Jen’s Weekend Drafts: A Thought on Hope.

+A NOTE ON HOPE: I loved this series of reassurances from my Internet friend and fellow writer Jennifer Edwards, especially her insight about hope (a la Emily Dickinson, hope is “the thing with feathers”). It made me realize how even in the really hard, sticky bits — the saltings — you find a light, you are the light! I found that image deeply comforting.

+A CHIC SPOTTING: I saw a mom wearing this gingham dress at a gathering this week and she looked SO CHIC. The drape of the sleeves is even better in person. Absolutely gorgeous! I now have it in my cart…you might remember I already own and adore this from this collection! (Try YOUROCK or YOURULE as codes at checkout – they often get you 20% off.)

+ON SAYING IT ONCE: In Rachael Ringenberg’s latest Substack, she talks about the concept, in parenting and childhood education, of only saying it once. Of not repeating yourself. She explains: “…you should try to say things one time to children humans. The more you repeat yourself, the more they count on you repeating to yourself. And, the more you repeat, the less a child (or adult) is cultivating attention.” I was so profoundly shook by this sentiment; I sometimes feel like a broken record in my home. I had perhaps thought, unreflectingly, that repetition signals importance — that it underscores the things that matter to us, and works them into a common sound byte they’ll never forget? But I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like I’m just a voice shouting into the void, or maybe that my litanies are unwarranted. So, I’ve been trying to hold my tongue when it comes to things I know the children can do without my guardrail, or should be doing without my guardrail, and then intercepting them and saying: “Hm, what are doing right now?” as a gentler way to get my point across. But, truly, can we avoid repetition in a practical way? For example, we have a rule in our home: when you get home, you wash your hands. Would my children actually wash their hands every time they come in if we didn’t remind them? No. I know this because I avoided prompting them several times this week, and they went about their happy ways, grubby fingered. Maybe there are other answers, slighter ways to direct them. And maybe repetition is OK in certain places and less so in others. I would personally love to never hear my voice say: “Hill, can you please [for the love of God] focus on eating?” again in my life. My six year old son is highly distractible at the dinner table. He could sit there eating about 1/4 cup of food for two hours if we let him; he will invent hundreds of reasons to rise from the table. I’ve tried lots of things. I’ve tried less food. I’ve tried to let him get his wiggles out before dinner. Sometimes during. I’ve tried to focus him on conversation, table games. I’ve accepted that sometimes he’s just not hungry. But still, the boy needs something at dinner, and it takes an excruciating amount of time. Ringenberg’s note led me to decide that I am not going to expedite him anymore. I’m just going to shrug and let him sit there til he’s done. What do you think, Magpies, of the concept of not repeating yourself?

+SPECIAL EDITION BOOK CLUB NEWSLETTER: We’re closing in on our inaugural book club convo. On June 16th, I’ll be sharing a full review of this month’s book pick, plus a cocktail pairing and menu in case you’re doing an in person gathering, playlist, lots of mood boards (God did I have fun with that — “lighthouse core aesthetic”? delightful). I will also be sending this out via a special edition newsletter with a couple of other fun bonuses in there — if you’re already signed up for Magpie emails, you’re good; if not, you can sign up just for the book club newsletter (you’ll probably get just 1 email a month — maaaybe two with bonus thoughts) HERE.

+LIMONCELLO SPRITZ SZN: I am absolutely going to make Katie’s limoncello spritzes this summer. Landon suggested I consult his lemon book (truly, he has a book all about preparing lemons! and it is gorgeous; makes a great coffee table book or gift) to make the limoncello myself!

+EYEING + BUYING: A Magpie reader told me about these fun customizable rope cord charm necklaces from Roxanne Assoulin! A great way to get the Dorsey paracord vibe for less. These and lots of other fun, on-trend sardine-lemon-tomato-rope-cord-crochet-nautical finds below.

ROXANNE ASSOULIN CORD CHARM NECKLACE // PISTOLA DENIM DRESS // ME + EM TOP // TERRY SHORTS // LOEFFLER RANDALL SANDALS // SEASHELL NOTEBOOK // SARDINES POUCH // LEMON DRESS // CB2 OLD FASHIONED GLASSES // LEMON BOOK // LEMON COASTERS

+ON IMPERFECT MORNING RITUALS (SPONSORED MENTION BY CURRENTBODY): At some point a few years ago, I remember watching Instagram reels titled things like “a day in my life” and “my morning wellness routine” and feeling awed and inspired by these women who rose before their children, exercised by six, prepared impressive breakfasts for their families, meditated and journaled, etc. I found myself asking, “How can I motivate myself to get up earlier to get more of this done?” I’ve never figured it out — or perhaps I should say, I’ve chosen not to prioritize it. (Inaction is a choice, too.) I still stay in bed until the very last moment possible. It wasn’t until recently that I realized I was asking the wrong question. It’s not “how can I replicate what those women are doing?” or “how can I squeeze more into the early morning hours?” but “how can I organize my morning to better serve my own needs?” (You may have noticed me grappling with these concepts earlier this year here and here.) 

I’d been thinking of “morning rituals” as this all-or-nothing, protracted and impressive sequence of events that had to take place before 8 a.m. when in fact one of the best things for me, personally, is to maximize my sleep, focus on skincare, and enjoy a (sort of) slow start to the day. If I achieve those three things before 8, it’s a win. I like to set my alarm to go off 15 minutes before I actually need to be up and washing my face. That way I can drift back off to sleep for a little, read, check my emails. Some mornings, I like to put on my CurrentBody LED face mask and neck mask during that time and just lay there, letting my mind wake up. Then, on the days I’m not exercising, I like to have enough time to apply my full skincare regimen and to get myself dressed in something I am excited to wear. This takes time! 

I write this to say that your rituals may look very different from someone else’s — and that’s OK. You don’t need to have a long, impressive sequence of wellness activities to start your day. Yours just need to fit your priorities. 

Right now, I am focused on getting in my 10 minutes of red light therapy each morning, and am trying to carve it out as a non-negotiable. I wrote about my CurrentBody mask earlier this year (see full review here), outlining all of its benefits, but the TL;DR is that this mask uses three clinically proven wavelengths: red (633nm), near-infrared (830nm) and new deep near-infrared (1072nm) to promote collagen production and reduce fine lines. I own both the Series 1 and Series 2, and I always use the series 2 because the mask is more comfortable to wear (slightly different design), covers more of your skin, and has an additional wavelength.  CurrentBody also sent me one of their neck/decolletage masks and I put that on while wearing the face mask as well and pray my kids don’t come in to see me – ha.  I have noticed a serious difference around my eye area, in how quickly my skin bounces back from blemishes, and in overall skin evenness.  I cannot recommend more. (Use code JEN10 for 10% off.)

+BESTSELLERS: So many of you snapped up these fab gingham pants! Love the idea of it paired with loose hair, a white tank, sandals with gold hardware, and a basket bag. Maybe a kitschy little hair clip to round it all out?! So good.

It also looks like most of us bought our husbands these cardio shorts and these table knives (20% off with JEN20) for Father’s Day — woohoo! They will love them. All my Father’s Day picks here; only thing I’d add are these handsome frames to display a lovely object or memento. Also great for a birthday, or just a way to commemorate a fabulous trip — how cool it would be to frame matches from a great resort, or a menu from a fabulous dinner?!

01. GINGHAM PANTS // 02. THE BEST MOST LUXE HAND CREAM FOR SOFT GIRL SUMMER // 03. MY FAVORITE EYE MASKS (REALLY AND TRULY WORK) // 04. BEST TABLE KNIVES (USE CODE JEN20 FOR 20% OFF) // 05. EYELET BEACH PANTS // 06. MEN’S CARDIO SHORTS // 07. TUCKERNUCK SOFIA BLOUSE // 08. RAFFIA FLATS // 10. MIRAMAR LINEN BEACH CARDIGAN

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