Musings + Essays
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Weekend Vibes, Edition No. 220: A Trick for Falling Asleep.

By: Jen Shoop

*Don’t know the source of the photo above but is it not a dream?!

**Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Lots of sales happening right now, and I’ve shared all my favorite finds across them here. I also created a dedicated shop page with all my favorite sale finds here for quick access! Absolutely everything on that page is on sale.

My Latest Snag: My Family Portrait Dress.

I went into excruciating detail on this subject earlier this week, but I am SO excited about this gorgeous blue dress I ordered for a family portrait. Would look too cute with this new Pam Munson bag

If you also love a bow-shouldered style, a few picks I had to share:

THIS SHONA JOY

THIS STUNNING $69 TOP

THIS BREEZY WHITE FAITHFULL

THIS MAGPIE FAVORITE $59 SWIMSUIT

LOVELY BLUE AND WHITE FLORAL

THIS JUMPSUIT

THIS GAP STEAL IN BLACK

And for your little lady: this Babidu (!!!!) and this cheerful Sal E Pimenta.

You’re Soooo Popular: Le $59 Statement Blouse.

The most popular items on le blog this week:

+A $60 statement top to pair with white jeans or shorts!

+A fantastic everyday dress for summer, and don’t let the long sleeves full ya — super breathable, lightweight cotton and the shape is so loose and breezy.

+My pearl mask chain. (Can also work with sunglasses!)

+A great pair of $20 slides — love this style, especially in that dusty blue hue.

+Just the prettiest dress for a bride-to-be from one of my longtime favorite designers, Saloni — and on serious sale.

+A simple and chic side table (20% off now!)

+Relaxed fit shirtdress in a great stripe (25% off this weekend!)

+This top is FUN.

+Attractive silicone bibs for babies.

+A very chic frame for under $10.

+Cooling and brightening undereye balm.

+A brush that apparently rivals Mason Pearson for under $15.

Weekend Musings: A Trick for Falling Asleep.

I can’t remember where I picked this up, but when I’m really struggling to fall asleep, I play a game: I pick a prompt (i.e., characters from novels, fashion labels, celebrities) and then go through the letters of the alphabet one-by-one identifying names that fit the category by letter. For example, in fashion labels, A — Alexis, B – Banjanan, C – Cara Cara NYC, etc. It requires just enough effort to keep my mind from spiraling towards anxieties and to-dos, but I have never (!) made it past the letter G without falling asleep. I first suggested this trick to my daughter a few months back, encouraging her to think of Disney characters or superheroes or fruits whose names began with each letter of the alphabet, and she seemed to like it, and then tried it on my self a few weeks ago and have been pleasantly surprised by its sleep-inducing ways. Give it a try!

*This trick reminds me of a favorite game my siblings and I used to play with my mother, called, inscrutably, “Botticelli.” You write the letters of the alphabet in one column running all the way down the left hand side of a piece of paper (i.e., one letter per row) and then, in a second column, write down the letters of a few words picked at random. We used to just open a newspaper and pick a headline, i.e. (pocketing this straight from my WSJ app): “SHELL ORDERED BY DUTCH COURT TO CUT EMISSIONS.” So then you have a bunch of letters paired together: AS, BH, CE, DL, EL…Then you set a timer for two minutes and you have to think of famous people (celebrities, athletes, authors, politicians, artists, etc.) whose initials match each row. So you might write: AS — Adam Sandler; BH — Ben Harper; CE — Chris Evans; etc. When the timer’s up, you share your answers and cross out any ones that are in duplicate (i.e., that you and another player both listed). Whoever has the most at the end wins. It is such a fun way to pass a rainy afternoon on vacation, preferably with a big bowl of ranch crackers.

Post-Scripts: Denim Shorts.

+A lot of you have been asking for non-distressed, longer-length denim shorts — I like these a lot (maybe size up? I think the trick might be to size up in denim jeans so that the legs are nice and roomy). Imagine paired with a voluminous, tucked-in blouse like this or this.

+I thought of this too late (mini’s last day of school is Friday!), but how sweet to pass out these little bracelets to friends parting ways at the end of the school year?

+ADORE the colors of these Nikes.

+Another great, versatile button-down from J. Crew in amazing colors.

+Loewe straw bag vibes for less.

+More great summer bags here.

+Positively in love with this yellow floral chiffon dress.

+These tiny Teva-like sandals are SO cute for a baby girl. (And under $20.)

+Another great East at Main furniture find — gorgeous console for under $300.

+Two cute designer suits on serious sale: Marysia gingham and Constas polka dots.

+These linen pants, especially in the blue and white stripe (!), over this widely-coveted Hunza G suit!

+These braided heeled sandals are so fun and versatile for summer.

+Pretty white eyelet midi skirt for under $35.

+So many great Amazon finds.

+In case Memorial Day snuck up on you and you’re determined to greet the Fourth with something more festive, all my favorite red, white, and blue style picks for you and your littles here.

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6 thoughts on “Weekend Vibes, Edition No. 220: A Trick for Falling Asleep.

  1. Oh, I love this falling-asleep trick, and Botticelli sounds like so much fun (!!) — going to try it out with the kids soon!

    Your Simkhai portrait dress is so beautiful — that blue! Wow. I ended up buying that & Other Stories bathingsuit (the one that’s kind of Hunza G-esque) when you posted it a few months back and I lovvvve it — so excited to wear it to the beach this summer! Thanks again for the rec!

    xx

  2. We also play “Botticelli” in our family, but call it (rather more uncreatively) “Initials.” I’m excited to hear about another family that plays! Over the years, we’ve developed variations: alphabet as first initials and random sentence as last initials; random sentence as first initials and alphabet as last initials; A to Z as first initials and Z to A as last; sometimes all the same letter as last initials…that one can be tough!

  3. Here’s another trick for falling asleep: get up and re-do your nighttime routine all over again. As in brush your teeth again, wash your face again, have a glass of water, etc — whatever you do before bed. I read that this sends a signal to your brain that it’s time to go to sleep! I find that this prevents me from spiraling down the path of worries/thoughts that were keeping me up in the first place.

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