Summer is coming to an end and we both headed home last week, but we are still having warm weather fun while we prep for the fall (the “What We Are Making section is just very boozy things other people made us…)! Eloise is in full back-to-school mode, and Dinah is focused on getting back into the swing of city life. We aren’t quite back to our normal routines, but we are getting there.

Monday Missive: August 30

What We’re Reading and Watching

• I read an amazing memoir, Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford, which looks at her life growing up in Indiana, with a father in prison and a mother who is emotionally and physically abusive. It was so well-written and such a nuanced look at family dynamics and how hard it is to move past the baggage of growing up. - D

• Um I watched the new He’s All That movie on Netflix and it was hilariously bad. Addison Rae seems like a cute girl, but she is not an actress. They did have a few winks to She’s All That, but it was not enough to save the movie, especially the scene where she sings Teenage Dream while doing Tik Tok dances and that is somehow when they first start to like each other. Very mysterious... - D (I watched it too and thought it was so cute! Although I was pre-watching it for my kids and thought that my 11 and 13 year old would love it, so it was a different standard. -E)

• I read a book about a working mom and a stay at home mom having a Freaky Friday week (The Seven Day Switch by Kelly Harms). It was an easy but very satisfying read for my current state of mind, which is drowning in trying to get all of the stuff organized for the start of school, the start of fall sports, a visit from family and a construction project in our house that seems like it may never end! The two moms in the book are both taking on a lot and losing a little perspective and it was nice to see all of that laid out in two sympathetic characters with different takes on mom life. -E

What We’re Buying

• My new favorite sneakers for walking and errands. -E

• It’s way too hot in Maryland for sweater life to start, but & Other Stories has so many tempting options! . -E

• My fall sweater wardrobe needed some help, so I got this adorable orange Hi Ho sweater from the Three Islands store in Watch Hill. I love the color and the beige stripe down the side. - D

What We’re Making

• I went to a kind of rowdy party over the weekend and one of the other ladies made the CUTEST watermelon jello shot slices, so I had to look up the recipe! It’s such a fun summer touch and could also work without the booze for an all-ages treat. - D

• Did anyone else watch Real Housewives of Beverly Hills last week and laugh when Sutton ordered her favorite drink-a glass of champagne with a shot of vodka in it! Her castmates were horrified, but I have to admit I was intrigued. Then I went to a ladies pool party this weekend and they served shots of that drink, which was so exciting. It turns out the drink was underwhelming but I was thrilled to find other under the radar Housewives fans. -E

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