THE WEEKLY EDIT:
Quick Housekeeping: Levi’s & Merit
Here are the updates I promised! The 501® '90s Levi’s in ecru, two sizes up, have arrived, and I love them! They’re the nice, oversized fit I’m going for and the cream is perfect for spring (they’re 30% off again today).
RE: Merit Lipsticks, I did it! I ordered the MATTE lipsticks in the middle of the night after a feed when I couldn’t fall back asleep. I might have gone a bit overboard and got Classic, Antibes, and Court (oh, how I miss living near a Sephora!). They remind me a lot of my all-time favorite Sunnies Face lipsticks—I've been wearing 'Milkshake' for years. Anyway, they're gorgeous, and Antibes has quickly become my everyday go-to. A nightly lip treatment/balm is essential with these though - I use the Henné Organics Lip Mask.
Making: Chicken Shawarma Dinner Party
Gaby and her family are coming up to visit this weekend and this chicken shawarma dinner party is the menu for Saturday night. Roasted eggplant, hummus, whipped feta, cucumber salad…yum!
3 Substack Reads: Tiny dresses, Parenting & Herby Salads
Garance shared a piece about rarely dressing sexy and it’s so relatable! Particularly reason #2 (for me at least!).
I appreciated Dr. Aliza Pressman’s post on eating together as a family which is linked to lower rates of substance abuse, teen pregnancy, eating disorders and depression. She shared that the benefits are seen with 5 meals per week and gives tips on how to make this achievable.
I’m feeling compelled to add fresh herbs to allllll my salads after reading this. Plus, there are some really delicious sounding recipes.
Ordered: Ladylike shirt dress and Swimsuits for the Girls
This $85 tapered shirt dress felt chic, ladylike and easy for spring so I sure did order it. With a raffia bag and some really good sandals…gahh I’m ready. I’m also ready for poolside afternoons with the kids, for whom I’ve ordered new swimsuits during J. Crew’s 40% off site-wide sale (which I believe ends Monday).
Great kids snack: Peaceful Fruits Peel-n-Eat Stickers
I discovered these Peaceful Fruits peel-n-eat sticker at our local grocery store and the girls LOVED them! They’re 100% fruit, no added sugars, no sugar substitutes, no dyes and a whole lot of fun! They come in strawberry & sour cherry, raspberry & mango, blueberry & banana, and mango & passionfruit.
ALRIGHT, LET’S GET INTO IT:
What’s Your Rich?
“What’s your rich?” This question was dropped into my universe as I stood overheating in a cashmere sweater on an unexpectedly hot day at a birthday party…a day when I was also particularly sleep deprived from the 4-month sleep regression. Between a pending heat stroke and my stinging tired eyes, I didn’t have the energy to make small talk, but this question hit me like a nice, cool misting machine with a side of iced coffee — a refreshing and awakening jolt.
The person who shared the question had recently decided to make the full-time to part-time work transition in order to be able to pick her children up from school and take them to their after-school activities without work emails and calls fighting for her attention. A choice that tightened things financially, but with her children getting older, she knew it was where her heart was. It was her “rich” — the most important thing she felt she could do with her time, in this chapter of her life.
“How unpretentious,” I thought. What clarity! What purpose! What priorities! A financial sacrifice for a very different kind of rich. A kind of rich that was very different from a lot of the LA rich I was previously surrounded by. Particularly where nannies at baby music classes, drop-off, pick-up and at activities are very much the norm (no judgment!).
I asked her what inspired her to contextualize richness in such a way. She laughed and said she heard it on the Netflix series, How To Get Rich. So, technically, we can thank Ramit Sethi for this question. I haven’t watched the show, but I did browse his website to understand his take a bit better and found this:
A Rich Life is your ideal life — one where you look at your personal relationships, your finances, and your ordinary days and say, “Wow!”
It’s a life that is full. A life lived intentionally, proactively, and abundantly.
To continue the conversation IRL, I’ve been asking friends what their rich is, and I’ve loved hearing the wide variety of responses. They’ve all been so different and have really run the gamut — some shockingly out of left field, others quite simple and tender.
So, I thought I’d drop the question here in this newsletter: what’s your rich life?
There are no right or wrong answers, there is only your answer. An answer that will evolve as your life does. It can be small things like time to meditate in the morning or eating out twice a week or big things like dinner as a family every night, “x” amount saved by retirement or a house in a specific neighborhood. Again, no right or wrong, big or small. And it can be a combination of things such as relationships, finances, and your ordinary days. The key, I think, is to be realistic, so you can achieve your rich life.
Give it a think! I hope it feels like a worthwhile and meaningful exercise in designing your fulfilling life.
MAKE THIS WEEK:
Creamy Coffee Mousse
Healthier Buffalo Chicken Caesar Wraps
Crispy Charred Broccoli & Ricotta
Salmon Bowls
A Perfect Strawberry Cake
MORE FROM THE IN-BETWEEN:
10 Things I’m Aging Out Of - who can relate?
Shelving Pieces of Ourselves - a very personal share on leaving LA and our life in Santa Ynez.
Having Agency - feeling in control of our lives along with a daily mindfulness practice.
Deciding on a Third - three specifics that pushed us to have a third.
Plus so much more! Browse the full archive here.
I totally relate to that! I worked in tech for ten years and it was very lucrative. As an entrepeneur, I know the long term pay off will be worth it but in the meantime, my "rich" is the flexibility it provides me with young kids, especially since we haven't yet raised money and are in full control of how fast or slow we grow. Thanks for sharing!
So good 🙏🏻loved it ❤️