Father’s Day Fare

For us, Father’s Day is about family, food, and al fresco dining. One daughter is home this weekend and will bake with her dad, and I’ll assemble a cheese board and kitchen clambake. Here’s to a lovely weekend!

The Perfect Pink

I’m completely smitten with these pink beach towels and umbrellas. And the white piping, sigh. The towels will be easier to hunt down, in the meantime a new lipstick and bandana would be fun.

Images courtesy of @vikagazinskaya and @virginiemouzat

Sleek Summer Dressing

I spied this image on Net-A-Porter and it’s one of my favorite summer evening looks. I have the Anine Bing skirt and pair it with an old Matteau top. This summer I’ll add the chunky link necklace I bought on sale and is now really on sale. And, I keep eyeing this Saint Laurent tote, but haven’t gone there — yet.

Proenza Schouler top, Manolo Blanik sandals.

FT’s HTSI

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Jo Ellison, editor of Financial Times’ HTSI (formerly How To Spend It), and the current issue is particularly good. At first glance, I thought A Newport Summer by Ruthie Sommers was just another coffee table book chronicling the lives of the idle rich. But, the review set me straight — it’s a much more in-depth look at Newport today and a very good read. An article on an exhibition at Les Beaux-Arts de Paris that explores botanical influences in jewelry was so compelling I changed the dates of our trip to Paris to catch the last day, September 4. And, if I were going back to an office, this Loro Piana shirtdress would be ideal.

La Droguerie From Diptyque

Perfect hostess gift alert!  Diptyque’s recently launched La Droguerie is a line of eco-friendly household products — so good.

Chloé Resort: In Black & White

Broderie anglaise, laser cut leather, and a collab with Barbour — Gabriela Hearst hit the bullseye with the Chloé Resort 2023 collection.

Designer Agnes Baddoo

The Agnes Baddoo line has expanded well beyond the original sacs aka the world’s best totes and bags. Sandals, leather kerchiefs, belts, and now baskets are just a few of the items under the brand’s umbrella. Everything Agnes designs is infused with her own personal style, which derives from her NYC upbringing and current life in LA. It’s all just very cool, Agnes is the ultimate cool girl. Here are earlier posts on my dear friend.

Next up, Agnes’ list of things she can’t live without.

Long Weekend Vibe

My 2021 New Year’s resolution, to create a home where I can entertain spontaneously, has extended to the outdoors. This small patio is off the kitchen, which makes it easy to dine al fresco. We are here this weekend awaiting an excavator to come collapse our 18th century root cellar — it’s under the lump at the tree line. There is a lovely fieldstone wall behind it that will finally be visible from the house. The meadow, at the right of this picture leading up to the barn, will then extend behind the pool. My husband and daughter are building a tuleur/teepee for the near right corner of the fenced garden — perfect for peas. Then we’ll start work on the back side of the hill that goes down to a river. My husband changes the subject every time I suggest a paddle court…

I hope everyone has a safe and restful long weekend.

Buy Now, Wear Later

My inbox is so full of sale emails that I created a dedicated mailbox for them. NET-A-PORTER was the first to alert me so I perused the site and found a lot of great stuff for fall. I’ve bucked the chunky chain necklace trend, but love the links on this one and it’s such a steal.

Hat, necklace, gloves, cardigan sweater, sunglasses, sneakers, chain belt, pea coat.

This & That

It’s all about our gardens right now. Last weekend, at a lecture by landscape designer Leslie Needham, I met Page Dickey and Frances Palmer — both women are incredibly talented and I’m endlessly inspired by their work. I’ve even considered trying my hand at ceramics à la Ms. Palmer, and Page Dickey is my true polestar when it comes to garden design.  Catie Marron, an ex-Vogue colleague, wrote Becoming A Gardener and it’s next up in my garden books queue. I just read Jennifer Egan’s A Visit From The Goon Squad and The Candy House back-to-back. They are both incredible works of fiction and really one long book. Next up, This Time Tomorrow by a fave author Emma Straub. This New York Times recipe for polenta with peas, asparagus, and mint looks insanely yummy and I picked up the ingredients earlier today. We are going to Paris in September so I thought I’d brush up on my French by watching the film France — it got great reviews. And, summer makes me a bit of a magpie — love the gold trim on these Malone Souliers slides, and hoping these Aerin coasters come back in stock.