I have been fielding a lot of questions about cute straw bags for summer, and I nearly always respond with the same thing: get thee to Pam Munson, queen of the woven tote. Pam was one of my earliest women of substance and is a true gem — beautiful inside and out, elegant, and highly talented. I’m a huge admirer. If you are a mom or tend to tote a lot with you, I would highly recommend investing in one of her large-sized Isla Bahia totes. I carry it nearly every day of the summer. It goes with everything and holds a lot, but she does have a smaller size, too. I have a few of her bags and this one is my favorite because it has shoulder straps!
Did everyone buy a nap dress this past week!? I met up with a girlfriend for lunch just after the launch on Wednesday and we both realized we’d gone directly from purchasing the same nap dress to lunch! Ha! My sister and about twenty of my good friends ordered the same one, too. My only question now is: do I need a second Nesli in the Pampelonne print? I think the Nesli is my favorite style at the moment because I love that little tie behind the back, which keeps everything snug and in place, and it’s just so flattering, and it has sleeves, and…I could go on. I wore mine in the car on our trip down to close. Such a great travel piece!
+This adorable travel laundry bag. Would also be good for kids stuff in general while traveling — we have a similar drawstring style bag I love to use for the children’s shoes when packing.
I came across a great quote on Instagram the other day:
“If I waited till I got my ducks all in a row, I’d never cross the street. Sometimes you just have to gather up what you’ve got and make a run for it.” — Judge Lynn Toller
I feel this so profoundly at the moment. We are busy bees, hands full with fun and exciting things, but my goodness do I feel like I’m attempting to swing on monkey bars with one arm full of belongings. That is to say, my movements are uncoordinated and slapdash, and it feels as though I need to put a lot of things down in order to actually make progress, but I can’t. The note above was a reminder that it’s OK to not have everything tied up with a bow. Sometimes you just need to hustle across the street.
+Into this faded sweatshirt for Mr. Magpie…or for me. Imagine oversized with white jeans while roasting marshmallows on the beach.
+I have this pink cotton Lilly Pulitzer nightgown so similar in style to this J. Crew variation that I’ve had since I was probably 24. I still wear it nearly every time I need to blow-dry my hair — it is SO cool and thin and I love the crisp cotton that doesn’t cling to me when I get hot. A must-have if you also get overheated while drying your hair, or want something cool to slip into after you come home from the beach/pool.
+These might be the chicest sandals I’ve ever seen for the price. They look like they are by Hermes or The Row but cost $150?!
+Just bought micro his second pair of these shorts. They launder so nicely and look absolutely adorable with his Lacoste polos. Such a great retro 80s vibe. I’m pretty sure my brother wore variations on this theme every summer between 1984-1988.
So many requests for dresses this month — special occasion, wedding guest, Baptism, photo shoots! Cheers to celebrating life anew. I’m sharing lots of dresses below, but had to point you in the direction of this festive and Zimmermann-inspired floral for $170. I’m half-inclined to buy now just so I have it on hand for an event as-yet-to-materialize! It is so good!
Q: Â I have a son who is a couple months younger than micro. I was wondering if you knew any brands that sell shorter shorts for toddler boys? I am not into the longer knee length shorts that sooo many brands carry for boys.
A: Totally understand this question. Why are so many of them so long and baggy?! My favorite brands for shorter shorts on boys are Cadets (size up a full size — no joke! they run tiny tiny tiny; Hill can sometimes still wear an 18 months in certain brands because he’s slim, but he needs a 3/4 in these and they still seem tight), Minnow (run TTS), TBBC Sheffield shorts (but only the Sheffield style – their others run long and baggy), and Ralph Lauren’s chino shorts.
Q: Summer sweaters to wear over semi-casual dresses (e.g., nap dresses).
A: We have and love this vegetable cookbook! This description in the copy is spot-on: “If you’re finding pantry cooking to mean too many uninspired pots of beans, might I suggest Six Seasons? [It] both highlights a perfectly ripe plant . . . and shows you how to transform slightly less peak-season produce (yes, the cabbage lurking in the back of your fridge right now counts) with heat, spice, acid, and fat.”
In terms of meal-planning help, my sister uses a pad like this to keep meals organized in her home. My mom did the same thing growing up. I remember her eating Crispix and cutting coupons out of the paper as she’d plan out the week’s meals on a notepad. Another sister of mine swears by an app called “Plan to Eat” to help with meal planning and grocery shopping, and my husband’s approach is to sit down on Sunday with a stack of his favorite cookbooks and go through with post-its to mark anything that catches his interest. Then he adds all the groceries he needs to the “Reminders” app on his iPhone (which is handy, as he has shared the grocery list with me, so whoever does the shop that week can get everything needed) and keeps a running list of what he’ll be making in a “Note” on his iPhone. In that “Note,” he also keeps a running list of “backlog dinner ideas” in case he’s uninspired or in a time crunch.
Q: New outfit for interviews.
A: Good luck, friend! I know how trying that process is. My principle advice is to wear something that makes you feel empowered. For me, a tailored shirt dress, ironed/steamed to perfection, is just the ticket. A few stunners:
*Use your discretion as to whether more artful/bold clothes will be well-suited to the work environment. You might want to dress more conservatively if interviewing in the legal/finance fields, but wearing something artful to an interview at, for example, an art gallery might make sense.
If a shirt dress will make you feel fidgety and uncomfortable and not-like-yourself, though, go with pants instead! Back when I had a more conservative work environment, I invested in a few Theory suits/trousers and they are cut beautifully.
Q: “Airport outfit” to meet my boyfriend after his 10+ month deployment!
A: Sending him thanks for his service! Wow, what a special reunion. Some of the date night dresses above might be just the ticket, but I immediately imagined wearing this gorgeous Reformation in the white floral. So romantic and feminine but not too fancy. Could be worn with sandals or mules. So sweet.
Q: Guest dresses with sleeves for Church ceremony. Will change for black tie after.
Q: Tricky one: slim college-aged daughter needs cute swimwear suitable for a 32DD.
A: I know a number of women who love Summersalt because many of their suits offer more coverage and support than other brands. Solid and Striped has many styles with underwire cups that might be appealing for her, too — I love this style and the print is so fun! I have several suits from Solid and Striped and the quality is great! She might also check out Cuup — they have simpler styles but are focused on properly fitting all bust sizes, and a classic black or white suit never goes out of style.
Q: Beginning of October wedding in mountain. I’m a guest!
Q: Best hair product to help hold my fine beach waves.
A: I also have fine hair and I love DryBar’s Money Maker hair spray. It holds wave/curl but never feels crispy. The scent is great, too!
Q: Golf outfits for an eight year old boy and five year old girl.
A: I would look at CPC and Busy Bees — both of these brands are basically made for country club sports. If more athletic wear is permitted, Cadets has an athletic style of short that might be perfect for your boy. I shared some cute tennis finds for littles here that might also be good (or a good starting point) for your children, too. I also always love classic Lacoste polos with Polo shorts — great for on the course or just everyday play!
Q: Cute outfit to fly overseas in!
A: I might be a broken record, but a nap dress layered beneath a soft cardigan sounds perfect. So comfortable and non-constricting, and you can slip into mules and go straight out to dinner upon arrival!
Q: Neutral flat sandal!
A: These have been a top-seller this year and would go with so many cute summer outfits. (Under $50, too!) I also personally think the Hermes Oran is worth the investment. They last forever and only get softer with time. I have traipsed all around Chicago and Manhattan in them for the last six summers. But you can get the look for less with these! If you’re on the preppier side, Jack Rogers (favored by Jackie O.!) are always a good bet, and Talbots always has really great styles at a reasonable price, like these and these (which I own!).
Q: Casual dresses with pockets — maternity friendly.
A: I was just thinking how much I like my India Amory dress because it has pockets. The fit is roomy so I think it could work through second trimester. Shirtdresses are also a good non-maternity maternity dress because you can adjust the self-tie waist and many have pockets, including this pretty one!
Q: Dress for a woman of substance.
A: I love this question. Truly, I think a woman of substance should wear whatever empowers her most, but this Mille dress immediately sprang to mind as the perfect way to communicate sophistication, femininity, and strength with (thanks to that bold shirting stripe). I ordered it for myself! Something about the stripe just feels right to me — also love this classic stripe from RL.
A: Ooo so pretty! Splurge would be Frontgate’s Etienne nightstand and dresser — the French blue! I also like Ballard’s Sidney or Grace styles in white or gray, and then you can pick a dresser in the same finish. I have a similar upholstered headboard in a gray color and we have mirrored side tables and the S&L grasscloth dresser — so don’t feel you need to match the side table to the dresser if you find one or the other that you love but that does not come with matching nightstands.
2 // La Coqueta is having an absolutely epic sale, with some pieces 50% off. This is one of my absolute favorite brands for special occasionwear. I have so many precious dresses and knitwear sets from them that I will absolutely be passing along to grandchildren (knock on wood). If you are on the hunt for family portrait outfits, this is your lucky day — so many beyond exceptional pieces, and they do lots of sibling match/coordination if that’s your cup of tea. A few standouts:
THIS AND THIS ARE IN MY CART FOR MINI…BEYOND! THE BLUE WOULD BE A GREAT FAMILY PORTRAIT CHOICE AS I CAN IMAGINE EVERYONE IN VARIOUS SHADES/PATTERNS OF BLUE ALONGSIDE IT
4 // Beaufort Bonnet just launched their new back to school collection. I know it’s hard to think about back-to-school when school just let out, but I have purchased dresses for first day of school from them for the past few years! (Also good for school interviews.). I love this dramatic sashed style and this windowpane plaid! This is the kind of purchase that can sneak up on you and then you find yourself overnighting something for $20…maybe just me.
5 // I had thought all the JB x Lake Pajamas had sold out in children’s sizes, but still a few in this precious print available for littles ones!
P.S. Has anyone tried the Our Place pan? It has been all over Instagram and I feel like every blogger raves about it. I’m not sure it’s our cup of tea in the Magpie nest because we’ve already invested in every permutation of pot and pan from All-Clad and I find we use our nonstick pans less than others because we want the maillard/crust on things like steak, fish, etc. However. It did occur to me that this would make a great gift for a recent college grad or someone limited on space, as it really does a lot for one piece of cookware and seems to be fairly low-maintenance in terms of care (i.e., because it’s nonstick you won’t be using bartender’s keep on it). Anyway, just tucked that away as a future gift idea and thought I’d share.
P.P.P.S. Megan Stokes just raved about this clean concealer yesterday, and I thought I’d pass it along as I know many of you Magpies are on a quest to purify your cosmetics bags / make the switch to clean only cosmetics. So far, it sounds like Saie mascara (just ordered for myself) and this concealer are getting a ton of traction/popularity, even among people who are not committed to clean products only.
By: Jen Shoop
A few items I’ve recently discovered…
01. // How chic is this $17 velvet jewelry travel organizer?! So chic and in such great colors! A nice compact size — would be great for even bringing to stow jewelry while working at the gym, or for the occasion where you want to take off your rings/bracelets at the desk at work (which I always did).
03. // Was just thinking it might be fun to buy a few of these cheerily-colored corkscrews to bundle with a bottle of wine when stopping by a friend’s home or invited over for dinner.
05. // Poor little man got the worst blisters during our family portrait, and I bought him these fun monster-printed bandaids to help. He is in love with them! Other patterns available, too.
06. // An unexpected and fun grosgrain ribbon for tying off little packages of summer treats. (Imagine wrapped around the wine with one of the aforementioned corkscrews tucked in!)
12. // Lacoste polos for toddlers — I have had such good luck finding micro Lacoste polos for at or under $32 on Amazon. Just keep checking back; some days, they are crazy discounted!
Posting this early to give us time to prepare our orders for Hill House’s nap dress “Mermaid Collection” launch today at noon EST. In the past, certain styles have sold out in minutes so I show up with my order planned, add to cart, and check out STAT. If you are new to the nap dress world, these are ultra-soft, ultra-comfortable, non-restrictive dresses that can be worn as nightgowns but work just as easily for drinks out on the town. I am sharing the line sheet below, but am personally debating between the Ellie or one of the brand new nap dress styles, the Akilah (can be worn off the shoulder or on) in the mermaid print, which is such a fun and unexpected pattern in cheerful colors. They will also have children’s sizes in the Ellie to match for a mommy and me moment as well as a few other new nap dress styles, including the Lucy and Roxie, which are serving up major Juicy Couture in the early aughts vibes (I for SURE had a very similar terry coverup from Juicy in hot pink in college!) And they have expanded to offer a few separates and accessories. I have my eye on one of the pouches (#pouchlife) and also absolutely LOVE their fun new desk sweater!
One of the insights from my brief stint in the “people tech / HR tech” space was that employees do not quit bad jobs — they quit bad bosses. Now, people management is difficult and requires vast reserves of patience, empathy, and thoughtfulness, not to mention nimbleness in the sense that it is rare that all team members respond to the exact same type of coaching, feedback, and management. There will be team members that perform best with a long leash and others who need much more scaffolding to succeed. Some respond to “tough love” and others need gentler feedback, delivered with a light touch. The best bosses, I think, are flexible in their approach and try new things constantly to get the best out of each individual team member. They also tend to have a rare mix of humility and steeliness: a great manager once told me that a key mindset for people management runs as follows: “All successes belong to the team and all failures belong to the manager.” Let your people claim the victories, but you must take responsibility for the disappointments.
Still, good managers are made, not born, and so it stands to reason that even folks who go on to be incredible leaders have missteps and periods of growth along the way, and it may be that you work for them while they are “in development.” And some people are simply not motivated or fulfilled by the challenges of management. It is far too common an occurrence that high performers are promoted into positions of management without any training or consideration of the dramatic change in responsibilities afoot. Just because someone is a fantastic individual contributor does not mean that she will be a fantastic manager of other individual contributors. In fact, I have had several good friends tell me that they wished they’d never been promoted. One friend told me he felt alienated from the work he’d once loved and from which he had derived a sense of pride and identity and regretted accepting the promotion, pay increase be damned. “I don’t do any actual work,” he complained. “I just tell other people to do it.” I remember gently suggesting that managing people is actual work, just perhaps not what his cup of tea. And that’s OK, too.
It’s strange, perhaps, to be writing about these workplace dynamics as the sole proprietor of a business I run entirely on my own. I sit in an ivory tower, reporting only to myself. (In my previous start-up, prior to hiring any additional staff, there was one morning where a customer called and asked me to “check with my tech people” on some specific question. I acquiesced, put my hand over the phone, and waited in silence for 30 seconds to pass before jumping back on: “OK, we circled up and…” I had been checking with “my tech people”: it was also me.) In some ways, this is easier, because I tend to carry awkwardness and missteps in relationships with other people heavily. The day I had to let my engineer go because we had decided to shut down the business was one of the most difficult days of my life. I did not sleep for several nights prior and had rehearsed what I was going to say in the mirror at least a dozen times. I remember pacing around our kitchen working up the courage to call and then working hard to avoid crying. That’s an extreme example, and one worthy of the hand-wringing that accompanied it because — my God! How horrible to be responsible for such an enormous upheaval in someone’s personal and professional life? — but I also regularly spent hours and hours of my work week thinking through how to respond to team members in various circumstances, worrying about how my words might have been perceived, fretting over the tone of email, etc. So to be honest, I don’t necessarily miss the emotional toll of managing other people. But it can also be lonely, navigating decisions on my own, and accepting that all successes and failures sit squarely on my own shoulders. And it is fun and exhilarating to build beautiful things with other motivated people, a lesson I learned while collaborating with some of the smartest people I have ever met in my past life in the non-profit world.
All in, “experience is a tough but effective teacher,” as one Magpie wrote on a post years and years ago. (Elsewhere, this quote is often written as: “experience is a hard teacher: it gives you the test first and the lesson after.”) Both ill-equipped bosses and mistakes as an inexperienced boss myself have shaped me for the better. I had a boss call me an idiot and throw papers in my face. That person also routinely forgot my name and referred to me instead as “the sidekick.” Those things were so egregiously and cartoonishly unkind that I almost had to laugh at them. Worse still: I had a boss who would ask me to do all kinds of things that were not in my J.D., none of which were fair or compensated, and some of which were honestly inappropriate for an individual in my position, like firing team members, writing up legal documents, and preparing speeches whose content I had not the faintest of authority to be commenting on, all on top of the ambitious stack of responsibilities I had signed up for. But you know? Those experiences earned me the grit and grace that have seen me through many hairy situations. Beyond that, even while I was young and mildly terrorized by those interactions with “authority,” I saw that it was all a tradeoff: I also had the rare and unlikely good fortune to be put in positions of leadership at a young age, and so I was determined to take the good with the bad. OK, tough boss, but I’m getting so much experience that I frankly have no right to claim! Harder to bear, though: my own failures as a manager, whether hurting someone’s feelings, shutting someone down, or — my most common foible — micromanaging. (Ugh! I was the worst at micromanagement! I know I have several former employees who read this blog and who can attest this, and I am sorry.) Still, though I regret the experiences of the individuals who worked for me while I was learning on the job, I believe I did improve with time and considered myself a competent manager by the end of my run. Experience truly has been a tough teacher.
What has your experience been with bosses, or as a boss yourself? Any lessons to share?
Post-Scripts: What to Wear to Work + Other Work Gear.
+Some great pieces for your return to the office (or next Zoom):
+Every woman, regardless of where she works, needs a “desk cardigan,” a term recently discovered via Nell Diamond of Hill House, who will be launching an ultra-cute desk sweater today at noon that is perfect for layering over nap dresses — or anything! It is often SO cold in office buildings, and you never know when a cool front might catch you unaware. A few favorites, in varying levels of formality…
+As a leftie, I also love notepads without binding to contend with — I just ordered this pad with my initials in shadow lettering and have this pad with our family name on the top in my cart. I also love having a stack of these unmarked white pads at my disposal for lists, sketches, doodles, notes.
+Structured notepads like these are also handy from time to time. I go back and forth from liking the structure to wanting white space.
+On that note, I have gone back and forth on my Day Designer. It is enormous — like a huge brick — which is not so much a big deal for me since I WFH permanently and don’t schlep it anywhere, but it is a little bit hard to write on at the bottom of the page because it is so thick. I also go back and forth on the structured format. There are periods of my life where I love the prompts and boxes to fill out when I’m feeling organized, and other periods I just want a blank page with the date at the top to configure as I’d like.
And in the sale section — you can’t miss this striped button down, on sale somehow for $30?! SO good! And there are also some cute gingham shorts for boys and girls marked down and with an extra 30% off to boot.
OH – and Frilly Frog is offering 40% off all Lila + Hayes today only (June 15) with code LILA40. Perfect time to snap up their coveted pajamas, bubbles, and dresses. This brand uses the best, most durable but soft cotton. Love!
*Image above not of our new house, but so gorgeous.
Last Friday morning, Mr. Magpie and I signed three thousand and forty nine legal documents, our signatures gradually degrading to the point of chicken scratch, and at one point, the attorney guiding us through the paperwork paused, a leaflet of papers in hand, and said:
“And now this document is magic. It’s called ‘delivery,’ and the minute you sign it, you become homeowners.”
It was driving rain outside, and we were in a nondescript office, and we’d been exchanging loose and distracted pleasantries with our real estate agent and the attorney, and suddenly the scribble of our pens on paper gave way to what I am considering a reward for the last ten years of hard work, adventure, heartache, multiple stressful and botched moves, missteps, homesickness, and wandering:
A home we plan to live in for, possibly, the rest of our lives.
I write those words and I feel my shoulders relax, and my breathing deepen and slow, and something inside me unfurls. Life will undoubtedly continue to throw us curve balls. There will be dips and curves and bumps and grievances and losses. But to feel as though I am ensconced in a place I love that is close to my parents and parents-in-law, to which my children can attach all of their memories of Christmases and birthdays and crab feasts on the back patio — to not feel the imminence of leases ending or renewing, to not have the persistent question of “but what if we moved…?” on the table, to not be peering a few years down the road wondering whether we need more space — is the most enormous and delicious relief. Mr. Magpie and I realized that we have moved every two years or so since the age of 18. That’s nearly half my life spent in impermanent perches. I am ready for the long haul. I want to dig in, paper the walls, commit to harvesting tomato plants, settle.
So, yes — the paper was magic in the sense of an immediate and unanticipated conjuring of a permanent difference in my life. On the other hand, not magic: signing that flimsy paper was the result of a grueling home-buying process, hundreds of hours of searching and planning and taking weekly Friday trips down to DC and back and all of the thousands of conversations that led us to want to leave New York in the first place, not to mention a pandemic that expedited the decision-making process on the heels of ten years of living in urban places that have gradually worn us down to the point of wanting to be, in the words of Mr. Magpie last Friday night, “out of the way.” I had mentioned to my parents that I had fleetingly wondered whether we would feel disconnected after the move, transitioning from living in right-in-the-heart-of-it NYC to “a tucked-away” neighborhood outside D.C. Mr. Magpie jumped in: “We’ve been in the way too long. I’m ready to be permanently out of the way.”
I’m ready, too. So that’s where we’ll be. In a magical home we earned not-by-magic, on a cul de sac in Bethesda, MD, fifteen minutes from my parents and twenty minutes from Mr. Magpie’s, permanently out of the way.
+I shared all my favorite restaurants in NYC here.
+I leaned heavily on the picks in this post for the nine hours we spent in the car the past few days.
Shopping Break.
+This dress is nearly sold out but such a great style for easy everyday wear — my Mom ordered it and specifically mentioned how much she loves this kind of dress for after playing golf, in the evenings.
+Also love this dress for similar reason — so easy to throw on!
+My MIL had this enormous giraffe sprinkler set up in her front yard with a sign that read: “WELCOME EMORY AND HILL” when we pulled up. How amazing is she?! (More backyard/pool toys here.)
+Shared some chic athletic finds for summer here, but two other pairs of shorts I’m eyeing for myself: these from P.E. Nation and these from On (on sale!)
+Just ordered these adorable bandaids to carry with me — my children are so rough and tumbly at the moment! Hill is literally never without scraped knees.
I am highly organized and I find pouches to be my saving grace. I think Truffle’s clear pouches (seen above) were like a gateway drug for me — I first bought one of their clarity pouches around a decade ago (?) and my life has never been the same since. Ha. I find their quality exceptional and clear pouches are genius because they make everything easy to find, and have amassed a collection of them over the years.
But there are many brands, styles, and variations on the pouch that are worth a gander. A few chic styles for keeping bags (lots of great summer ones here!), children’s rooms, and luggage tidy:
I USE THIS MONOGRAM APPLIQUE POUCH FOR CONVENIENT TRANSFER OF EPI (ESSENTIAL PURSE ITEMS*) FROM BAG TO BAG — IT MAKES ME HAPPY EVERY SINGLE DAY
I HAVE A FEW SIZES OF THE CLEAR POUCHES FROM TRUFFLE — I LOVED THIS BRAND WHEN I TRAVELED A LOT FOR WORK; USED ONE FOR TSA-APPROVED SIZES OF COSMETICS, USED ANOTHER FOR ESSENTIALS LIKE CARD CASE, KEYS, ETC, AND THEIR TECH POUCH FOR IPAD/PHONE
USE THESE CUYANA POUCHES FOR COSMETICS/SKINCARE WHILE TRAVELING BUT TBH THEY DO NOT HOLD AS MUCH AS I WISH THEY COULD AND I ALWAYS END UP WITH OVERFLOW ITEMS I STOW IN AN MZ WALLACE POUCH; STILL, LOVE THE STYLE — PRETTY ENOUGH TO KEEP OUT!
IN MY TEENS AND 20S, I USED ONE OF THESE VERA BRADLEY TRAIN CASE SETS WHILE TRAVELING AND WISH I’D HUNG ONTO IT — THEY ARE SO WELL-DESIGNED AND CARRY AN ABSOLUTE TON
SPEAKING OF TRAVEL, I LOVE THESE CLEAR SETS FOR LUGGAGE — MAKES FINDING ITEMS SO EASY
I USE THESE FOR PACKING FOR MY CHILDREN, IN TWO SEPARATE COLORS!
WITH THE RECENT HOUSE HUNT, I WAS ALWAYS CARRYING TONS OF PAPERS AROUND IN MY BAG — I BOUGHT THESE ENVELOPES TO KEEP DIFFERENT DOCUMENTS ORGANIZED BY CATEGORY
LOVE ALL THE FUN STYLES AND OPTIONS STONEY CLOVER HAS TO OFFER IN THE POUCH CATEGORY
**Unrelated to anything above, Hanky Panky underwear sets on sale for almost 50% off, and the BEST undereye concealer 15% off here. It is SO hard to find this concealer on sale! I’ll take any price break I can get…
P.S. We closed on our new home on Friday. Whew, what a whirlwind! Cannot wait to move in. This is what I anticipate missing most about New York, but the space (!) and amenities of our new home (!!) will make it all worthwhile.
P.P.S. We had family portraits taken last week. (Busy time for us.) I had never had this done before but OMG. Why was it so stressful?! Mini took a huge spill on the sidewalk in front of our apartment within minutes of starting the shoot, Hill developed three intense blisters and insisted on being carried, it was hot as Hades outside (humidity at 10000%), and at one point, I remember locking eyes with Mr. Magpie and wondering if we should just call it off. But we did ease into it and I think our photographer got some amazing snaps of us in Central Park and our favorite corner of the UWS. Some beautiful frames for these photos will be on order shortly.
