Let's try this again...
Some things i've been wearing, eating, listening to, watching, pondering.
I hit a bit of a rut three posts in on here, which is what I expected as it usually takes me a bit to get into the groove of how something works for my personality. I realized that i need to talk about everything all the time.
One topic per post isn’t gonna work for me, at least not starting out. One of my favorite substacks Remotely, written by Lucy Williams uses a format that I liked and am going to try. Basically it’s just me word vomiting everything that I love, and isn’t that why we’re all here anyway?
Wearing
This Sloppy Joe Sweatshirt that i’m throwing on over everything. It has the perfect oversized fit and the ribbing on the cuffs and neck are smaller than your typical crewneck giving it more of a slouchy, 90’s look. I love it with a white crewneck tee underneath and some layered necklaces. I shared about this sweatshirt on my gift guide and subsequentally recieved it from my husband on Christmas (huge life hack). It’s Princess Diana approved and comes in tons of excellent colors. They also have a collared style that is next on my list.
I wear these Elisa Johnson Glasses. Every. Single. Day. I am daydreaming about getting Lasik to fix my football shaped eyes. (My eye doctor said re: my severe astigmatism “the good news is, it can’t get any worse!” which neither made me laugh nor feel better.) That being said, my prescription has changed with both of my pregnancies and I am debating on waiting til I’m for sure for sure done having kids. (how do i know when i’m done??????) Back to the point. These glasses frames have been my whole personality for like 7 months. I love them. Babies love them (high contrast). Gay men love them (the only thing that matters to me). I love them so much I got the sunglasses version. Until one day I was driving home from work when I glimpsed my face in the mirror and decided I hate them. Since I love the shape and it’s tbh pretty hard to find glasses that look good on my big head (thanks dad) I decided to order this version and i’m waiting patiently for their arrival.
I’ve worn these Abercrombie and Fitch jeans most days for the past few weeks. My body is changing constantly being postpartum and It’s hard to find jeans that have the perfect amount of stretch and structure. These are sweatpants comfy and aren’t too high rise or low rise (despite the name of the product, don’t be scared.) I ordered them in a few other colors to see if I loved them just as much and sadly, i’m here to report that they did not do the trick. I’ve been so impressed with A&F denim and their sizing (especially mid and plus sizing) is healing my inner child.
Watching
White Lotus, of course. I don’t want to hear any of this “but there’s no plot!” nonsense. The characters are amazing, I want to look at Aimee Lou Wood’s face all day, and the dialogue has me snickering through every episode.
Jayne Matthews DIY Bangs Class. My mom has been telling me to take this class for years and let me tell you it was worth every penny. I LOVE having bangs but my hair grows every time I tell a lie so it’s hard to keep up with. I would jump in front of a train for my hair colorist Cass, but I wanted to be able to give myself a bangs trim on a whim. I bought this razor and now I carry it into my purse in case anyone at work might want bangs. I even cut my sister Ingrid’s at work and she said I did a good job (see below). The class is 2 hours and I watched it at 1.5x speed.
The Traitors: I love survivor and I love the real housewives and this show just really hits for me. This seasson’s cast was STACKED (from my fav, Gabby Windey to Scandoval’s Tom Sandoval to Boston Rob and lets not forget, Dylan Efron). It was such a good season and i’m so glad it’s getting the attention it deserves.
Reading
Coco Mellor’s Blue Sisters - I’m a sucker for any book about sisters. These 3 sisters find themselves in completely different places after the death of their beloved sister, Nicky. Lucky (the fiesty model who lives abroad), Avery (the oldest sister, lawyer, and recovered heroin addict) and Bonnie (professional boser who works as a bouncer at a bar) work through their history and complicated family relationships in the aftermath of their loss. It’s a fascinating portrayal of the roles that we take in our families and how that can help and hurt us. 7/10
Liz Moore’s The God of the Woods - About a summer camp located on the east coast. The family who owns the camp and lives on the property have two children go missing - but over a decade apart. This was a fun read as it reminded me of my summer working as a camp counselor on Catalina Island during the summer of 2016. I’m not going to lie this book freaked me out, but I couldn’t put it down. So thrilling and heart wrenching and impossible to guess the outcome of. It jumps from perspective and you have to connect some dots on your own. There were a few characters that didn’t get the ending they deserve, though - simply because there were too many characters to even get an ending. 8/10
Eating
Had Courage Bagels for the first time in LA last week and it was everything I dreamed of. Sourdough and perfectly crispy and airy. Their cream cheese is so good, too.
Scrambled Eggs: I’ve been making my eggs in a new way after seeing this tiktok. Basically, you crack the eggs into the pan and try to keep the yolks in tact while scrambling the whites. After the whites look all the way cooked, you break the yolks and stir them into the whites. It’s perfect and buttery and you don’t have to worry about runny egg whites (the scariest thing on earth). Also, you don’t have to worry about mixing your eggs beforehand and dirtying another bowl!
Listening
The Pop Apologists: This is my favorite podcast, I will never miss an episode. Two sisters with fun vocabularies, witty banter, and EXCELLENT takes on pop culture. They are covering the Blake Lively/Justin Baldoni drama and have - in my opinion - the most nuanced and insightful takes on the situation. Feels like sitting in a room chatting with my sisters. It helps that they grew up mormon and will occasionally sprinkle in a 1,000 stripling warriors thirst trap reference (iykyk).
The Kill List: I am not a big true crime girl but I do love some investigative journalism. This fascinating series follows a journalist who discovered a murder-for-hire website on the dark web where real people were submitting requests for murders-for-hire. His team walks you through different cases all over the world and tries to alert the potential victims that someone is trying to kill them. People’s responses are shocking and it’s wild to see their stories play out.
Making
Kids Clothes — My daughter Freya has an all-consuming obsession with dresses and I recently got so tired of seeing the same 5 dresses every day. I decided to take some old fabric that I hadn’t used and replicated some of her favorite dress shapes. It took one Sunday afternoon to sew them up and she loves them. Having a clothing label, I find myself missing the actual process of sewing clothes for my personal use and have a goal to pull my machine out more often.
I’m SO inspired by Amanda Jane Jones’ use of her vintage photo strips that her family has collected over the years. I’ve made it a point to look for a vintage photo booth every time we’re traveling to capture my family in that moment in time. I’ve never been one for souvenirs but I love the idea of having a time capsule of photo strips to assemble into a beautiful piece of art like Amanda does here. All that to say, we’ve been collecting!!
Pondering
I’ve been thinking a lot about how to talk to my daughters about food and healthy eating habits. Having some disordered beliefs around food that i’ve had to work through, I don’t want to mess this one up. I find it hard to balance the intuitive eating approach (non-scarcity, not foods are off limits, listening to your bodies hunger cues and how you feel after you eat) with the truths I know about food and it’s nutrients and how it actually functions in your body. I saw this message that Ashie Adams (one of my fav follows) shared on her story about this topic and i’ve been using this phrasing as a tool when talking about food and found it very helpful. If you have any thoughts or tips about this, please do share!
tata for now!
xx
Olive
I’m going to have to read those book recs asap
Love love this