Friday's Simply Smitten - Blush & Blooms

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“There is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness”

-Edgar Allan Poe

Happy Friday and happy Galentine’s Day! I hope you spend some time this weekend with your girlfriends. Perhaps enjoying a glass of wine or two. That is my plan for the day!

This past week I was a busy bee with both my social calendar and work schedule jammed packed. I couldn’t be happier with how both work and personal life have been going lately. Usually this time of the year is quiet for both. However, this year it has been one thing after another and I am very grateful for it.

I went back to pilates this past week. I’ve been going to New York Pilates for a few weeks now and am loving it. I love how each class has been different in terms of the movements we do– except for the standard cool-down of legs in straps doing circular motions (I don’t know what the except name of the move is called). Anyway, we were using both the ball and the straps during class and at one point my poor legs started to shake— but it’s a good kind of shake.

Later in the day I went to Adorama to buy a new lens. I am looking at used lenses since I am still new to photography and it’s much cheaper. My current lens is a 50mm– which is fine for certain types of pictures like maternity when you want a more compact shot. However, a 35mm is best to capture influencer content, and to shoot indoors. So I went to Adorama to purchase a specific lens that I saw they had, but unfortunately I was too late and someone else had already bought it. Now I am back to refreshing the page looking for the exact lens that I want.

Wednesday morning I met up with a friend of mine from book club at Kerber’s Farm— located on Bleeker. This was my first time as Kerber’s Farm and I thought the food was delicious. I decided to get a breakfast sandwich because they have gluten free bread– it’s rare to find a gluten free sandwich so of course I had to get it. Otherwise I would have gotten eggs in a cup. It’s eggs mixed with normal fillings like bacon, tomato, cheese, etc but it comes in a cup. Probably great for those on the go. Anyway, it was so nice to chat with my friend and catch up. We somehow completely missed each other at the last book club gathering!

After brunch I went to get my nails done at GlossLab. Got the usual classic red gel mani. If you are getting your nails done for Valentine’s Day, take 20% off your appointment with code: MAGGIE20.

Thursday I had the pleasure of assisting my photographer Lauren on a photoshoot! I am now working under Lauren as an assistant and will eventually start taking on clients through her (and on my own). She offered me the job last week when we were shooting content for my blog and I almost started to cry. It was so nice of her to take me under her wing and be a mentor. For the shoot it was with a dog clothing brand. I didn’t get to shoot, which I wasn’t expecting and wouldn’t be the right thing to do. However, I helped her set up lighting, the set, etc. We shot in at studio in Williamsburg for 5 hours. There were about 8 dogs of different breeds and it was the cutest thing ever!! Photographing dogs is hard but after a while most of the dogs were able to sit still. It was such a fun day!

By the time I got home from the shoot my body felt beat up. However I didn’t have too much time to relax because I went uptown to Random House offices for their Galentine’s Day party with my friend Jackie as her plus one. This is my first book event (besides my book club) and loved it! I took home 6 advance copies of books!!! Honestly a dream, haha. Besides the free books they had a charcuterie board with wine and drinks. They even had Cheryl’s Cookies!! I couldn’t believe it– a little bit of Columbus, Ohio in NYC. Cheryl’s sugar cookies are the best. The event was fun and it was nice to catch up with Jackie.

What I am watching: What else would I bet watching but Feud: Capote vs.The Swans. I have only seen the first 2 episodes and loved it! Already obsessed! I obvious know Capote’s work and of course the famous black and white party, but not much about his personal life. It has been interesting to learn about– I’ve even started to watch The Capote Tapes documentary to further dive into his past. I know The Swans pretty well– I have been an admirer of CZ Guest and Babe Paley for quite some time. CZ Guest is one of my style icons. Also love Lee Radziwill. I was not familiar with Slim Keith, Anne Woodward, and the rest of The Swans. The show is filled with drama, glamour, and heartbreak. Highly recommend watching!

Last weekend I watched Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret – adaptation of the famous Judy Blume book . Absolutely loved it! I thought it perfectly captured what it means to be a pre-teen girl. A mixture of being a little girl and stepping into adulthood. It’s both exciting and sad because you are losing the child within you, the innocence, but it’s also means you are becoming a woman. I read the book back in, I believe, 5th grade. I remembered the overall storyline– especially the “We must, we must, we must increase our bust” part, haha. I completely forgot how much it talks about religion. I know the title has God in it, but I forgot she was trying out different religions. I thought it was a nice way to capture what we all feel sometimes about God. Sometimes he doesn’t answer your prayers right away; it’s frustrating and you lose faith. But it’s all in God’s timing.

A little funny story about this book: I remember in early elementary browsing through books at the library when I stumbled upon Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. I didn’t read it, but I told everyone it was my favorite book… because it had my name in the title and I thought it was so cool. Then in either 5th or 6th grade I actually read the book and was mortified to find out it was about a girl named Margaret who gets her period. While I do not find it embarrassing now, but at that time getting your period or talking about the changes in your body was embarrassing. A lesson was learned that day that it’s best to not lie without all the facts.

What I bought: I went shopping this past week but only ended up buying these oversized pearl ball earrings— under $40. Oversized ball earrings are a big trend right now. They make me feel like one of Capote’s Swans.

On The Blog

Sunday Shopping

Red Love

Substack: 4 outfits from J.Crew’s new arrivals

LTK Spotlight: Resort wear

Top Seller: These white slingback heels — under $100

Tonight I am heading to my friend’s apartment for a little Galentine’s Day celebration. We are planning on having a low-key night filled with rosé, pizza, snacks, and RomComs. Tomorrow I will be out and about celebrating a friend’s birthday! Then will end the weekend watching Taylor Swift’s boyfriend play football during the Usher concert.

Have a wonderful weekend xo

1. Vogue UK legends farewell shoot

2. This pretty dress is 20% off

3. A cute pink cardigan for spring

4. Eyeing these chic sunglasses

5. Behind the scenes of Capote’s black and white ball

6. All the designers debuting at NYFW

7. Enjoyed this Q&A with Dolly Parton

8. How to host best Galentine’s Day

9. The best romance books of 2024 thus far

10. How to clean gold jewelry and decor

Weekend Sales