Table Notes | Setting the Table No. 7

This week was a hard one. My goal is always to send these posts out on Thursday, but when my full time employment status changed abruptly on Tuesday, I had to take a short pause to regroup. So here I am hitting send on a Friday afternoon, a day late and a little more honest than usual.

In the last few days I have realized that this time might be a bit of a gift. Summer camp schedules are hard to juggle alongside a full time job, and I have been building Trudie in the margins of my days for a while now. I am genuinely excited to see what happens when those margins become the page, even if just for a little while. Being a working mom trying to build something on the side is one of the hardest things I have done. My easy-going, can-do nature has served me well in a lot of ways, but I have been learning lately that it has also made it harder for me to be heard in the moments where I actually had something important to say. I was good at supporting and I was expected to support, but I got quiet in some of the places I should have been louder. This feels like the moment to find that voice again.

So I am dusting myself off and leaning into what is right in front of me: more time with my girls this summer, more time for Trudie, and the chance to figure out what this next chapter looks like. I cannot wait to find out.

Since I have a little more time on my hands right now, I want to use it well. The Setting the Table series is something I have been building post by post and I am still early enough to make changes and respond to what is actually resonating with you.

So I want to ask: what have you enjoyed most in the Setting the Table posts so far? The table setting and styling details? The menus and recipes? The outfit options? Or is there an occasion you have not seen yet that you want me to add?

Leave a comment or reply directly to this email. I am reading every single one and your answers will shape what the next forty-five weeks look like.

Weeknight elevated is the table that does the most philosophical work in this series. It is the argument that Wednesday deserves the good tablecloth. That a roasted chicken and with tabletop lamps and a proper napkin at each place is not too much for a Tuesday or a Thursday. That it is exactly the right amount.

The Table

• Virginia Green Stripe tablecloth (round or rectangle available for pre-order)

• Mildred Cream napkins

• Blue and white dinner plates

• Bamboo flatware

• Blue Floral Short Enamelware Tumblers and Pitcher

• Cane bread basket

The Menu

• Perfect Roasted Chicken

• Potato au Gratin

• Roasted Broccolini with Lemon and Parmesan

• Baguette with butter

• Ina’s Outrageous Brownies and Vanilla Ice Cream

The Outfit

First option: a matching top and skirt set. The kind of outfit that looks pulled together on a weeknight without any effort. Add the brown and white striped sweater thrown over the shoulders as the evening cools.

Second option: a pointelle shirt, jeans, and flats. The weeknight elevated uniform — relaxed but intentional. The same brown and white striped sweater works here too, over the shoulders or on when the temperature drops.”

Everything from this post is linked in my ShopMy collection.