I’ve had a pretty rough year but one way I can tell I’m turning a corner is when I start getting excited about the little things again1. Naturally I’ve made a list of these things and here they are:

Autumn!
My favorite season is definitely summer - I love the long days, endless bike rides, the feeling of sun on my skin. I love the weightiness of the green of summer, the background soundtrack of cicadas rising and falling, and all the excellent seasonal produce. I love all those things but somehow the relentlessness of summer in the south is something I’d kind of forgotten in my four years in the PNW, where summers are basically perfect for exactly three months before you’re back to the gloom and rain. Now I find myself really eager for autumn - for cozy nights, sweater weather and bike rides in the woods with a golden canopy of turning leaves. Honestly, I think some of it is just me being sick of my summer clothes, but still, I’m ready for the change.

Cooking!
Along with autumn comes the delight of fall/winter cooking. Two things I’m looking forward to making include Marianne’s bolognese sauce which is so foolproof and if you make a double batch and freeze half of it, that’s a gift to your future self. I also look forward to making roasted butternut squash soup with sweet and spicy pecans. I started making this years ago from a Rachel Ray recipe so old it’s not online anymore, but this one is pretty close. I use whole milk instead of heavy cream, chop up the pecans (or just buy the spiced ones from Trader Joes) and add carrots and ginger to the soup, sometimes even an apple if I’m feeling fancy. It’s pretty adaptable. Serve it with gruyere grilled cheese sandwiches for a perfect and cozy dinner.

New Books!
Is there anything more exciting than your favorite author releasing a new book? I mean, probably, but it’s up there. Kate Atkinson has a book coming out September 15th called Our Noble Selves and it sounds really interesting! It covers both her main genres - history and mystery. I’ve already pre-ordered it because I cannot wait for the library on this one. I’m also pretty excited to hear that Audrey Niffinger has a new book coming out called Life Out of Order that’s a sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife. I love time travel books but haven’t read this one in years, so I’m going to re-read it (or maybe listen to it) before reading the sequel. (I’m currently listening to Her Fearful Symmetry during my commute which is just as weird and delightful as I remember it being.)

New TV!
Y’ALL. Have you watched the trailer for Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story? I wasn’t very into the last season of this series, but I’ve always found the story of Lizzie Borden interesting and even though I’m not always a fan of Ryan Murphy shows, I’m really looking forward to watching this. I am also, OF COURSE, impatiently waiting for the new season of the Great British Baking Show with Nigella Lawson replacing Prue Leith. I liked Prue just fine, but I feel like Nigella is a great fit and I’m excited to see what she brings to the show.

Vacation!
We haven’t been on a proper vacation since last Thanksgiving2 and it’s been a rough year, so my husband and I are going to Italy for a week later in September. We’re mainly staying in Florence, with a day trip to Rome. I know a week isn’t enough time to cover everything we’d want to see and do but when we like a country, we tend to go back. This will be our introduction to Italy, which was one of my mother’s favorite places. Generally, when we travel, we plan a few touristy things each day but not too many. We leave a lot of free time to wander, to eat and drink and, of course, I want to do a little shopping. If you have any good recs, lay them on me!

Shopping!
Obviously, I’m looking forward to some fall clothing and shoes purchases. I’ll do a separate post about that, but I’m currently obsessed with the idea of leopard print loafers and maybe some new sweaters.

What are you looking forward to?

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I’m still mad at Everlane for selling out but I also recently realized they’re selling off all the current stock at a discount (by lowering the prices on newer stuff and putting the rest on sale) which means the next collection is probably going to suck. So, during the last big sale I bought the Everywhere Pant in navy while they still have them and I’ve been so pleasantly surprised! They aren’t for everyone but they’re comfortable, work-appropriate, and have an interesting barrel-adjacent silhouette, which is enough for me. (I’m wearing them here.)

I also bought this quilted liner jacket in green that I’ve had my eye on since last fall and of course it’s final sale, but at $59, I figured it was worth a shot. Just an FYI, they sent out a link to a secret “employee sale” which is really just a final sale clear-out. Check it out here if you like.

Every couple of years I’m sucked in by the lure of AYR denim because I just can’t seem to break up with this particular bad boyfriend1. The first pair I bought was a style they don’t sell anymore and I sized up, which was a mistake because they were stretchy and kept sliding down. I sold them. The pair I bought a few years later were The Secret Sauce and they were a good cut (middle aged lady wide-legs if you will), not too stretchy, but just a little bit too small on me. I wore them anyway until one day I was just fed up with being cut in half by these jeans and I sold them. Never again. You can see where this is going, right?

They now have some new washes so I try-tried again, coupon code in hand, with a better wash in The Secret Sauce and this time went a size up. Y’all. I am cautiously optimistic that this pair is the pair I actually keep forever. They look good, they fit well and the wash is excellent. What could go wrong? I’ll post an outfit soon and let y’all tell me if I fucked up again with the fancy jeans.

Obviously not clothing, but still worth a mention! I needed a cozy desk lamp for my work office to counteract the aggressive fluorescent overhead lighting. I found this one on Amazon and liked it so much I immediately bought another one for our guest bedroom. It’s inexpensive, comes in a variety of finishes, has multiple ports for charging your devices and three brightness settings. It even comes with a light bulb! I’d been really trying to buy less cheap crap on Amazon but I sincerely love this dumb little lamp so forgive me my weakness.

My absolute staple workplace item has turned out to be my Athleta Brooklyn Ankle pants. They’re so comfortable and light that sometimes I wear them twice in a week. When they were still on sale I bought another pair in dark gray, even though they were backordered. They just shipped and I’m excited to soon have two pairs of basic bitch pants to wear to work like the good little drone I am. Heh.

Finally, I recently ordered a pair of beautiful red suede flats that didn’t work out (see below) and because I’m a pouty weirdo who REALLY wants red suede shoes, I immediately poked around and found this pair of red suede moccasins at Madewell and ordered them. They haven’t arrived yet but I’m hoping they’ll be as comfortable and cute as they look. (I’m not actually sure if I’m a Moccasin Person but we shall see.)

What I’ve Returned:

This is Sarah’s excellent influence - she made me want the cool Tony Bianco flats and they are available in a gorgeous red suede, so I ordered them. I ordered a full size down because the reviews all say they run SO SO BIG. They arrived, they were beautiful, and they were just a smidge too narrow/short. I probably only needed a half size down. It didn’t matter though because my (previously) broken foot gave them an Absolutely Not. Such a pretty flat, but when my sad foot rejects a shoe immediately, there’s nothing to be done but return them.

And, one final AYR jeans fail! When I ordered the Secret Sauce jeans I also ordered a pair of the straight leg style called The Lala in the same size and they ran so small I couldn’t even button them, SO. Back they go. I NEVER LEARN.

We’re more than halfway through August which means this year, which has been kicking my ass, is heading towards the final quarter. I know I’m getting ahead of myself but I’m so glad. I am just wiped out by this year and by the summer heat and I’m ready to move on to fall. That said, things are mostly going pretty well right now. I’ve settled into my job a bit more and no longer feel quite so weird about it but it’s still a struggle to go into the office every single day and leaving my senior cat behind every morning still feels shitty. Sorry little buddy.

I’ve discovered that my work week schedule goes like clockwork if I have the whole weekend in which to do laundry, plan meals, figure out my lunches for the week and otherwise get my shit together. If I have fun weekend full of plans instead? The whole thing just falls apart.

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Wearing
I’m wearing the Evereve top that’s basically a dopamine hit in clothing form with a pair of pretty okay Everlane trousers (that I call my Big Pants.) I posted about this blouse before I bought it, and then I went ahead and bought it, and y'all, this one is a mood-changer. Bad day? Crap weather? Put this on and you'll feel like a fucking ray of sunshine. (I have to apologize that it's currently sold out in a lot of sizes but they restocked it once, so hopefully they will again.) I don't wear pink very often but when I do I want it to be saturated and loud. Done and done. For a couple other equally loud tops: consider this one at Boden and this striped beauty from Faherty.

Wanting
A work tote update! I bought and returned two different tote bags and also got one from a friend that's a good-time leopard print but not quite big enough. It seems like I’m expending a lot of effort for something so basic, but I do actually enjoy having a white whale to chase, so there's that. Eventually I realized I cared way more about function than fashion and bought this tote from Lululemon. (Fair warning - it’s final sale in the color I bought but also available in more basic colors that can be returned.) I know, so cheugy, but hear me out - this tote is basically perfect. It's got two bottle holders, a bunch of compartments and zip pockets, a laptop section, a top zipper, and grippy stuff on the straps! It's also got a light-colored lining so I can find my crap easily. And it's not completely hideous, which I appreciate. We are very happy together.

Watching
I got a subscription to Britbox so I could watch The Other Bennet Sister (which is fantastic) and then somehow stumbled onto a weird and charming little show called The Cleaner. If you've watched The Inbetweeners you'll be familiar with the literal giant who is Greg Davies, but if not, you are in for a 'lil crush. He plays a crime scene cleaner who just wants to do his job and go to the pub but instead gets tangled up with a series of delightful weirdoes. (Helena Bonham Carter is in the first episode, so they start out strong.) Pretty quickly it stops being about cleaning crime scenes and starts becoming oddly heartwarming in a very Gen-X way. Highly recommend. When you're done with that, you can watch his earlier comedy Man Down which is less “heartwarming” and more “dysfunctional loser slapstick.” (The first season has Rik Mayall playing his dad if that's any indication of what you're in for.)

Reading: I just finished I Found You, a thriller by the very dependable Lisa Jewell. It's a page-turner and the main character Alice feels like a real person, which always makes a book better for me. It would make a great airplane/vacation read.

I'm currently reading Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton which (I think?) my friend recommended in the comments a while back. It's a memoir about adopting a baby hare (called a leveret) with the intention of releasing it back into the wild. Hares are wild animals and notoriously hard to hand-raise, but she doesn't regard it as a pet, instead it becomes a companion. It's beautifully written and I'm learning a lot about hares.

Listening: I thought this would be about the new Strokes album Reality Awaits but it turns out I don’t love it. It’s got a few solid tracks, but it’s like they created a good album and then thought “how can we make this suck a little bit? I know, let’s add an annoying amount of stylistic Auto-Tune.” Thanks, I hate it. It’s disappointing because I really loved their last album The New Abnormal, immediately, but the new one might grow on me yet.

I have listened to a few really good podcasts lately. The Anderson Cooper podcast with Amy and David Sedaris really resonated with me. “You kind of have to assume everybody’s grieving all the time.” I mean, yes. And Substack reader HG recommended the podcast Music and Revolution, specifically the episode about Bronski Beat’s Smalltown Boy, which was fantastic. (I also enjoyed the episode about Freedom ‘90!) Finally, if you haven’t listened to the Good Hang episode with Carol Burnett, save it for a day when you need to laugh. She’s a 92 year old firecracker with great stories.

A few weeks ago I realized my mother died six months ago. It feels like it happened just last week and also a lifetime ago. So much has happened since January that I can’t even wrap my mind around it still being the same year. Time just keeps going at a relentless pace and doesn’t slow down for anything. But, as Tana French wrote “time works so hard for us if only we can let it.” I am so appreciative of the very slight haze this six months has given me, the easing of the shock and the gentle glossing over of my rawest feelings.

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I last suggested little treats back in December before the holidays - a time when a lot of us are buying things for other people, which can be a stressful kind of shopping, so I encourage a little treat to make it more fun. Now we’re in the dog days of summer, which is a weird time of year for shopping because you’re sick of summer stuff but it’s too early to get excited about fall, right? You know what I’m going to say - its the perfect time to buy yourself a little treat. Here are a few suggestions:

These cheap-and-cheerful Blue Q pouches are a fun, small purchase and a great way to organize your crap for your work or travel bag. I use them for charge cords, emergency stuff kits1, makeup, coins, whatever. I love that they’re indestructible and have those satisfying chunky plastic zippers. They have great sales too! I’m personally very fond of this cheetah print, and this one cracks me up. You can also get them on Amazon, but they have a bigger selection on the Blue Q website.

Beauty is one of my favorite little treats. I recently bought this lip stain from Violette_Fr that’s gorgeous! It’s pretty by itself or layer some clear gloss over it. I’m also a fan of Sephora’s mini size section. It’s a great way to try a more expensive product without the full commitment. I recently bought these Elemis resurfacing pads (a good entry-level exfoliator for sensitive skin) and I am really loving this INNBEAUTY PROJECT eye cream, which has one of those cool metal applicators that feels nice. Does it do anything? Who the hell knows? It feels nice going on, and it moisturizes, which is all I really expect from eye cream which I generally think is bullshit but I still use it because what if it’s not?

I’m pretty sure I’ve already recommended Zebra Sarasa Clip gel pens, but they’re still the only ones I want to use, and nothing else will do. They come in interesting “vintage” colors if that’s your thing, write really smoothly, and feel good to hold. Also, they’re not expensive! I originally discovered this pen in a tiny stationery store in WA, but you can get them here or on Amazon. I also bought this beautiful stationery set last year in San Diego, and it’s still a favorite! I love a set that comes with sheets of little stickers, flat note cards, and folding cards. Put a bird on it or something.

When I’m feeling especially cranky and REALLY need a treat, it’s going to be jewelry. I recently discovered Sarah Cornwell jewelry while I was searching for a replacement for my broken labradorite bead necklace, and this brand has a really nice one! That’s an investment though and counts as a Big Treat. Instead, something like these tiny opal huggies would make a crappy day feel a bit less crappy, right? They also have a nice selection of charms if you want to dress up a necklace you already have. I obviously love the labradorite and these little quartz leaf charms are really pretty.

That’s all I’ve got today. Go! Buy yourself a little treat and come back and tell me about it. (Your comments are my little treat, for real.)

Hi there, the last two weeks since I started my new job have been quite interesting. I am mostly just REALLY tired, and the tyranny of getting up early every day, getting fully dressed for the outside world, packing my lunch, saying goodbye to my cat, and driving 30 minutes each way is incredible. Like, every morning? I have to do these things? But, how? I'm out of the house from 7:30am-5:30pm, which leaves time for not much else except the tyranny known as What's for Dinner. (I will address this later.) Help. The house is a mess, the exercise is not happening, we're eating scraps, and I am bereft.

I was hoping to become one of those people who can get up at 5 am and exercise but so far it hasn't happened. I'm working up to it but, like, how do people actually do it? There's a fitness center on campus (not open in the summer, alas) so maybe I can become a lunchtime workout person? That seems more reasonable than getting up at 5 am and fighting the spiders in my basement for space. (Like, SPIDER SIRS. I JUST WANT THIS LITTLE SPACE! The rest is all yours! Stop webbing up my shit!)

I really need to stay on it though, especially since I've been hearing from my skeleton a lot more lately. All my joints hurt, which is a phase of perimenopause I was not prepared for. I do all the things! I eat cottage cheese and collagen powder, I take the estrogen, I lift weights and do my cardio, and still, I am falling apart. I'm pretty annoyed about this recent development and also worried that it's going to get worse and make me scale back my workouts even more because everything fucking hurts. Then my bone density will decline, and I'll fall and break a hip anyway. It seems like there's no winning the aging war.

Now, the new job update! I’m just into week three and it’s been quite something.

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And just to be clear, I am very aware that this is all kind of the same outfit with a few minor variations. I haven’t adjusted yet to my new schedule, so I am relying heavily on a formula.

This is what I wore last Monday. A white AYR tee, my Everlane linen button-down, Beyond Yoga trousers (seriously, fake trousers are the best!), Madewell belt, and my very old Everlane Day flats that don’t come in red anymore, but my friend Ashley has the Quince version in red and loves them.

This is my kooky pottery teacher look, especially after I added the slouchy cardigan you see below. I am still very into these Everlane Easy Barrel pants which I’m wearing with an Evereve top I got on Poshmark. (Mine is an old version but they still make this style in other colors. I dig the pink one!) My sandals are Birkenstock Arizona, of course.

My new Athleta Brooklyn ankle pants were definitely a good purchase. I’m wearing them with a Loft blouse and a wool/cashmere Jenni Kane cardigan I got from The RealReal. A quick word about this cardigan. Marianne owns it and I finally caved from envy and tracked one down. It’s SO GOOD. It's stupid expensive new but delightfully cheap on TRR. It runs big (I’m wearing a small) but here’s my exact sweater in small for under $50 and a medium in 100% cashmere for a very decent price. My office is aggressively air conditioned and I’ve been a shivery poodle all week, so this cardigan was a very solid purchase.

Hey, I know those pants. Seriously, the Brooklyn Ankle are the easiest summer work pants. Today I’m wearing them with my striped Marine Layer shirt and secondhand M.Gemi suede loafers. I added this Quince cardigan (not shown) which now lives at my office in case I forget to bring one.

And we’re back to the Beyond Yoga trousers and the JK cardigan. This time I’m wearing them with my favorite Kule tee and my Penelope Chilvers sandals which have been a great edition to my wardrobe this summer. Just dressy enough but still so comfortable.

Finally, here’s one I haven’t worn. I took this photo last Sunday but haven’t figured it out yet. I love this Emerson Fry skirt so much, but it needs a different top - this sad old, cropped tee isn’t it. Maybe something more fitted to tuck in, I think? I haven’t figured it out yet but I’m determined to wear this skirt. What would you wear it with?

Listening
I’m currently listening to Famesick by Lena Dunham via Audible and it is SO GOOD. Being a memoir, it’s obviously told from the writer’s perspective, but I am struck by what an excellent writer she is and how much I relate to her anxiety. She’s a controversial figure1 but I have so much empathy because I can’t imagine being given so much responsibility and attention (both positive and brutally negative) at the very young age of 24. She gets criticized a lot (sometimes fairly) and has owned up to mistakes she’s made and I can only be glad that some of my biggest mistakes were not public knowledge because I don’t think I would’ve survived it. Add in her debilitating health problems and it’s wild that she made it out alive.

Famesick is deliciously gossipy and jaw-dropping but also delightful and hilarious. When describing a conversation about her ex with Bruce Springsteen, Lena writes that she could have chosen one of two options: “normal behavior” or “psycho stuff.” And after a brief pause, she chose the latter. Cue me hee-hawing in my car as I commute to my new job (DAY FOUR OMG OMG) because who among us hasn’t chosen “psycho stuff” once or twice?

Wearing
Which brings us to the Wearing portion of this newsletter. Recently when I was in a TSA line at O’Hare, I became enamored with the pretty white embroidered blouse worn by a complete stranger in line a few people ahead of me. Did I go for normal behavior and mind my own business? No. Did I go for normal behavior and tell her I liked it, hoping she’d tell me the brand? Also no. Did I opt instead for psycho stuff by surreptitiously taking her photo to later run through Google image? Hell yeah, I did. But it worked and I didn’t have to talk to a stranger in a TSA line.

I did crop this so as not to be a complete psycho but it’s still probably creepy which I’m fully owning. Creepy or not, it worked and Google knew exactly what I was looking for and now I’ve been introduced to Molly Bracken, a French brand I’d never heard of. I ordered it (yay for 15% off my first order) and it arrived quickly! It’s beautiful (see above but also):

It’s not a very ME thing but I love that it’s super pretty without being too puffy sleeved or be-ruffled. I did size up after a little research which told me the brand tends to run small. I probably could’ve worn my regular size but didn’t want it to be too cropped or tight across the chest. Is it a keeper? Let me know what you think.

Wanting
I’m still on the hunt for a work tote bag and have really done quite an extensive search online- everything from this one at Madewell to the Cuyana System Tote (which I’d probably buy secondhand if I went that way.) Nothing seemed quite right and I wasn’t sure exactly what I’d need until I actually started my job. I’m glad I waited because I’d forgotten my need for both a travel coffee mug and an Owala water bottle and that I’d also be carrying a lunch bag, a laptop, etc. Honestly, I need function more than style. I’ve been using my Portland travel backpack which is great for travel, but kind of a clunker for schlepping stuff from the parking lot to my office. Most recently I found this Dagne Dover Noa tote which has space for a laptop, a bottle holder, and it’s in a color I find pleasing. The issue? It’s a sold-out seasonal color. Oh, and it’s also sold out in the other two colors. It is however, oddly, available at Dick’s Sporting Goods so I might order it and see if it’s worth the price.

Watching
We finished the last episode of The Bear last night and I’m bereft. This show wasn’t always perfect but it was pretty damn close. Ritchie’s arc was by far my favorite, but I loved most of the characters, flaws and all, and wouldn’t change much. (Maybe slightly less from the Fak brothers.) I don’t think I’ve ever seen family disfunction so perfectly highlighted on TV and it made me feel seen in a weird way. Overall, I absolutely loved The Bear and can’t wait to eventually rewatch it from start to finish. Also, thanks to a comment from Alice, we watched all of Widow’s Bay in a week and really enjoyed it. Just the perfect amount of hilarious and creepy.

Reading
Like a good little Internet follower, I’m reading Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke and, while I’m generally not into books with intentionally unlikeable main characters, this one has me hooked. It’s the story of a tradwife influencer who wakes up one morning to find herself living in an actual 1855 pioneer homestead. Time travel? Coma-induced delusion? No idea! I’m halfway through and have no clue how this is going to end but I’m riveted by the premise. I also recently finished The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage which was a lot of fun and very interesting if you’re curious about the inner workings of the British Royal Family.

That’s it! I’ve been taking RTO outfit pics all week and will post them soon. (I’M SO TIRED.) Please let me know what you’ve been listening to, reading, wearing etc. lately!

Okay, so it’s BARELY July but I’ve packed so much into the last seven days that I really just need to get it out of my head so we can move on to more fun things, like would it be okay for me to wear a bikini (a tasteful one, obviously) to my first day of work next week since it’s going to be 100 degrees. Yes? No? Probably no.

In the last seven days I flew with my husband to Chicago for my best friend’s1 wedding, came home, had a day to do life admin, had a mammogram, drove to Richmond for 24 hours to attend a memorial service, drove back to North Carolina, and immediately went to the dentist to get my temporary crown for my stupid tooth. It mostly all went according to plan.

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I remember last summer, arguing with my mother who seemed to think that my moving back east meant I should be available to her at all times. When I pointed out that I was busy trying desperately to find a job and she responded with “Well, it will probably take you a year to find one.” I remember being irritated that she had so little faith in my abilities. It’s really annoying when she’s right, but this time she was right. My final day at my old job last year was July 11th and I start my new job on July 6th.

I honestly wish I’d known I’d have a year off because I might have tried to have more fun with it, but mostly I was anxious about not working, stressed out about my mother’s situation and feeling quite isolated in a small town where I had no friends.

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I finally got a job (yay!) and it requires five days in-office, a situation I haven’t dealt with since 2020. I’m so happy about the job but low level freaking out about how every aspect of my routine will change. First order of business? I need work clothes. I’m pretty sure this office is business casual, so I tried on every single “appropriate” thing in my closet and got rid of anything that didn’t fit or no longer suited me. I also had a couple of items that had been in my closet FOR A YEAR with tags still on, so those had to go too. If I haven’t worn them by now, it’s never going to happen.

Before I went to visit Marianne last week, she asked me what I wanted to do and I requested some in-person shopping. Almost all of my shopping is online these days but sometimes it’s better to just suck it up and try things on. We went to a nearby shopping center and visited LOFT, J.Crew Factory, and Athleta.

First, we hit up LOFT, where I haven’t been in a few years. I find LOFT overwhelming because it’s just too much stuff! Even the website is too much! LOFT, y’all need to edit. But we both found something to buy. I got this blouse (though mine is the blue on white pattern like this tee) which I think will be great for a summer work outfit. Marianne bought this adorable top which looks perfect with high-waisted jeans or shorts.

Next, we went to J.Crew Factory which is in full preppy summer mode - everything is covered in lobsters or seashells, which, while cute, is not really my thing. I did, however, buy these cute wide-leg pants and a leopard print belt. Marianne bought a very cute shift dress that made her legs look a mile long (though in fairness, her legs are indeed a mile long.)

One thing I knew I had to replace were my trusty Athleta Brooklyn Ankle pants. My very old pair has seen better days - they’re faded and bagged out at the knees. I tried on basically all the work-appropriate pants styles they have but the Brooklyn is what I liked best, so I bought a new pair. They’re so comfortable and lightweight and still look tailored enough to pass for work pants.

I also recently ordered the voile blouse I mentioned in a recent post (I’m wearing it in the outfit above) and I’m happy to report that it’s really nice! It sells out quickly, but they restock regularly, so if it’s gone in the size/color you like, just check back in a day or two. I got the blue in a size medium and it’s so pretty.

Then I shopped Marianne’s closet. She had a stack of clothes set aside that don’t fit her anymore, so I got first dibs. My favorites include this Emerson Fry skirt (sold out, but easy to find on Poshmark here and here), this black satin Madewell skirt, a sage green double gauze button up from J.Crew (it’s a few years old but Factory has a version!) and a beautiful Ulla Johnson dress that I’m not going to link because it’s way past season, but I’ll post an outfit soon. I got a ton more from her closet which I’ll show you once I start building outfits. I’m already planning a whole work-outfit post, I just need to start putting stuff together and seeing what works.

Finally, do I need a work tote? I’m looking at this one on Nordstrom Rack but haven’t decided if it’s the one.

For those of you who work in-office every day, remind me how this works? Help.

I have quite a few updates from my last check in post, mostly good news. I have an answer regarding the job I interviewed for and updates about my dental woes, my book club anxiety and some other stuff. I don’t really have an update on my basement gym but it’s in progress and I’ll share more when I feel like it’s worthy of sharing. (Please keep your expectations low. I cannot stress enough how truly basement-y it is.)

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I’m still fretting about a few things (I mean, always) but I’m also trying to focus on the good things, the little moments of joy and satisfaction and the common pleasures of modern life. Here’s a list of what’s making me happy lately:

1. I’m a farmer, y’all! Just kidding. We put a couple of small, raised beds in our back yard and filled them with some herbs and marigolds. We also planted a few rose bushes in April and some pots of flowers for the front porch. My job has been to water everything and keep an eye on it all and even though I kind of suck at it, it’s been a lot of fun! So far, the only thing I’ve managed to kill is the thyme which apparently needed a lot more (or less?) water than I was giving it. The basil is growing strong, though. Two of our new rose bushes gave us roses almost immediately but the third one needed more time to settle in. The other day its first rose finally bloomed and now it’s going crazy. It feels nice to track the progress of all my plant babies.

2. Early summer evenings. On Saturday we went to a free outdoor symphony performance (complete with cannons for the 1812 Overture) and there’s just something really special about sitting outside on a beautiful June evening as the sun goes down. Feral children were running around in the grass, the clouds changed color as the sun went down, and the bats swooped overheard. It reminded me of the joys of being a kid right after school lets out with the whole summer is ahead of you. The best! All of this set to a symphony soundtrack just made for a really nice time.

3. A solo movie date. A few weeks ago my husband was out of town so I took myself to a matinee of The Devil Wears Prada 2, a movie I knew he’d have no interest in watching. I loaded up on snacks and went to a sparsely populated matinee and had a grand time all by myself. This is something I used to do when I was single, only back then I had access to CineBistro, which serves dinner and cocktails right to your seat. I took myself out on many a solo dinner/movie date and it’s still something I like to do, even if we don’t have the fancy theater option.

4. I DNF’ed a book and it felt great. What little I’d heard about Theo of Golden made me not want to read it, but it’s for the book club so I gave it the old college try. Look, I have no problem with subtle religious undertones, but I will DNF in a hot second when a character (who you’re supposed to like!) casually refers to an undocumented immigrant as “an illegal” like it’s a normal thing to say. It stopped me in my tracks. And the writing! It’s heavy-handed, condescending, and it does a lot of telling but no showing. I had been slogging through and was suddenly like: I do not like this. I quit reading it immediately felt great about my decision. Life is too short to read shitty books! This will definitely make for an interesting book club, though.

5. Something to look forward to. This weekend I’m driving to Tennessee to visit Marianne, who I haven’t seen since early December. Some solid friend time is much needed and I’m really looking forward to seeing her and her family and catching up on everything that’s happened in the last five months. I was supposed to go visit at the beginning of May but we both got sick and had to reschedule and now I’m so glad we did because I really needed something to look forward to.

What’s been making you happy lately? (And hey, if the answer is “nothing” I want to hear about that too.)

Hi! It’s suddenly June and things with me are mostly feeling a lot better with a smattering of “oh no” and “what the actual fuck.” First the good stuff:

I was invited to a real, in-person book club in which 14 women gathered to drink wine and talk about The Correspondent. I was looking forward to this even though I didn’t know most of these women, but when I tell you how great it was! It was so great! They weren’t all my people but a lot of them definitely could be. It was such a fun evening, and I laid the groundwork for some new friendships which is always nice.

There’s another one in a few weeks that I hope I’ll be invited to even though I don’t want to read the book. (Theo of Golden. Thoughts?) It’s a weird situation, though, because I was invited separately, after the original group text was sent out and I’ve still not been added to the group text, even though I specifically asked to be. Twice. So… I don’t have the details for the next book club and I’m not sure if I’m actually invited. Social anxiety! It never ends.

I did, after posting my recent whine about not riding my bike, make myself go ride my bike. (See above.) It was good! I went to a new-to-me trail and rode for an hour and saw some geese, terrorized some squirrels, and had a nice time. Sometimes I just need to bully myself a little bit and do the thing. I was going to try to do it again this week but instead I’m dealing with a really painful shoulder/back muscle situation (caused by nothing?) that requires a lot of heating pad action. Boo.

The other positive thing is that I’ve had a few job interviews. One of them was a horrifying one-way video screener for a remote position in which I had to answer five questions while staring at myself in the camera. This was so much more terrible than talking to someone via Zoom because I kept forgetting to look at the camera and had to do many, many takes. It was the terriblest. I did not move onto the next round which surprised me not even a little bit.

The other interview was for a nearby college. I had a great first interview via Zoom and was invited for an in-person group interview, my first in-person interview in seven years. Eep.

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Wearing: Last Summer.
I rediscovered this dress I bought last summer and it’s my version of dopamine dressing - the color just makes me really happy. It’s made by Pact and sold out on their site, but you can still find it in some sizes here and there. It’s not amazing but it is easy and floaty and 100% cotton. In other dopamine dress news, I am eyeing this one at Boden and really need this one to go on sale because it had me at “tiger embroidery.” My bag is my usual Clare V Grande Fanny and I’m wearing last summer’s Birkenstock Arizona sandals in gray suede.

Wanting: Cute Summer Tops.
Lately I’ve been wanting new summer tops that aren’t t-shirts. I’m waiting for this red pintuck top at Madewell to go on sale, and I’m intrigued by this gauze version of my favorite Marine Layer button down. The Gap also has a very cute gauze split-neck top that’s on sale in white, but I love the saturated blue more. Finally, this pretty voile top has been following me around the Internet, probably because I keep clicking on it like a creeper.

Watching: The Other Bennet Sister.
I read The Other Bennet Sister five years ago and absolutely loved it, so I was super happy to hear that the BBC made a series out of it. it’s a retelling of Pride & Prejudice from the prospective of the bookish middle daughter Mary Bennet and mostly focuses on the events after the original story ends. I re-subscribed to BritBox just so I can watch it and it’s so good! The casting is perfection (including some actors from the original BBC miniseries of P&P) and every episode is great - no filler, lovely men, incredible women. I can’t wait for the next episode.

PS. No spoilers, but the series finale of Hacks was GREAT. Watch it if you haven’t!

Reading: The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey
I finished reading this last week and I’m still thinking about it. Its full title includes “A Coming-of-Age Mystery Amid Yorkshire Murders” which barely scratches the surface. It’s the story of 12-year-old Miv and her best friend Sharon who live in a small town in Yorkshire in the 1970s. They decide to catch the Yorkshire Ripper on their own which gives the story structure, but it’s really about navigating friendship, first love, and family while growing up at a time when everything feels unsettled and dangerous. I adored this book - it’s very of a time and place (lots of unsupervised children running around at all hours like we did back then) and the characters are beautifully written. It’s definitely worth a read.

Listening: Honestly, not much.
I’ve mostly been catching up on my podcasts but also re-listening to Coconut Records, which is Jason Schwartzman’s solo music project. The song West Coast has been a long-time favorite of mine, so I’ve been going back and listening to the whole album. Also, if you like Jason Schwartzman, this episode of Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers is a good listen! (I really sympathize with his mother.) There is also a newer episode with J.S. but I haven’t listened to it yet because I’m WAY behind.

Since my early 30s a big part of my life and personality was being an athlete, specifically a cyclist. Nothing athletic ever came easy for me, and it’s certainly not something my artist family encouraged, but I’m willing to work hard when I want to be good at something. Being a mountain biker, then a mountain bike racer, then a cyclocross1 racer was something I put a lot of effort into. For years I was on a local team, had a ton of bike friends, and even though I’m not much of a joiner it felt so nice to be part of something. I signed up for my first beginner ‘cross race in 2014 and came in third place. I was hooked.

In the spring of 2019, I decided to get serious and hired a racing coach. Previously to this my “training” had involved just riding a lot and occasionally tagging along on a friend’s training sessions. I wanted to really put the work in to be ready for the next cyclocross race season, which runs September to December. I spent that spring and summer road biking, but not the fun kind of road biking, I was training. I was doing specific workouts set by my coach sandwiched between a couple of FTP2 tests. I learned a lot that year about cadence, intervals, and heart rate. Y’all, I hated it. I missed fun rides with my friends but thought if I put in the work, I’d be able to kill it when race season started.

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This is a very slouchy look but I’m digging it. I’m wearing a great linen blouse from Everlane (sob) with my beloved Nili Lotan Shon jeans. My bag is a very secondhand Gucci Bamboo Daily from The RealReal with a Clare V strap that I already had. My Birkenstocks belonged to my mother, and I love the dark wine color. I’ve been wearing them a lot which I think she’d appreciate.

The weather was all over the place in April and this was a chilly day! I’m wearing an old Quince cashmere cardigan, my long-sleeved Modern tee from Kule, and my jeans are from Hey Gang. My sneakers are Adidas in a bright salmon red/pink combo which always sparks joy.

We went to a cocktail party a few weeks ago and I finally had an excuse to dress up! I’m wearing my favorite Veronica Beard Amani dress, which I bought secondhand after renting it from RTR a few years ago. It’s such a pretty print but the button front requires some Stitchy action, just FYI. You can find this dress and different versions with the same print on Thredup and TRR pretty easily. (Also, someone snap up this size 8!) My sandals are Penelope Chilvers which I wrote about recently. They’re perfect.

It was unseasonably warm last week so I pulled out some shorts. These are Nili Lotan Yoann shorts which I found on Poshmark and they’re good! Just solid rigid denim cut-offs. I’m wearing them with an old eyelet top from Madewell that I still love. Madewell has quite a few similarly cute little tops right now - this one is adorable and the detail on this one is so pretty. I also love this version from Boden! My bag is the Clare V Grande Fanny, still my favorite small bag.

More dumb shorts. These are Madewell, a style from last summer that I repurchased in a size up because last year’s seemed tight. (I haven’t tried this year’s version.) I forgot they stretch out so now these are a little too big. I’m not mad about it, though, because slouchy shorts are better than tight shorts, right? I can’t handle tight right now. My tee is the AYR Supercool and I’m still wearing my mom’s Birks.

Finally, I wanted to show y’all my other pair of Everlane Easy Barrel Pants because even while the color (Oak) is odd, it seems to work with nearly everything. Here I’m wearing a grey striped Madewell tee (mine is from last summer but this one is similar) and my new gold sandals. I’ve also paired these pants with black, blue, white and a colorful floral print and they just always seem to work. They’re final sale, which sucks, but I’m wearing a medium if that helps.

That’s all I got - mostly my usual casual slop but I did manage to wear a dress so that’s something.

Because of this, I’m buying less overall, and I’m always trying to avoid the temptation of super-cheap items that fall into the fast-fashion category. I’m not made of stone and might still be swayed by the occasional bargain from Old Navy, but I really try not to because it rarely works out.

Luckily, I love buying secondhand! I used to thrift a lot in person, but the thrift stores here aren’t very good, so mostly I thrift online these days. My favorite thing to do is pull up a brand I love on The RealReal or Thredup and sort by price, low→high. You’d be amazed at the deals to be had.

Finally, as I’ve mentioned, I can’t wear cheap-n-cheerful shoes anymore because my previously broken foot just can’t handle them. I need arch support, good construction, and also want a little bit of style.

Okay, with that out of the way, here are some items I bought recently and why I returned them:

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Wearing: New, old, and secondhand.
I’m wearing the very good Everlane barrel pants I told y’all about a while back. I now have these in two colors (the olive, which is sadly sold out, and oak, which is an odd color but I find it quite versatile.) They are just so crisp and comfortable and feel like nothing on. I’m wearing them with a secondhand AYR The Pool Boy blouse I found on eBay that drapes very nicely. This style is discontinued but there are quite a few on the secondhand sites. My sandals are new! They are the Penelope Chilvers Shepherdess, which I’ll tell you more about below.

Wanting: Sandals that aren’t Birkenstocks.
I’ve been wanting a pair of cute sandals that are NOT Birkenstocks, specifically gold sandals that are slightly dressy but still wearable for everyday. Thanks to a recent Girls of a Certain Age post, I was introduced to Penelope Chilvers and now have a new, expensive shoe brand to obsess over. I bought my sandals from Nordstrom using the fat rebate from my yearly contact lens purchase1, which made it even better. These sandals are gorgeous and so comfortable right out of the box. And, they have juuuust enough of a heel to work well with dresses.

Watching: Rooster! Rooster.
Are you watching Rooster? It’s a fucking delight. It has a great cast (Steve Carrell, Robby Hoffman, Phil Dunster, and Danielle Deadwyler to name a few) and it’s just a pleasure to watch. It’s smart, kind of silly, and goddammit, it’s heartwarming and I don’t even mind. I love an academic setting as well because it always has the best and worst kinds of people in one place. Anyway, give it a try if you aren’t sure. Also, if you’re a fan of Ted Lasso, definitely watch this show because it’s the reason Phil Dunster isn’t going to be in season four.

Reading: Book club pick.
I got invited to a book club! The chosen book is The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, which is everywhere right now. I’m happy to tell you it’s really good, but you probably already know that. I didn’t actually love it at first because the main protagonist is such a crank. She’s a retired lawyer with very sharp opinions, and I wasn’t sure I could care about her. But she grows, and as she does, you grow to care about her and the people around her. It’s an epistolary novel, inspired by the fantastic 84, Charing Cross Road (which you should also read if you haven’t), and the letters and emails tell a complex story from several points of view.

I also finished The Keeper by Tana French, which I found to be a very satisfying conclusion to the Cal Hooper trilogy. These books are a little different from her Dublin Murder Squad series, and they’re written in a way that reflects French’s description of the Irish way of talking around a subject rather than being direct. Personally, I love this because it forces me to slow down and enjoy her writing while the story unfolds at its own pace. I know it’s not for everyone, but her writing is so beautiful and atmospheric, and I really love the characters.

Listening: Audiobooks
For my recent trip to Richmond, which is about a four-hour drive each way, I decided to check out some audiobooks because a good one will keep my attention for the duration. I tend to check out audiobooks of books I’ve already read (in case my mind wanders), so I checked out Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, which I read when it came out in 2012. It’s been years, so I only vaguely remember the details. This one is really good as an audiobook with different people for each character, which I think helps my brain keep track of who’s talking. I didn’t finish it on the trip, so now I use any excuse to keep listening - errands, chores, whatever. I always forget how much I love a good audiobook, and it’s been a nice break from podcasts.