The Link Up: The “New Year’s Lights” Emily’s Kids Are Obsessed With, Jess’ Vegan Moisturizer, & The Hack Every Small Space Needs

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday. We still have one more holiday coming up (New Years wahooo!) and I think we’re all excited to bid 2020 adieu. Hope everyone stays safe & merry this week! Now let’s get to it 🙂

This week’s home tour is a VERY fun one brought to us by Lonny Mag. When we saw it, it totally reminded us of Caitlin, so we had to share. Corrin Arasa, founder of Patina Rentals, is NOT afraid of color in the best way. Her approach to using strong pops of color is just so good. So do yourself a favor and check it out (you don’t wanna miss this one).

From Emily: The kinda dumb but super fun ‘new years lights’ that the kids are obsessed with (and admittedly I love them, too). They are $30 for 8 and they each need 2 AA batteries, but once they are on you can hang them like mini chandeliers around your house (doorways, over your island, etc). We might hang a few outside since we are doing a scavenger hunt. Like the curtain string lights that I convinced a lot of you to buy, I was skeptical, but they are fun and reusable (you just comb them all back straight). The only bummer is that A. they have remotes that make them do 8 crazy settings that the kids are OBSESSED with and some of them are seizure-inducing and B. they are battery operated which means of course you can put them anywhere, but not sure how long the batteries will last. Regardless 3 of them hanging over our peninsula between the kitchen/living room is giving us a nice shift from “Christmas” to “new years” because nothing else is going to this year!!!

From Caitlin: If you’re trapped inside with family and unsure of what to watch now that the holidays are over, might I suggest Ted Lasso? This was HANDS DOWN my favorite show of the year, so I forced my mom to sit down and re-watch it with me a few weeks back. For context: Brenda and I are both blessed with very good sleep genes and we’re usually conked out on the couch by 8:30 most nights (like mother like daughter), but we stayed up til midnight and cranked through all 10 episodes in one go. HIGH PRAISE FROM TWO SLEEPY LADIES. There’s so much heart, it’s laugh out loud funny, and Jason Sudeikis is a national treasure (though I guess it’s probably PG-13ish, just to be safe).

From Albie: Every small space needs a retractable clothesline — whether it’s because you have a small laundry room like me but still want to have a place to hang things or you need more hanging space for your plant babies in your studio apartment. It’s super chic, super cute, and super compact. The triple super C’s. I was torn between the brass & the black for the laundry room, but if I could justify putting one in every room, I would make a case for every single color they offer. I may or may not currently be eyeballing the white for the mini’s room.

From Ryann: I am going through a phase where I want everything to be linen. Does this happen to anyone else??? I want linen sheets, tablecloths, napkins, clothes, EVERYTHING. I love the natural look of it and the fact that linens are always a bit wrinkled. It’s so romantic! Anyway, what started this obsession is this etsy shop. They make really simple yet elegant linen basics and I basically want to swap all my clothes for everything they sell.

From Jess: I keep seeing this AirPods chain and I want it more every time it pops up. It’s the 2021 version of the reading glasses chain but WAY cooler. Plus it’s just practical! Keeping those Pods together is a daily struggle. Has anyone tried these?

Also From Jess: In my quest to find the right skincare routine, I was told to not combine too many “active ingredient” products on my face at once. So when I apply my retinol serum at night, I use this moisturizer. It’s highly moisturizing, clean, and vegan. I’m still learning about all the ins and outs of skincare but all in all my sensitive skin really loves this product. Plus it’s made in California!

From Arlyn: What I’m about to say is going to sound obnoxious, but stick with me: My hair is already pretty smooth and shiny (BARF), but I’ve been spotting tons of people talking about this “Wonder Water” and I couldn’t help but try it. Okay, they were right. They were allll right. Application is a little strange but it’s fast and you’re left with silky, glossy tresses once you dry your locks. Anyone else use this before?!?

From Mallory: 2 things. I went to Ulta recently (I had a gift card that I accidentally left at home and didn’t realize it until I was at checkout paying…what’s new), and I finally gave in and bought the self tanner Em always talks about. The verdict is: IT’S GOOD. I also got this 1 hour tanning kit too that came with the tanning mitt (because you really do need the tanning mitt) which is great when you wanna be tan but don’t have a lot of time on the clock. I’m wildly impatient so I value an express tan a lot hahaha.

That’s all we got for this week, folks. Thanks for sticking around and we hope everyone has a very happy new year!! MERRY ALMOST 2021!!!

Opening Image Credit: Design by Corrin Arasa | Photography by Angel Tucker for Lonny | via Lonny Mag