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+COMFORT SHOWS/COMFORT BOOKS: One thing I’ve learned about this Magpie community is that many of us are “repeat readers,” which — on principle, I love someone who identifies as a repeat reader. A repeat reader is a woman who knows her own mind, who is an expert in herself. She takes her own joy seriously! These are traits I love in my friends. Are you also repeat watchers? What are the comfort shows you turn on when you can’t find anything else to watch, or when you are feeling blue or anxious or sleepless? Please share in the comments! Mine are:
“Gilmore Girls” (mainly in the fall)
“Downton Abbey” (especially when I’m sick)
“Great British Baking Show” (something to fall asleep to)
“The Mindy Project” or “Arrested Development” for LOLs
“Veep” (when I want to be truly entertained — this is not a “drift off to sleep”/background noise show)
“Normal People” (when I’m in a big-feeling mood, and have the capacity for a big but sad love story),
“Emily in Paris” (frothy vibe)
But then, like all good millennials, Landon and I will watch “The Office” or “Seinfeld” (and, sometimes, “Parks and Rec”) if we are in a hotel room, or have nothing else to put on the TV. And I think we’ve watched PEN15 at least three times from start to finish. Comfort watches forever. What are yours?
+THE SLOW MAKING OF THINGS: Just a reminder that every overnight success story is ten years in the making. All good things take time. Hang in there! Todo a su tiempo. Are you the heirloom tomato now green on the vine, with its promising peak around the corner?
+RILEY SHEEHEY’S BOOK ART PRINTS: OMG! I had to have this print of the cover of Little Women that Riley Sheehey illustrated! There are four other covers to select from, too — how cute would these be framed in a girl’s room or your office? (Mine will definitely sit on my desk in a lucite block. Little Women is one of the few books I do repeat read, and the playlist I listen to while working on my book is titled JO MARCH ENERGY!)
+WHAT ARE YOUR DOORS? I found this excerpt from Women Who Run with the Wolves stirring. What gives your life texture, mystery, a good kind of ballast? Those are doors to meaningful things!
+BRILLIANT CHARACTER PORTRAIT: I can’t explain why, but you need to see this comedian’s portrait of Patsy from “Every Clerk’s Office in the South.” (Part I, Part II). It is on the nose – every detail. I would guess we’ve all met Patsy, one of the most powerful women in the county. (Comments are also really entertaining.)
+WINNER OF THE MAGPIE BOOK CLUB BAD BOOK GIRL HAT: I’ve been LOVING all of the AIM “reader” handles you shared in response to my Magpie Book Club 2.0 announcement. Some of my favorites: @onlymurderbooksinthebuilding, @rarebookgirl (her parents are rare book dealers!), @JoMarchsBestie, @PlaceHold98, and @half&halfreader (half serious reads, half ‘bad’ books), and @ireadbooksinbars. You all are so clever and charming! The winner of the Bad Book Girl hat is Lauren (AIM handle Libbyfan89)! Lauren, I’ll email you for your shipping address.
+EYEING + BUYING: I picked up some fun things this week: a watercolor book to make “bad art” with (doing anything creative is worth your time!), these butter yellow jeans (look for less here, here), and a new signature scent!
BIRDS WATERCOLOR BOOK // ELOISE BALLET FLATS // ZARA CROCHET TOP // MAISON D’ETTO PERFUME // BA&SH TONNIE DRESS // MARGAUX WRAP SANDALS // ALIGNE WAISTCOAT VEST // SOUTHERN JAMES DESIGNS OPAL NECKLACE // VERONICA BEARD JEANS (LOOKS FOR LESS HERE, HERE) // J. CREW BAG
+BESTSELLERS: The HHH Margot dress! It’s so gorgeous, and selling fast (hopefully still some in stock by the time this goes live!)
01. HHH MARGOT DRESS // 02. TUCKERNUCK RAFFIA BAG // 03. MY FULL-SIZE GARMENT STEAMER (ON SALE!) // 04. BAUBLE BAR GEMSTONE BRACELET // 05. WOVEN BIRKS // 06. J. CREW PATTERNED PANTS (SO COMFORTABLE; LOVE) // 07. GAP X DOEN WHITE DRESS // 08. STRIPED MIDI SKIRT // 09. GAP SLOUCHY BAG // 10. GAP CROCHET TOP // 11. TORY BURCH SANDALS // 12. ME+ EM DRESS
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I rewatch!
Trial & Error is a pitch-perfect oddball murder trial comedy that deserved better than the two seasons it got. If you liked Parks and Rec, watch this. The twists and pacing are excellent I’ve watched in 6 times through with various guests, very different personalities, and it always gets rave reviews. My top under-the-radar rec. My husband frequently dreams of buying the rights and reviving it. The cast is stellar. Adding lots of spacing because if I do ONE thing today, it’s get all the Magpies to watch Trial & Error.
Ted Lasso, particularly season 1. My favorite episode is s1e3 with Trent Crimm.
Every time I have a baby (all two times, haha) my husband and I rewatch The Office in its entirety. More his comfort show than mine, but I do like it. In the workplace drama vein, lately I’ve been rewatching Fisk, it’s so dry, I can’t wait for another season. I know nothing about wills & probate and choose to believe this is completely true to life.
GBBO of course especially Nadiya’s season, but have you tried The Great Pottery Throwdown? It’s a similar format, but the male judge, instead of being a very grouchy Paul Hollywood type, is Keith, who cries when the pots are particularly beautiful. I love him.
In a similar vein: The Repair Shop. My buddy and I frequently speculate about the lives of the experts who do the repairs! I put this on when I get up before my kids in the morning. It’s nearly ASMR and so heart-warming besides.
If you like GBBO, PLEASE read Alexis Hall’s Winner Bakes All series, starting with Rosaline Palmer Takes The Cake.
All Creatures Great & Small is my cozy low-stakes drama pick. I’d read James Herriot stories as a little girl so there’s some nostalgia there.
Kids: My kids watch Little Lovely Farm and Frog & Toad all the way through, and they love the rocket episode of Stillwater, the Bubbles episode of Sesame Street, and the exact same Daniel Tiger on repeat. I can’t wait until they’re old enough to see His Dark Materials, what a miniseries.
Black Sails is gritty and dramatic and often violent, but has some of the best acting and the best ending I’ve seen on TV. Every few years we watch it all the way through (though we often skip season one).
The Expanse is my very favorite sci fi show currently airing, and I watched it all, read the books, then watched it again. It’s really tightly written as a book series and it’s incredible how much of the dialogue and plot was rendered faithfully in the show. The authors (a duo) ran the world building as a tabletop game for years before committing it to paper. A master class.
My dad got me into Star Trek young, and I often pick a favorite DS9 or Voyager episode to revisit. I like TNG too but I watched those episodes so many times in high school I wore it out! I like a holodeck episode.
In college I used to fall asleep in front of Murdoch Mysteries, it’s so formulaic and delightful.