Happy Sunday, everyone! August is here. Are we all ready?! We’re sure that many of you (especially our readers who are parents) are in fall planning mode. But if it’s possible, let’s all try to enjoy these last few weeks of “before school” summer and get outside! Any final plans??

This week’s house tour is an epic one. It’s the Portuguese homestead of Nate and Jeremiah Brent! It’s been 5 years in the making, and as you can imagine, it’s full of a mix of antiques, contemporary vintage, and SO much texture. A total dream, if we do say so ourselves.

From Emily: We took the kids to San Francisco last weekend to be casual and active tourists for three days, and it was EXTREMELY fun (I wrote a recap on the Substack that you can read here). I brought three pairs of shoes – these leather sandals, my huaraches, and a pair of cute sneakers. I ended up wearing the platform sandals for all but one portion of the three days because they are almost sneaker-like in comfort and support while being so transitional style-wise that they worked with all my outfits (admittedly I dressed very casual). They have a cushy footbed, so I was able to walk and walk and walk super comfortably. The huaraches were nice to dress up for dinner, but honestly I could have just worn these for all our biking, walking, and dinner outings and I would have been so happy.

From Caitlin: How’s this for dorky: I finally splurged on my dream hangers (thank you, Wayfair’s July 4th sale) and I COULD NOT BE MORE THRILLED. I first wrote about them in 2024, and I am so excited that 3 weeks in, I love them just as much as I thought I would. The shape is incredible (no dents in any of my shoulders!), they’re small and light and shockingly strong (they’re holding some HEAVY beaded dresses right now), and I love that the material means they can be used wet or dry (I can air-dry directly in the open area of my closet!). Don’t be fooled by the curved arms – the coating locks straps into place, so I can position silky tanks exactly as I’d like. Den ended up getting an extra set of these for his suit jackets and larger sweaters, and we are obsessed with these for pants. (Hanging up my pants on these is like, a euphoric experience – I get a perfect, centered hang every time.) We wrapped up our buy with these strange, open hangers which are a dream for draping Den’s trousers or hanging bathing suits. We got everything in the cherry red color, and I’m having such a great time walking into my closet now (my first walk-in, to boot!!!) – I’m just so pleased that they lived up to my expectations.

From Jess: I’ve really been leaning into claw clips again…especially in this heat! I do a little “French twist” thing and immediately feel less hot and put together. I love these clips especially because they are made for fine to medium-thick hair (ME!), and they aren’t super long/big, which is also really nice when you don’t have a ton of hair. A small little rec that I seemingly can’t live without.

From Gretchen: I picked up a pair of these electric cardboard cutters I had seen all over TikTok, and they are SO GOOD. I won’t shut up about them. I make a point to show anyone who walks into my house my new gadget–it’s like magic! I don’t mind breaking down boxes (and I must to get them all to squeeze into my recycling bin), but having a tool like this makes that process so much easier and allows me to break the pieces down even smaller so my neighbors can still shove their paper in. But I really love them because they cut and glide like BUTTER, and when I’m in a crafty mood and find myself wanting to repurpose my online shopping boxes into something useful…well, scissors be damned! This electric blade cuts the smoothest, straightest line with zero hand cramping. Last week, I took an IKEA box, sliced it down to the size of my small bedroom window, and covered it in the same fabric with the same technique I used for the walls in that room to make some temporary blackout window covers. I have a baby coming to stay with me soon, and he goes down better in a totally dark room, but I sleep better knowing my makeshift cardboard covers are cut STRAIGHT and pattern-matched 🙂

From Marlee: A pair of pants to keep your eye on – the Gap Easy Double Knee Barrel pants. I LOVE a pull-on pant, and these are so so easy to wear. They’re constantly out of stock/back in stock, so if you’re interested, I would just keep an eye out, and if they show as available, don’t wait! They’re a nice lightweight cotton pant, and I love the drawstring. They also come in other colors in this material, which is also 100% cotton but a little bit of a thicker fabric. They’re so cute with a little tank in the summer, but I’m also super excited to wear them in the winter with sweaters:) I’m not a super big fan of barrel pants, but these are very subtle and drape nicely.

From Mallory: I wanted to highlight one of the most perfect pieces on our roof that we splurged on but was totally worth it. We wanted to put in a dining table, but since the space was a bit tight, I didn’t want to get something that was too visually heavy but was still high quality (because once something goes up to our top floor we DO NOT want to have to bring it down). I found this table from West Elm and GASPED. It’s truly so perfect. The white concrete top has held up super well all summer (and we’ve had a ton of parties and spills, and it hasn’t stained at all so far). I love the legs too, modern but not too chunky. The table looks absolutely perfect with the dining chairs, imho too! If you’ve been looking for a solid outdoor dining table, I love ours so much (and they have white glove delivery, which was an actual dream for us since this was going up a crazy amount of stairs!!) Shoutout to the West Elm delivery guys who brought it up – they were AWESOME.

From Arlyn: A dermatologist I follow on Instagram recommended this drugstore brand moisturizer. Given that it was about $15, I grabbed one as I had run out of my normal La Roche-Posay and was also feeling strapped for money after the big move. I squeezed it out into my hand and thought, “Nope, not gonna cut it,” given that it was almost…watery? My 41-year-old face needs some MOISTURE, baby. But I gave it a go, and I’ve gotta tell you, it’s been great. I use about a dime size and it absorbs quickly into my face, leaving it ready for sunscreen and makeup. It has no fragrance, parabens, dyes, or a handful of other things, which is cool with me. I’ve been using it day and night, mixed with azelaic acid in the evenings and the Trader Joe’s vitamin C serum in the day, and my skin is happy!

Thank you for spending some time with us today, and see you tomorrow! xx

Opening Image Credits: Design by Mallory Wackerman | Photo by Sara Ligorria-Tramp | From: Mallory’s Rooftop Reveal: You Have To See This Crazy Outdoor Kitchen DIY