The Catch-Up | Vol 26
A quote on being excited, a brilliant beauty + jewelry collaboration, and ways to keep your kids entertained this Thanksgiving!
Hello friends!
Hello friends! Happy Friday and welcome to The Catch-Up, my weekly column that arrives in your inboxes every week. The Catch-Up consists of everything that has caught my eye, heart, imagination, interest, and family throughout the week. What a few weeks! I’ve been very active and present with my family and life off the internet but less present on the internet. Halloween is such a marathon with kids. We had a GREAT Halloween week that also included stomach bugs, fevers, and ear infections. We bookended the week with trips to the pediatrician on Monday and Friday but celebrated so much in-between with parades, trick-or-treating, class parties, and more. Halloween is my oldest son’s favorite holiday so it’s important to me that I bring the fun for him! I’m coming up for air after more fevers in my house this week + strep for myself and one of my sons. My husband was in New York last week for work, home for Halloween, and then again out of town in North Carolina this week for work. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t running on fumes. I’m not one to “have a day” but I had one this week where I felt so sick it was hard to put one foot in front of the other and solo parent and do everything else. I ate half a bowl of soup for dinner and thanked my lucky stars for Amoxicillin and the prospect of a new day on the horizon. I’m a person who wakes up every morning happy so these types of days rock me to my core.
My mom sent me a delightful quote on happiness this week that really resonated with me:
A big part of being happy is being excited. Be excited for everything, making a cup of tea, seeing a friend, the next episode, buying something you’ve been saving up for, sunsets, traveling, loving your spouse everyday. Live a life you are excited about.
In the name of being excited, here are a few things I am excited for:
Edwin returning home today!!!!!
A girlfriend’s birthday party this evening - cocktails with friends!
Walking to my girlfriend’s house for the party with Edwin and another couple attending
Picking up a gift for the party - I’m going to one of my favorite shops this morning, Elizabeth Stuart, for the gift I have in mind and being there always makes me smile
I texted my girlfriend Chelsea when I was feeling sick and down and said “Saturday morning - want to walk!?” and she simply replied, “Yes!!” Get yourself a Chelsea. :)
Celebrating my mom - technically this already happened right before I went down with being really sick but I was so excited for a belated birthday celebration for my beloved mother last weekend - an evening boat ride with champagne and bites!
Snuggling Peter before heading out tonight
Burning holiday candles!!!!
A playdate this weekend with just Henry and one of his buddies - I love solo activities with just one of my boys
A really special event Edwin and I are hosting next week for a men’s brand Edwin loves, Holderness & Bourne. I feel so grateful to have such fantastic brand partners in my work!
Getting our Christmas card photos back!
A Thanksgiving planning meeting for my boys preschool - I am one of the 4 moms putting on the full-school Thanksgiving feast and at my older two boys’ preschool. Excited to make it great for the cutest kiddos.
A meeting for the Charleston Antiques Show next spring - it’s a joy to be on the committee!
The new tea I ordered
Planting paperwhites. These two are the best bulbs to buy: one, two. Promise.
Thanksgiving planning!
Starting Matilda with my oldest. He loves Roald Dahl.
A fundraiser gala next week I’m outfit hunting for.
I hope you have a lot, big and small, to be excited about in the next few days! Let’s make a terrific fuss about them all - happiness is all around if you look for 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:
What to wear for Thanksgiving: for a Turkey Trot, cooking, a holiday lunch, a dressed up dinner, and Thanksgiving outfits for men!
What to do with 72 Hours in London: two different complete itineraries + my full London travel guide
An fall moodboard you’ll love
3 creative ways to display memories
Meaningful questions to ask your parents - I love writing more thought provoking posts like this one
what caught my eye
a few quick things
I love a good word of mouth influence - my girlfriend told me her new can’t-live-without beauty item is the Goop Beauty Glow Skin Highlighter Stick so I’m giving it a whirl. I ordered it yesterday in the ‘Aura’ shade, aka a Champagne gold. I could use a little highlight on my skin (why does it already feel like it’s dulling out with the cold weather setting in?).
A really good autumn movie list.
I haven’t worn AYR denim in a few years but I love an old pair that I have so I gave their new styles a look after happily pulling on my well-loved pair earlier this week. I ended up ordering their ‘Legend’ jeans. Apparently they are a thing! So, I’m excited.
A festive and very giftable collab you need to know about: Inslee Fariss x ChappyWrap. Prints for Thanksgiving/fall and for a cozy holiday season. I can smell the outdoor smores roasting now while wrapped in one of these!
PSA: Two x Two, an absolutely charming children’s brand from Spain, is popping up here in Charleston at the Julia Amory store Saturday 11/15. Their new tartan collection is ohhhhhh so cute!
If I found myself in Paris this holiday season, I’d be visiting this exhibit at my favorite museum.
A stunning holiday shoe for under $300. I really love the ‘Khaki’ and the ‘Chocolate’ colors.
what caught my heart
What are you most looking forward to this holiday season? What are the things your heart starts reminding your brain of as you think of what is waiting for you this month and next? I am giddy with anticipation. In the same vein as how I started this post, a big part of being happy is being excited so let’s gather around what’s making us thrilled to bits as the holidays come knocking on our doors…
The first fire waiting to be lit in your family room?
A family recipe card you’re eager to bring out, worn down with love, water marks, oily finger prints, and scribbles in the margins?
The annual viewing of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles during Thanksgiving week or It’s A Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve Eve?
The first batch of cider brewed on your stove, mugs waiting for you on the wood countertop with cinnamon sticks resting on the brim?
The Christmas books waiting for your children (Jan Brett, I’m so looking forward to you) and the holiday coffee table books soon to be adorning your home?
Post-bedtime hands of gin rummy by the tree?
Neighborhood evening walks to see the wreaths, garlands, lights, and the warm window glow from neighbors?
what caught my interest
Cabana came to Charleston earlier this week for a gorgeous pop-up hosted by two of my girlfriends. They hosted a lovely cocktail party and then a two-day pop-up. It’s incredible the caliber of brands that come to Charleston for pop-ups and events. The discovery and chance to meet the founders is such a thrill for me. I love seeing a creative mind at work. The whole affair sparked my interest in holiday tables. I’m feeling torn this year with my inspiration as I’m being pulled in two very different directions - traditional plaids and jewel tones. Cabana definitely made a case for a more unexpected holiday tablescape. Here’s what caught my eye:
Their masterfully designed lead tablecloth for holiday is already sold out and my is it something. It’s even more beautiful in person! Set a notification and hope it comes back in stock. It’s a major heirloom splurge.
Reversible placemats. Again, these sold out so quickly but set an email notification for when they come back in stock.
Tudor-inspired dinner napkins.
Floral magenta dinner plates.
Venetian water glasses. A tremendous splurge but, I will say, one got knocked off the table and hit the ground at the pop-up and it was completely unharmed. The quality is exceptional.
Embroidered cocktail napkins.
I very much realize this is one expensive table but it’s good to dream and fun to play table dress up in your mind.
what caught my imagination
Have you seen this? You’ve definitely seen this. Well, you’re about to see it again! Imagination is alive and well out there! The Hart x RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek Locket is brilliant and just plain cool. I love it on the chord chain but can’t get enough of it either way. Swiping on a fresh lip has never been so effortless.
what caught my kids
I’m so excited to have made the shift in my mind from planning Halloween to planning Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. One thing that should not be overlooked when planning the holiday is planning for kids. Lots of cooking, cleaning, and table setting happens on Thanksgiving and the days leading up to the big feast; it’s never fun to have kids get lost in the shuffle. Growing up, our Thanksgiving break started with a half day on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. However, Charleston schools have the whole week off so I like to plan ahead with simple bits of entertainment here and there so I can successfully roll up my sleeves in the kitchen, enjoy a glass of wine with my mom, put away dishes, or give my mom some supplies while a bunch of us run the turkey trot. Set yourself up for success and order a few of these items for your house or send them on to the grandparents house now. Here are simple and sweet ideas that have worked for me past years and that I plan to roll out again this year…
Surprise balls: Turkeys / Mushrooms / Pumpkins / More Pumpkins / Fall
Coloring Placemats: Happy Thanksgiving / I Am Thankful For
Sensory Kits + Playdough: Gobble and Gather / Turkeys / Fall / More Fall
Crackers: Turkeys / Liberty Fall
Books for Toddlers: The Humble Pie / How to Catch a Turkey / Too Many Pumpkins / Dino-Thanksgiving / The Scarecrow’s Hat
Books for Babies: You’re My Little Pumpkin Pie / Autumn in the Forrest
Puzzles: Turkey Puzzle Toy / Thanksgiving Scene (this is not cute but my kids will love it)
Pajamas: Foxy Forrest / Slumber Party
Lol, this is cute.
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 27! x
