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A Fashion Review: New Clothing on My Body and How I Like Them (Or Not)

This fashion post will be a bit different than my usual ones. It’s more of an unboxing situation and full of show and tells and with the big debate as to whether I’ll keep the new pieces, or return. These are not curated outfits. Here’s how/why it went down: the big Nordstrom Anniversary Sale started and while this post is absolutely not sponsored by them—nor is everything from there—it is basically the only sale I get super excited for because it’s NEW season pieces, not the dregs of prior months, at something like 40% off for a limited time (the sale ends August 4th but things sell out INSANELY FAST). But I’ve been up at the mountain house or super busy with projects and shoots so I was unable to go try things on myself (which I much prefer to do). I ordered a bunch online to pick up in store and sadly, a lot of the things I wanted weren’t available to get here in time to shoot this (which is why we put it in a roundup at the end), but I figured what did come, I’d try on for ya’ll.

Now, remember, if it’s not a HELL YES, it’s a NO because my closet is very small and I actually hate owning clothes that I don’t wear. So it can’t be just “cute.” It has to be either something I really need or something that is just rad.

Let’s begin.

1. Solene Lace Trim Shirt | 2. Distressed Levi’s Shorts | 3. Nestel Knee High Boot

Well, it’s about time my inner Jessica Simpson circa 2002 appeared. This is one of those looks that Californians (or maybe Texans, too) wear to participate in “seasons.” It’s warm throughout the year but we want to enjoy winter clothes like the rest of you (thus the thigh-high boots) so obviously, we wear them with tiny shorts. Ideally, this would be with a dress, but I’m actually kinda into it, while knowing that there is something kinda cheesy about the whole look. I’ve had the shorts for a while, I just got the blouse (not from the sale) but we are here to talk about the boots.

I LOVE these, not shockingly because I love a nude shoe. Having thigh-high boots be in such a neutral is the perfect quiet statement that I like because it doesn’t attract too much attention and steal from the outfit, but it’s a clear style choice. They aren’t slouchy (which I have always found really unattractive) nor are they elastic. Plus, they are not a fortune. The site says to order a half size up, but I’m normally a 7 and they fit fine in my normal size.

WILL I KEEP THE BOOTS? YES.

1. The Dre Ripped Jeans | 2. Rounded V-Neck Tee | 3. Kit Wool Blend Shirt Jacket | 4. Studded Bootie

Here we have new boyfriend jeans, a Pendleton wool coat (with a soft lining) and boots.

JEANS: These are a HELL YES. Not shocking they are Rag and Bone, a brand that makes strangely well-fitting jeans. They are slouchy, but still slimming and the cuff is perfect (and I don’t have a jean that has a cuff so OBVIOUSLY, I needed one).

SHIRT: YES. At $15, you can’t beat this T-shirt. I like a scoop and a V, and I like loose, but fitted in the pits so this checks off all my boxes. I wish it were slightly shorter but that’s because I have a short torso.

SHOES: YES. I was attracted to the boots because of their cute British Invasion appeal but questioned the studs. I still KINDA question the black studs, but you guys, these boots are SO LIGHT. It says on the tag “light,” so I don’t know if there is a heavy version of them, but I’m telling you right now they are so incredibly comfortable and easy to get on and off that despite the studs, they are a “Hell yes” from me. I just really wanted to wear them all weekend. Plus, they are a great height for the jeans and tuck in really nicely (and make your ankles look strangely small—if you are into that kind of thing).

1. Wubby Fleece Pullover | 2. High Waisted Denim Shorts | 3. Cate Waterproof Lace-Up Boot

PULLOVER: HELL YES. It’s the softest, coziest ever. I have a zippy from the same brand so I’m still debating if I need two, but if you are in the market for a pullover, it is one that you will want to sleep in, trust me.

SHORTS: I’ve had these for a year or so, but yes I recommend them.

SHOES: YES. They are Sorrel so they are waterproof and while I don’t need them for LA, I definitely do for the mountain house (where it snows in the winter). I have hiking shoes but these are the perfect fall/winter shoes to go out to dinner in as they have a bit of a heel. Extremely comfortable and tight-fitting (in a good way).

1. Square Neck Sweater | 2. Ribcage High Waist Straight Leg Jeans | 3. Dakota Clog in Cognac

SWEATER: YES. The sleeves are fun, have flattering proportions and I like a square neck.

JEANS: These are not a hell yes for me, but I think that they are awesome (and my team agreed). Here’s why: I have a short torso and ample love pillows, plus I’ve had two kids so high-waisted pants are harder for me. These are literally called “The Ribcage” so yeah, they are high. They are rad though and the fit is great. I wore a 27 and should have sized down (and maybe I would have liked them more as they might have been tighter and kept things in better. But ultimately, I know that I don’t ever opt for my high waisted pants currently in my closet, so I’m not going to hoard more of them despite these being affordable and two thumbs up.

SHOES: These are not on sale in any way, but they are my new favorite everyday shoes. Yes, they are from Rachel Comey. I really should just start working there…

1. Fast Track Jacket | 2. 501 High Waist Ripped Cutoff Denim Shorts | 3. Soft 7 III Slip-On Sneaker

PULLOVER: YES. Everyone freaked out about it. It’s incredibly cute and flattering. I’ve never bought the brand Sweaty Betty before but will now. It’s definitely good for workouts but cute enough to wear anywhere. My only beef with it is that it doesn’t have a pocket for a phone. Most workout pants now have that, but still. Then PLOT TWIST, we found the pocket…in the middle of the back—YAY—but it’s slightly too small for the larger iPhones. WHY? Don’t brands test these things?!? You can shove it in there, but it’s VERY tight and hard to get in and out. But it’s still a hell yes, because the fit, color and style are so cute.

SHORTS: I really like Levi’s shorts apparently.

SHOES: YES. I needed new sneakers. I don’t really believe in laces and these are FAR more affordable than my Vince ones (which I love more but the sole is getting so dirty hiking around behind our house). These are my new “throw on and walk around” shoes that aren’t as precious to me and I can leave up here.

Now…onto the coats:

I have no real idea why I ordered so many coats and such statement coats at best. I live in LA, although I need one for up here. Anyway, almost all of them are too big which is quite the bummer, but I can still weigh in on how I feel about them and whether I’m going to keep them (and by keep, I mean exchange for another size).

Grid Plaid Pleat Back Wool Blend Coat: I like a tweed coat and I wear so much denim that I need coats that aren’t blue. This is too oversized for me (definitely size down). Half of my team gave it a thumbs up, the other down. It’s not a hell yes for me and it’s still $200 even on sale, so it’s a no, but the back is pretty cute.

Single Breasted Wool Blend Coat: Apparently, I’m into this silhouette because I ordered the same coat in blue. We liked this WAY more but it’s still too oversized (I ordered a small) with the sleeves even being too long. Hey fashion designers, if you are going to do oversized (which I typically love), the armpits, arms and sleeves need to be slimming otherwise it just swallows you, drowns you out and is actually kinda uncomfortable to wear. They are out of XS now, otherwise, I might have tried it because the color is good, the buttons in the back are special and I like the single-breasted styled.

Wool Top Coat with Faux Shearling Collar: It’s a joke around here how many plaid coats I have, but I don’t have any WINTER coats. I also really subscribe to the Levi’s brand and recently became “Mountain Emily” so when Levi’s came out with this, I wanted to give it a go. Ultimately it’s A. too big, and B. too loud. Had it been charcoal plaid or even a navy, I would have gone for it. I love the faux fur collar, but I felt silly wearing it.

Notched Collar Faux Fur Coat: I’m trying my hand with the teddy bear look but same story: too big. But the real reason it’s a NO is that the inside is SO uncomfortable. You can feel every huge stitch so if you are into it visually, be prepared to wear a long sleeve shirt or layer with a sweater. Not sure why they would do that.

Now for the complete opposite:

Faux Shearling Moto Jacket: This coat is the single most soft and comfortable thing that I’ve ever put on in my life. And yes, the fur is on the entirety of the inside. But I don’t love love love the color and fabric of the outside. And yet, I didn’t want to take it off or hand it back over to my assistant to return. So I’m still on the fence about this one. I know I would wear it a lot up here out of comfort and desire, but I don’t think it’s that cool. I suppose the solution is to keep shopping and try to find a version that is as comfortable, but one that I like a bit more stylistically. Regardless, this one is too big so I might try a size down (definitely size down) and see if I have the same reaction to it.

So there you go. A lot of YES when it comes to the shoes, and NO on coats with a huge yes on jeans and sweaters. Now, there were a lot of other things I wanted to try that couldn’t get here in time (and we wanted to post this before everything sells out) so instead, we rounded them up for you. Again, I haven’t tried these things on sadly, so I can’t vouch for any of it, but I like it VISUALLY and maybe you will, too.

Emily Henderson Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Favorites Roundup 1

***photography by Veronica Crawford

The post A Fashion Review: New Clothing on My Body and How I Like Them (Or Not) appeared first on Emily Henderson.

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Published on July 19, 2019 18:00

A Fashion Review: New Clothing on My Body and How I Like Them (Or Not) + Nordstrom Sale

This fashion post will be a bit different than my usual ones. It’s more of an unboxing situation and full of show and tells and with the big debate as to whether I’ll keep the new pieces, or return. These are not curated outfits. Here’s how/why it went down: the big Nordstrom Anniversary Sale started and while this post is absolutely not sponsored by them—nor is everything from there—it is basically the only sale I get super excited for because it’s NEW season pieces, not the dregs of prior months, at something like 40% off for a limited time (the sale ends August 4th but things sell out INSANELY FAST). But I’ve been up at the mountain house or super busy with projects and shoots so I was unable to go try things on myself (which I much prefer to do). I ordered a bunch online to pick up in store and sadly, a lot of the things I wanted weren’t available to get here in time to shoot this (which is why we put it in a roundup at the end), but I figured what did come, I’d try on for ya’ll.

Now, remember, if it’s not a HELL YES, it’s a NO because my closet is very small and I actually hate owning clothes that I don’t wear. So it can’t be just “cute.” It has to be either something I really need or something that is just rad.

Let’s begin.

1. Solene Lace Trim Shirt | 2. Distressed Levi’s Shorts | 3. Nestel Knee High Boot

Well, it’s about time my inner Jessica Simpson circa 2002 appeared. This is one of those looks that Californians (or maybe Texans, too) wear to participate in “seasons.” It’s warm throughout the year but we want to enjoy winter clothes like the rest of you (thus the thigh-high boots) so obviously, we wear them with tiny shorts. Ideally, this would be with a dress, but I’m actually kinda into it, while knowing that there is something kinda cheesy about the whole look. I’ve had the shorts for a while, I just got the blouse (not from the sale) but we are here to talk about the boots.

I LOVE these, not shockingly because I love a nude shoe. Having thigh-high boots be in such a neutral is the perfect quiet statement that I like because it doesn’t attract too much attention and steal from the outfit, but it’s a clear style choice. They aren’t slouchy (which I have always found really unattractive) nor are they elastic. Plus, they are not a fortune. The site says to order a half size up, but I’m normally a 7 and they fit fine in my normal size.

WILL I KEEP THE BOOTS? YES.

1. The Dre Ripped Jeans | 2. Rounded V-Neck Tee | 3. Kit Wool Blend Shirt Jacket | 4. Studded Bootie

Here we have new boyfriend jeans, a Pendleton wool coat (with a soft lining) and boots.

JEANS: These are a HELL YES. Not shocking they are Rag and Bone, a brand that makes strangely well-fitting jeans. They are slouchy, but still slimming and the cuff is perfect (and I don’t have a jean that has a cuff so OBVIOUSLY, I needed one).

SHIRT: YES. At $15, you can’t beat this T-shirt. I like a scoop and a V, and I like loose, but fitted in the pits so this checks off all my boxes. I wish it were slightly shorter but that’s because I have a short torso.

SHOES: YES. I was attracted to the boots because of their cute British Invasion appeal but questioned the studs. I still KINDA question the black studs, but you guys, these boots are SO LIGHT. It says on the tag “light,” so I don’t know if there is a heavy version of them, but I’m telling you right now they are so incredibly comfortable and easy to get on and off that despite the studs, they are a “Hell yes” from me. I just really wanted to wear them all weekend. Plus, they are a great height for the jeans and tuck in really nicely (and make your ankles look strangely small—if you are into that kind of thing).

1. Wubby Fleece Pullover | 2. High Waisted Denim Shorts | 3. Cate Waterproof Lace-Up Boot

PULLOVER: HELL YES. It’s the softest, coziest ever. I have a zippy from the same brand so I’m still debating if I need two, but if you are in the market for a pullover, it is one that you will want to sleep in, trust me.

SHORTS: I’ve had these for a year or so, but yes I recommend them.

SHOES: YES. They are Sorrel so they are waterproof and while I don’t need them for LA, I definitely do for the mountain house (where it snows in the winter). I have hiking shoes but these are the perfect fall/winter shoes to go out to dinner in as they have a bit of a heel. Extremely comfortable and tight-fitting (in a good way).

1. Square Neck Sweater | 2. Ribcage High Waist Straight Leg Jeans | 3. Dakota Clog in Cognac

SWEATER: YES. The sleeves are fun, have flattering proportions and I like a square neck.

JEANS: These are not a hell yes for me, but I think that they are awesome (and my team agreed). Here’s why: I have a short torso and ample love pillows, plus I’ve had two kids so high-waisted pants are harder for me. These are literally called “The Ribcage” so yeah, they are high. They are rad though and the fit is great. I wore a 27 and should have sized down (and maybe I would have liked them more as they might have been tighter and kept things in better. But ultimately, I know that I don’t ever opt for my high waisted pants currently in my closet, so I’m not going to hoard more of them despite these being affordable and two thumbs up.

SHOES: These are not on sale in any way, but they are my new favorite everyday shoes. Yes, they are from Rachel Comey. I really should just start working there…

1. Fast Track Jacket | 2. 501 High Waist Ripped Cutoff Denim Shorts | 3. Soft 7 III Slip-On Sneaker

PULLOVER: YES. Everyone freaked out about it. It’s incredibly cute and flattering. I’ve never bought the brand Sweaty Betty before but will now. It’s definitely good for workouts but cute enough to wear anywhere. My only beef with it is that it doesn’t have a pocket for a phone. Most workout pants now have that, but still. Then PLOT TWIST, we found the pocket…in the middle of the back—YAY—but it’s slightly too small for the larger iPhones. WHY? Don’t brands test these things?!? You can shove it in there, but it’s VERY tight and hard to get in and out. But it’s still a hell yes, because the fit, color and style are so cute.

SHORTS: I really like Levi’s shorts apparently.

SHOES: YES. I needed new sneakers. I don’t really believe in laces and these are FAR more affordable than my Vince ones (which I love more but the sole is getting so dirty hiking around behind our house). These are my new “throw on and walk around” shoes that aren’t as precious to me and I can leave up here.

Now…onto the coats:

I have no real idea why I ordered so many coats and such statement coats at best. I live in LA, although I need one for up here. Anyway, almost all of them are too big which is quite the bummer, but I can still weigh in on how I feel about them and whether I’m going to keep them (and by keep, I mean exchange for another size).

Grid Plaid Pleat Back Wool Blend Coat: I like a tweed coat and I wear so much denim that I need coats that aren’t blue. This is too oversized for me (definitely size down). Half of my team gave it a thumbs up, the other down. It’s not a hell yes for me and it’s still $200 even on sale, so it’s a no, but the back is pretty cute.

Single Breasted Wool Blend Coat: Apparently, I’m into this silhouette because I ordered the same coat in blue. We liked this WAY more but it’s still too oversized (I ordered a small) with the sleeves even being too long. Hey fashion designers, if you are going to do oversized (which I typically love), the armpits, arms and sleeves need to be slimming otherwise it just swallows you, drowns you out and is actually kinda uncomfortable to wear. They are out of XS now, otherwise, I might have tried it because the color is good, the buttons in the back are special and I like the single-breasted styled.

Wool Top Coat with Faux Shearling Collar: It’s a joke around here how many plaid coats I have, but I don’t have any WINTER coats. I also really subscribe to the Levi’s brand and recently became “Mountain Emily” so when Levi’s came out with this, I wanted to give it a go. Ultimately it’s A. too big, and B. too loud. Had it been charcoal plaid or even a navy, I would have gone for it. I love the faux fur collar, but I felt silly wearing it.

Notched Collar Faux Fur Coat: I’m trying my hand with the teddy bear look but same story: too big. But the real reason it’s a NO is that the inside is SO uncomfortable. You can feel every huge stitch so if you are into it visually, be prepared to wear a long sleeve shirt or layer with a sweater. Not sure why they would do that.

Now for the complete opposite:

Faux Shearling Moto Jacket: This coat is the single most soft and comfortable thing that I’ve ever put on in my life. And yes, the fur is on the entirety of the inside. But I don’t love love love the color and fabric of the outside. And yet, I didn’t want to take it off or hand it back over to my assistant to return. So I’m still on the fence about this one. I know I would wear it a lot up here out of comfort and desire, but I don’t think it’s that cool. I suppose the solution is to keep shopping and try to find a version that is as comfortable, but one that I like a bit more stylistically. Regardless, this one is too big so I might try a size down (definitely size down) and see if I have the same reaction to it.

So there you go. A lot of YES when it comes to the shoes, and NO on coats with a huge yes on jeans and sweaters. Now, there were a lot of other things I wanted to try that couldn’t get here in time (and we wanted to post this before everything sells out) so instead, we rounded them up for you. Again, I haven’t tried these things on sadly, so I can’t vouch for any of it, but I like it VISUALLY and maybe you will, too.

***photography by Veronica Crawford

The post A Fashion Review: New Clothing on My Body and How I Like Them (Or Not) + Nordstrom Sale appeared first on Emily Henderson.

View more on Emily Henderson's website »

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Published on July 19, 2019 18:00

Do You Need A New Podcast Rec?? We’ve Got You Covered

I was a very early podcast adopter (before anyone really uttered the word podcast). All through my 20s in New York I listened to “This American Life” and “Slate Political Gabfest” on the subway and walking to and from work. I have rarely missed an episode and would absolutely be starstruck if I ever met Ira Glass. But the last few years since I’ve lived super close to my office and had kids, I was unable to find the time, all while podcasts were blowing up. Well, this year I dove back in and now look for any excuse to run to the grocery store or clean the bathroom so I can catch up on my favorites.

If you can’t tell from our Sunday Link Up posts, I am not alone for my love of “cleaning bathrooms,” the entire office (along with the world) is in love with the podcast movement and we thought it was high time to just put all our team favorites in one place. I mean is there anything more tragic than the end of a podcast binge? You feel lost, confused, desperately searching for your next intellectual fix! To be honest, this post is for us, too. We wanted to know all of each other’s favorites so that when it was time for a new one, we had a whole list of trusted recommendations (including some really fun niche recs). Get ready to hit subscribe…

Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations: EVERY SINGLE EPISODE makes me want to be a better person/mom/writer/employer. The recent one with 17-year-old activist Amandla Stenberg was so inspiring. The one about Quantum Wellness made me stop (almost completely) buying any meat that wasn’t humanely pasture-raised. And Dr. Brené Brown’s (obsessed with her) episode about The Anatomy of Trust really helped me see things differently and become such a better boss.

Invisibilia: My two favorite episodes are ‘Fearless’ (Jan 16, 2015) and ‘How To Become A Batman’ (Jan 22, 2015)

The Goop Podcast: I love most of these podcasts because they are experts in their field, regardless of how you feel about the brand. A few have changed my life in a very good way, including:

How Soil Health is Reflected in the Gut: This is the one where I learned what pesticides are doing to the soil which affects all of us inadvertently. After this, I started only buying from organic farms near me, loading up at the farmers market on Sunday and even going to such lengths as to have my assistant find mid-week farmers markets or buying at stores such as CookBook who work with local organic farms (I even have someone drive it up to me in the mountains if they are coming up anyway so that I don’t have to buy vegetables from the local store). For me, it is not only showing support for the farms that have had to jump through an incredible amount of hoops to grow organically, but also to punish those that don’t by taking away my business. I’m still researching and learning but this guy is all about regenerative farming which I would LOVE to know more about and how I can find them near me. I’ve done a deep dive into trying to find local farms that use regenerative agriculture techniques but haven’t found any so if anyone knows of any PLEASE let me know.

How To Become Your Future Self: This one is incredibly fascinating and I have a cousin who has seen/felt the effect first hand of how meditation can help rewire your brain to help you heal physically or mentally. There is something very empowering knowing that your brain is plastic and that we have the power to heal ourselves in powerful ways. I do know that this is controversial but I thoughts and feelings are always to approach your body healing holistically in addition to western medicine. No one can argue that mediation is healing.

Armchair Expert: Dax is probably the most likable guy due to his incredible honesty and transparency. It’s absolutely refreshing and frankly the bravest thing you can be right now in media. I was RIVETED by these two episodes in particular: Dr. Alexandra Katehakis and Esther Perel. Both of them are about our current (and historical) cultural approach to sex and addiction and it’s just so fascinating. Put them on and clean your house. To confirm it’s true brilliance Jess, Ryann, Julie and Veronica are obsessed. They also want to make sure that Monica (Dax’s cohost, producer and”soulmate”) is recognized because she is the secret sauce that makes this podcast perfect. Most Tuesdays and Thursdays, the first thing they ask each other is “Have you listened to Armchair yet??” Some of their favorite episodes are Johann Hari, Conan O’Brien, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Bill Nye, Jake Johnson. John Gottman, Todd Rose and Joy Bryant. Just to name a few.

I also love checking in with Young House Love, Goal Digger, The Liturgists (the one about how former evangelicals reflecting on their current LGBTQ lifestyle was so riveting and frankly sad) Second Life, and yes Tony Robbins. I love some self-help.

Now, I will let the rest of my team take it away…

Don’t Keep Your Day Job: Emily is probably reading this like “wait, what Arlyn?!?” but I promise it’s not only for people who want to up and leave their jobs, haha. It’s really about finding your career passions as a creative and how to catapult yourself (whether that’s as an entrepreneur or working for someone else). Host Cathy Heller is so lovely to listen to and inspiring in many ways and her guests are varied but all great. Episodes range from topics as specific as How to Start an Etsy Shop (with Etsy’s General Manager of Seller Services Kruti Patel Goyal as the guest) to more open-ended but useful subjects like How to Get Unstuck. If you’re a creative with the heart of an entrepreneur, give it a listen. I think you’ll like it! Favorite Episodes: How to Overcome Impostor Syndrome, The 3 Essential Steps to Grow Your Empathy Empire

Radiolab: Okay, if you’re a longtime podcast fan, Radiolab is NOT going to be news to you, but I couldn’t not include it mostly out of selfishness so anyone who listens can also recommend some of their favorite episodes that I can tune into. It used to cover pretty scientific topics in VERY approachable and engaging ways, but they’ve since pivoted a little to find the “science” in everyday subjects. It’s VERY well-produced and less grassroots then I feel a lot of podcasts are now, but basically it’s a whole heap of fun. Favorite Episodes: (WHERE TO START???) Dinopocalypse Redux (a new thrilling/compelling theory on what killed off the dinosaurs), Colors (I think this is one of their most popular episodes…for a reason!)

Heavyweight: This is more a “when you’re bored for a minute and don’t want to be too invested” type podcast. I don’t necessarily tune in regularly, but a few of the episodes are VERY fun, particularly my favorite Gregor, which is all about a guy named Gregor who once upon a time lent an obscure album to his then-friend Moby (the musical artist) and then got super bitter because Moby went on to make an album heavily inspired by what Gregor shared with him and he never got credit…and thus begins the journey of him trying to get his album back and talking to Moby to settle this grief. I know it sounds a little nuts, but I promise it’s super entertaining. Favorite Episode: Episode 2: Gregor

Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations: Oprah, have you heard of her? I didn’t drink the Oprah KoolAid until very recently and now I’m like…WHERE WAS I IN THIS LIFE WITHOUT HER? If I don’t interject here that my dear husband Charles introduced me to my favorite episode (mentioned in a sec), he might have a Gregor-sized grudge against me. THANK YOU CHARLES FOR CHANGING MY LIFE IN MANY WAYS INCLUDING SHARING THIS PODCAST (hopefully he heard that). I mean, just listening to Oprah’s interviewing skills alone speaks to my inner journalist, but she just has the star power to get the best people on to talk. This one leans heavily on the spiritual journey and finding your life’s purpose, so if that’s not your thing, look away. BUT IF IT IS, COME ON IN, THE WATER IS WARM AND WELCOMING. I will now stop speaking in all caps and just say if there is ever a day where I feel down, Oprah’s Super Soul Convos have never failed to turn things around and make me exciting about just life in general. Favorite Episodes: Your Own Truth (just Oprah talking in this one, no guest…SO INSANELY GOOD), Paulo Coelho Part 1: What If the Universe Conspired in Your Favor? & Paulo Coelho Part 2: Your Journey of Self-Discovery

British History Podcast: I LOVE history and will spend long stretches of time listening to this podcast. It’s one guy telling the history of Britain from literally start (before humans) to end (he’s not done yet). If you’re a history junkie like me this is a podcast for you. Favorite Episode: None, just start from the top.

Good Food with Evan Kleinman: This is the best food podcast I’ve come across and always inspires me to head to the farmers market or pull out my pasta maker. Favorite Episode: Jonathan Gold

The No Sleep Podcast: If you’re into storytelling, these episodes are horror-based short stories told by voice actors. I used to listen to a lot of true crime podcasts but eventually found them exploitative and depressing. These stories are creative, sometimes chilling, and 100% guilt-free while still hitting that addictive scary factor. Best listened to on late night drives or crisp fall days. Favorite Episode: No way I can actually pick one

Nancy: This is a great, uplifting, and positive podcast all about queer topics and stories. It’s really helped me better understands subjects like the ins and outs of gender pronouns. It’s made me cry and laugh. Favorite Episode: Episode 5: There Are No Gay Wizards

Bulletproof Radio with Dave Asprey: If you don’t know already, I am fully indoctrinated and belong to the Bulletproof cult. When schlepping things around LA, I basically only listen to this podcast, talk to my fellow stylist friend Lauren, AND talk about this podcast to Lauren. Self helpy/health/biohacking is my jam so all I really need is this podcast. Longevity, sleep, light therapy, meditation, stem cell therapy and healing your gut are a few of the top topics. Dave will really get into anything that can make you perform better at your life in any area. Favorite episodes: (so many! But here’s some recent ones I’ve loved): Why Quality Meat Matters for You and the Planet – Michael Salguero #543, The Dark Side of EMFs – Peter Sullivan #605, Intuition is Not a Feeling – Joy Martina – #574

To Live and Die in LA: I listened to Neil Strauss’ episode on Bulletproof Radio (shocking) and have wanted to give this a listen. My husband and I just binged this in two days. It’s a story about a girl going missing in LA. Favorite Episodes: Just the one season, so start from the top

Sleeping at Last Podcast: It’s an emo band from back in (my) day, Ryan O’Neal is Sleeping at Last. I was SO excited to learn a year+ ago that Ryan was making a song for each Enneagram type. Along with each song, he put out a podcast to go along with it where he interviewed Chris Heuertz (an author of a really wonderful Enneagram book called The Sacred Enneagram). He does a lot of podcasts and if you’re a music person, you will be into all of them. Favorite episodes: The whole Enneagram series

Pardon My Take: This podcast is a great way to catch up on sports without having to actually watch sports. Hosted by three very funny dudes who give you insight on what is happening in the sports world. The very best part of this podcast is hearing three sports guys recap The Bachelor or Bachelorette every Tuesday. This could be the only reason I listen to this podcast, but I also like listening to this so I can actually kind of know what my boyfriend is talking about when he talks about sports, without having to sit down and watch ESPN when I’m home from work. This is the ideal podcast for sporty gals who simply don’t have the time to watch sports. Of course, it’s also good for anyone looking for a good laugh and some quality entertainment.

Second Life: I just put this podcast in last week’s Link Up but that’s because it’s that good. Second Life inspires me on my way to work to give 110%! The conversations always feel natural and the interviews are honest and real. It is such a cool insight on the journey of some of the most creative women ever. I can also vouch for this podcast and says it’s for any kind of “life crisis” or just for daily motivation.

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Published on July 19, 2019 02:00

The Post Sara Wishes She’d Read Before Buying Her First Home (+ 6 Tips to Help You in Your Own Search)

Hi everyone, it’s Sara Tramp here, EHD’s head of production and in-house photographer. A lot of you might already know me, but what you might not know is that I’ve worked here at Emily Henderson Design for over FIVE years. It’s safe to say I’ve been through a lot with my EHD family during that time (and you have probably been along for a good portion of it).

Early in my career with EHD, I moved back home for a little while and made over my childhood bedroom. Then my boyfriend (Macauley) and I decided to move in together, and we rented our first joint apartment in the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles. It was an amazing 1930s Spanish place, with huge windows and beautiful archway details. We shared that with you all by revealing our living room, office and bedroom. Not even a year after that final bedroom reveal, we were heartbroken to lose that apartment to an early morning fire in December of 2017.

The fire completely burned out the apartment below ours and severely damaged the front half of our apartment. BUT we were super lucky. Once the fire department arrived they had the fire out within minutes and were able to save 75% of our apartment from the actual flames. We didn’t lose anything in our office, kitchen or bedroom (and no one was hurt). The apartment itself, however, was sadly very unlivable. Not only was there actual fire damage in the living room, but there was smoke damage everywhere and the floors were ruined from water damage caused by the hoses. All the windows were broken out, and our front door didn’t exist anymore. Structurally, it wasn’t safe for us to live in.

Looking through the photos of what our apartment used to look like, the photos of the fire damage, and remembering that whole morning still gives me goosebumps. But we were safe, our cats were safe, and we had renters insurance (which saved us).

We spent the next few weeks bouncing around couches, making people’s houses smell like cat litter and a disgusting BBQ (because smoke was stuck in all of our possessions). But 5 months after the fire we finally moved into an apartment in West Hollywood. The location was great, but the apartment didn’t feel like home. We lived there for almost a year with a giant pile of boxes sitting right in our living room, unpacked.

Which brings me to the point of this whole post. My parents have been hounding me for YEARS to consider buying a house. I kept them at bay with petty questions like, “how do you expect me to afford one??” Because the idea of buying a house is terrifying. It’s expensive, time-consuming, and a whole lot more permanent than any sort of rental. But once our dream apartment was a partially charred, post-apocalyptic movie set, I started to let the idea creep into my head. And once it was there, I started trying to get Mac on board.

“Let’s just look,” I said. Well, I’ve never been very good at “just looking,” and long story short… now we own a house.

But here’s the long story anyway. I’ll preface this by saying I’m (clearly) not a licensed loan officer, realtor, or fully formed adult. All of this advice just comes from what I remember from our home buying process, and could likely be slightly off or entirely wrong due to the haze one constantly lives in during the process. But the broad strokes are there, and the biggest piece of advice I have for you is just to work with people who DO know what they’re doing. They were our real heroes.

I digress…

Who knew that the housing market was so competitive? Literally everyone except us apparently, but we were about to find out. We lost out on our first offer pretty early on, and that was only the beginning of a long, painful 8-month search filled with being outbid by cash offers, exhausted by the amount of paperwork each round of offers took, and sacrificing a majority of our weekends during that time to hours of driving around Los Angeles visiting houses that were the size of past living rooms or practically falling apart (aka in our price range).

That’s the price bracket we were in, folks—$falling apart. These places were so bad that the only people we were competing against were developers who had the cash to not only outbid us but also fix the house up to throw it back on the market at double their purchase price. It was emotionally exhausting and wildly frustrating. We never felt like we fully understood the loan process, didn’t feel like our realtor really understood what we were looking for, and around month 7 we were ready to call it quits and try again in another year or so.

But we wanted to give it one last try. We had been feeling pretty lost and uncomfortable with the loan situation for a while, so I decided to try a different loan officer. I asked Emily who she had used to buy her home and after spending 30 minutes on the phone with Andy Green, I felt like I actually understood, for the first time, how we could afford to buy a house. It was eye-opening, liberating, and wildly educational. Not only did I understand what I was looking at when I was comparing house prices on Redfin, but we realized we could actually afford to look at houses in a slightly higher price bracket then we had originally been looking, which ended up making a huge difference.

TIP #1: Understand your numbers, or work with someone who can truly explain them to you. You might be able to afford more than you think…

Switching loan officers to someone who really took the time to break everything down for us was a game-changer, and so much easier than trying to figure it out via Google.

The truth is, we don’t own our house. At least not for another 30 years (if we don’t move or refinance). A loan company does. They fronted the real cost, and we just covered the down payment. Early on, with the guidance of our loan officer, we decided we would be able to cover a 10% down payment. That meant we were responsible, on the front end, for covering 10% of whatever the price of the house ended up being. The rest was up to the loan company. The loan company decided, based on our shared income, credit history, and assets, how much they would be willing to loan us (getting pre-approved really helps you to understand what you’ll be able to afford).

10% still sounds like a lot when houses in Los Angeles County easily cost upwards of $400k. That’s still at least $40k that someone would have to have on hand (and for us, it was just a bit more). And we were on the lower end of the down-payment spectrum. A more traditional down payment is 20%, which I believe is considered “conventional.”

Where did we get this wild amount of money from? A few different places – Years of being fortunate enough to put away money into personal savings, and help from my parents, Mac’s mom, my grandmother, and Mac’s grandfather. It took an almost literal village, and we’re so lucky and thankful for them (thanks guys *big heart eyes emoji*).

But don’t despair if you aren’t able to afford that high of a down payment! There are options for lower down payment amounts, and we seriously considered them. If you’re thinking about buying a house but can’t afford a 10% or higher down payment, you can look into something called an FHA loan, which is “designed for low- to moderate-income borrowers. FHA loans require a lower minimum down payment and credit scores than many conventional loans.” (I got that from Investopedia). There are even home loans out there that can help cover a down payment. The number you actually want to be seriously considering is what your monthly mortgage will be after you buy the house. Our loan company approved us for a much higher loan than we actually used, but using that full amount would have given us a monthly mortgage that we wouldn’t have been able to maintain.

Because we didn’t go with a 20% or higher down payment, we’re currently paying something called mortgage insurance. But it’s temporary, and after we pay off a certain amount (or pay on time for a certain number of years), that will be removed. It’s an extra $80 a month, and it allowed us to fall into a down payment category that we could actually afford. Another thing we realized is the difference between, say $450k and $550k isn’t nearly as big as it sounds, once it’s broken down into a 30-year mortgage loan. That gave us the confidence and ability to shift up in our price bracket (without going house poor right out of the gate). Again, you really just need a loan officer who is willing to explain all of your options to you.

TIP #2: Work with a realtor who specializes in your area, who knows the other realtors in that area, and who makes you feel excited to see homes.

Our loan officer also introduced us to a new realtor. We had been working with someone who was super nice. But he wasn’t well acquainted with the area we were looking in, and it just didn’t feel like he knew the market there. No surprise, but you want to be working with a realtor who is familiar with your priority neighborhoods and needs. So on our loan officer’s recommendation, we reached out to L34 Group, and got paired up with Fawn Vu. We met with Fawn on a Saturday morning for coffee and it felt like she could finish all of our sentences. She had bought and renovated a house in an area we were interested in 10 years prior, and every house we mentioned she instantly knew the selling agent, had a good sense of how they operated, and had concrete opinions about whether it would work for us or not.

Now, I don’t honestly know if it was switching realtors, luck or the stars aligning for us, but within a month of working with Andy and Fawn, we were in escrow on our house. Here’s how it happened:

First, Fawn asked us to be super honest with her about what we needed and what we could do without. While I would have been fine with just a driveway, Mac really wanted a garage. Ideally, we wanted more than one bedroom, but decided that for a starter home we could compromise for a single bedroom if the house really spoke to us.

TIP #3: Be really honest with yourself and your house buying partner/s about what you need vs. what you want vs. what you’re willing to compromise on…

Mac and I individually made a list of our top 5 priorities, then cross-referenced our lists with each others and made those shared items our deal breakers. Fawn then took those and used them to help her narrow her search.

TIP #4: Constant Vigilance! (This is a Harry Potter reference, if you were wondering.)

Fawn let us in on a not-so-secret secret. Basically, realtors have as much of a jump on new listing as the general public. Every now and then they might get a pre-market tip-off, but with websites like Redfin and Zillow, they’re generally working with the same information we are. It’s really once you get into the actual wheeling and dealing of submitting an offer that your realtor is going to shine. That being said, Fawn and I were both scouring residential listing sites like starving rats, and sending each other new listings every day. It was exciting to see her as excited as me, and it made sure listings weren’t slipping through the cracks. Which is how we found the listing that would be our future house.

First, we went and saw the house the day they dropped the price. It had been sitting on the market for a month without much interest. It was in a good area, but needed a lot of work. The key being it wasn’t cheap enough to be attracting developers (our sweet spot).
Second, we went slightly above the asking price. This is where Fawn really gets all the credit. She had a good recommendation of how high we should go, got a lot of information from the selling agent, and helped us stick to our guns (even when I was feeling desperate and ready to offer more).
Third, we reduced our contingencies. This part is a little tricky to talk about because it kind of falls into legal issues and really depends on your loan officer and your comfort level, so take this advice with a grain of salt.

When you submit an offer there are all sorts of contingencies, or “second chances” in place that allow you, the buyer, to back out of the sale once you enter escrow. Some of these include a loan contingency (if you’re not approved for you loan, you aren’t obligated to buy the house anyway), appraisal contingency (if the house doesn’t appraise for the amount you offered you can back out of escrow), and an inspection contingency (if, once the house is inspected, you realize there is way too much work that needs to be done, you can use this to back out). What you can do is speak with your loan officer and determine if you can remove any of these contingencies from your offer, which will make it more attractive.

TIP #5: Try and get pre-approved for your home loan, and speak with your loan officer about what other things you could offer the seller (besides going over asking).

For example, we were able to get pre-approved for our loan, which meant we were submitting our offer without a loan contingency. Cash offers are often accepted over non-cash offers because cash offers automatically don’t need a loan contingency. Not having to wait around for the buyer to get a loan approved lets the seller know the money for the sale is guaranteed, likely reducing the escrow period (another deal sweetener), therefore getting the house off the market (and off the seller’s hands) faster. All of that makes the seller feel more secure about the sale going through. No seller wants their house to fall out of escrow or linger on the market for too long. It makes other buyers suspicious, and the house less desirable. WILD RIGHT?! I feel like an encyclopedia of house buying knowledge, but we really just went through a solid crash course of “Home Buying 101” with our loan officer and realtor.

TIP #6: Take time to write a heartfelt personal statement about what the property would mean to you, address it by name to the seller, and include photos!

Lastly, we submitted a killer personal letter. Now, personal letters don’t always close the deal. If a seller is faced with the best personal statement in the world or $100k over asking, I’ll let you guess which they’re going to take. But if you’re neck and neck with a competing offer, having taken the time to put together a compelling personal letter could make the difference between an accepted offer and another rejection.

Fawn found out a little about the current owner from the selling agent, and let us know her name and how long she’d been living in the home. She also let us know that she spoke very little English, so I wrote out our letter in both English and Spanish. It turned out that the owner was not only Hispanic, but she was Guatemalan which is where my mom’s family immigrated from when my mom was 10. I had written about that in our personal statement and had even included a photo of Mac and I in Guatemala back in 2015 (without ever knowing she was Guatemalan). I consider that our luckiest moment in this whole house search, and I think it may have been the final piece of the puzzle. Here’s a copy of our personal statement:

Finally we got the call that our offer had been accepted, and after what felt like a whirlwind escrow period, we were slightly dazed and confused homeowners.

But the real work was just getting started.

Stay tuned to see how this…
Sara Buys A House 10

Turned into this…

Sara Buys A House 11

And to see all the before photos of the house, what it looks like now, and all our future plans – plus more photos of us covered in dirt, holding rat skeletons from our crawl space, and generally looking like we have no idea what we’re doing.

The post The Post Sara Wishes She’d Read Before Buying Her First Home (+ 6 Tips to Help You in Your Own Search) appeared first on Emily Henderson.

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Published on July 18, 2019 02:00

How I Overcame My (Design) Imposter Syndrome (+ 9 Things a Year at EHD Has Taught Me)

When I first started working at EHD, I knew nothing about design. I found myself here after applying for a temp data entry position that promised 1-2 weeks of work. I was seeking refuge (and some $$$) after I quit my job working for a fashion writer, photographer and stylist. Feeling defeated and licking wounds inflicted by the soul-sucking fashion world, “data entry” seemed like a decent enough distraction until I “figured it out.” A year later, here I still am, now the Special Projects Editor where I do things I actually enjoy like writing, editing and shopping (for the sake of research, of course). But it was a bit of a road to get here.

During my first week, I would hear passing words such as toile, rendering, “vignette” (they were speaking a foreign language both literally and figuratively) and there was something called a “mountain house” that they were considering a modern-Sscandi-rustic-California-casual cabin (or something like that). There were regular contemplations about whether the fireplace needed some more…schmear (???). I was completely lost and hiding behind my spreadsheets (you have my weeks of Excel work to thank for our Rooms and Shop pages). As I am sure many of you know, feeling lost is not something you want to feel in the workplace. My former self wanted to get out of there ASAP before they all found out I was a fraud and had never heard of Domino Magazine or House Beautiful. My imposter syndrome was real.

Needless to say, I learned on the job. I listened intently, had lots of help from my friend Google, and did my best to prove that I was a hard worker. I let go of the expectation that I needed to know everything to be good at my job. I asked for help and was honest in the areas I lacked knowledge. In the right situation, with receptive coworkers and managers, it’s okay to not pretend you know everything about everything.

I’m coming up to my year anniversary around here (they couldn’t get rid of me), and while what I’ve learned since my first days is not exactly revolutionary, I think (I hope) that it’s proof that a non-type-A person can still do alright in the world (and that maybe we have more fun). KIDDING. It is very stressful being me, but thanks to my coworkers and incredibly fun job, my life has changed and as a workaversary gift to me, Emily and Arlyn are allowing me to reflect on what I’ve learned/changed about myself, about design, about style since I walked through that door for the first time nearly 12 months ago. Let’s get to it:

1. My Instagram feed is more inspirational (and, more importantly, less harmful).

Let me explain. I worked in fashion before this job, because fashion was my biggest passion apart from writing, and I wasn’t confident enough in my writing to risk it all to become an author. Before social media, I followed several fashion bloggers religiously and studied designers and trends, and it was fun and inspirational. Then, when IG became a marketing tool for every single brand and designer on the planet, things started to feel less fulfilling for me. Following fashion brands and fashion models started to become harmful. I unfollowed a lot of the brands I loved and all the size 2 models the industry reveres (Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, etc., etc.) because I couldn’t take the daily reminder that my body, face and style were not in line with the fashion’s world insane, unrealistic and harmful portrayal of beauty and perfection.

Emily was the first designer I followed on Instagram. Others started to follow suit, and at some point, instead of perfect bodies in bikinis and perfectly styled outfits, I was getting a daily dose of furniture, beautifully styled interiors, tile patterns, etc. I was finally feeling inspired again. A sofa can never make you feel bad about yourself. This inspiration spilled into all areas of my life, and definitely allowed me to be a little nicer to myself.

2. My style absolutely changed.

This applies to both design and fashion. Before EHD, my design aesthetic changed depending on what music I was listening to that week, what book I was reading, or what movie I had recently watched. I didn’t have a foundation. What I mean is, I never thought to nail down or really understand what my style was. The result? I spent SO much money in my first apartment buying decor and furniture with no end plan (ha, are you noticing a trend here?). I was irresponsible with my purchases. I was flaky with my design ideas and thus, nothing really got done. But I have been cured, if only by the knowledge that multiple styles can work together if you know what to do.

Similarly, how I express my style on my body has shifted. I lean more towards timeless looks and stray away as much as possible from trends (which have a whole other meaning in L.A. by the way—a trend here disappears faster than influencers get tickets for Coachella. It’s absurd). Now, I buy clothes with intention, contemplating how that piece of clothing would contribute to my wardrobe just as I would a new piece of furniture or decor. My style is always evolving but I am more conscious of what my style says about me, and what I want it to reflect about me to the world (which is what it should be all about, right?)

3. I classify my design aesthetics as contemporary-rustic-mid-century-seventies with a hint of boho…and that’s okay.

Those are a lot of words to describe a single person’s style. But like all EHD rookies before me, I learned that style isn’t stagnant and is certainly more fun when you can mix and match. And you absolutely CAN mix and match, as long as it is cohesive. Emily is very loose and fluid with regards to throwing words at a style instead of bending to ONE look, and thank goodness because that is very freeing. I don’t use one word to describe myself as a person, so how could a single word describe my style, am I right?

4. I had to let go of instant gratification.

Designing a home, (or hell, even a single room) does not happen overnight. Even around here, with 12 hands on deck to help shop and style, it takes time. It takes patience. It takes a lot of work. Now knowing this, the millennial instant gratification beast in me has quieted, if only replaced by a slightly less agitated version of itself. All good things take time and it’s OKAY.

image by sara ligorria-tramp | from: 7 tips for creating a unique home you really love
Emily Henderson Trends 2018 Modern Victorian 28

image via claire del mar
5. I found a love for decor that I used to think was fugly.

Remember in the ’90s when hideous wallpaper scarred the design world? Like, literally scarred? I do. I recall when my family moved to a new house in 1999, the ENTIRE HOUSE was covered with disgusting floral wallpaper and it took months to strip its remnants from the walls. Since then, the idea of wallpaper was so dated and tacky to me. It has been 20 years but my parents will not entertain the idea of revisiting wallpaper, despite my recent protests that it is GOOD when done right. So, yes, EHD has successfully converted me to a wallpaper enthusiast and advocate (surprise, surprise).

Also, before I worked here, I frequented flea markets but unlike Michael (who’s home is the photo up top with Spanish-style fireplace), I couldn’t picture the $5 vintage portrait paintings I’d walk by in a well-styled home. I thought they were dated and ugly, and would judge anyone who bought them for having bad taste. I am now forever indebted to EHD for instilling a deep LOVE for vintage portraits and oil paintings in modern spaces. It just works so well, and is very cool when done the right way.

And lastly, I hated Victorian-style anything. I just didn’t get it. It is 2019 and the world needs to get over the Victorian era, I thought. Ha. Now that I am an adult and understand the nuances of design, Victorian furniture and decor get my heart PUMPING. I love a secretary desk or a Victorian armoire styled in a modern way, and a dramatic wing back chair is heaven in my eyes. Though I wouldn’t attempt to try the Victorian-styled rooms I have bookmarked on Instagram, I have a real appreciation and love for the style nonetheless.

6. I use Pinterest now (outside of work!).

I remember when Pinterest became a big thing when I was in high school. It was the first online mood board but I believe my uses of it were that of strictly pinning celebrities I had crushes on and outfits I wanted to try. Pinterest has only just reentered my life because the editorial team made it so. Every single blog post you see here has its very own secret Pinterest board. Why? Because we would all be lost without it. If Excel is the holy grail program for most offices, Pinterest is ours. It is incredibly useful and has me (a characteristically unorganized person) feigning organization. I use it in my everyday life because otherwise, I forget things I want to buy. Sounds silly I know, but I get so overwhelmed with options so I absolutely have to keep my ideas in one place (with visuals!) because I am a visual gal with slight short term memory loss. Pinterest is a god-send and I can thank EHD for that revelation.

image via the design files
7. I now love me some DIY.

This is so uncharacteristic of me, or at least so I thought. I am not handy or crafty but turns out I am at least willing to try mostly thanks to #ShowEmYourDIY. As a lady always on a budget, I now have a great appreciation for a DIY moment, and may even try one one day.

8. I had to unlearn the idea that “all you need is good taste to design a well-styled home.”

I am so sorry to designers for my naiveté. OF COURSE, that is not all it takes, but now I really understand how much thought and skill goes into it. I think I have good style but man do I have a long way to go before I can come anywhere close to designing a home without help. It is certainly a coveted and TOUGH career for a reason, my friends.

9. I am a more thoughtful consumer.

Before EHD, I spent most of my money on clothes because it is somewhat easy to throw a hundred bucks here and there at clothes because they do not have to all go together all at once. Now that furniture and decor are always on my wishlist, I find myself pausing on the add to cart button no matter what I am purchasing and thinking through if it’s something that will make sense in my home (or wardrobe) long-term. Creating a purposeful home is always top of mind now and I like to think I have saved myself (and my boyfriend) a lot of money and closet space, and probably deserve some sort of award for exercising willpower.

Now that I am qualified to give career advice: Quit your job and work for a design company! Just don’t quote me on it or hold me at all responsible.

That is all I have for you today, but do not fret, you will likely see me again here soon as I am being pressured to start my MOTO now that my boyfriend and I are moving into a new place VERY soon (August 1st!). The idea of making that happen is SO exciting and slightly nauseating. Look out for this girl and her new home full of EHD lessons coming soon to a screen near you. Til next time

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Published on July 17, 2019 02:00

Stop Boring Sofa Syndrome: 62 Non-Basic Picks to Wake Up Your Living Room

photo by sara ligorria-tramp for ehd | from: 7 fool-proof ways to design a home you truly love

Warning, hyperbole ahead: There are two types of people in this world—the kind that just resolves to buy a sofa that’s comfortable no matter how boring it looks (i.e. my husband) and the kind that toils and tinkers online and in-store for days/weeks/months on end trying to find something a little more interesting (uh, me, always and forever). At a high price point, it’s not that difficult to source something really special, but it’s far more tricky when you’re talking anything mid-range or even budget-friendly.

While designing the living spaces of the mountain house, I’d kept hearing Emily talk about the sofa selection process with the design team. She wanted something comfortable but visually different…not the standard boxy sofa available at every retailer. And while there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a straight-forward design (which can easily be dressed up with other unique pieces in a room) and no one is going to take you to design jail for going the simple route, a silhouette with some flair can be nice to really shake things up and put your personal touch on a space. Sometimes even a leg detail that’s a little different or the slope of an arm can level up a boxy, standard design. It doesn’t have to be over the top to be interesting.

photo by zeke ruelas | from: introducing my living room

Let’s take THE sofa, for instance. That baby up there is epically iconic around here and if you’ve been reading this blog for a few years, you know it. Had this been a boxy gray number (or you know, the equivalent of pre-furnished college apartment furniture), I guarantee no one would remember it, which of course would be fine for most people but if you’re that second type of person I mentioned up there, the “me” in the situation and you’ve been spinning round and round hoping for something more sculptural, I hear you, I see you, I am you.

photo by tessa neustadt | from: my house tour from good housekeeping

Goodness, I remember when I saw this sofa from Emily’s previous living room. I mean, the leather sides and straps at the back made me weak in my knees. Most sofas are not meant to be seen from EVERY angle (particularly not the back), but floating a sofa in a space is sometimes your only option depending on your layout and something that’s interesting in 360-degrees is just going to make your design that much more elevated.

photo by sara ligorria-tramp | from: arlyn’s living room makeover takeover

When I was working on , I knew the sofa I wanted immediately (the one I had before was INSANELY comfortable but kind of just a gray box and didn’t work great in my living space stylistically) and while it’s not necessarily anything mindblowing in terms of silhouette, it’s lower slung than most “standard/basic” sofas, the walnut and brass legs really take it up a level and the updated English roll arm on it looks a little different than what you expect to see in a traditional sofa so in general, it’s not CRAZY DIFFERENT but just different enough that my living room feels specific to my tastes.

Going the vintage route is always a pretty solid way to get something interesting looking. Sites like Chairish, Etsy, Everything But the House and even Craigslist might take a little digging—and reworking—but there are absolutely treasures there. We have a few picks from some of these sites below (you’ll see them marked “I’m vintage!” or “recover me!”) but also a ton of new pieces in a wide variety of price points to aid in your shopping no matter what your budget looks like.

First up, our picks under $1,500:

Emily Henderson Non Basic Sofas Under $1500 2 Across

First and foremost, I want to call out some of the vintage picks from this roundup: #7 is, well, boxy, but the wood plinth it sits on makes it feel like something you’d find at a super high-end design store BUT IT’S 715 DOLLARS! Leaving it in the white would be great if you have a modern vibe going on, but if you have some wiggle room in your budget, this could also be SO great in a wonderful patterned fabric or even a slate-y blue or olive linen textile. OH, and #12 looks NUTS right now (I believe it’s from the ’80s) but the stepped design of the bottom frame could be SO fun if you reupholstered. After Emily did the sherpa fabric on the sofa in the Atlanta showhome from early this year, we’ve been pretty obsessed with the cozy fabric, which is why #2 and #9 are something I’m very into (besides the fun shapes). And finally, the super fun settee with drink holder (#5) was just too cute not to include. It might be technically a loveseat, but if you’ve got a tiny little apartment, it could still work for you!

Emily Henderson Non Basic Sofas Under $1500 To $3000 3

Okay, this mid-range board has some of my favorite picks of the whole bunch. For instance, the base of #1 is SO GOOD if you’re into that ’80s modern thing that’s happening right now (but the charcoal keeps it super fresh instead of dated). The wood frame of #2 reminds me of Mel’s sofa which I adore, and the channel tufted of #4, #9, #12 and #16 feel super interesting to me in a variety of textures. Even the subtle slope of the back of #15 makes that rather simple shape exciting. And because curved shapes are very in now (again, I think in an answer to an ’80s and ’90s revival), #11 just really shapes up the traditional straight-edge sofa silhouette.

Emily Henderson Non Basic Sofas Under $3,000 Plus

And finally, while I know it’s not exactly hard to find cool, edgier furniture at price points like the above ($3,000+), I couldn’t help but show you some VERY cool pieces (some Emily pinned and saved herself for the mountain house during that furniture selection process). Man do I love SO many of these. #1 kind of looks like smooth rocks (that happened to be covered in blue velvet) but those are the coolest rocks ever, okay? The leather sides of #2 remind me a little of Emily’s vintage sofa I showed you earlier in the post. #4 is BURGUNDY LEATHER so that’s all I have to say about that and #10 is a sofa the design team has used numerous times from Katy Skelton and it so beautiful in person. The straight-up coolness of that weathered leather from #16 and #21 is for anyone who really loves that California casual vibe, and the spindles on #5 and #23 are just rad.

And this is where I leave you for today. But before I go, I’m curious where all of you land on my “two types of people in this world” statement from the beginning of this post. Let’s pretend there was no sacrificing comfort…are you more drawn to a straight-forward sofa style or are you into these different shapes? Which are your favorite? OH and also, raise your hand if you’ve ever bought a vintage/second-hand sofa and gone through the process of reupholstering it (how much did it cost, how much fabric did you need, was it worth it?). Spill the beans, folks!

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Published on July 16, 2019 02:00

The Messy Process – How I Chose ALL The Lights For The Mountain House “At Once”

Emily Henderson Mountain House Lighting Plan Opener

This post about the mountain house lighting is going to leave you with three feelings –

1. ‘Yay I got a sneak peek with lots of inside information …?’… then

2. Wow. Emily’s design process is very messy, even amateur… ending with the question…

3. Is this house even going to look good?

When I came up with the original ‘how to choose a lighting plan for the whole house’ concept last week, I assumed that all of the lighting would look good presented TOGETHER on one board, and we could show you how we seamlessly curated them all, using analogies like ‘think ‘cousins’ and ‘siblings’ but never twins’. And while it looks so amazing together in person (barring 2 that are awesome but might be changed out at some point) it actually doesn’t look that great on a board together. HOW?

Well, like anything tactile that’s because sharing 3-dimensional design on a computer screen lacks, well one whole dimension first of all. But it also lacks texture, and in this case, we are talking lighting so it’s a lot about experiencing the room with the actual light.

But before I show you the board with all the final choices, you need to see the process, my process. It’s messy, as is any creative process (and if it’s not messy, then I have to tell you it might not be that creative). But when I’ve shown it to my friends or any new employees they find it A. alarmingly amateur and B. super easy and helpful.

Again, the program and skills you have will dictate how good this looks, but I use Keynote on Mac and have very poor Adobe skills so this works for me. The reason I use Keynote? Because it’s so easy a toddler could use it. Like even my toddler who likely inherited my alarming lack of Adobe skills. You drag and drop. Hell, my kids can do that ALL DAY LONG. In fact, (may I rant? oh dear I do think I’ve been watching too much Outlander these days) my whole team used to make fun of me about my Keynote enthusiasm. FOR YEARS. But the truth is, I’m bloody fast so I need a fast program. I need to be able to switch out things super easily without turning ‘on’ and ‘off’ different layers and trying to remember which layer does what (surely there is a Photoshop joke in there somewhere). Well, one day, during the Portland project when Brady was doing a great job on Photoshop but it felt too precious for the speed in which he needed to work I suggested sheepishly that he try Keynote. He went to school for architecture – he does NOT do mood boards on Keynote, so he continued his resistance, but I was his boss so he tried it and then a week later, gone missing, we found him holding a ‘Keynote and Beyonce for president’ sign on the corner of Sunset and Hollywood. It’s just so fast and you can switch things out, move them, resize and add text so quickly. She ain’t pretty but she works well.

So here is my process:

Step 1: You scour the internet’s lighting resources for probably 65-70 hours over the course of 3 months. This is often performed best with a glass of wine while watching Younger, Sex in the City or a Real Housewives – something that requires minimal attention and makes you feel like you are hanging out with your best friends. It could even be actual Friends. The process is flexible as long as there is on-screen kissing involved.

Step 2: You screengrab any photo of any light you might possibly like within your (4) styles and drag it onto a keynote page. Since our style was/is ‘modern mountain, contemporary California, refined, rustic Scandinavian chalet cabin’ there was a vibe, but it did span both handmade pottery and linear modernist contemporary lights. So I screengrabbed them all.

Step 3: VERY IMPORTANT – You also PIN all of these onto a Pinterest board from their original store/source or you will have literally no idea where you screengrabbed it from and you will eventually take your wine glass, break it and shove the small glass shards into your eyes wishing to stop your maddening world wide web search. A wise man once said, “Better to never see at all than to look for one lamp for the rest of your life.”

Step 4: You size it down so you can see everything. You literally take the little corner thing and drag is so the picture gets smaller. Then you add page after page… I had like 15 pages of just lights.

Step 5: You play around. This ‘playing’ part can last months. To your partner, whom you might ask opinions of, it can often feel more like torture, but to you/us, it’s the fun part. However, this part can also be paralyzing. You like so many. You don’t want to be basic. You don’t want it dated, nor do you want it too traditional. You don’t want what everyone has seen a million times, but you don’t really feel like taking huge risks, especially when they can be expensive.

Step 6: Finally, you ORGANIZE. A good idea for “playing” is to organize it either by style, type (sconce/pendant) or by room. For the blog, we organized it by style to best show you what styles we were considering. Then we started eliminating and “promoting” the losers and winners. It was like fantasy football or March Madness, for sconces. I don’t ever delete, I would instead drag the rejected off the page (hidden outside of the frame, but retrievable). Then yes, I would start taking favorites and put them on a few new pages. Then even if I loved one, if it didn’t seem like it was playing well with others I would remove.

This is the part that is tricky because I think that if you love one and it is in your style then it’s ok if it doesn’t look great with a sconce 3 rooms away – you’ll never see them together. I wish I had not eliminated some of the more raw pottery pendants or wood sconces that I loved that sure, but wouldn’t have worked with much of the more linear modern pieces. However, in their own rooms could have been beautiful and added so much warmth. No real regrets here, but just a warning that if you love something don’t worry too much if it doesn’t look great next to another that you also think works.

Lighting Options 1:
Screen Shot 2019 07 11 At 7.58.30 Pm

Lighting Options 2:
Screen Shot 2019 07 11 At 8.06.41 Pm

Lighting Options 3:
Screen Shot 2019 07 11 At 8.06.34 Pm

Lighting Options 4:
Screen Shot 2019 07 11 At 8.06.30 Pm

Admittedly I’m one of the most open-minded people in every subject–yes, from politics to lamp styles–making my decision-making process often tortuous. It’s not that I’m indecisive, I just really see every side and can easily see the benefits of choosing something budget vs. custom, hand-made vs. mass manufactured, minimalist vs. decorative, stylish vs. sleek, etc. And that doesn’t even cover function. I’m by nature eclectic and like/need the occasional surprise and unpredictability of something special that doesn’t quite fit.

So then I started breaking it down by room.

I started adding the lighting to boards with some of the hopeful other design elements. We didn’t have any renderings at this point so I was actually just screengrabbing elements that kinda looked like what we might choose to see how the room would turn out. I wrote text on them like ‘I LIKE’ or even ‘YES, DON’T CHANGE’. So bossy. Funny enough I often did change and former Emily did not sue. Litigious we are not. So below you’ll see a bunch of those notes, along with spelling and grammatical errors

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Published on July 15, 2019 03:00

The Link Up: Em’s Favorite New Tray, Womens Shorts That Don’t Ride Up and Great Running Shoes

image via architectural digest

Guess what?? We have two MORE new team members that joined our team this past Monday. We have been looking for a long time for these two and couldn’t be happier they are finally here. So please welcome Mallory who is our new blog/social media assistant and Chandler who is Emily’s new assistant. Just like Caitlin (our new brand partnership manager) they are wonderful and are clearly going to be amazing assets to our team. They are also great assets to our link up.

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Published on July 14, 2019 03:00

Active & Modest Swimsuits That Make Me Feel Good (Plus, My Thoughts On The “Bikini Industrial Complex”)

While on vacation up at the mountain house, we were at the lake all the time so wearing swimsuits was pretty much an everyday occurrence. The thing was, I had all these cute suits (all one-pieces—nothing super revealing) but I wasn’t feeling very confident or comfortable playing and being active with my kids. I felt like I was constantly adjusting up and down and felt a bit too exposed. I felt I needed to be more “modest” as a mom being around friends, in-laws, and kids, but was also struggling with wanting to feel stylish and cute. Typical…

When I started this post, my idea was to find modest but not too “mom-ish” swimsuits that I felt very comfortable in and review them for all of you. But little did I know, this post would become more about a larger culprit, the bikini industrial complex, than about finding the right suit.

So, at first I went on a MISSION to find the suits I actually wanted to wear, and I’m so happy to say I found some that I feel comfortable in while also still feeling young and stylish. Of course, what makes me feel comfortable and stylish could be wildly different from what makes you feel that way, but here are the suit details I’ve found that are working for me:

I like heavy lining. I look for suits that are either double lined or ribbed so they are thicker, which not only helps the suit itself stay put better, but also keeps more goods in and hides some bumps.
High necks, scoop necks, and square necks tend to have the best support for my chest. In my real life, I avoid high necks because I think they do make my boobs look even bigger. I thought I needed low necks in a suit as well, but after trying a bunch I can say a high neck is great and still looks cute.
I prefer to skip the underwire for either just really tight suits or soft cups. Again, I thought that I needed underwire to support the ladies but I found that most of the time with underwire, I’m actually overflowing which is just uncomfortable, not to mention it looks like I don’t know how to dress myself properly. Until they make underwire suits with cups for all frames and sizes, they just don’t and won’t work for me.

In the end, I tried about a million suits to find exactly what I was looking for. The ones you are about to see are ones I will likely be wearing all summer, and feel very good in. I know we have had swimsuit posts before, but this time I wanted to actually show you (yes, on my body), despite the very real anxiety I am having thinking about my body in a swimsuit being displayed on the internet—keep reading to the end for my concluding thoughts on that. Here goes nothing:

The All Buttoned Up Cover Up, $75: Not a swimsuit, but I love this cover up so I wanted to share. It’s light and easy to throw on, and looks really cute on top of a red one piece.

1. Heidi Klein Zip Detail One Piece, $295: Okay, you are going to see a few red swimsuits in this roundup, but this one is my favorite. I love the ribbed texture, the soft cups give the right amount of support, and the gold zipper detail adds a fashionable element so it doesn’t come across completely sporty.

2. The Current, $95: All my boxes are checked with this one. It is thick, lined, has a square neck, a cute cutout in the back, plus GREAT support. The site says to size up if you are a bra size D or larger, but my normal size was fine for me and I didn’t feel like I was spilling out of it. Side note: myself and my staff love love love Summersalt and as we were preparing this post, everyone was ogling over everything on their site. They just have really cute swimsuits that are super flattering and have lots of fun colors. I would definitely go check them out if you haven’t already.

3. Underwire Swim Dress Set, $175: This suit is pretty, and I always wanted to try this shape swimsuit on me (because who doesn’t love a good twirl moment), but ultimately I didn’t fall in love with it. I can say however that it is high quality so for those that like this style, I think it’s a great option. The underwire isn’t nearly as supportive as it could be.

4. Beach Break Paddlesuit, $128: Wetsuit definitely comes to mind with this one, but in a cool way. It is VERY comfortable and obviously less revealing with the high neck and cap sleeves, but the red color and the mesh detail actually make it feel stylish and flattering. Even Brian said “that’s a cool suit,” which is saying something.

5. Zuma One Piece, $120: Even though there isn’t built-in bra support in this one, the fit is tight enough that you feel supported. It is great for paddle boarding and kayaking because of how much coverage it gives in the front and back (it’s almost a wetsuit), but the scoop neck and color block, it feels stylish.

6. Sofia Flutter Sleeve One Piece, $250: My team loves this one and I really like it, too (hello, ruffle sleeves!). The only problem is that I feel it does not have enough support for me. There are no soft cups or bra support and it isn’t as tight fitting as the others so I feel it wouldn’t keep everything up top in place, but it is SO CUTE. The woven ribbon detail is really special.

7. By The Bay Skimpy One Piece, $128: Again, the cap sleeve and high neck create a sort of wetsuit/lifeguard vibe, but this one has a really cute hole cut out in the back that I love. The bright red adds a bay watch sexiness element, without being too loud about it. The bottom is a bit cheekier than the others but I still feel comfortable in it.

8. The Mesh Diver, $95: This one feels sporty but not too “swim team.” It is also by Summersalt so it is high quality and thick lined, and has soft cups so it is supportive. I like the racerback and mesh detail that adds a stylish element.

9. Kiki One Piece, $135: I love the scoop neck and T-shirt style swimsuits that are very in right now. They are so flattering and look cute worn with cut-off distressed shorts. The only issue I have with this suit is I wish it came in more fun colors and I also really would love if the pocket details weren’t just details and actually functioning pockets.

10. Doss Demi Underwire One Piece Swimsuit, $240: Brian really likes this one and I do too, but the underwire pushes up the ladies in a way that could cause a slip at any moment, plus the little cut-out, though cute, does make me feel too exposed. I don’t feel completely comfortable in it because it doesn’t fit perfectly up top, but I do like the overall shape and the floral pattern.

11. Lipsi One Piece, $228: Here is another underwire one piece, but this one still doesn’t work cup-size for me and is kinda uncomfortable. So many of the others really are more flattering.

So, there you have it. These are the swimsuits I will be considering keeping, but as promised, I wanted to share my thoughts and process about this post. When I first decided to do this, I had tried on a bunch of suits in my room by myself in front of my mirror and felt good in them. I told my team, “sure I’ll shoot them on my body, no problem.” Then the day of the shoot I was on my period, felt bloated, and as I looked at the photos on the camera screen I said “nope. Not going to do this.” All I saw were the fat pockets in my armpits and the slight bulge outside my thighs (things that I’m sure only I notice). But then I asked myself why? WHY would I be ashamed. I’m healthy and strong, and those are the words we use in our house to teach our children to use (we NEVER use “skinny” or “perfect”). But I fell victim to the visual story/lie that I have been told my entire life: that of Photoshop and retouching and perfect lighting. I don’t really have any shame or embarrassment in any other aspect of my life, so why would I let the least interesting part of me, my looks and physicality, dictate how I feel about myself in photos and, more importantly, shift this story??

It seems no matter what size you are (be that “too skinny” or “not skinny enough”), no one is safe from the unrealistic, unattainable standards we see perpetuated in advertising and fashion every single day. Don’t get me wrong, the industry has come a very long way, and it is refreshing to see the shifts towards REAL body positivity and inclusivity, but we have a long way to go. I muse with my friends all the time that hopefully someday there won’t be a “modeling” industry. It seems so dinosaur and archaic that we allow one version of the female body show us how we should all look. It is so dated and last century. High fashion can do what they want, but it seems to me that designing clothes for just one small one size seems SO cheap and easy. I wish brands would do the harder job of dressing bodies in all shapes and sizes, celebrating healthiness, and caring about happiness.

I joked with our photographer, Veronica, “have you ever shot for Sports Illustrated, because get your olive oil brush ready.” I’ll be honest trying on 10 swimsuits was embarrassing to shoot and even more-so to “OK” the photos that I liked.

Hilariously as I’ve been writing this post and reflecting (per usual) I see the irony that someone who is a size 4-6, has both hair and lash extensions, and a spray tan isn’t exactly the beacon of “realness”. We all struggle with our own vanity issues and frankly its hard to to de-learn years of mass-media (which, no surprise, is often driven by men) telling us we have “too many” curves or “not enough.” So, hopefully, posting un-retouched photos of myself online is step one in the right direction. That’s not to say that I think doing things that make YOU feel good about yourself are wrong (like putting on make-up or getting a spray tan). But we should be aware of why we’re doing those things, and making sure we’re doing them because WE like the way they make us feel and look, not because we’re trying to live up to some pretty unrealistic body standards.

Fun fact: all companies have “fit models” which means models that are in every size they offer their clothes in (which frankly is often embarrassingly non-inclusive) to ensure that indeed those sizes will fit. They have size 8, 10, 12 (and often more) fit models AND YET MANY STILL ONLY SHOOT SIZE 2. It’s the easiest solution EVER to simply shoot their clothing in every size. I realize this will cost more resources, but scale it down, don’t bother with photoshopping or retouching. Just shoot like we did in one hour with a cannon. It’s not that hard to be real. It’s actually pretty easy.

Now looking at this post in its final form, it shouldn’t have been that hard, and I shouldn’t have been that hard on myself. When I’m being healthy I feel good and feel that I look good. I’m not embarrassed. I understand I’m considered small, so if I’m “small” and I feel this aggressively self-critical then how the heck does the industry make other people feel?

I can’t wait until the status quo catches up with this generation that has so much body pride, that promotes body positivity and knows that the picture of one size that every woman should aspire to will be absolute thing of the past. Feeling healthy is what should we should all strive for. To be pressured to look and feel happy while comparing yourself to the ubiquity of perfection is absolutely demoralizing. I believe we can change that. I want to start by buying from companies that don’t photograph one size. If I see a company hiring real women of all shapes, colors, sizes, and ages to model their clothes and suits (which more and more are doing) I want to buy their product. I’m done with the bikini industrial model. Hopefully, you are, too.

***Photography by Veronica Crawford

**The “Bikini Industrial Complex” was coined by Emily Nagoski + Amelia Nagoski. I’ve only listened to a podcast about it, but i hear the ted talk is GREAT.

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Published on July 13, 2019 03:00

Active & Modest Swimsuits That Make Me Feel Good (Plus, My Thoughts On The Bikini Industrial Complex)