We’re getting back into our fall routines and it’s a fun time of year but also a little exhausting!

Eloise: My kids are back in school and into alll the sports, so I’m spending a lot of time in the car driving to and from school and practices. It’s amazing at how peaceful the house is during the day when the kids are actually at in person school (hooray!). I can get more done in one kid free morning than in a week with kids running around. We’re also wrapping up our construction project and I’m so excited to be done sharing a sink with Cece and to be back in my own primary bathroom!

Dinah: I am about to start a big new work project at the end of this week, so I have been focused on getting ahead with my other stuff ( like this blog!), cleaning and organizing my house, exercising and seeing friends. Once I start this new project, my life is going to be significantly busier, so I want to have everything set up to run smoothly without much work!

Monday Missive: September 13

What We’re Reading and Watching

• I started reading These Violent Delights, a Romeo and Juliet-inspired story about the heirs of rival gangs in Shanghai fighting for power while a mysterious illness takes over the city. It’s been a little bit slow to get through, but I like it overall and am going to finish it. - D

• My newest TV obsession is the The Other Two, a very funny sitcom on HBO Max that is about a brother and sister in their late 20’s, and what happens when their teen brother becomes an internet viral teen idol. The cast is hilarious (Molly Shannon plays their mom and Ken Marino is their brother’s manager), and they take on so many of my favorite weird parts of celebrity culture. They are in the middle of season two right now and also have great cameos since the creators were writers on SNL. - D

• The Siren by Katherine St. John is a perfect end of summer read when you want to capture that beach-y vacation-y feeling for a just few more hours. Set on a Carribean Island that’s been taken over by a movie production, it has all the glamour, intrigue, bad behavior and secrets that would expect from a production with one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, his son the director and his fragile ex-wife and her gorgeous and mysterious new assistant. -E

• The Chair starring Sandra Oh on Netflix is so good! Oh is new chair of the English department at a liberal arts college in New England and she’s dealing with antiquated colleagues, students with a social justice agenda, a budget that’s being slashed and David Duchovny as a potential professor? Plus a handsome and self-destructing love interest and daughter who’s questioning every boundary. -E

What We’re Buying

• I wandered into Ann Taylor the other weekend when we were getting new phones from the Apple Store and I found the cutest skirts on sale. The weather is so tricky this time of year and I find that a lightweight midi skirt is the perfect solution to a day when the weather is still saying summer but your mood is all about fall. I got this one, but I also love this one and this one! -E

• I’m really tempted by this Amazon striped shirt that I’ve seen on a few blogs-it looks so light an stylish. -E

• My newest fall shirt obsession is this one from Amazon - it has a cute loose fit, just the right amount of cleavage, a kind of sheer back that looks very cute with a black lacy bra, and is perfect for dinner out. I may need it in another color! - D

• In my quest for a less expensive, but still effective Vitamin C, I bought The Ordinary’s version after a lovely salesperson at Sephora suggested it. I don’t love the texture, which is a tiny bit grainy until you put an emollient on top of it, but I do think it’s working. As my summer tan fades and I can really see the tone of my fall skin, I think I will get a better idea of how it’s working. - D

What We’re Making

• My big house project for this week is to reorganize my closets - I have a big one in my bathroom that desperately needs help, and I want to do an “end of summer edit” on my wardrobe and get rid of a few things. I’ve been reading The Home Edit website and diving deep into organizing Instagram, including @theorderlyspace and @horderly for inspiration! I might even get brave and try to do an before and after photo? - D

• We made homemade ice cream sandwiches this weekend and they were the yummiest! The girls made chewy chocolate chip cookies and then we put a layer of vanilla ice cream in between two cookies and popped them in the freezer for a fun dessert. -E

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