A sweet May Day tradition
Also in here: a new lipstick, 2 candles, and some advice I need
Hi hi hi. HAPPY MAY! What are you up to this weekend? I’m having a sleepover with my sisters and getting tiramisu from our favorite high school lunch stop. Our big/ little brother is coming too — it’ll be our last gathering before our baby brother gets home from his two-year mission in July! Joy!
Also, trying out a new link color — red! Do we like it?
mom talk
If you’re having a bad day, here’s a little reminder that you are kind of marvelous and gargantuan and magical, just because you are a human being.
today’s bouquet
Nate brought me a box of Bon Bon Bon chocolates from Detroit and they were almost too cute to eat. My favorite flavor was the “Dark Up.” Delicious, delightful, highly gitfable. Speaking of…
Gasping for air at Marni’s Spring 2024 collection. Declaring it the most Handpicked-esque fashion on our earth! If I had $1m laying around I’d buy us all this scrumptious blouse. (via Moriah)
One thing about me, I love a great tour — nothing makes me feel more invigorated than a peek behind the scenes. I’ve toured Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, the Jelly Belly Factory, even a Coors brewery (with my devout Mormon mother) (when I was 11). Before I turn 40 I’m dreaming of touring Giverny, the Statue of Liberty’s crown, and a San Marzano tomato operation.
Can. you. believe. these. paintings. (via Mom)
Don’t you love these vintage Spanish labels?
How to start raising backyard chickens.
Handy tool: a routemaker so I don’t have to run a meter farther than necessary. Did I tell y’all I signed up for a 5K “fun run” in June? I do not know what came over me. Related: I’m trying to get strong arms. Not easy.
Making this slam-dunk recipe for dinner tonight (again). Mango salsa/ salad, coconut rice, and citrus chicken — thanks Emily! // Omnivore
We lived in Chicago for 2.5 years (Eleanor was born there!), and I’m dying to go back with all our kids, especially after gobbling up these three Chicago mini-itineraries.
My sister lived in central France back when I lived in Kansas City, and she said that every year on May 1, French folks have a tradition of leaving little bouquets of lily-of-the-valley on neighbors’ porches, just to say Happy May! Wouldn’t it be sweet to have a lily-of-the-valley platter or tumbler set you pull out every year to celebrate? (via Lizzy)
Just purchased this to ameliorate an especially dreadful chore.
About a month ago, clean beauty brand Queen Musia sent me a sample of their lipstick and mascara. After using drugstore mascaras most of my life, it’s been a very fun upgrade and I can tell a big difference in the quality. And their lipstick in the shade Becky Sharp is my current favorite for date nights and church. They are offering Handpicked readers 10% off with the code: AlexSteele-QM. Let me know if you find something you love! (Thanks for your support as I try out new stuff like brand shoutouts in my newsletter.)
Treated myself to two candles from Anthro’s weekend candle sale: this woodsy lavender and a fruity tropical mini.
I need your advice: Do you have a handy way of saving your kids’ school papers? My grandmother had my dad paste his best work into an enormous wallpaper sample book, which he still has and I absolutely cherish. If you have a good system, please share:
“As I dropped a batch of library books on robots into the return slot, or watched as my stir-fried green beans and onions with lemon and soy sauce disappeared at the dinner table, I thought about the fleetingness of the many acts that constitute parenthood. In themselves, they are so completely unmonumental. Sure, you create the kid’s body out of a single cell, so that’s something that proves you were there, but so many things—the new diapers, the milk from the breast, the words of stories, the trips to the Museum, simply go in and out, in and out, delivered and erased on the daily tide. And then they are gone, leaving no visible marker that says: Your mother was here. She loved you.”
— Melissa Inouye
three photos
last thing
Most popular link last week: the latest hit with the 5-year-old
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Grateful for you.
It's an imperfect system and I'm always behind on it, but my daughter comes home from preschool everyday with stacks of drawings and art projects. So, I shuffle everything into a big wire basket until it's overflowing and then we pick out our favorites and I take pictures of them, which I upload to an app to make a print book. Then, it's off to the recycling bin and the cycle begins again...
Mine are only in preschool so don't have tooo much yet - but I've been taking a picture of the best stuff and saving it to an album on my phone - I think someday I'll make a book for each of them?