Musings + Essays
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Weekend Vibes, Edition No. 181: On Keeping in Touch with Friends.

By: Jen Shoop

*Image above via Markarian–swoon. You can buy a similar style from the same collection here for 50% off (the rest have sold out), or get the look for less with this, this, or this.

My Latest Snag: Last-Minute Items for Mini’s Back to School.

Mini head back to school this Thursday (after a phase-in period), and I feel 22 ways about it. For one thing, though it has been a long few months since her school closed in early March, I am dreading the silence of our apartment without her in it. I can barely imagine what a day will feel like without her always-sprinting feet, her shriek-y laugh, the way she performs a kind of recitative when playing with her toys (always singing), her sing-song “but mamaaaaa!” punctuating my mornings, noons, and nights. Mr. Magpie and I have frequently, over the past few months, bemoaned the fact that it feels like someone or something is always underfoot in our small apartment, and it is usually her, clawing her way for a better view, hanging onto my skirt, flopping her tiny little body onto the floor of the kitchen while we are preparing dinner. I balance these sentimentalities with the nodding reasoning that school will be so good for her.

I am also wincing at the imminent change to our sprawling summer schedule, to the sudden disection of my day into the frenzy of getting ready for school before 8 a.m., the process of taking of her to school, the reciprocal process of picking her up. It is life, it must happen, and it will all settle into place, but still, I find myself steeling myself for the upheaval that this week will bring.

And then there’s the whole COVID thing, of course, the burden under which we are all operating with grimacing concern.

A few last minute back-to-school purchases I thought I’d share…

THIS BALLOON TO INFLATE AND SET BY HER BREAKFAST THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL, JUST TO PUNCTUATE HOW EXCITED WE ARE FOR HER

THIS CUP FOR TAKING MILK TO SCHOOL FOR LUNCH

ALCOHOL WIPES TO KEEP HER SCHOOL-MANDATED FACE SHIELD CLEAN

WATERPROOF NAME LABELS FOR HER GEAR

A NEW QUILTED COAT FOR WHEN THE WEATHER TURNS COOL (I ALSO LOVE THIS LESS EXPENSIVE STYLE IN PINK, AND THIS ONE FOR BOYS)

GINGHAM CIENTAS

You’re Sooooo Popular: Affordable Everyday Bootie.

The most popular items on le blog this week:

+Still a few of this ultra-flattering one-piece (50% off!) left.

+A fantastic everyday bootie for $70. I own a nearly identical pair that I wore into the ground last winter.

+You all LOVED the epic sale on one of my favorite children’s clothing labels, CPC, and this was the most popular item (which I also bought for Hill!) This ends tonight. Hurry!

+This nearly-sold-out blockprint dress.

+Le best bra (on sale for a limited time). More great undergarments here. (Read comments for additional suggestions!)

+Absolutely beautiful, Zimmerman-esque dress at a great price.

+Adorable wicker pumpkins.

+Cute kids Halloween pajamas (note: I received mine last week and they run big). More suggestions here.

+My favorite dry shampoo. (Seriously MAGIC.)

+Hill’s adorable new fall pajamas.

+Pretty satin hairbows for a little one.

+Loeffler Randall sandals for $75. I own these in a different colorway and love.

Weekend Musings: How Do You Keep in Touch with Friends?

A Magpie reader put this question to me not long ago, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. There must be a more methodical way to keep in touch with my girlfriends. Currently, it’s haphazard and slapdash, only disciplined in the sense that I force myself to stop what I am doing and jet off a text or email whenever one of them crosses my mind, because if I don’t interrupt my day to do so, I’ll forget and then I’ll never remember to tell my friend that I cannot pass by the small, overstuffed antiques shop a few blocks from my home without thinking of her. She first introduced it to me, as she first introduced me to the group of friends who would become my closest here in Manhattan when I moved here three years ago. That is to say, that she is present in my daily life even when we cannot see one another.

How do you stay in touch?! Please share your secrets.

P.S. The friend mentioned above is incidentally really good at keeping in touch via snail mail.

P.P.S. Awhile ago, I resolved to just pick up the phone when it rings — this, too, helps with keeping in touch with friends.

P.P.P.S. On letting friendships go.

Post-Scripts: Faux Boxwoods.

+These faux boxwoods are on sale for about 50% off! So cute for a console or entryway or mantle or kitchen window or bookshelf…!

+A couple of really good finds from Bagsy, an online second-hand children’s boutique that features tons of finds from great brands either with tags on or gently used.

+Baggu’s new MET collection is so fun. These are great reusable grocery bags to toss in your purse as they fold up into virtually nothing. I also love that they are machine-washable!

+An amazing sale to shop this weekend.

+These kitten heel black booties were a total wardrobe MVP last year for me — I had them last year in a black suede and I wore them into the ground (literally – had to have the heel tip replaced). I like the smooth leather they’ve released this year, too. The profile of this bootie is so much more “me” than a lot of the chunkier styles that have been in vogue for the past few years. I especially liked them with skinny jeans or with maxi dresses and tights. They also come in an on-trend python.

+I received an amply-sized sample of Sunday Riley’s retinol sleeping oil and I have to say that I noticed my pores were virtually invisible after I woke up one morning about three or four days into use. I checked the bottle and was surprised to see it specifically lists that as one of its effects. I’ll share more on this in an upcoming honest review post, but initial results seem very promising.

+A reader recently asked for recommendations on everyday china. I cannot encourage plain white china for everyday enough. You never get bored of it and it shows food beautifully. It’s also highly versatile if you’re into setting a proper table with linens — they’ll go with any tablecloth/placemats/napkins without issue. My two favorites are Juliska’s Berry and Thread and Pottery Barn’s Emma. Both project a kind of down-to-earth, lived-in grace. I also absolutely adore my Aerin Lauder scalloped plates, but they’re not sold as a full china set (with bowls, etc).

+Loving this ribbed cashmere tee in the black. Very Jackie O.

+How pretty is this quilted botanical sham?!

+These moto leggings for little ones (on sale for $11!) are not even mini’s style but I had to get them for her. She does go to school downtown, after all. Ha!

+ADORE the scalloped edges on this affordable blouse.

+A pretty every day sweater with interest for fall.

+Positively smitten with this “house dress.” SO speaking my language!

+I have also received a lot of questions about how I care for my children’s clothing. I do spend a lot of time in the stain removal process, to be honest. I find the best thing to do is to remove the article of clothing as soon as it’s soiled and dab liquid dish soap (no really! dish soap! Palmolive specifically) directly on the spot with a small cloth before adding a few spritzes of Dreft and throwing immediately into the laundry. The sooner you get that item cleaned, the more likely it is to resolve itself. I’ve tried tons of detergents and I find Tide is really what you need when you’re dealing with stains. For most other loads of wash for the children, I use the Laundress, which I find to be very gentle on clothing (especially delicate/higher-end pieces) and beautifully scented (probably if I am honest the main reason I still use this product — nostalgia for their newborn days!!!) but not as tough on stains.

+Are we now entering the phase of COVID where mask chains are a thing? This one is cute. While we’re talking masks, here are some really cute ones.

+Have heard great things about these gel-based crayons!

+If your man is a fan of Polo undershirts (these are the only Mr. Magpie wears — tagless and ultra-soft), they are on sale here.

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4 thoughts on “Weekend Vibes, Edition No. 181: On Keeping in Touch with Friends.

  1. Two words: Marco Polo! The app lets you leave video messages for friends (or a group of friends), so it’s like facetiming but everyone gets to view and respond on their own schedule. I started using it after the pandemic started and am on it every day, connecting with friends and family. It definitely wouldn’t have fit into my pre-pandemic life, but now that I’m WFH indefinitely, I am free to make videos whenever because no one else is around.
    That said, I also write a lot of handwritten letters. Nothing beats real mail.

    1. Ooh, I love this idea – Mr. Magpie and I have long said we wish there was a way to leave video voicemails using FaceTime! xx

  2. I keep in touch with my friends the same way you do — in a slightly haphazard, ad hoc way. One tip I do have is to frequently engage with friends’ IG activity (posts, stories, etc.) as that can lead to fun bonus conversations via DM. But otherwise, I find myself texting my friends when I think of them or find something I know they’d like, having regular FaceTimes with my closest friends, writing emails to some others, and even keeping a written correspondence (LETTERS!) with a friend from college who wisely began this practice right before COVID hit. Who doesn’t love getting snail mail?!

    That Sunday Riley retinol oil is intriguing … added to my list! I’m testing Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate and really liking it — might become my new night serum.

    xx

    1. Love all these ideas – such a good tip about Instagram! Keep me posted on what you think of Kiehl’s!

      xx

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