April Faves
my favorite things from April, and the month in review
Welcome!! Every month, I share my favorite things from the previous month, and a little personal reflection on the month. You can read all previous editions of my monthly digest of favorite things here.
More than halfway through May before I’m getting a chance to sit down and reflect on the month of April - sounds about right! We are fully into the pre-summer stage - end of year school activities and celebrations have started, our yard and garden are blooming with something new every day (my husband and I continue to wonder how we keep our yard & garden in order as well as our children alive without spending an absolute fortune, but will report back when/if we find any answers to that question…and in the meantime I’m sure our neighbors wonder why we don’t just hire a landscaper!) and we are spending as much time outdoors as possible.
I was talking to a co-worker earlier this week about how amazing it is when the weather is warm enough and there is enough light to go for a walk or hang outside after dinner. There is just something really magical about that routine - going for a walk at the end of the day, or just spending time relaxing outside (or, like me, chasing my kids around while carrying a collapsible play tunnel that I try to catch them inside - this is a game of tag that we’ve made up and now play basically every evening), it’s a great way to end the day. Everyone is happier, more relaxed, and, dare I say, more ready for bed???
I kicked off April with a trip to Providence, RI for a weekend with a group of girlfriends. We had an absolute blast - we did an afternoon at the Bodhi Spa, went out to dinner at Al Forno, then meandered over to Hot Club where we annoyed the hell out of the DJ, took (numerous) ill-advised tequila shots & I’m pretty sure we shut the place down? (it certainly felt that way the next morning!) On Saturday we went out to brunch and then most of us needed long naps to recover from our previous evening (the feeling of lying in my own bed in my own room with a TV in it, watching whatever I wanted to watch while I dozed…that is a very nice feeling!) We stayed in on Saturday night, assembling a feast of delicious treats from various restaurants in the Fox Hill neighborhood, and had a tarot card reader come over to do readings for all of us. It was such a fun weekend - an annual girl trip is just not enough, hoping for more trips like that in the year ahead.
My husband and I managed to make it out to dinner together several times in April which is always the best. We tried a new (ish, definitely new-to-us) restaurant in Sommerville (June Bug, if you’re in the Boston area!), and it was incredible! We are slowly building our babysitter roster, and it is now (slightly) easier for a single person to take care of all three of our kids, which is really nice.
With the warmer weather, means the start of golf season. Which also means, it’s time to brace ourselves for the influx of memes about golf widows, or moms that are angry when their husbands disappear for 6-8 hours every weekend. If you relate to this (or struggle because you don’t have a hobby that takes out out of the house for the same amount of time, which translates into never doing something similar), I’m here to tell you that I have a great suggestion for how to address this. You’re going to arrange a fun night out with the spouses of the golf group. A dinner out at a fun restaurant you’re excited for. But the key - the key is that you’re having an EARLY dinner. Like, we’re talking a 5 or 5:30 PM reservation. You’re going to take time to get all dressed up, meet up to carpool (ideally via a uber/cab) to your reservation, have an early meal, take your freaking time out at dinner, and have time to get a drink or dessert afterward. And, you can still be home at whatever time you want - maybe early, maybe late. I highly recommend!! Some friends and I did this last month, and we seriously had the best night ever. Can’t wait to do it again! My other suggestion to be able to actually mean it when you encourage your partner to go golfing is to plan something with the other kids & spouses when they’re golfing. Collective parenting at it’s finest. Not only did the other moms and I do this a couple weekends ago when our husbands played golf - we took our kids to the local kids museum and then had mexican takeout in my backyard, our husbands did it when we went into Boston for dinner.
On the shopping front, April ended up being mostly a no-buy month, not because I set out not to buy anything, but because I have been feeling overwhelmed by new spring arrivals and shiny things. I had so many tabs open and was constantly feeling like I needed to buy something, like if I didn’t buy it I would miss out or something like that. Sometimes I get this way, and it’s a sign of two things - the first is that it means that I’m overwhelmed (in general, not just with clothes or things or new arrivals), or not taking very good care of myself (check), and the second is that I need to take a little break from shopping to clear my head and make sure I don’t end up buying a bunch of stuff that I don’t even really want and definitely don’t need. THANKFULLY, I followed my advice, and really didn’t buy anything. Lots of re-wearing, and lots of wearing variations on the same thing on repeat. It’s so nice when we take our own advice, you know? I have been having a very hard time focusing recently - and I’m going to talk more about a podcast that I loved that made me think about this so much - and think seriously about some changes I can make in my day-to-day to support my ability to focus a little bit more.
I have several things to share that made my life better, taught me something new, and made getting dressed more fun, plus some beauty and books.
Let’s dive in.
Colin From Accounts - (I think we watched via Prime, but it’s available on Paramount+) If you have not watched this show, you need to. I loved it so much. It’s actually our second time watching it. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll want 10 more episodes and another season immediately. It’s great. Also, during my second watch I realized that not only did the stars of the show write it together, but they’re actually married! So sweet.
Clean Simple Eats Protein - Are we all on a #proteinjourney? I’m sure the algorithm is at play here, but I am certainly on the protein train, and it seems like many others are too - trying to pay attention to how much I’m consuming and getting enough. I have never had much luck with protein powder - a combination of not liking the taste (the graininess makes me gag), or making my stomach upset. However, I’ve been very happy with Clean Simple Eats! So far, I’ve tried chocolate brownie and vanilla, and I like both. My default with the chocolate flavor is to mix with a little bit of coffee, and make an iced mocha-ish situation, and my go-to with the vanilla is to go more of the smoothie route with a little fruit and almond milk. Perfect thing to get me through the morning and bridge the gap between breakfast and lunch.
shared this playlist that she crowdsourced from her instagram community - by asking everyone to share songs that remind them of their best friends. And man oh man. This is the playlist you want to be listening to all summer long. We’ve been jamming to it. My kids love it. My daughter is referring to “She’s In Love with the Boy” as her favorite song right now. Do yourself a favor and download it and then blast it on your next mental health walk!Also on the listening front, I’ve been mixing up my deep dedication to listening to audiobooks when I walk with a few really good podcasts!
The Ezra Klein Show - “Tired? Distracted? Burned-Out? Listen to this” - This is an older episode, from January of this year, and I’m fully obsessed with it. I’ve listened twice and will probably listen again. Ezra is joined by Gloria Mark, a professor from UC Irvine who has studied the way our attention works. She shared mind-boggling statistics about how short average attention spans are - I think she mentioned that the average person checks their email over 70x a day. But, I was most excited about how much emphasis she put on the importance of paying attention to our own personal attention rhythms and designing our days in the morning. She offers some really good, actionable advice about how to better design our days, as well as some very compelling reasons to be more serious about taking breaks from her phone. I’m planning on writing more about this as I’ve become acutely aware lately of how bad my own focus is (as soon as I can make myself focus on writing about it, ha!) but, in the meantime, I highly recommend listening to this!
Beaded Necklaces - Warming temps = more color, and a great way to bring some color into outfits is via necklaces. I got this and have been wearing it daily. I talked about the trend of maximalist jewelry and accessories in my Spring Style Vibes letter, and I have been personally eyeing different ways to bring some of this into my own wardrobe. I personally really love a colorful necklace as a fun way to bring a fun detail to simple jeans and a t-shirt, to wear with my daily stack, or to have a statement necklace for an evening out. If you’re in the market, I love this, this, and this. If you love pearls, this is great, and I love the heart charm on this one.
Mango Bag - I bought this bag on a whim when I needed to exchange this linen blazer for a larger size, but still wanted to take advantage of the 30% discount (with a minimum spend) that Mango was offering (btw, they are offering a similar promotion at the time of writing!). I’m very into this shade of chartreuse/slightly toned down lime green? I’m not sure what it is, but green is a color that I feel really confident in, and it speaks to both my gravitation towards neutrals, while also bringing some color in. Plus, I’ve been focused on adding some more accessories into my closet. I love this bag so much. It makes me so happy every time I wear it, it adds a pop of fun color to any outfit, it fits 2 kids water bottles and a small baby sippy cup, it has a crossbody option…I could go on and on.
Slip Dress - For a long time, any time I had an occasion coming up, I would immediately start shopping for a new dress. A fun opportunity to add something new to my closet. And, honestly, no regrets, I do a good job of setting and sticking to my budget, and I have a lot of beautiful dresses - but I also have a lot of occassion dresses - and, honestly, I don’t have that many occasions in my life! What I’ve noticed I’m missing, is more versatile dresses that I can wear for a variety of different occasions, that feel less statement-making, and more strong outfit components. Think, a brightly patterend dress with puffy sleeves vs. something in a solid color with a more classic cut. As I shop, I’m trying to focus more on pieces that I will wear many different ways, vs. for a specific occasion. And, in April, I reached for a trustly slip dress I’ve had for years and was reminded by how great this dress is. I’ve worn it 8 months pregnant, and 12 months postpartum - thats a win in my book! Also happens to be on mega sale I wear an 8 if you’re considering!)
Sezane Gaspard Cardigan - This had been on my wishlist for a very long time, and I finally pulled the trigger in March, but my order didn’t arrive until April. I was as pleased as I had hoped, and have been wearing this sweater on repeat (which you can see from some of the above images). A heather grey sweater is a favorite for my closet, and I’ve been wearing it constantly - and plan to continue to have it in heavy rotation throughout the summer!
On the reading front, in addition to continuing my way through the Magnolia Park universe, (I finished The Great Undoing and truly cannot believe how long I’m going to have to wait to learn what happens next), I read Expiration Dates, the latest from Rebecca Serle and I absolutely loved it - one of my favorites from her by far!
Thank you so much for reading! Stay tuned for a sale season round-up coming later this week (don’t worry, it will be filled with my normal reminders about only buying things you need & love, but there are going to be a ton of sales!)
ICYMI:
Some recent pieces that you might enjoy…
What the Heck Do I Wear When I’m Pregnant - My take on how to get dressed and feel good when you’re pregnant
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Oh I’m always looking for a new show to watch! Going to check that one out!
Is the sweater cropped? It’s hard to tell from the photos on the website