Friday morning, and the house is finally quiet-ish before the weekend kicks in. Dan swears he is chilling in the backyard (that means mowing), the kids are halfway out the door, and I am at the kitchen counter with my second coffee of the morning, doing what I try to do every Friday: make a short list of the things that made me stop and smile all week.
It is not a curate-the-internet post with a curated mission. It is a scratchpad, but the ones I am actually going to keep around, and the reasons. If one of them saves your weekend, I win.
Our weekend plan: the kids and I are swimming at Freddie’s community pool. I am the official diving-board stunt videographer — the one nobody asked for, but everybody wants when they get home.
Now, the list.
- I finally watched the Don’t Say Good Luck trailer and I cannot stop talking about it. Bring snacks.
- My friend Dana asked me this week: what are you packing for Europe? My answer is always the same — the one pair of pants that has already survived three washes, plus a tee on sale. Simple trips, not big packing lists.
- Things you did not put on your resume — the answers in that thread made me laugh. You don’t put the bad hair days on the resume.
- House lemonade, because July deserves a pitcher in the backyard.
- Do these frames from the NYTimes” look beautiful? I want one for the restaurant matchbook my daughter brought home, and the four-leaf clover my son found at the park last month. Small things, framed, treat them right.
- Do you have a deck of cards in a drawer?
- A quote that stopped me cold, in a piece about
- If you have been thinking about a rug, there is a big sale on right now. Prices vary, so this is your nudge, not a price quote. Two options I would look at first: this one” and this one“. (Ours is a bedroom one — I will ask for permission to talk shop.)
- Who is up for tomato red nails (via Elle)“? I am in. Red is the one shade that makes everything about you look more put-together.
- How to decorate a small bedroom, from a thread I actually read cover to cover. Our guest room is five feet by six, and this helped.
- True, and I love it: Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach are real-life friends” (NYTimes, gift link).
- A quote that stopped me cold, in a piece about
Plus three reader notes that made me stop and reread:
- Says Cat, on three summer beauty products our editors are loving: I’m back at work after having a baby. I went to my local beauty shop and asked for a quick routine that would make me feel put together. The one product that blew my mind: Trish McEvoy’s Instant Eye Lift“. Ten years of $90 serums later, one eye cream still gets the job done fast.
- Says Kim, same thread: The other day I was wondering if I should put in the effort to do my makeup — and I didn’t. Then I met my new therapist, she wasn’t wearing any either, and it felt so lovely. Doesn’t that feel quietly revolutionary?
- Says Christina, on a question about what is, you know, your name: I was very sick during pregnancy, and the only meal that tasted good was a meatball sub from Heidi’s Deli near my office in Denver. Months after my daughter was born, I took her downtown to meet work friends for lunch, and that’s when it hit me: I’d named my daughter after a sandwich. Heidi is now three years old, and in her toddler pickiness, her meatballs are the star of every meal. It is so funny to me.
Friday evening, set your “no effort” face kit on the bathroom counter — face wash, a good moisturizer, one thing you actually enjoy using — so Saturday morning you can do the whole thing in under five minutes and walk out looking like yourself, not a production.
{{/details}}Is a no-makeup workday a win?
For me, yes. The goal is five minutes, not a full face. If your skin is clean, moisturized, and protected, you are done.
Red nails at work — safe?
I keep mine shorter — one coat of oil the night before — and it reads polished, not loud. You know your crowd.
My bathroom shelf is chaos, where do I start?
The towel, the shelf, and the one product you will actually reach for. I have done this before; a clean one is the real upgrade.
a note from Johnson: I have kept this list every week for years now, and you always come back to the small stuff. The clover tucked in the frame. The eye cream that gives you a real lift. The red nails you give yourself before you leave the house.
The glow routine for your 40s“ · Five-minute skin rituals that stick“ · Drugstore finds that actually work“
Glow is a habit, not a product.