Monday Missive: October 4
It was a beautiful weekend to be outside!
I once again went to one million children’s sports games, but we also ate dinner outside every night, had an outdoor movie night, and I got out for walks with Mr. T. I love this time of year! I also have to confess that after years of begging, my children finally wore me down, and we stopped by the Halloween store to purchase a skeleton, grave stones, and a spooky ghost thing that hangs in the tree and makes very creepy noises when you go past it. The girls are delighted by the circle of terror that is now our driveway and I can only hope that we survive the next month because the anticipation of Halloween has already started in a big way at our house, haha! -Eloise
My weekend was spent away at a wedding in Cashiers, North Carolina. It was a lot of travel to get there and back, but I fell in love with that little corner of the world. We went on hikes to see the many waterfalls in the area, took an incredible boat tour on Lake Glenville, ate BBQ and of course danced the night away! - Dinah
What We’re Reading and Watching
They’ll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman is set in a small town in upstate New York, known for its amazing cross country team and the murders of three teenage girls years ago. Now Stella and Ellie, the Steckler Sisters, are the ones to beat on the cross country team, but when a new runner to moves to town, their delicate eco-system is thrown into disarray. After someone on the team goes missing, those left behind try to figure out if the murderer is back or if it’s one of their own. I thought the take on the complexity of being a teenager, and an elite female athlete, was so good that even more than solving the mystery, I wanted to get to know each of the girls. -Eloise
Wishing you had a new hobby as the weather cools down? This quiz that recommends indoor hobbies based on your astrological sign is so fun! -Eloise
Lauryn Bosstick from the Skinny Confidentail has a new podcast about skincare in honor of her new book, both called Get the F**k Out of the Sun. She has interviews with dermatologists, celebrities and all the scoop on plastic surgery. Such a fun listen if you want to know more about retinol, whether or not Kristin Cavallari gets fillers, or how long it takes to recover from fat injections. Um, yes please! -E
I didn’t get to read as much as I would have liked to on my trip, but started Palace of the Drowned by Christine Morgan, which is set in Venice in the 1960’s. The story is about a female British writer who goes to Venice for an extended visit after an embarrassing incident. It’s definitely a slow build, but I love the writing style and am looking forward to where it goes! - D
One of my favorite New England things is the obsession with Great White Sharks, especially on Cape Cod. I really enjoyed this Boston Magazine article about two warring research factions and learned a lot about the different ways they study sharks - plus all the behind the scenes drama! - D
What We’re Buying
I took the kids to Old Navy when they were out of school on Friday and came across this collarless sherpa jacket, and I haven’t taken it off since! It’s so cozy and not bulky and looks much more expensive than it is-especially since it’s 30% off right now. -E
My travel size toiletry selection was low, so I tried to restock on a few things for my trip, but some of them were sold out. I ended up trying a new (to me) hair styling product from Living Proof, the 5-in-1 Styling Treatment and I loved it! It made my hair smooth and shiny, didn’t weigh it down, and actually kept me from being too frizzy after we got rained on a bit during the wedding ceremony. - D
Our family is obsessed with Caroline’s Cakes and when I saw them at the farmer’s market in Cashiers, I almost lost my mind! I bought the Bites for everyone in our house to try, and they really saved us on the long car ride to the airport. - D
What We’re Making
OMG these Enchiladas Verdes from the Defined Dish were so good! The whole family loved them even though I was pressed for time and just bought salsa verde from Trader Joe’s and used TJ’s corn tortillas that fell apart. No one seemed to mind the semi-deconstructed appearance and they ate the whole pan. The only thing I might do differently next time is try a different kind of tortilla. -E
I wasn’t really home to make anything, but with friends coming to visit next weekend, I’m continuing my fall cleaning and organizing binge to get it ready for company! - D
Follow us on Instagram for more updates.