The bookstore has been such a dream, and it is also a massive adjustment. For the past year I’ve been home, typing on my computer, going for walks, whipping together bowls of tuna salad whenever I wanted. I never saw a soul and it was a balm when everyone was home at the end of the day from work/school. I got all of the alone time I needed to recharge and then I was ready to welcome Andrew and the girls with open arms. But now I’m in front of people all day and it is, frankly, exhausting. Even though most of the people are lovely and I get deeply excited talking about books with equally excited readers. Still, ‘being on’ leaves me feeling like an emotional husk come 5pm.
The wonderful woman who owned the shop in its previous iteration said to me that there are Books and there are Sellers. She classified herself as a Book — reserved, observant, quiet. I think I might be both, or some kind of introverted extrovert. I can turn it on, but then I need to retreat and reset. And lately, those two parts of myself are out of balance.
I need to find my routine again. I need school to start so we’re not running all over town to all of the different camps with all of their different start and end times. Right now we stumble out of bed and I start making two lunches and four snacks while Andrew rattles off the usual breakfast options to the half asleep kids huddled together beneath the “softy” blanket. Then we hurry them into clothes and I wave a hairbrush in their general direction and swipe some sunscreen over their cheeks before they’re piling into the car. It’s a weirdly punishing start to the morning.
Time to regroup! I need to get back to my morning walks because those have always been meditative for me. Walking is the thing that quiets my brain in a way that nothing else does. I need to pack myself a lunch so I’m not resigned to a eating a sad protein bar or spending too much money at one of the three quick lunch places in town. It’s time to rediscover my nightly writing practice — something that has fallen by the wayside since opening the doors on Wild Plum Books.
In the vineyard, the grapes have started veraison — when they go from pale green to deep purple — and I can feel harvest barreling towards us. It’s the perfect time to drop these small anchors into my day. Walk. Eat. Write. Reconnect. Watch the Olympics on repeat!! Simone Biles! Katie Ledecky! And also the wonder that is Leon Marchand! Allez!
I have worn and loved my red velvet Mary Janes for years now and, though they still might be my favorite, there’s something about these deeply gorgeous mossy green ones that has me shooting heart eye daggers at the computer screen.
This is the one product I’ve used consistently for years. Designed to maintain the skin barrier, it feels like I’m doing something gentle and restorative for my face. Soothing in summer and protective against dryness in winter, I’m never without it.
I would very much like to add this 1970s lithograph to my art collection.
Historical fiction is my jam so I scooped up an extra copy of The Tower, a debut novel about Mary, Queen of Scots’s time in a Scottish castle where she is being held hostage with a handful of her ladies in waiting. The descriptions are so rich and visceral, I feel like I’m in the tower right alongside them. And I love a feminist take on a period of history that feels decidedly unfeminine.
I’m sure I look dead sexy in these blue light blocking glasses, but I could care less. I throw them on an hour or two before bed and my sleep is deeper and more restful. I’m also a big fan of their book light which I’ve mentioned before! Makes the bedroom look like a brothel and it takes a little getting used to, but I don’t know what I’d do without it. Be warned, ships from Australia.
A gorgeous cotton/cashmere sweater in a summery, sunny, citrus-y shade.
These are not inexpensive, but I have been pining after them since last year. They are so beautiful and I tracked them down again after seeing the trailer for the new Harry Connick Jr. movie on Netflix, which made me think of Hope Floats! Remember Hope Floats?? Harry at his finest and Sandra making a strong case for cowboy boots. These Aeyde boots are a more refined take on the style and I would wear them endlessly.
Kerrilynn Pamer is forever a source of inspiration to me and I find her dreamy, sun-bleached, Noguchi-dotted home to be a visual balm. Nourishing food, excellent book recs, hand thrown ceramics, slow fashion, gorgeous interiors — she has taste for days. Under her brand CAP Beauty (if you’ve been following for a while, you know I’m a huge fan), she sends out occasional roundups of things she’s loving. They are so well curated and I wait impatiently for them to land in my inbox.
I have long been on the email list for Chava Studio so I can keep a toe dipped in their beautiful world. Custom shirts out of Mexico City that I dream of adding to my closet someday. In the meantime, I can listen to their perfectly curated playlists for a little Chava Studio at home. They’re all good, but Great Love Songs makes for a lovely morning listen.
A friend of mine has these Emerson Fry pants and every time I see her in them I comment on how incredible she looks. They are comfortable, easy to wear and supremely flattering.
Say what you will about goop, they have really tasty, easy, healthy lunch recipes. Going to revisit their chicken salad and summer gazpacho to pack with me on bookstore days.
Thank you for bringing us into your life via this newsletter, Elyse…Delightful reading!
So hard not to feel wildly burnt out by summer and juggling all the schedules. But oh how I love those mossy green velvet Mary Janes! A must-have for slow-living this fall :)