The Catch-Up | Vol 3
What caught my eye, heart, imagination and more this week.
Hello friends! Welcome to the third edition of The Catch-Up, a weekly column I hope you look forward to every Thursday. To read more about the series, pop on over to my first edition of The Catch-Up here and my second edition here. I truly am so delighted to have you reading my Substack! It has been a joy to bring this to life.
My baby, Peter, is 11-months-old today. It feels like someone is reaching into my chest and squeezing my heart. My baby, almost one-years-old. I keep thinking back to a year ago, before I knew it was Peter on his way to my arms. He had already moved in and found a forever cozy spot in my heart but my arms were waiting to find out who we were welcoming into our family as our third child. It feels almost surreal to remember life before him. People in our lives call him “the easiest, happiest baby ever.” It’s true! If he was my firstborn, I wouldn’t have known how completely spoiled I was with him. I just adore this boy and plan to savor every last moment of his final month before his first birthday. If there was ever a time for it, please, time slow down.
Did you see, Minnow launched their spring collection (aka their biggest collection of the year?) This year, the gorgeous yet playful collection was inspired by Bermuda and includes the very special addition of select styles designed using Liberty fabrics. Swoon. A modern classic brand infused with a timeless heritage brand. What could be better? Last summer, I got my boys green Minnow suits so this summer I’m leaning more towards blue. I’m loving the idea of getting them each a suit that coordinates nicely together but isn’t a complete match with one of them in each of these three prints: one, two, three. Maybe they all do a matching blue rashguard. Do you see my vision? This french terry top and shorts set is also just wildly adorable.
For my fellow LAKE Pajamas devotees, their Annual Sale is happening this week! They are offering up to 50% off hundreds of styles, including some that have never been on sale before (i.e. sweaters!). A few of my sale favorites for:
Styles I have on sale: Classic Blue Stripes / Pima Cotton Robe (a must-have!) / Hydrangea Nighgown / Morning Blue Gauze Caftan (a wardrobe hero for me with an unreal price!)
Women: White Poplin Nightgown / Long-Long Set / Short-Long Set / Waffle Robe
Kids: Sailboats (my boys have and love) / Hydrangea stripes
Baby: Citrus Dots (Peter has and loves) / Starry Night
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what caught my eye
what caught my heart
My incredibly creative and inspiring friend, Stephanie Summerson Hall, fulfilled an incredible life and career goal last week when she opened her flagship store on King Street here in Charleston for her company, Estelle Colored Glass. The love, heart, creativity, and dedication she has poured into her business to get to this point is incredible. She is such a star and the loveliest person, inside and out. I was fortunate enough to get to celebrate the store opening with her last week and to cheers to her major accomplishments. What caught my heart was this: in her toast, she shared how she took her childhood memories of antique-ing for colored glass with her grandmother, Estelle, and turned those memories into a thriving business. Woof! I knew Stephanie’s story and her why behind her brand but hearing it framed in this way, “I took my childhood memories and made a company” honestly knocked my socks off. I can’t think a more exquisite and special way to honor the past, celebrate the here and now, and look to the future, all with family in mind. At the end of the day, no matter how fulfilling our work is, isn’t it all, in one way or another, inspired by our loved ones and our family? What they’ve given to us, exposed us to, encouraged us to do, or motivated us to strive for - if there’s no family past, present, and future, then what is the point? Stephanie made this crystal clear as she honored her late grandmother and celebrated her own achievements while being flanked by her daughters.
Next time you find yourself in Charleston, be sure to visit the Estelle flagship at 236 King Street. You’ll step into a museum-worthy jewelbox but, the best part is, you can buy it and take it all home!
what caught my interest
Planner essentials. This planner photo moved me. I’ve been thinking about it ever since seeing it. Suddenly, an LV planner is at the very top of my wish list (I didn’t see that coming but, oh my goodness, très chic). The planner inserts she recommends from The Line look amazing. I am the type of person that sees a set-up like this and can impulsively decide to re-work my entire organization system. In an effort to resist this and make sure it is a set-up I’d actually use, I decided to sit on it. The thing is, I keep thinking about it and coming back to it so this might be my sign. Their digital trackers look pretty great too for anyone looking for a system there (I personally use Quicken and love it).
I found a few LV planners in great condition around the web for less: on the Real Real, on Poshmark here and here, and on 1st Dibs.
I also found the best similar style planners available on Etsy for a steal: $31, $36, $43, and $179.
what caught my imagination
Clementina’s Sketchbook’s semi-bespoke paper and stationery. My personal stationary is *almost* out, our “Edwin and Jillian” stationery is even closer to being out, and our stationery for all three boys in one, “Rowan, Henry, and Peter,” is gone as of this week so I now only have a hodge podge of random personal stationery for each boy. Needless to say, it is time to freshen up our stock. I’ve been wanting something special but not feeling ready for the time commitment of working with a paper artist to fully design and customize stationery for our family. This, of course, is a luxury, but paper really is a need. So, I’m excited about what I think is the perfect solution, Clementina’s Sketchbook’s semi-bespoke paper and stationary designs. It is exactly what I need right now - the customization options are there but the mental work is removed for me! Plus, Clementina’s work is absolutely beautiful and immediately evokes feelings of joy, which is exactly what you want to feel when you sit down with pen and paper or when you open up a letter in the mail.
In short, you work together with Clementina’s team to create a custom design (classic stationery, gift tags, place cards, menus, invitations, announcements, photo albums, etc.), using Clementina’s pre-painted watercolour designs from her extensive and ever-growing library. The process includes the opportunity to select your favorite elements, themes, colors, borders, and fonts. In the end, you’ll have a one-of-a-kind design bespoke to you with a turnaround of just 2-3 weeks for design and 2 weeks for printing. Sensational, right!? For even more ease, she has one element paper here and then, on the flip side, fully bespoke options here.
My wheels are spinning around creating semi-bespoke photo albums for my boys too! What a beautiful way to mark life’s special moments.
what caught my kids
Last month, I was thrilled to partner on Instagram with the chicest french baby diaper care brand, Propre Baby. I’ve received a lot of questions about the product + I’ve become a complete devotee to Propre Baby so I had to share more. This Substack share is in no way sponsored - I love the brand and wanted to give them another spotlight! I mentioned to them that I was planning to share them on Substack and asked if they would reactivate their code for me. They said yes! So, use code JILLIAN15 for 15% off sitewide through the month of March.
After all my build-up, are you wondering what French baby diaper care is? It is an effective cleaner, safer, gentler alternative to baby wipes using a beloved French approach to diapering… 1-2 pumps of Propre Baby on their oversized organic cotton pads does everything – it gently cleans up your baby’s bottom while also creating a protective barrier on the skin to moisturize and help prevent diaper irritation so you never need diaper rash cream. It’s 2 in 1! Being 100% made in France, Propre products follow strict European guidelines that ban over 2,000 harmful chemical ingredients so you can feel confident using it on even the most delicate skin. Propre was an Instagram discovery for me and I’ve become obsessed (I’m a sucker for new-to-me clean products for my children!). I use it on Peter and it is quite heavenly (it is creamy, smooth, and honestly luxurious on their skin). I first tried out the brand by getting their Starter Bundle – it comes with 1 bottle of French Diaper Care and 2 bags of Organic Cotton pads. It’s the perfect amount to try and goes a long way - highly recommend. Don’t forget to use my code, JILLIAN15, for 15% off sitewide through the month of March.
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 and we can chat if any of this strikes a chord with you. See you next Thursday with vol 4!
