Hello hi!
What a week!! My kids are now officially back in school, and we’re slowly finding our groove with all the new schedules and rhythms for our family. The boys have ended every day totally exhausted but very happy, and that’s really all I can ask for.
I’m looking forward to what lies ahead, especially with Peter heading into the twos classroom at preschool and getting a little more in the mix with the big kids. I also have lots up my sleeve that I’ve been working on when it comes to my writing, and I’m eager to have a little more time to be present here and share that all with you.
Happy reading!
P.S. If you are feeling friendly, would you give this post a heart? It helps with the algorithm. 💙
Immediately added this vintage beaded necklace to cart.
Love the coloring on this bag.
This brooch is to die for.
Classic chocolate brown button down
I did it! We did it! Some of you will do it soon if your kiddos haven’t started back yet! My kids have all gone back to school! Rowan’s first day was on Tuesday and Henry and Peter’s was today. I am proud of them and, they tell me, they are proud of themselves! I can’t ask for more.
Tears fell so fast from my eyes as Rowan walked into his first day of Kindergarten at his new school. I vigorously wiped the tears away to keep spirits high but he didn’t pay any mind to me as he ran into his school, backpack on, waving to his buddies, and shaking his principal’s hand. I managed to wrap my arms around him before he skipped off so I could tell him one more time, “I’ll love you till the cows come home” and that was that. He is off, ready for one of the first big adventures of his budding life. A September birthday, my almost-six-year-old is beyond ready for the challenge of Kindergarten and I’m as ready as I’ll ever be to see him grow, the push-pull of motherhood and the hopeless passage of time always on my heels. I want time to freeze so they stay this way forever. But wait, I’m so excited for what’s to come. Oh my.
Back to school is different than I imagine it was when we were growing up. There are apps now. There are so many after school activities I could have my kids programmed sun up to down down if I wanted to. It is streamlined but busy. Back to school is the school year on steroids because there is so much to pencil in on the calendar, volunteer for, and register for. It is truly the antithesis of summer.
My mom let us squeeze every last drop out of summer - we’d often screech back into town from visiting grandparents in Wyoming or Georgia with 36 hours to go before school, leaving us two nights to go to bed early and one day to hit Staples, armed with our printed out back-to-school lists that I was in complete and utter denial of until 10 minutes before pulling into the parking lot. I LOVED it. My mom is content, doesn’t sweat the small stuff, and chooses fun. There was no stress in our house around back to school, no frenetic energy. If there were checklists and concerns about having ducks in a row for three children, we weren’t privy to them. We were allowed to be children. It was magical.
I’ve tried to create the same energy with my kids around this time of year. They are still young, making this easier, of course, but I will admit that this first year before starting a big kid school, I was grateful to be home in August. My ducks were all over the pond in every which way and no one could get them in a row but me. It was a nice ease into the start of the school year before the marathon that has been this week with events and gatherings and meetings and firsts every single day. I’ve reminded myself that my kids feed off of my energy. It’s one of the beauties of motherhood, I get to set the tone. So, we’ve sailed through the week, happy! Me, busy, but keeping any oh my gosh, I haven’t done that yet! worries to myself and it has paid off.
I am thinking of each of you out there as you cheer on your own kids, nieces, nephews, and friend’s kids. You are managing a lot. Don’t forget to find a few minutes alone in your kitchen with a glass of wine in hand and a good song playing in the background.
You know what I’m really into? People celebrating their accomplishments! There is a complete and total way to be your own most cheerful cheerleader and sing it from the rooftops when things pay off without being braggadocious about it. Admittedly, this is hard to teach (something I think about with my own children as I have one son who is wildly confident in his abilities, one son who is much more quiet in his strengths and learning to find his voice in this way, and one son who is too young to tell) but I love cheering people on who are out there cheering themselves on.
Case in point: this video of Caroline sharing with her husband that her book is the #1 NYTimes best seller. She’s so proud of herself and he is so proud of her! Obsessed. I bought the book and have cooked 3 recipes from it already - I love Caroline and the way she approaches food as a fellow mom to a very full house. She packs on the flavor, makes it easy and quick, and makes it family-friendly. I also bought a copy of the cookbook for another mom and wrapped it up as a back-to-school gift for her as a little reminder that while everyone is out here celebrating the kids (rightfully so!), someone is out here celebrating her too! A word of unsolicited advice, if you’ve been sitting on it and trying to decide if you should buy another cookbook or not, buy this one. You’ll love it!
What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast
The beauty of living in a city with a major shopping street or neighborhood is the window shopping. I love the good old fashioned nature of peering through a window instead of peering through a screen. We walk everywhere and I love the windows of Charleston. Some store windows are decidedly my favorite. Some of them I wait for with predictability as the new seasons arrive. All of them I count down for until Christmas. One such window really hooked me this week with their first foray into the fall season.
Here’s what I’m loving and what I’m going back to to fill a dressing room with so I can see what has a future in my wardrobe:
I’d wear this scarf dress to school pick and to get a glass of wine with Edwin
These are cool. Really into them.
This cream, maroon, and lilac plaid skirt because wouldn’t she be darling paired with this chunky oatmeal cotton cardigan or this chocolate cashmere pullover (depending on how cold it was)?
I adore navy and brown together so I like the look of these classic navy suede ballet flats paired with these easy chocolate pants. I love the bit of unexpected quirk the crochet lends the pants against the timeless shoe silhouette.
Okay, and these for a trip out west!!
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 - I love to chat! Also, if you made it this far and like what you read, would you consider heart-ing this post, just below here? It helps Substack know people like my writing, which means the world to me! See you next week with vol 53! x
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