Happy, happy Friday, friends! Another week has gone by and we’re suddenly sitting in mid-March. 🤯 I seriously cannot wrap my mind around how fast the last month has gone! It feels like a time warp. I feel like I was just in Steamboat, like, last week, and somehow it was almost a month ago!
THIS WEEK'S ROSE(S) 🌹
This week was a good one!
As we all know by now, I really re-charge with alone time. Dave was traveling for work most of the week, so I had the house to myself for three full days. There’s no better feeling for me! Since he rarely has to travel for work these days, it feels like such a gift to get a few days to recharge my internal batteries. Of course, I’m glad he’ll be back tonight and here for the weekend!
Yesterday, I got to go attend a lunch event to celebrate Soho Home’s new showroom space at the Soho House in Chicago. Soho Home is an interiors brand by the aforementioned member’s club, but it’s shoppable to the public. Soho Home has retail spaces in both LA and London, but Chicago is their first showroom! For my Chicago ladies, you already know that The Allis on the first floor of Soho House is open to everyone, and this showroom is, too. You’ll go up the north set of stairs to the mezzanine level to see the gorgeous space filled with Soho Home decor and can even chat with a designer to get input on your space. (See the picture above!)
Two fun facts I learned at the event… 1, The Soho Home warehouse is actually very close to Chicago, so if you’re ordering from here, the shipping time is basically cut in half. And 2, all of the silverware in the hit TV series, The Bear, is from Soho Home! It has a very heavy hand feel, which makes it perfect for the dramatic slamming in the show. I was so generously sent home with a new set of champagne coupes, which also have that luxurious, heavy hand feel!
I’m going to share more in a blog post and an Instagram Reel about the experience, but I treated myself to a Chinese scalp treatment this week! It was absolutely incredible.
On Wednesday night, I attended a virtual astrology workshop about the upcoming eclipse season. I’ve been in The Modern Astrologer’s Astro Curious group for a few years now and highly recommend it for anyone interested in the subject! I treat the bi-monthly Zoom calls as a bit of self-care. I find it very comforting to check in with myself, take note of how I’m feeling, and how to best harness the current energy.
THIS WEEK'S THORN 🪡
I can’t really think of anything that felt thorny this week, which feels like a pretty fortunate situation to be in!
The yoga class I was planning on going to tonight got cancelled… Does that count? haha.
We hit our T-6 month wedding countdown this week. I texted Dave when I realized, as more of a happy thing (which it is!), but honestly, I feel like we’re going to blink and it will be here, which makes me both stressed and also kind of sad. As much as I hate wedding planning, being engaged has been such a special time and it feels like it’s going to be over all too quickly.
WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO ✨
One of Dave’s good friends is throwing it WAY BACK and having a St. Patrick’s Day party that starts at 10am tomorrow morning. (Maybe this shouldn’t actually be on my ‘what I’m looking forward to’ list, haha. 😂) But it’s what we’re doing! I’m sure it will be fun, and I’m actually pretty thrilled that I won’t have to force myself to drink beer before breakfast since I’m not drinking this month. I grabbed some new canned mocktails that I’ll be bringing along instead! (More on that below.)
Marley turns TEN on Monday so we’ll celebrate on Sunday with a full day of all of her favorite things! Even though the weather will be pretty chilly, we’re going to take her to the beach (she loves to play ball and dig in the sand), take her to a new-to-us dog park, and cook her both steak and salmon for a little surf & turf. We found a dog cake mix with a bone-shaped mold, so I’ll be baking her a cake, too! For gifts, we got her a new bandana, a couple of new toys, a new pack of bully sticks, and of course, 100 new balls. (Literally.) You may have seen this on Instagram last year, but we got her a box of 100 tennis balls and did a ‘ball drop’ of sorts on our rooftop. 😂 It was pretty funny, so I’ll be sure to share it on IG Stories on Sunday! It’s good timing, too, because I think she’s just about out of tennis balls. (So she apparently goes through one ball in roughly ~3 days!)
Friday Finds
Here are this week’s finds…
Things to Read, Watch, & Listen to
I’m not going to lie… I got swept THE F*CK into the Kate Middleton saga this past week. I’d obviously seen a bunch of chatter about the conspiracies, but I never gave them the time of day until the botched Photoshop picture was released on Sunday. Two interesting articles I’d recommend if you want to dip your toes in: Nieman Lab at Harvard & The New Yorker. If you’d rather listen, this episode of Under the Influence talks more about the crazy conspiracy theories out there.
If you’re a dog person, you’ve got to read Blake’s little snippet about her dog, Bash. From everything she’s shared, I’ve always thought Bash’s personality sounds sooo much like Marley's!
Last weekend we binged Full Swing 2 — highly recommend. Maybe highly recommend is too high of praise? But I like that it humanizes the sport of golf for me and it’s kind of juicy because it follows the season during the PGA/LIV situation. Although, I will say, the show ended and I feel like I still don’t have answers??
If you’re at all interested in sober curiosity, I wrote a very lengthy blog post about it this week.
Things to Shop
I have no words for how freaking cute THIS RIC RAC DRESS is! I mean, you throw some ric-rac trim on anything and I’m a total sucker for it, but this dress is perfection.
Speaking of perfection, this textured maxi dress is PINK perfection. So, so gorgeous! Such a perfect spring or summer wedding guest dress.
Update: I tried the non-alcoholic Espresso Martinis I mentioned last week and, excuse my French, but Holy F*cking Sh*t! There’s some sort of voodoo magic, because they’re only 5 calories, 0 grams of sugar, and just 30 mg of caffeine (which is ~1/3 of a cup of coffee). Oh, and they really do remind me of an espresso martini! Absolutely delicious, but a taste that makes you want to sip it, versus chug it like an iced coffee. Mind blowing, honestly.
New colorful collection alert! 😍 Adidas x Farm Rio… I feel like I haven’t seen that much about this launch, but it’s SO FUN! Most everything is under $100 and it’s size-inclusive, too. If colorful workout wear isn’t your jam, this fun set of socks is a cute way to add some color this spring!
File these under the cutest pickleball paddles!
These $98 mesh slides are SO chic! Available in both black and ecru and you can currently take 25% off!
I’m all about the spring sweaters right now! Here’s what’s in my cart at the moment: this cardinal-red cardigan, this bright-white, relaxed cotton sweater, this striped sweater vest, and this cropped sweater jacket.
This short-sleeved cashmere cardigan is actually at THE TOP of my wish list though! The color is so good.
These new scalloped robes and pajamas are darling!
This linen, navy-and-white gingham top has my name written allllll over it.
This $47 Amazon jacket looks like Sea or Ulla Johnson for a fraction of the price!
Madewell’s 25% off sale is happening for Insiders. (You’re probably already signed up, as it’s just your email.) You have to be logged in to your Madewell account to see the discount in your cart, FYI. Some of my current favorites: this denim dress, this short-sleeved denim jacket, this $98 mini tote, these wide-leg jeans, this striped poplin shirt, and this basket-weave vest.
Things to Cook
Dave was traveling for work most this week so it was a pretty basic week of eating on my end. However, we ran it back with the turkey burgers from last week before he left. This time, he mixed the feta into the burger patties and seasoned them a bit more, too. They were 15/10 and he also perfected the tzatzik, so my ‘leftovers’ have been oh-so-delish!
Other Things of Note
For my Chicago readers… Two new restaurants that I’ve added to my list to try to get reservations in the next few months: La Serre (going next week!) and Tre Dita at the St Regis.
PS: I tried the new Strawberry Oat Draft at La Colombe this week and it’s like spring in a glass! Such a festive treat. 🍓