The Catch-Up | Vol 19
Tomato candles, my current favorite athletic wear, a spontaneous trip for two, and the magic of early childhood reading
Hello friends!
Happy Thursday and welcome to the nineteenth edition of The Catch-Up, my weekly column that arrives in your inboxes every Thursday. The Catch-Up consists of everything that has caught my eye, heart, imagination, interest, and family throughout the week.
We’ve had a pretty simple week at home. It has really been too hot to do much at all. I believe Charleston set a new record high temp one day at the beginning of the week. I’ve been taking my boys to the playground first thing in the morning to avoid the heat and Rowan is doing a camp this week with buddies so he’s getting some activities in. I volunteered at his camp yesterday and just loved being in his orbit so much, watching him interacting with his little friends. The kids have done the aquarium and ice cream this week. We’re going to the pool and the beach this weekend. All standard stuff - it feels slow but also really nice. In my experience, life gets absolutely bananas busy for mothers the minute school starts and I’m more than happy to put that off for a little while longer. We’re in the dog days of summer but I don’t hate it.
If there is anything in particular that you like seeing from me, please don’t hesitate to drop me a comment and let me know! Thank you for being here and for reading my thoughts, inspirations, and obsessions.
P.S. If this post is ever too long for email, simply click through to read it in Substack.
What you may have missed on the blog this week:
A travel guide to Sconset on Nantucket
What do you listen to when you cook?
what caught my eye
a few quick things:
These asparagus and heirloom tomato taper candles deserve a spot on everyone’s end of summer August tables.
Rhone released some new colors for the upcoming fall season and, not going to lie, they are getting me in the mood to exercise in cooler temps. The ‘green smoke’ color in my favorite pocket leggings with this sporty top is a great combo.
We did this peach and basil chicken orzo salad this week with spicy peach honey drizzled on top and it was really delicious!
Over The Moon is having their big Friends & Family Sale right now and offering 15% off with code VIPSUMMER. Lots of recent outfits I’ve worn are on sale: here, here, here, and here.
Minnow just released their summer knitwear collection - my absolute favorite, no-brainer knits for my boys. Summer knits on the beach make me so nostalgic for childhood, ooofff! I’ve got to get my boys the shorts. They would love them!
My girlfriend founded Daysie, the delicious simple syrups, and just launched a new flavor this week, lavender & lemon verbena. It’s so fun to see her soar!
what caught my heart
It came together so fast and at the last minute but Edwin and I are flying the coup next week for two nights to go to Shelter Island, just the two of us. I’m thrilled! If I’m being honest, I wanted to bring the kids but Edwin remained steadfast in his claim that we’ve traveled so much with the boys this summer and we need a little time for us too. You know what, he’s absolutely right. I think the boys are going to be a bit incredulous when they hear we are going somewhere without them but it’s character building. The last time we took a trip just the two of us was in January of 2024 when we went to the city for our babymoon for Peter. Since then, we’ve been to one wedding and one 40th birthday but both of those included lots of friends and many scheduled activities - both absolute blasts but utterly different from traveling just us. We are so busy with the kids and work, marriage needs dedication and love too!
We are staying at The Pridwin, which, if you remember, I wrote about wanting to stay at here. I’m laughing because I wrote, “I want to go here with my kids as it looks like the absolutely perfect place for a long family weekend!” I think it’s going to be a superb couples vacation spot as well! I’ll report back and share everything with you during and after the stay. We’re going Monday - Wednesday (did you know there is a direct flight from Charleston to Islip?). A quick, and hopefully, easy trip. All I want to do is spend time with Edwin talking, dreaming, playing backgammon, paddle boarding, playing tennis, going on a bike ride, reading on the beach, finding ourselves on a boat. Edwin has some travel coming up for a documentary he is producing and I’m in busy-mode gearing up to launch my app, TableWith. So, we need this time and to really enjoy it and each other. I’m so happy Edwin pushed for it. I’m tremendously excited for it!
what caught my interest
The Tiffany & Co ‘Wildflower’ collection is some kind of wonderful. The crystal, the porcelain, and the delicate pattern are all exquisite. Just seeing the hand-painted collection online, let alone in a home, is bringing beauty to my life. The crystal pitcher and water glass on a bedside table, the tea set on a quiet afternoon (A quiet afternoon? What’s that?), or the porcelain bread basket at breakfast… What would you choose? My interest is so piqued!
what caught my imagination
My girlfriend, Chassity, shared a list of 8 things she’s not doing anymore and my imagination really started to run wild with the potential of writing my own list. She wrote what she’s not doing and then shared what she’s doing instead that’s making her happier. Chassity always has a positive spin, something I love about her! The multitasking through walks one GOT ME. I fall victim to this more than I’d like. I’m going to work on a list of things I’d like to not be doing anymore and then work on the positive flip I could be making for each thing. I’m always in search of more beauty in life! I bet I have a handful of things I could let go of.
what caught my kids
Well, this hasn’t caught my kids yet but it’s about to. Little do they know! If you are local to Charleston as well and you’re anything like me, then this will catch your attention too. The Charleston Library Society and The Book Drop are putting on a children’s literary festival next week. How marvelous! Up, Up, & Read! is a 3-day free festival open to everyone (read: you don’t have to be a member of the library to join). The schedule includes read-aloud story times and author panels, musical performances, book signings, art projects, a book fair, an activity station, popsicles, and Silhouettes by Clay Rice all in an effort to cultivate a love of reading and support early childhood literacy + increased access to books.
I’m completely in love with this concept. Not only does it sound fun and like a great outing with kiddos (that isn’t outside in the blistering heat) but it sounds like the type of thing that can actually make an impact on kids - seeing a real life author, how cool! It’s a chance to infuse their formative years with reading and a chance to celebrate authors as people to admire. Children respond to things like that. I hope my boys think reading and writing is cool, worthy, something to be passionate about. I hope they see writing as an incredibly noble and challenging job. There’s nothing in the world that takes a person farther than reading (other than maybe kindness!). Childhood exposure to authors is powerful!
I’m so passionate about early childhood literacy and grateful to live in a community with initiatives like The Book Drop that are working to make an actual difference. :)
Thank you so very much for reading this week’s edition of The Catch-Up. I’m so grateful you are here. Feel free to drop a comment below - I love to chat! Also, if you made it this far and like what you read, would you consider heart-ing this post, just below here? It helps Substack know people like my writing, which means the world to me! See you next week with vol 20! x
I love the vegetable candles. Thank you!
I loved the guided tour to Sconset. I was there last week, and it was absolutely beautiful! Riding the WAVE bus from town to Sconset was fun for my kids. We also enjoyed walking the bluff and admiring the homes.