Happy Sunday, everyone! Did everyone catch Emily’s toilet purchase this week?? lol. Design can be so fun because you really never know what the next project will bring. Aside from that, we’re gearing up for another EHD team retreat next week (SO excited to see everyone all together)! Hope everyone is having a good weekend, and here are this week’s links:)

This week’s house tour comes from the duo we didn’t know we needed – actor Jonathan Groff and designer Leyden Lewis!! It’s a deeply personal space that was created by a special and immediate creative partnership. Go check it out!

From Emily: It’s a Carly Fortune summer. The editor turned best-selling romance writer is one of the best in the nostalgia + coming-of-age genre. This summer we got a new book by her (Our Perfect Storm), which I’m almost done with and love it, but the real gift here is the new Amazon series based on her first book, Every Summer After, which came out a few days ago. It is meant to be sooooooo good, especially for those of us with Off Campus withdrawals. The book was my favorite rom com of the year – she just does young love, +nostalgia + coming of age so well.

From Jess: In Emily’s and my effort to have you consider Aritizia more, I bought two new pieces for my summer vacation! These red silky, pull-on shorts that are “fancy athletic”. I’m wearing them as I type this! They have more of a sheen than it seems online, but let me tell you, I love them! I wore them to a casual dinner with a linen button-up and cute flats, and I felt awesome. Then my pull-on pants of choice are not these tan and white striped linen pants with side drawstring ties. They are so comfortable with a solid weight to them (not see-through), and the side drawstrings are a fun detail that isn’t flashy. I did size up (mainly because that’s the last size they had in-store), but I also liked the baggier, lower-rise look a little more. But otherwise, I’d say they are true to size. Same with the shorts!

From Gretchen: I stopped in to J.Crew the other day and took a risk that paid off–I bought a final sale swimsuit that I didn’t even try on until I got home. And to my great surprise, it fit like a glove! Now, for whatever reason, the price I paid in-store was a wayyyy better deal than it looks to be online right now (even though it’s also final sale online…c’mon, J.Crew!). I only gambled about 60 of my dollars and thankfully walked away with a perfect fit, reversible swimsuit. Two suits for the price of one, if you really think about it–even better! The colors are so bright and poppy, and the fun plaid pattern does some good camouflaging for a couple of areas on my body where I like to have more coverage. But I really love that the material just feels so secure, and I feel confident it won’t stretch out. Em has raved about her J.Crew suits (see her review here), which gave me the extra push to try it out for myself, and I’m really glad I did. Some customer reviews say that the sides of this particular suit can gap a little bit, and I had that experience too…until I tried tying it a different way. I connected each top and back strap to each other to make the style more like a tank top, less like a halter top, and that totally fixed the problem. I’m really happy with it, but I’d definitely recommend checking out their sale section in person if you can before taking the final sale plunge at the online price. It does look like they’re having a 30% off sale on select items, if you’ve been eyeballing some other looks!

Need some Father’s Day gift ideas? HEAD HERE! Both Emily’s husband Brian and Jess’ Dad give their top picks.

From Marlee: I just did a big closet purge and found these shoes that I’ve had for at least 7 years at this point – I’m so glad I pulled them out because they’re one of my favorite pairs of summer shoes. They’re so easy to throw on for swimming/pool days, gardening, etc. Since they’re waterproof, they’re super easy to clean, and they’re SUPER comfy. Don’t get me wrong, I live in my Havianas and Rainbows for most of the summer – but the Birks are such a good option when I want something slightly more secure/supportive. They also come in a ton of really cute colors.

From Mallory: I don’t know why I put off buying Kleenex box covers for so long…I was sitting at my desk and was finally like, “Okay, I can’t look at this crazy green box for another second,” and then added these rattan ones to my cart. Such a simple fix that makes these everyday items prettier:)

From Arlyn: I’m fairly awful at self-promotion, but Jess suggested I link to an article I wrote recently for Real Simple, and I thought, “Wait, I can do that?!?” Ha, silly me. A piece I authored just went live on Realsimple.com about my decision to leave my director-level job three years ago to be more present with my young daughter. I detailed how I came to the decision—especially given that I was the higher earner in the family compared to my husband—and some of the unexpected emotional toll it took on me. In general, I don’t regret what I did in the least. Do I miss my regular paycheck, my PTO, and my bonuses? Heck yes, but having been available for my kid without having to ask for anyone’s permission was absolutely priceless. And I fully recognize that not everyone has the privilege of making it work on one (and a half—I was freelancing) income. We were more careful about our spending and did not splurge on basically anything outside of necessities, but even still, I know that’s not enough for everyone. If you’re in a position where you have to make a tough financial decision for your family, I hope my article helps you feel a little more seen.

Thanks for hanging out and see y’all tomorrow. xx

Opening Image Credits: Photo by Kaitlin Green | From: Guest Cottage: The Vintage Plumbing Fixtures We’re Using In The Bathroom + Our Final-ish Floorplan