT IF YOU AREN’T LIVING ON A COAST, YOU CAN OVERNIGHT DELICIOUS OYSTERS FROM MOOKS SEA FARM AND SERVE WITH SHRIMP (WHICH ARE FLASH FROZEN ON BOATS SO DOESN’T MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE)
HOMEMADE FAJITAS/TACOS AND MAKE YOUR OWN TORTILLAS! NOT AS HARD AS YOU’D THINK — YOU JUST NEED THE PRESS
+Play a board game like Scrabble, Monopoly, Risk, Chess. Made much more fun drinking a pitcher of cocktails (martinis for the ambitious!) alongside some classic snacks, like homemade French Onion Dip (serve with Ruffles), homemade Chex Mix with your favorite seasoning mixed in (we love Old Bay, but I was just wondering what zaatar would be like in it…yum), and pigs in a blanket. (The Trader Joe’s brand of pigs in a blanket are THE BEST! Sometimes I brush with egg wash and sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning.)
+Dress up. Even if it just means putting on a slick of lipstick (<<my absolute favorite lipstick formula), or switching into a nap dress instead of sweats. A few weeks ago, my sister and her husband dressed up (my sister was in heels and lipstick and everything!) and staged their apartment in different zones — they had cocktails and appetizers in the living room, then sat down to dinner at the dining room table.
+Set an escapist theme. We’ve been on a Toots & The Maytals kick in our house — turn it up, mix up some beachy cocktails (this is a delicious one), wear a summer dress, dream up a menu with ceviche or mango salsa or plaintains, and you can almost hear the waves…
Date Night at Home Outfits.
If you’re looking for something besides a nap dress or loungewear to mark the occasion, a few cute tops to pair with your favorite jeans…
J’ADORE THE COLOR AND SHAPE OF THIS PEPLUM TOP — IF YOU’RE INTO IT, CHECK OUT A FEW ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS AT ALL PRICEPOINTS HERE, INCLUDING THIS $25 STEAL
