Because sometimes it's fun to dream big.
The Luxe List
Latest Posts
Gift Ideas For Other People’s Kids (That You Can Be Reasonably Certain They Don’t Already Have)
I cannot tell you how many times I have triumphantly handed over a present to a friend's child, only to watch them open it and have the mom say "OH HOW GREAT IS THAT?!"...at which point the child informs me that um, he already has three of those.
This holiday season, when giving gifts to other people's children: Don't be me.
(These gifts also work for your own kids, obvi.)
The Purgatory Problem
This is not me.
The other day, I tried an aerial dance class at a studio near my house. I've been doing things like this lately - signing up for classes (dance, pottery, crochet) just because they sound fun. Because I want to, and because sometimes the kids are with their dad, and so I can. It was only me and one other woman in the class, and the other student had been dancing for a year, so I was a little embarrassed at just how bad I was clearly going to be. The first time I tried to kick my legs up I failed - obviously - and felt all graceless and vaguely elephantine, but even as I flailed there on the ring with my limbs sticking out in every direction, the other student and the instructor were standing there cheering for me. Actually cheering.
You're doing SO GREAT! You've got this!
Gifts For The In-Laws (And Other Relative-Types)
Oh, holidays with relatives. So problematic. So fraught. So impossible to shop for. Instead of (yet another) ornament, I suggest the below.
Francesca’s 2018 Holiday Gift Guide
Today, I thought I'd let my other half - you know, the one of us with better taste - go ahead and do my job for me.
The older I get, the more eclectic my desires become. I want things that are practical, and yet I still want things that are totally...not. Ergo, here are my very random holiday gifting suggestions. - Francesca
Gifts For Men That Have Nothing To Do With Alcohol Or Golf
Is the significant male in your life all full up on flasks, hilarious golf socks, and those whiskey ice cube things that nobody ever actually uses? Could he use, perhaps, something that isn't underwear (although let's be real: all men, everywhere could use some new underwear)? Some suggestions, below.
Hostess Gifts That Aren’t Soap
Happy December, a.k.a. the month in which you *actually* shop for holiday gifts, despite the fact that your feed has been filled with gift guides since September. First up: Hostess Gifts That Aren't Soap, because while sure, these are excellent non-soap options for the next party you attend, they also work for kiiiind of everyone. Friend, neighbor, mom, in-law, office party Secret Santa thing: Done.
The Get My Sh*t Together List
The mode I'm in right now can be most succinctly described as "Forgive Thyself." I haven't been to yoga in months. I'm sending my kids to school with Lunchables, leaving my bed unmade, forgetting to ingest anything but coffee until mid afternoon more often than a living human being reasonably should, and most certainly not drinking the physician-recommended amount of water.
I am getting through the day. One day at a time.
But, you know: this should probably change. Like, soon. And so I have decided that the Forgive Thyself Era may last until January 1st, at which point I will be changing All Of The Things. Here is a shortlist of plans that I have, which I am putting here so as to be held accountable.
The Grey Space
In February, I am going to Asia for two weeks. It’s for my dad’s birthday; he and I are going to fly through Hong Kong and Jakarta, then spend a week scuba diving off of a live-aboard boat in Indonesia.
It sounds amazing. Obviously. And the original purpose of this post was to crowd-source; ask you guys where we should eat, what we should do, and so on. But every time I try to write about this trip, I get stuck. I don’t want to write about it. Because even though I know that whining about the opportunity to experience what is quite literally the trip of a lifetime is hardly a cute look…the truth is that I don’t want to go.
I spent this past week away from my children. Our agreement (all formally signed off on by lawyers and such, GOOD TIMES) is that we switch off Thanksgiving breaks, and this - our first year - was Kendrick’s year. I figured that since they were going all the way to Ohio, it made sense for him to take them for an extra couple of days, so they could get in good grandparent time and not have to rush too much, but what that ended up meaning was that I was apart from my kids for an entire week. And it was too much. For me.
You Need To Know About My New Makeup Discoveries
I would like my skin to look like this girl's, please.
I have very dry skin; I've whined about it ad infinitum over the years. And I've upped my efforts to combat all that dryness - oils and actual (if only intermittently applied) skincare regimens and such - but one thing I've never really given much thought to is my makeup. As an example, I've been using the same MAC powder foundation since I was in college - but recently it's occurred to me that patting all that matte product onto my skin may be having...kind of the opposite effect of what I'm looking for.
But coverage is important to me, because in addition to being dry, I am also an uncomfortably red human being - rosacea, blah blah blah ugh - and have not-infrequently been asked by people who see me without any makeup on whether I am actually, literally sick. (This is a swell confidence-booster, as I'm sure you can imagine.)
