Things on my radar

The July Roundup

July is over and there’s already a chill in the night air here in the Poconos. I have to admit, this summer is flying by a little too quickly, and that chillier air feels like a physical foreshadowing of autumn’s arrival. I’m a summer girlie, so I’m never ready. I also would be lying if I didn’t say that July has been an emotional rollercoaster. I’ve come into some pretty profound realizations, have had more than one deep conversation, and feel wildly manic and deeply directed all at once. It’s really intense and quite overwhelming. But I’m riding the wave as elegantly as I can while also working on all the things.

I haven’t really spoken about this publicly as yet, but I’ll let you all in on a little secret—I’m working on a new brand, and I’m really excited to tell you more about it very soon. I’ll be sharing more of the journey here, and hopefully one day in the near future, we’ll all be gathering around a table in real life to celebrate its birth. I’ll likely be bawling my eyes out in a corner somewhere at said event, and I’ve never been more ready to do just that.

To conclude, July was a month. I finally recommitted to a meditation I’ve been wanting to practice more often, I picked blueberries at the most incredible organic farm near Delhi, and I sponsored a really special artists’ dinner with the olive oil from Puglia that many of you have ordered. I still have a few tins left if anyone is curious, and it’s listed here. And while I’m on the topic of things, Madeline’s opal rings are on pre-order for just a few more days, as well as a short resurface of the first edition Picnic in Bed sweatshirt!

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The profound eloquence that Mara brought to this podcast episode really succinctly put words to feelings I’ve been sorting through for a while. I will never not be in awe of this woman and hope to manifest being a part of her inner circle in the future.

I can’t be the only one who thinks that the Limited Too relaunch was a total and utter miss, right? From the weird launch party that looked like a low budget bar mitzvah to the bare bones website—all to just launch exclusively for pre-teens at Kohls? It feels like a major, major miscalculation. Not to mention the fact that they thought we (meaning we, millenials) all have tween children already? I have no idea where they pulled these stats from, but I will report that most of my friends are just starting to have kids and they’re barely 4 or 5—at most. Anyways, if this relaunch had been up to me, I would’ve gone straight for the hearts of the original fan base, recreating the original collections verbatim in adult sizes, and brought back key nostalgic pieces like the inflatable glitter chairs, fun keychains (how they could’ve SO capitalized on this bag charm moment is unbelievable) friendship necklaces, etc. They also should have gone all out and rebuilt a standalone flagship store! Even a pop up to test the market first would have been okay. WHAT. A. FLOP. Sincerely, one sad OG Limited Too shopper, wishing that they’d hired me to imagine this relaunch for them.

V. curious about this hair mask, especially as I write this with 6 day old hair that I never styled and just kept adding jojoba oil to each night desperately trying to moisturize.

I had the honor and delight of meeting designer Victoria Tom, who just launched her new collection from her home island of Trinidad & Tobago. I honestly could wear every single piece in this collection, and stay tuned, we might be working on a very cool collaboration coming soon 👀.

I loved this:

mare_kell

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Honestly, I’ve never needed something more than this carrier. I’m a notebook girlie and you’ll frequently find me carrying two books and pens in my arms, so this piece would be a game changer.

I’ve commited myself to making small changes this past month—the two things I chose to focus on were daily meditation and daily movement. I’ve been taking myself on a short walk to a beautiful road just minutes from our house and almost every time I’ve met turkey feathers on the path. Obviously I had to look up what the totem means and what resonated most was, “the turkey’s symbolism and meaning ties in heavily with that of the Earth Mother, nourishing our mind, body, and spirit. The turkey also symbolizes the harvest and abundance.”

justinablakeney

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Thanks to Abena for turning me on to this article and creator and WOAH am I impressed. I am impressed with her inspiration comign from her late mother, the organizational disciplines it takes to make such a work of art, and lastly, her gracious system of lending these dresses for free. That part, the community trade, really feels like the future to me.

Shop Lily Sullivan's Wedding Spreadsheet

Thanks to pretty decent for turning me on to this game that I need to order stat.

I’m obsessed:

yesboone

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& speaking of cool musical mashups:

aviesheck

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THE MOTHER of mashups, a MUST for my wedding day.

altego_music

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I loved, loved this piece by my new substack friend,

Kayti Christian

. Her words are absolutely moving and you should definitely read her work.

what if it all turns out okay?

This JCREW collab with Maryam Nassir Zadeh has me adding so much to my wishlist, but especially this piece, this one and this!

This new brand is bookmarked for my next trip to DC.

I loved this episode on the importance of ritual and how they differ from habits. It gave me a lot of clarity and lightbulb moments:

I used to wear one of these watches when I was a little kid and after seeing my friend Gioia wearing her daughter’s I couldn’t help but go on the site to look for one that I could pull off(?)

Very into this brand I came across and already am scheming layering their pieces for fall and winter.

xx Maya

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What have you been saving this month? Let us know in the comments!