Note from Grace: OOPS - did not mean to publish this on Thursday. I finished writing and accidentally hit send vs schedule!
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Hello, hello! Today’s newsletter is a big Friday catch up, I suppose. As I write this, it is quiet, which is so nice. The pool construction has been pretty intense. Yesterday I woke up to a shaking house. The good news is that the mud piles are finally gone and the concrete gets poured today. It will all be so worthwhile but between this and my cold I am going a little stir crazy!
I am in a bit of a funk. When I write out why, it all sounds silly and privileged. Nothing is actually wrong. I suppose I just feel a little bit isolated right now (while also not having the energy to do much!). Noisy construction + being stuck at home with a cold is a recipe for a funk. I know it will pass.
Everything is really dry. My skin, my sinuses, my plants especially. Even my usual failsafe combo of The Rich Cream + oil over it is not working, my skin is so parched. Do I need to get a humidifier? Leave your recs in the comments, pretty please.
I am making a solid effort go get dressed everyday. Last week was the height of my cold so I was mostly in sweats. This week I am trying! I work from home so it feels nice to put something cute on. When I have on a good outfit, I just feel better and happier… in a way, it sets the tone for the day!
January is a slow month of work. It’s the classic thing about being self-employed: you are either overwhelmed because you have too much work, or stressed because it is slow and you worry things won’t pick back up. I never seem able to just enjoy the slower periods for what they are.. a break! It is really good that things are quiet(er) right now because I took on too much (gift guides, sponsored content) in November and December and was pretty burnt out. I can think again and my creative juices are flowing once more! It is less good because it’s a big spending month. And even though I’ve planned for it, I still panic: quarterly taxes, an unexpected plumbing bill, another big payment on the pool, ETC!
I am the problem here; I feel this way every January! The talk I give myself is to enjoy this downtime and not worry so much. (I’ve literally given this exact talk to several friends, why can’t I take my own advice?) Things will pick up and I won’t have the luxury of going for that long walk with a friend. I have been doing this for 14 years (Can you believe that? Tomorrow marks 14 years of my blog!) and I know the nature of the business. Calm down!
New York at the end of the month! This is what I’m most looking forward to right now. The impetus of the trip is The Whitney Art Party (I try to go every year, it’s so much fun) plus dinner with one best friend for her birthday and dinner with another best friend. And of course, a bunch of work meetings. <3
On The Stripe (my blog!) this week.
We started out the week with some wintery tabletop favorites, inspired by my Christmas Eve tablescape.
And then, a big + very random roundup of recent Amazon favorites. All things I have and personally love!
What to bring to a dinner party!
Our winter shoe edit. The styles Carly and I are most excited about right now.
This Week in Reading:
(lots of reading again as I’m still not feeling totally back to normal!)
I finished reading Hello Beautiful and while it took me a while to get there, I did enjoy the ending and ultimately the story. The author’s writing style is not my favorite but it’s a beautiful story, especially if you have sisters or loved Little Women.
After that, I read The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins. I was ultimately disappointed by this one! I’ve read all of her books and generally love them - I’d even pre-ordered it. I just felt it went a little too off the rails at times with characters that felt a little flat. It probably didn’t help that it felt similar (rich, potentially murderous older woman, beautiful crumbling estate) to The Only One Left which was just a much better book.
After that I read The Other Mothers (by Katherine Faulkner) in just a couple days. This, I highly recommend. A complicated, layered thriller that is very well written. Tash is a journalist, investigating the death of a young nanny. She’s also mom to a young boy and desperate for connection. When she befriends a group of other moms and is ushered into a world of $9 lattes and day drinking in their beautiful townhomes, it feels like she’s finally made some friends. But: as she dives deeper into her investigation she realizes her new friends may be more foe than friend. I loved Faulkner’s first book Greenwich Park and this was a great follow-up!
Now I am reading The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak. I am a big fan of Pitoniak’s books (I really loved Our American Friend) but am not far enough along with this to tell you much. It’s a spy novel, very fast paced and fun.
On audio I am listening to Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara. It is the perfect follow to Setting the Table as Guidara worked for Danny Meyer. I am really enjoying it (and learning a lot - loads of fun restaurant scoop but it’s also a great business book!).
A Reader Question!
We are skipping questions this week but if if you have a question for a future newsletter, please email grace@thestripe.com - it helps if you are specific and include budget, your personal style, etc.).
I started putting liquid Magnesium in my water to help with dehydration. It started to seem like it didn't matter how much water I was drinking, everything was bone dry. My doctor recommended, and now I prefer my water with it.
I really liked Greenwich Park. I'll have to read The Other Mothers next. (I'm about to finish The Idea of You!)