Happy Monday! I hope your week is off to a great start. Our contractor’s team is continuing to make progress on our powder room this week. Unfortunately we have a supply chain hiccup with our grout, pushing our project back a week. The tile is already laid in mortar (peek at it here), so this week will be priming and painting the powder room and getting the wood trim painted and in place around the window and part of the door. We’ll grout on Friday. Monday will be putting the final pieces of trim in around the floor and setting all of the fixtures so we can finally move to the main bathroom. The process is taking longer than we had anticipated, but it really is looking beautiful and I’m so grateful that we’re in the position to make these improvements to our home.

Even though we don’t have children, I still enjoyed this read on how a pair of toy mice created a welcome sense of escapism during the pandemic.

Last week we went to Harvey House for dinner, which was named one of Esquire’s best new restaurants for 2021. For those of you in the Madison area, it’s worth checking out. It’s expensive, but it’s by far some of the best service I’ve had, and the meal and drinks were both exceptional. Plus, they have matchboxes if you’re also into that sort of thing!

I just love glassware and treated myself to a pair of these glasses after admiring them all of last year. They’re even better in person!

16 one-pot pasta recipes.

I had no idea how tile was spaced before the introduction of plastic spacers. This was really interesting!

The prettiest shades of blue are part of the most recent roundup of covetable finds.

A comprehensive guide to secondhand shopping.

I’m obsessing over these oversized floral statement earrings.

Predicting the future of brick-and-mortar stores in 2022.

Enjoy the week!

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If you’d like to help Ukraine, here’s a list of organizations to support.

For fellow former Gap employees, here’s a fun trip down memory lane by way of the brand’s in-store playlists from the ’90s and early ’00s.

Here’s where things are at with our powder room remodel. The walls are going up today!

Bringing the charm of the English countryside into your home.

Truth.

Did you see the collaboration between Jenna Lyons and Mejuri? I adore this petite signet ring!

While we’re on the topic of jewelry, how great is this chunky gold bead necklace? Wear it with a demure cashmere crewneck sweater.

Finding the proper sconce placement.

The capitalist origins of the coffee break.

What I bought and loved in February.

Research suggests that birds may have their own language.

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On Friday, we celebrated the end of our first week renovating — and let me tell you that it was a doozy. It wasn’t so much an issue with the project; that went smoothly enough. We decided to go ahead and replace all of our antiquated plumbing with new PVC pipes. The old galvanized pipes will continue to corrode as time goes on, so it made sense to add that to the scope of our project while the walls were open. The kicker was that I tested positive for COVID on Tuesday despite being vaxxed and boosted. Talk about the worst timing! I’m grateful that the contractor’s team was still willing to do the work so long as Dave and I stayed quarantined upstairs. (We started the renovation with our first floor powder room.) The plumbing is being finished today and the inspector comes tomorrow, so we can close up the walls and get to the pretty stuff once that’s signed off on!

The meanings behind James Abbott McNeill Whistler’s masterpiece The White Girl.

In unexpected trends, influencers are taking their dolls to the American Girl Cafe. How do I get in on that action? #TeamMolly

A few things that caught my eye recently.

The romance of drinking at an airport bar. (Airport drinking is undoubtedly my top not-so-guilty pleasure.)

No, avocados won’t keep you from buying a home, but avocado farms may be linked to deforestation — all the more reason to make sure your avocados are ethically farmed.

Lilac and red are one of my favorite color combinations, which has put this blouse at the top of my wish list. Those unexpected cutout details are just icing on the cake!

This is neat: hard-to-recycle plastics are now being made into “concrete” blocks.

So true.

Are you watching season two of Love is Blind? It’s batty. And this spoiler-filled recap is too good not to share.

Have a fun week!

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Happy Monday — and a very happy Valentine’s Day! (Here’s some history of the holiday for those interested.)

Our bathroom remodels begin tomorrow and I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to see it all come together. We’re beginning with the powder room and then moving to the main bathroom. See the “before” photos of the main bathroom here and the product list for the renovation here.

For those who love malachite, here’s a fabulous cocktail ring.

The opening photo is from this gorgeous home tour.

How Gucci’s bamboo-handled bag came to be.

I ordered the gingham coat that I featured in a recent post. It’s beautiful! Trust the “True Fit” recommendation; it was spot-on for me.

Can you change your personality in three months?

I enjoyed this look back at Betty Davis’ wardrobe philosophy.

I don’t need this quilt, but I very much want this quilt.

This lemon poppy seed loaf with a yogurt glaze looks divine!

Have a wonderful week!

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