I’m home from the lake today. We spent the last two days on a wooden deck, watching the water go gold, and I came back to my apartment craving three things: my own pillow, my morning coffee, and a quiet evening with nothing to wear but a sweater.
That’s how you know a trip worked. I don’t want my phone. I want a book, a cup of something warm, and one of my favorite podcasts to fall asleep to. Before the weekend catches up, here’s what I want you to see, read, keep, or dream about this week.
A few days by the water
I’ll put this first, because the photos made me stop scrolling. We found ourselves on a small lakeside deck at the end of the trip, fire pit going, no schedules. It’s the kind of evening that does something to your shoulders, if you let it.
And one more from the same weekend, from the fire pit side. The light was doing something I can’t explain in a caption.
Pages, screens, and things to watch
For my readers who want to finish one more book before the summer officially ends, I gathered a few I trusted.
— Twelve movies on Netflix right now not to miss.
— How people with serious reading lives make time for books. I read this one slowly, then again.
— Karin Slaughter’s personal book recommendations.
— Ruth Reichl’s cooking essentials.
— How Caro Claire Burke wrote the biggest book of the year.
— A candid, long-form conversation with Aaron Sorkin.
— Can Jeremy Strong make us root for Mark Zuckerberg? A sharp question.
— The trouble with trying to turn viral videos into blockbusters. Available via The Atlantic’s gift link, which I’ve linked directly.
— Oh, and: do your emojis make you look old? Mine do. I laughed out loud. Via the New York Times gift link, linked here.
The closet, right now
Here’s what I tell my clients on falling days: don’t chase the season. Find the five pieces that will carry you from August to October, and stop. This week’s list is exactly that.
— Silky trousers in new neutral colors. The kind you put on and don’t think about all day.
— A cotton sweater I now keep in the good drawer. I tested it against my own. This one wins.
— A faux leather jacket, in the green. Under $200, and absolutely worth it.
— A silk blouse I’d pair with nothing but the right trousers and boots.
— A navy slip dress and matching top. You know the kind. You’ll want the top too.
— Painter-wash jeans that look easier than any jeans I actually own.
— A chic faux suede mini at a price that makes no argument, from a shop I trust this season.
— A little mini with a matching cape, in a print I keep saying yes to.
— A woven tote, under $150, that I’d actually use more than the leather one.
— Running shorts in more colors, for the people who actually run. I’m the other kind of person. Strongly considered anyway.
— An apple cider vinegar hair treatment that’s actually been working.
— Five easy ways to style lace shorts into fall.
The Confidence Formula: Five neutrals + one silk blouse + one good trouser = a fall you can wear without thinking.
Skin, spirit, and small habits
I don’t just fit clothes. I also have to feel like myself in a fitting room at 2 a.m. That connection is real, in my experience, and I open this section for that reason.
— A morning plumping and smoothing cream I now keep next to my daily moisturizer. Before makeup. A few weeks in and I won’t stop.
— A bug-bite and summer-itch cream that’s quietly carried me through the last two months. A godsend, I’d call it.
— How heavy is your mental load right now, and how to lighten it.
— How to tell the difference between venting and trauma dumping, a distinction I’d frame in a consultation.
— The honest line I underlined this summer: “The year I stopped fixing myself.”
— How AI-generated imagery is changing the way we talk about beauty consultations.
— What fashion executives are reading this summer.
— The girlboss is dead, but the girlbaby is just as bad. A line I’m still thinking about.
Away, and enough to remember
For the people planning the next two weeks outside the apartment. I don’t travel much in summer. When I do, I go somewhere with light and something to see.
— An art lover’s guide to Helsinki.
— Where to eat, stay, and play in Costa Mesa, California.
— Italian scenery by rail, for anyone planning the next trip and wanting to see the routes now.
— The quiet thought I now send to people before family time: the best travel souvenir is a skill, not a thing to carry home.
— An Austin home with quiet English charm.
— The Palm Springs classic: the date shake.
— A white wine martini I’d like to try once before the season ends.
— A THC “half and half” that’s a good, gentle companion for a slow Sunday. A small family story for those who do this.
One more, to end the evening
Before I turn the lamp off: a Fifth Avenue mansion that looked genuinely dreamy. Leave it with you as the last thing to scroll.
Isabelle’s Edit
One sentence from this week’s kids’ list that I’d clip and keep: a rule you live by, not a rule you follow. It fits this kind of evening better than any product on my desk.
a note from Isabelle
The point of a list like this isn’t for you to buy everything. It’s to find the one thing you’ll put on, or read before bed, or travel to next spring. Some of the things above may come through a link that earns me a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only list things I’d actually want.
Your style is already somewhere in these pages. Don’t let anyone sell it back to you. Have a soft weekend, and I’ll see you on Monday’s list.
If you want what’s next on my reading list, start here: how well-read people make time for books and the year I stopped fixing myself.