Issue Seventeen
Shelter from the Storm
Hi, everyone and happy April showers! This issue is our way of popping up a big ol’ umbrella. We’re looking for shelter—and distraction—from the storm. That means focusing on the little things. Like cleansing our top drawer, upgrading our children’s tableware and swapping out our light switches for cuter ones (more on these topics in next week’s paid letter!) We’re throwing on bright cozy boyfriend sweaters and swaddling ourselves in reassuring nightgowns. We’re also looking towards the sun and light-hearted ideas like crystal-clear jewelry, extra-chic white jeans and gardening accessories that will get you buzzed. And as of Wednesday night, we’re now dreaming of swimming in a Hycean sea.
It’s also time to start thinking about entertaining (and summer fun) again. And that means vegetable candles are on the menu. Bon appetit!
You fold back crisp freshly-ironed sheets, lift your bare feet gently from the floor and float into bed. An oh-so-southern WHITE COTTON NIGHTGOWN, à la Victoria Ratliff, is something we should all have (along with status hand cream and a lil’ pill box bag). Parker dons several intricate nighties in The White Lotus made by the classic San Francisco brand Eileen West, which we’ve loved since we were little girls watching our mothers waft around the house in them. Delicate and carefully made, they’re the perfect thing for warm-weather sleeping. But throw on a big chunky cardigan, clogs and celebrity goggles, and suddenly you’re dressed for a fabulously deranged-looking coffee run, too.
You strike a match, light them one by one, and an enchanted garden glows. Ever since John Derian launched these iconic asparagus tapers in his Thanksgiving collection for Target, we’ve been wild for VEGGIE CANDLES on our table. We love Happy Organics’ asparagi and carrot tapers handmade in California by a third-generation beekeeping family; Artifaqt’s version molded from real spears; these multicolored carrots by Brooklyn-based maker Between Spaces; and these beauties made in Pennsylvania from naturally aromatic beeswax c/o Houses and Parties (one of our favorite sites for wild entertaining paraphernalia). We recommend planting dozens of them in a line down the center of your table (inspo courtesy of this spread in Brooklyn last week). Might we also suggest a strict cabbageware-only policy?
It’s a mysterious chameleon and a sparkling second skin. A CRYSTAL-CLEAR NECKLACE is a truly indispensable piece to have in your jewel box. Chunky but invisible, modern yet unusual, we love the idea of wearing one with literally anything, anywhere, anytime. This acrylic choker from Monies, the artful Copenhagen-based jewelry house founded in 1973, looks as beautiful with a gray sweatshirt as it does a suit and coverup. Multiple strands of Larkspur & Hawk’s Georgian-style foiled white quartz rivière necklace (ala Anna) is another favorite. And for value, we’ve always loved this classic Austrian crystal tennis collar from Swarovski, which looks like kind of a big deal with a black tie dress.
In the quiet of the evening, after a long Serotonin Soak, you emerge. OSEA’S ANTI-AGING BODY BALM is one of those products we can’t quit. It just works too well. Though the Malibu-based brand has more well-known cult products (their Undaria Algae Body Oil is a big bestseller), we’re fans of this particular elixir for important reasons. First, it leaves your skin dewy and youthful without actually leaving a greasy residue. Your skin drinks it right up. Second, it comes out of the pump in the consistency of a thicker balm, but once it warms to your skin, it goes on more like an oil (which means it doesn’t come shooting out in liquid form staining all your towels.) Third, it leaves a very subtle scent (a mix of jasmine, rose and basil) that won’t compete with your primary fragrance, but is absolutely intoxicating (very) up close. In short: get this on your subscription rotation!
It unfolds with birdsong, early sunrises and the smell of freshly bloomed buds. Swapping your heavy winter blankets for something lighter is always a glorious day in our houses and ZARA’S COTTON SWISS DOT BEDSPREAD is our all-time favorite. Simple but elegant in that old summer house way, it is woven from thick 100% cotton, and like all of the excellent goodies at Zara Home, is incredibly well priced. We like jazzing it up with a fancy top sheet and shams.
The sunshine is sharp and the wind crisp. Spring is truly bipolar—hail one day, sunny and 72 the next—and that’s what makes the cozy and cheerful SHAGGY DOG SHETLAND the perfect sweater for right now. Equal parts warm and bright, it is offered in 25 colors including shades of oyster, sunshine, seaglass. Made for over 80 years in Scotland by J. Press, the New Haven, CT clothier founded in 1902, these unisex sweaters are pure old school Ivy League magic. We love wearing an oversized one pulled over a springtime dress when the weather goes south.
You slide them on, zip them up and they never fail. White jeans can be eternally perfect or incredibly basic. It’s all about finding the right shade of white and a good shape. Bright white or skinny feels oh-so-wrong. But an easy breezy off-white straight-leg pair feels just right. VERONICA BEARD’S DYLAN JEAN is offered in just one natural creamy wash. And it has all the right stuff: a high (but not too high) rise, a straight (but sexy) leg and a (well) above-the-ankle crop. We’re wearing ours with a bandana scarf, the ultimate sweater tee and some classic blackout wayfarers because we could all benefit from dressing a bit more like Tonne Goodman, right?
At your dressing table, you whisk some on and blink twice. Have you ever been bothered by how over done black mascara can make you look? If you’re like us, you want your lashes to look defined and pop but also like you’re not wearing mascara at all. That’s why we’ve recently become obsessed with BROWN MASCARA, which will subtly but definitively change your overall make-up vibe, lending a more natural less “groomed” look. Which means you can experiment with more dramatic lip colors like our new favorite tawny brown lip suede from Westman Atelier or even a sparkly eyeliner. We love the drugstore classic Maybelline Great Lash, but if you’re looking for a non-toxic version, Ilia just released a new "rich brown" shade, which washes off with water and is good for sensitive eyes and people with contacts.
With bare feet on fresh cut grass, you stride into your cutting garden, ice cubes clinking as you go. LE PRINCE JARDINIER’S GLASS HOLDER is made explicitly for toting drinks out to the garden. Isn’t it wonderful we still live in a world where objects like this exist?! (They make another one that fits bottles of wine and champagne!) Made from stainless steel with a mango wood handle, the caddy is stamped with the coat of arms of the Paris-based brand, which specializes in garden accoutrement and is owned by Louis Albert de Broglie and his nephew Nicholas, descendants of an old French family who are known for saving the beloved taxidermy shop Deyrolle and also for the Louis Benech-designed dahlia garden at their Loire Valley estate and hotel, Château de la Bourdaisière. We’re stocking our carrier with a cocktail we discovered on a recent vacation to the Dolomites: the “Spritz Misto”.
Spritz Misto: Fill a giant goblet with ice, three parts organic Prosecco, a misto of equal parts Aperol and Campari (two parts total), one part sparkling water and finish with a pink grapefruit slice. You’ll find Campari is the perfect bitter anecdote to Aperol’s sweetness. Enjoy with pickled caper berries and some proper Italian potato chips.
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As always, all of our illustrations are original and hand-drawn in ink by Courtney Broadwater
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