Currently Loving, Recent outfits, New to me Brands
and one of my favorite productivity hacks
Does anyone else feel like February 1st should be the start of the New Year? I really needed the whole month of January to get organized and feel ready for a fresh start. To that end, I have one piece of housekeeping for my Substack. I’ve decided to go back to keeping all content free, so if you’re a paid subscriber, feel free to switch to being a free subscriber unless you’d simply like to support my work. Either way I appreciate you being here!
Ok now onto the good stuff!
New To Me Brands
As a small business owner, I always love finding other small businesses with similar values. Here are four that have caught my eye recently:
Porta - I found Porta as my fiancé and I were working on our registry. Founded by two Brooklyn gals, Porta curates really beautiful home goods made by artisans across Europe. I love so many things on their website and we ended up registering for some of their dishes, candlestick holders, and serveware.
Jamie Haller - I discovered this brand sometime last year and really like the vibe and ethos. I don’t own anything from her yet, but I am in the market for a new pair of black denim. I can’t decide between trying the Crease or Kenickie! Several people I follow on IG have a pair of her shoes and they look incredibly well made. I’m not a loafer person, but if I were, these are the ones I’d try because I’ve never seen an image of shoes that looks so comfortable. If you click over and look, I know you’ll know what I mean.1
Harly Jae - I just recently discovered this brand and really love Laila’s story (you can read on their About page). All of their clothing is designed and produced in Vancouver in small batches using fabrics made from natural fibers. If you love comfortable, feminine clothes, check them out.
Yellow Label - I’ve shared about this one before, but they are worth mentioning again. I discovered them last fall when they offered to send me a couple pieces to try. I chose their Chunky Cotswolds Knit (black) and the Cozyyy Crew (Heather Gray). These are unisex, so I did an XS in both and I really love the fit in both. I wear the sweatshirt all the time and I grab the sweater for cool evenings in Naples. I actually didn’t have any chunky cotton pullovers, so it has come in handy! I can see they are both sold out right now, but they will definitely restock!
Photos Via: Harly Jae, Jamie Haller, Porta, Jamie Haller
Currently Loving: Listening, Reading, Watching
It’s been a great start to the year as far as what I’ve been reading, listening to, and watching. I always love getting recommendations, so if you’ve read/heard/watched something good, let me know in the comments!
Listening:
I always love Gretchen Rubin’s Happier podcast, but especially around the New Year. She has some great tips for building habits, setting intentions, etc. Loved her 25 for 25 episode.
I’ve also started listening to Mel Robbins thanks to my friend Melissa. I started with this episode, which explains her Let Them Theory…which is also the title of her latest book that I’m hoping to listen to soon. So good.
I also had to listen to the Call Her Daddy episode with Rachael Kirkconnell (former Bachelor contestant) about her breakup with Matt James. If you’re at all interested in this, I actually thought it was really well done. I just wanted to jump through the screen and hug her. Breakups are the worst.
Reading:
I finished The Housemaid by Frieda Mcfadden. I read The Boyfriend previously and loved it so I decided to give another one of her books a try. It did not disappoint. If you like mystery, thriller, suspense type books, you’ll love these. It won’t take you more than a few days because you won’t want to put it down!
I’m now onto Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Giasi, a brilliant writer. This one is about a Ghanian immigrant family grappling with addiction, grief, faith, and depression. Yaa Giasi just has a way of drawing you in. I’m about halfway through and I can’t wait to keep reading.
Watching:
The only thing I’ve watched lately that isn’t 1923 reruns (to get my fiancé up to speed for season 2 of 1923) is season 2 of Shrinking. Gosh I love that show. I devoured season 2 and just wanted it to keep going. I love the characters and relationships. It feels a little like Ted Lasso in that I always feel really good while watching it!
Oh and I forgot we are also watching season 2 of Severance. This is such a strange show, but somehow I like it. It releases a new episode each week, which is kind of nice to have something to look forward to.
Recent Outfits
I’ve been wearing the Ivory Croc Sling Bag pretty much everyday lately. I’ve had it for about a couple months now, and since it’s launching next week (the 4th), I can finally properly share it!
Business Thought
This is really more of a productivity thought. It’s so easy to get distracted…by your phone, by other people, by the laundry that needs folding, even by your list of things to do. I try to assign one big thing to each day at the beginning of the week in order of importance (Monday’s being the most urgent, Friday’s being the least urgent). That way, I have margin for things that inevitably come up throughout the day. And if things don’t come up, I can move on to the next day’s task and feel ahead rather than behind.
xo,
Abby
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It would be great if you would continue the monthly giveaways for those of us who paid for a full year!
Abby, we are so so happy for you. We share in your joy and the joy of your mom and dad.
God bless you and Tom as you begin your life together
Love, Tom and Maripat Tropp