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The Link Up: Em’s Mother’s Day Gift Rec, A Shower Filter To Protect Mal’s Blonde Hair, And A Highly Reviewed Travel Backpack
In case any of you missed our VERY exciting reveal this week, Ms. Caitlin Higgins made our lives a lot better with her beautiful living room and maybe even more so with her vulnerable words. If you haven’t read her reveal post, I promise now is the time and your day will only improve. So maybe start there and then come back for some really great Mother’s Day gift ideas and other fun recs:)
This week’s house tour made us speechless. It’s the kind of home that you could stare at again and again and still find new things to love. Designer, Nina Farmer, created a stunningly warm, layered, and elevated home for her clients. We actually don’t want to say anymore because you just need to go look for yourself. Enjoy!
Two years ago we put together an EPIC Mother’s Day post where we went to social media and asked moms (y’all) what they actually wanted for their special day. We got so many wonderful responses with a lot of crossover and timeless ideas. So if you need some ideas take a peek (or send it to someone who might need some help:)) and for an Emily rec and Aryln’s Mother’s Day wishlist this year keep reading…
From Emily: Carley Summer’s new book, Sacred Spaces: Everyday People and the Beautiful Homes Created Out of Their Trials, Healing, and Victories is just so beautifully written that I found myself tearing up during two of the stories told by the homeowners she featured. It’s a book full of beautiful images, of course, but her story and some of the others are just so soulful and add so much depth. You can feel all the hard work and emotion (and vulnerability) that went into it. It’s a great gift for anyone in your life that loves beautiful design with a big side of spirituality…maybe your mother?? :)
From Arlyn: This will be my second Mother’s Day. The first was a blur at the time with a two-month-old in tow, but I still remember how the day felt. However cliché, it just felt…special. Or at least *I* felt special. Like a new calendar day was unlocked for me I only had an outside view of previously. This year, I have a little more perspective and have been asked numerous times by numerous parties what a good gift would be for me or another young mother. I came up with a few ideas:
- Ivy Name Paperclip Chain Bracelet by Oak & Luna: I’m still at the point where jewelry engraved with my daughter’s name or birth date is a novel gift and I have my eye on this one. There’s a more affordable gold vermeil version as well as a solid gold option if your budget allows.
- A “Voucher” for Family Photos: There’s always something to spend money on, so splurging on family photos is easy to sidestep in place of fixing your car brakes or buying diapers in bulk. We recently got one-year photos taken at the same location as our maternity shoot (this is actually my Mother’s Day gift this year from my husband!) and I can’t imagine anything better than having these to look back at over the years. Prices vary by location and photographer, but anywhere from $300-$700 is pretty standard.
- Anything to Give a Mom Back Time: Just like there’s always something to spend money on, there’s always something that needs to get done around the house (with or without children). Honestly, either the offer to take the kids off your hands so you can focus on a task you’ve been wanting to tackle or a gift card to a site like TaskRabbit would be a game-changer. You can find someone to do nearly everything on your home-related to-do list on there—cleaning, packing or unpacking, hanging art, TVs, or light fixtures, and even breaking down boxes and cleaning out the garage. It’s genius!
From Mallory: I’ve been bleaching my hair for years (at the salon, I’d burn my hair off doing it myself), but since living in my apartment it’s been harder and harder to bleach due to what we think is hard water. Plus it now turns green and copper after a while which is something very fun and new to me! I ordered this shower filter to try to soften my water because it was highly rated, removes chlorine (my last filter didn’t), and is apparently very effective (I’ll let you know). But there’s one major issue: it’s ugly af hahaha. If anyone knows of a shower filter that ACTUALLY works please help bc I cannot have my hair keep turning weird colors it’s the worst!!!
From Ryann: After much research (on my husband’s part) this is the backpack we bought for our trip to Japan. We are both packing light so we don’t have to check a bag, so we wanted a backpack we could use to pack some clothes and possibly shoes and also one small enough we could use for day trips. This one checked all our boxes and is much more affordable than others we considered!
From Caitlin: It’s no surprise that I am LOSING MY MIND over the updated IG photos that designer Sasha Bikoff has been posting of her work at Flex Mussels, an NYC seafood spot. It’s a FASCINATING take on nautical that perfectly threads the “themed, but not too themed” needle. I love the Royere-style banquette (ocean, but less obvious), the on-the-nose lighting (seashells and ship sconces, but still so elegant!), the incredible window treatments (okay, these are very themed, I’ll concede), and this new fantastic mural (scroll through her feed – every area has a new character to admire)!! The entire restaurant is just so fresh and warm and exciting – I WANT TO GO! Anyone down for a group trip?
From Jess: This one is for the cat owners. As someone who has never owned a cat, this link may seem like it’s coming from an unlikely source but when I was at my neighbor’s house I couldn’t help but notice her kitten’s fascination with this cat toy/scratcher! My friend confirmed that she’s obsessed. Plus it’s very cute to watch them play with it. Could be a great and affordable gift idea too!
Hope you have a beautiful rest of your day! See y’all tomorrow. xx
Opening Image Credits: Design by Caitlin Higgins | Styled by Emily Bowser | Photo by Sara Ligorria-Tramp | From: The Reveal We’ve All Been Waiting For! Caitlin’s Mostly Thrifted, Postmodern Regency Deco Living Room
“Like a new calendar day was unlocked for me I only had an outside view of previously.” I’m happy for Arlyn that she had such a good experience with her first Mother’s Day as a mother…and congratulations! I don’t want my post to take away from her joy (or good gift suggestions!) but for anyone still feeling that the day is “unlocked” for them and they’re standing on the outside, I’d like to say: The day is yours, too. It’s not actually “locked”, for you or for anybody. You can celebrate the part of you that worries about and loves ALL of the world’s children, that makes phone calls to your senators and cares about climate change and looks around the park to make sure that the rogue toddler actually belongs to someone and hasn’t gotten away. You can celebrate the part of you that still has hope for being a mother or the part of you that’s okay with not, knowing you’re freeing up energy to give other important gifts to the world. You can buy yourself a little gift and take yourself to breakfast and celebrate all the ways that you mother others. You can feel special, too!… Read more »
I love this response.
❤️
Mallory, I am a year into having my Jolie and it has been the perfect filter for me. I can’t recommend their shower filter enough.
Thank you Emily, so grateful.
THE JOLIE FILTERED SHOWERHEAD with Shower Water Filter System- High Pressure Showerhead, Hair and Skincare Accessory to Improve Beauty and Personal Care Routine (New Modern Chrome)
What about this? A previous commenter mentioned it, and it’s so sleek-looking!
Thank you for the link. My daughter has skin problems and while Michigan State is wonderful in so many ways, it’s pipes are OLD. I think this will help in her dorm room shower!
I want an assault weapons ban and nation wide red flag laws and background checks for Mother’s Day. That is all.
SAME. Also a massage would be good because my neck really hurts from the stress of wondering if my kids will be murdered every day when I drop them off at school.
The cat scratcher toy has been one of my favorite gifts for cat owners for years. Even my two dogs liked it (tho, the big dog destroyed it within minutes).
I got this water filter (you screw your showerhead to it), and there’s no going back! Water at the ocean was drying out my skin horribly and this makes it so much better. I’ve been using it for maybe 4 years, you just have to buy the cartridge refills. Good luck!
(They also have one with an attached showerhead that has a second filter. We have that also in a different bathroom, but it’s harder to maintain as the showerhead opening gets clogged/corroded, so I’d recommend just using your own showerhead)
Mallory, I was on swim team in high school. As a blonde, I had a terrible time with my hair turning green. As it turns out, frequent trims were the most helpful thing that I could do. You might also ask your hairdresser if there is a filler that you could put on your hair because the porosity of bleaching is allowing things in your water to penetrate. Good luck!
Hey Emily and Team! Just a random compliment – I’m a looongtime blog reader (of many blogs) and I’m still one of those people who likes to start my day with my Feedly and a cup of coffee. That said, your blog is the only one that nails staff and contributors for me; I love the voice of everyone on this site. As someone who skips contributor or staff posts on other blogs, clearly you’ve gotten something right for me. Thank you!