How was everyone’s Labor Day weekend? I stayed put in the city and it was a mix of very productive and very lazy – which I think evens out to neutral. Here – a few thoughts before we run full steam ahead into September.
This month on the blog I’m doing something a little bit different. Each week I’ll be focusing posts around 4 specific topics: Week 1 = Work (office wear, stress-reducing tips…), Week 2 = Fall Fashion (key trends, affordable accessories…), Week 3 = Home (closet and bathroom tours, DIY gallery wall…) and Week 4 = Hair/Beauty (easy date night make-up, hair accessories to try this Fall…). Be sure to check back each week! I’m really excited to share all of what I have planned!
I’m on the fence about the white boots trend – mainly because New York City streets eat shoes alive and they’ll likely be instantly dirty. But if I do pull the trigger – these would be the pair.
I loved this blog post from A Cup of Jo about the merits of listening to podcasts. They keep me company on my walks to and from work each day and honestly feel like a phone call with my very helpful, informed friends at this point.
September is by far one of my favorite months of the year. Last year, we took a quick road trip to Newport, Rhode Island and it was one of my favorite weekends of the entire year. See the travel guide here. I’d love to get back there soon.
And speaking of the season ahead – I’m making it a goal to check off this list of 18 Classic Fall Movies. My favorites from the list are When Harry Met Sally, Practical Magic, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Goodwill Hunting. Although You’ve Got Mail may win best line with: “Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.”
They say it’s not how you start, but how you finish – right? Well I started the Summer slowly and not feeling my 100% best. And now, I’m using these last final few weeks to begin setting strong intentions for the season ahead. Which means I’m looking forward instead of back (well, unless it’s over my shoulder at the cute back of this sports bra – that’s totally allowed).
While I can’t go back and change all those days I overslept and didn’t go running back in June, I sure as heck can end this season with a new commitment to myself and my workout routine. That means making the most of these last long, sun-filled days with runs along the water, quick strength-training sessions before I’m off to work and maybe throwing in a swim or a fun work-out class depending where I’m at this Labor Day weekend.
If you’re looking to finish summer strong too (and get a jumpstart on those Fall intentions!) – you can get 15% off Prana with code:ESJSF18. I got my first pair of prAna leggings last year and the quality/fit/feel of them is incredible (not the mention the fact that they’re all made with a commitment to sustainability). And if you need even more motivation that these photos – they made an incredible brand video showcasing three female surfers in the Middle East. I love when brand’s highlight inspiring women – the world needs to see ’em!
And we’re back with another chapter of my #SteeleMaidenBookClub (and what is quickly becoming one of the posts I look forward to the most each month). In July I really switched up the type of books I was reading (you can see last month’s here), from my standard, go-to fiction, to a more diverse range. And I was thrilled with the results. Below, my thoughts on July’s reading + what I’ve got on my shelf for August. Hope you’ll find something here you might like too!
The Woman in the Window by A.J.Finn: Without giving anything away – the story is set in New York and centers on a woman who has a fear of leaving the house so she spends her days watching her neighbors through the window. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a thriller (I guess there was Gone Girl a few years ago, but aside from that it’s probably been a decade) and this one didn’t disappoint. Although I must really be out of practice at reading thrillers because my co-worker read this in the weeks after I did and totally guessed one of the major plot twists that I hadn’t suspected. Alas. Either way it was a quick, edge of my seat read that I really enjoyed. Not surprisingly, it’s going to be made into a movie. Do yourself a favor and read the book first.
Motherhood by Shelia Heti: Where do I start with this one? It was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It follows a loose storyline but is essentially just a stream of conscious, honest account of a 30-something year old woman thinking about her decision whether or not to have children. If you’ve wanted to be a mother since you were 5 years old or already are one.. this honestly might not be for you. But if you are a woman, who even once in her life has had the fleeting (or reoccurring) thought ‘I’m not sure if I’d be a great mother’, ‘I’m not sure if I really want to have kids’, ‘I’m not sure if kids would fit into the life I had dreamed for myself’, ‘I’m not sure if I want to have kids with my current partner’ etc. etc. – then I think this would really hit home.
I didn’t agree with everything here, but I don’t think that’s the point. The point is that for most of my life I’ve rarely heard women brave enough to say ‘I’m not sure if motherhood is for me’. I know a few who spoke about it being a firm no and almost all of the rest who seemed to follow the same societal script of ‘I can’t wait to get married and have kids’. Neither is right or wrong – but that grey area? It doesn’t get discussed as often as I think it should. Below, a few of the passages that I found particularly striking (and then I’ll move on):
“I don’t want to make somebody else. I want to make myself.”
“Being a woman, you can’t just say you don’t want a child. You have to have some big plan or idea of what you’re going to do instead. And it better be something great. And you had better be able to tell it convincingly – before it even happens – what the arc of your life will be.”
“It suddenly seemed like a huge conspiracy to keep women in their thirties – when you finally have some brains and some skills and experience – from doing anything useful with them at all.”
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain: This was a tough one. Not because I didn’t love it (I really, really loved it), but because I think I was secretly searching each page for an answer as to why his life would end the way it did. Anthony Bourdain is someone I always greatly respected and admired, and this book only cemented that. He was a man that lived really fully and wasn’t afraid to make mistakes or start over. I like a person that I think would have my back in a bar fight and he would certainly be one of those people. Aside from all of that, this book is sort of a exposé on all things in New York kitchens. It’s hilarious, humbling and at times heartbreaking. I finished the book with such an respect for the people who make a living in a kitchen, but not all the answers. Aside from the fact that sometimes it seems, even the best of us can get lost along the way. I only wish someone had been there to have his back in the fight.
SHOP THIS MONTH’S BOOK CLUB:
For this upcoming month I’m sticking with a variety of types of books since I loved the results of that in July so much. I’ve got Mrs. Fletcher (a romp of a read apparently), Station Eleven (YA fiction set in the aftermath of an apocalypse), The Female Persuasion (a very-buzzy current fiction pick that I’m excited to dive into about female relationships between mentors, friends, bosses, etc.) and Born to Run (Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography) on my shelf for August. Feel free to read along with me!
It’s been a long time since I’ve done these end of week ‘life lately’ type of posts and I found I was really missing them as a way to share the random bits that don’t quite fit into another full post. So I’m bringing ’em back! Read and then go forth, and weekend my friends.
I lost my eyeglasses last week (that had an out of date prescription anyway) so it was high time I placed an order for a new pair. I went with these – somehow both bold and neutral at the same time? Either way I like them. And can’t wait to not be squinting at the TV anymore.
If you have Amazon Prime I can’t recommend their series Marvelous Mrs. Maisel enough. The sets, the costumes, the humor. All of it is so so good (I watched it once on my own and am re-watching season 1 now with Adam). They’re filming season 2 in New York right now and I can’t wait for it to come out.
I’ve been trying to get back into the swing of working out and found that if I do (at the bare minimum) this 15-20 minute routine (suggested by blogger Olivia Jeanette) every single day I feel pretty good. I only started last week so I’ll let you know what the results are. Basically, do 20 each of the following:
Push-ups
Bicep Curls (each side with 5-10lb weight – I use these 8lb weights)
Tricep Extensions (each side with 5-10 lb weight)
Shoulder Press (each side with 5-10lb weight)
Crunches
Leg Lifts
Pelvic Thrusts
Squats
After last weekend’s sun-soaked adventure at the lake (as you can see in the photo above) my skin really needed some loving. This Elemis superfood charged facial oil and day-time & night-time moisturizer is pricey but I see a noticeable difference in the appearance of my skin when I use it consistently.
With rain in the forecast and no plans for this weekend, I plan on jumping in to my August book club picks (sharing soon – you can see what I had on July’s list here). How cute are these floral sweatpants for lazy days at home?
Ever since the Entryway reveal (full post here) I’ve been itching to tackle another home project. Since this is more of a slow burn rather than a marathon (meaning I want to carefully finish each room exactly how I want it instead of racing to finish just so I can share here or be ‘done’), I figured in the meantime I’d share a little bit more about what I’m thinking of next and things that are in the pipeline for the apartment.
Kitchen:
The obvious constraint here is that it’s a rental, meaning the cabinets and the countertop have to remain as is. But to counteract the slightly off-white counters I painted the backsplash area the same deep navy as the entryway and love how it made the whole area seem richer. I’m considering updating the drawer and cabinet pulls and the most major project is potentially adding a faux backsplash tile behind the stove. Thinking this would be tiles adhered to plywood and then attached to the wall? Something fairly non-invasive. Still scheming here but the thought of adding a pop of pattern really tempts me. Otherwise, on the hunt for a cool wall clock or piece of art to anchor the area and maybe a small rug.
Bedroom: This area is definitely a work in progress. So far the standout is this custom blue velvet headboard that my parents (and Grandmother! Hi Mom-Mom!) and I put together the last time I was home in PA. I had fallen in love with the fabric (from Calico Corners – where my Mom works) but wanted to avoid the cost of custom upholstery and didn’t want to DIY from scratch – so I purchased this inexpensive headboard from Wayfair and then simply added batting and staple gunned this fabric around it to cover. Voila!
I’m still in desperate need of small nightstand/side tables and sconces to go above and am really wanting to wallpaper the wall behind the bed as a major accent. Since, again, it’s a rental I’d need to get the owner to approve that or go the removable route. Although I can’t find any I love quite as much as this paper from Anthropologie. It feels like something you’d see in a boutique hotel somewhere near a beach – which is essentially exactly what I want the bedroom to feel like. An idyllic escape and endless summer.
Living Room: This area has probably made the least progress but I’ve got big plans. That involve some bigger ticket purchases like a couch and arm chair, finding a piece of large scale art that I love and swapping a rather clunky large bookcase for something like a console and open shelves that feel visually lighter and a fireplace renovation. Remember those kitchen tiles I mentioned? I want to build a faux hearth in front of the brick fireplace to expand it. Hoping by year’s end I’ve got these things going.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed with everything I want to do around here, but alas – Rome wasn’t built in a day. And neither is a stylish small apartment. Here’s to crossing off one thing at a time!
