LET’S CATCH UP 4.27.25

Having been knocked out with a Spring cold this weekend, I am just now sitting upright for the first time in around 24 hours. The good news is that it has forced my hand in truly resting. Something that I aim to be better at, but never quite achieve. What can I say.. it’s on my 2025 vision board.

As we head into the final days of April and the start of May (one of my favorite months of the year!), here’s what’s on my mind, on my bookshelf and on my credit card:

ON MY MIND:

• All winter I joked that when we purchased our apartment last November, our luck ran out. A series of blows made it feel as if, after a year or so of playing a very good hand, we had gone bust. Or at the very least, the house was winning the current round. In reality, I think that the highs and lows of life inevitably ebb and flow and the best we can do is to stay at the table. This month it finally felt like the odds were shifting in our favor. Adam started a great new job, the weather has broken in New York and everything is in bloom, at the simplest levels we have each other and our health (current cold aside). Perhaps more eloquently, Winston Churchill surmised that “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Either way, I’m playing the current hand cautiously optimistic about whatever gets dealt next. Courage, dear cardholders!
• I’ve been quiet on Substack but excitedly getting back into the swing of things – and holding myself more accountable going forward! Expect new posts on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
• We’re in the throes of planning our summer vacation. Typically we travel in early Spring and/or Fall (as it fits best with my work schedule), but this year we’re carving out a proper summer vacation in June and I’m so excited about how it’s shaping up. We’ll be splitting a week between a place we’ve never been and one we have and love. More to come!
• Speaking of summer.. have you seen the trailer for the third and final season of The Summer I Turned Pretty?! This series has such a grip on me. As someone else on the internet aptly stated – this show makes me want to buy a summer house and destroy a family. Lol. But in all seriousness.. I know exactly where I’ll be on July 16th. Team Conrad forever.
• We stayed in town for Easter (having just completed a walking marathon the day prior!) and I baked these Lemon Bar Cookies – so good!

ON MY BOOKSHELF:

• I’m 20 books into the year with no signs of slowing down. In Palm Springs earlier this month, I devoured Ex Wife by Ursula Parrott – originally published anonymously in 1929, it scandalized New York society at the time. Now in re-print, I found the text to be shockingly modern and relevant in tone. The story follows a young woman in her mid-late 20s, reeling from her divorce, as she navigates a new dating scene, explores prohibition era nightlife, grapples with her feelings towards motherhood and works her way up in the Fashion industry. One of my favorite lines: “New York’s a jail to which, once committed, the sentence is for life; but that it is such a well-furnished jail, one does not mind much.” I loved it and thought it gave Fitzgerald a run for his money.
• If you’re looking for a great, fast paced read, I finished Tilt by Emma Pattee in a single cross-country plane ride. A story of survival, it takes place across a single day – as a nine month pregnant woman navigates the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake. I was gripped from start to finish.
• I don’t typically gravitate towards short stories but I’m a big fan of Curtis Sittenfeld’s writing and so I took a chance on her latest collection, Show Don’t Tell. I’m so glad I did because I found myself captivated by every single story and amazed at her ability to drop the reader into fully realized world with completely believable and complex characters, in the span of only a few dozen pages. And to do that a dozen times over.
• I haven’t been reading much historical fiction lately (I’m sorry to say that I often find the writing feels watered down), but my book club is tackling The Last Twelve Miles by Erika Robuck this month and it’s been a quick, easy read this weekend while I wasn’t feeling well. It follows the true story of a rare female ‘rumrunner’ in Miami during the Prohibition era and her opposite – the female codebreaker in Washington D.C. that worked to intercept the boat’s messages and catch the illegal traders.
• If you are a indie-music loving millennial whose love language has always been “I made you a playlist” – Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley will likely be just as much of a hit for you as it was for me. I read it in a single day, poolside in Palm Springs. A love letter to music and creativity and finding your person.

ON MY CREDIT CARD:

• With the weather in a much more pleasant place, I’ve been sharing more of my daily outfits – I always try to link them (as well as the ‘In My Cart’ collages I share on IG Stories) on my ShopMy page here.
• I bought these sheer chocolate brown kitten heels for Palm Springs but they ended up not arriving in time. Despite missing a chance at a vacation, they’re comfortable and will go with endless outfits – so I’m happily keeping them for the summer ahead.
• I’m loving that long beaded necklaces are having a moment again – this red coral one feels so summery.
• Speaking of accessories – Talbots newest arrivals are full of great options – like these silver heels (almost a dead ringer for a Manolo Blahnik pair I was eyeing on The Real Real that unfortunately sold), this raffia bucket hat, these shell slides and this printed scarf (to wear over my hair in the 1960s fashion).
• I bought these under $100 jeans last fall and continue to wear them once a week – a great high waist and wide, but not too wide, leg. Right now I’m loving then with a longer fitted vest like this linen one.
• Reformation just launched sleepwear and I love how sweet this white cotton nightgown looks. Also adding this red bikini to my cart for our summer vacation. Pro tip – when I sell old clothes on ThredUp, I always convert the cash to Reformation store credit! Love this option.
• Officially my new spring scent: Maison Louis Marie’s No. 13 (of course) smells light and airy but still a little bit sexy with notes of coconut water, fig, amber and vetiver. It’s the type of scent that goes well from work straight to an early evening dinner date. Pictured above with a great Armani mascara that plays the same role.
• I have been eyeing this swoon-worthy rose print dress and just found it on sale for nearly 50% off.. fashion fate? The website has terrible photos – but on the brand’s website you get a much better picture… albeit at full price. It pays to shop around!
• The only thing more satisfying than a deep spring cleaning of the apartment is the new candle that you light after you’ve finished. This Votivo ‘Clean Crisp White’ scent smells like laundry drying in a spring breeze and the tortoiseshell vessel is so chic!