happy Sunday everyone. After a very magical week in Palm Springs, we were also grateful to get a three-day holiday weekend right after. But we’re back to work, bringing lots of fun stuff for you all, and once again, we hope you know how much you all mean to us. Okay, let’s go to these links!
This week’s home tour is of a project by Victoria Sass of Prospect Refuge Studio! You may recognize that name from M’s last book, new design rules. He used color and texture in a very fun but sophisticated way. You just have to see it.
From Emily: My friend Justina Blakeney He’s had the most incredible career and he’s someone I admire so much. From books to product lines, art gallery exhibitions to content creation, not to mention design – she is prolific and very talented. He recently wrote and launched a book called GrowWith my mom, who is a psychologist who focuses on personal development, with the daily exercises I just ordered. Now, I haven’t read it yet, but I think there’s a strong possibility that Justina is into the same kind of spiritual growth stuff that I am. And once you get “into it”, it’s pretty universal – there aren’t different warring sects – it’s mostly just about alignment and love and acceptance 🙂 I see her personal stories and social media, and I’m like, “Oh girl, me too”. So I’m excited to get it. But I’m also very proud and I think it’s great that she collaborated with her mother, whom she always spoke about with such admiration. Just a way to keep doing great things, Justina. It’s clear that you expand, bend, and move toward your passion around the world. It is very inspiring to see.
Also from Emily: If you’re not reading Brian and my personal SubstackI’m going to plug it in here a little bit (we’re having too much fun). Today’s post is about how we get out of “roommate rut” (every married person knows this), where we both focus on what has worked for us. Last week Brian wrote about his feelings about driving a minivan (which he chose to do BTW) and how it may affect his masculinity (or not!). And a week ago I talked about the 6 specific reasons why Mormons are so good at social media and content creation and have been since the beginning (and why this is such a big public media moment right now). Next week we’ll plan a week in our lives – who does what, when, how and why (and how it’s going). It’s personal, funny, and easy to read (and Brian is such a friendly male voice that I personally think he imparts a lot of insight about men of his generation – young Gen X).
This week’s Instagram standouts!
From Arlin: My daughter’s birthday is this week, and when the parents of all the kids attending her party ask me about what to get as gifts, I remember to share one of my favorite resources for finding the best educational toys for any toddler up to an elementary school age: Lakeshore Learning! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve given a gift from Target or Amazon (when I was shopping there), and the parents asked me for the gift receipt because they already had that item. This never happened with Lakeshore because all of their products are proprietary, and it’s kind of a secret weapon. they have Best Paint Brushes and No-Spill Paint Cupsmy daughter is obsessed marble run We came over there for him this Christmas, and this bingo Has been a big hit recently. If you have little ones in your life, bookmark this asap for the next time you need a gift!
From Jess: Somehow, I found some kind of “chateau/castle” restoration algorithm, and I couldn’t be happier with it. Last weekend, I saw This hour-long, 6-month update Restoration of an Italian palace by British designer Jordan Camellari and his partner. His voice is calm and soothing, and has the property unreal. Where they get the money from, I don’t know, but I’m ready for the journey and excited to go along.
Also from Jess: I know I’ve talked about her and her products many times, but my love for Shani Darden still hasn’t diminished after discovering her during lockdown. She’s an esthetician who trained with a dermatologist, started her own spa with the help of friend Jessica Alba, and now has a really amazing skin care line that I never plan on not using. She specializes in simple (yet effective) routines and award-winning retinol correction is incredible. she has very good followers And gives lots of wonderful advice.
From Marlee: I’ve been in a hoodie drought for a few years – just a black one and a heather gray one. so i just got one of these these hoodies In the Navy, and they’re very good. Incredibly soft and the perfect fit/weight – needless to say they come in a ton of colors. I’m 5’8” and I have a small man. i have this too Crew neck in really nice pink. Anyone who knows me knows I’m obsessed with color season analysis, and I think this is the perfect shade for light summer…:)
From Gretchen: At our recent team retreat, I was able to participate in what I would describe as my ultimate dream day: an extraordinary event of arts and crafts with some of my favorite people on Earth, bottomless Aperol spritzes paired with a heavy dose of glorious desert sun. We were left with a “kindergarten art cart” filled with every creative supply you can imagine, and embarked on an experimental artistic experience that I won’t soon forget. For many years, my favorite artistic medium to use has been chalk pastel pencilAnd I was lucky to get a stack of them this day. Sometimes, I work with thicker stick versions (on sale here), but I prefer the ease of hand holding and the ability to sharpen pencils. Soft/chalk pastels like this are so much fun to mix and create, and I seriously prefer them to oil pastels because of their effortless interaction with water. But on this day, I was pleasantly surprised to see how well they interact with acrylic ink! I haven’t done much with acrylic inks in the past, but now I’m looking to expand my arts and crafts cabinet to include these bad boys (and even better ones). They have 50% off at Michaels Now). Playing with inks, pouring their vibrant colors into plain water paint strokes on paper, then going back through the colored puddles with different colored pastel pencils, created some seriously Interesting mark. I was mesmerized. I left this retreat (and especially this day) feeling very inspired to get back into mark making and extremely excited to expand my list of favorite mediums.
From Mallory: I received some of these these scrunchies Got them as a gift a few months ago, and I love them. They are very silky and smooth on your hair, while also providing enough support to keep your hair up and tight all day long. They definitely help keep your hair from breaking – especially when you’re taking your hair out of an updo. If you need some nice hair ties or want to find a gift for someone in your life, get a pack of these!
From Caitlin: This is the best piece I’ve read In recent memory on AI, there have been the newcomers of Silicon Valley, the rise of “agency” as the only profitable skill, and the tech industry’s firm belief that we’re about to see a disintegration into something they’re calling a “permanent underclass.” I haven’t read a lot of things that reflect the hopeless, soulless, detached from reality, megalomaniac nature of recent startup founders – their distance from the rest of humanity really scares me (and after reading some of their takes, they might scare you too!). It is additionally appalling that we have dedicated the entire American economy to the success of these cunning weirdos whose only goal is not to have a thriving business but to get the biggest bag of money when the bubble bursts. This quote on a founder in the piece (from a man disguised as Donald Boat, no less) sums it up: “‘Man, he’s just a scared little boy,’ he said. ‘He’s scared that he’s not doing the right thing, and because of the dirty world we live in, the people who should be living in The Hague are giving him twenty million dollars. Something bad is going to happen here, something really bad is going to happen.'” Ah! But it’s still Worth a read, I swear.
Thanks for spending time with us, see you all tomorrow. xx
Opening Image Credit: Photo by Caitlin Green | From: Trying Out Your New Favorite Piece of Original Art in 4 Different Places
