The Weekly, 08.17.20
I think anyone who has been living alone during the past few months is a real hero, and deserves a shout out. I spent the last few days alone in Brooklyn, and I have to say, the whole experience was really lonely. I was very occupied by work for the most part, but any downtime I spent watching countless hours of television. And the idea of cooking meals for myself was also quite daunting. I am aware that I am not someone that would enjoy living alone, period, but I think during this time, those who have braved this journey alone are really strong humans.
Despite watching hours upon hours of Gilmore Girls over the last few days (I am now halfway through the final season and kind of forgot how much I hated the ending), I started Love Life on HBO yesterday. I am not a huge Anna Kendrick fan, but it’s like a less snobby version of Girls, the chronicles her love life through her twenties. I had a love-hate relationship with it, but overall, I really loved the sweet ending. Definitely a quality binge-worthy show.
Two newer skincare products I am really loving so far- this serum and this face mask. The serum I bought on a whim because it’s said to be “Botox in a bottle”- you don’t need to sell me any further than that. I use it after my toner, retinol and eye cream sink in to the skin, and just gently pat two pumps around. I haven’t seen any wrinkle-reducing results quite yet (it’s only been about two weeks), but it leaves my skin feeling very plump in the mornings. I used the Pixi glow mud mask last night, and my skin looks so radiant this morning- the results are so great. It’s a clarifying mask, and I feel like it really flushed out the skin. When you leave it on to fully dry, you can actually see little rings around all your pores, which makes me feel like it’s really getting in there to clean those suckers out.
Grace Atwood shared she had been having good luck with dresses from Target. I just loved these picks, and in an effort to try and instill some sense of normalcy, I ordered them. I grabbed this smocked baby doll dress in white, and this puffy-sleeve tiered dress in black (also might have to purchase the blue if I like it when it arrives). They both look like easy dress-up or dress-down kinds of dresses that can transition from summer to fall. This floral dress and this midi dress are also cute options for transitioning to Fall.
Last week I went out to my sister’s place, and I had an hour to kill, so I stopped into their open HomeGoods. First of all, not worth it. It wasn’t really a great selection, but I was on the hunt for some new couch throw pillows for my couch. After much online browsing and this failed mission, I found these beautiful pillows on Etsy that I decided to order. I got this one that is pretty similar to a pillow I have on the guest bed, and this one to tie in the other black and white pillows I have in the room. I think both will look great and I need to order some inserts for them once they ship. The more time I spend at home, the more you want to decorate your place- at least that’s how it’s been for me. These are made from African mud cloths, which are a canvas-like fabric that is dyed with mud/natural plant dyes, and they often feature beautiful and bold prints in earthy colors.
A friend of mine recommended Know my Name a few months ago, and I had it on my Kindle but hadn’t started it. Last week, I was searching for something to read on there, and started it. And, wow. It is such a powerful story so far- raw, emotional, and deeply human. Written by the woman who was one of the media’s most unwillingly famous Jane Doe’s in the Brock Turner trial, Chanel Miller writes her story in her memoir. I also wanted to centralize all of my book recommendations into one place, so you can now find my reading lists here, where you can also support local bookshops, rather than shopping on large retailers.
I mentioned this podcast a few weeks ago, and I have been listening to it quite a bit. I really enjoyed this episode they did on retinols. It turns out most people try retinols but end up quitting due to skin irritation, which is just so crazy because they are probably the most effective skincare agent you can use. It was super interesting to listen to more of the science behind it and how it’s marketed in skincare. If this is your thing, definitely check it out, or this episode which kind of calls out clean beauty for shaming other safe and science-based skincare. V. interesting.
That’s all she wrote for now- if you missed my post on active wear, including some very real thoughts on my relationship with exercise, definitely check it out. Sephora is having a pretty decent sale right now, so I am putting together some of my favorite picks, and will share what I ordered in a post this week. Stayed tuned, and stay pretty busy my friends.
