heather & olive

 

the laundress no. 723

Checking in on this Thursday with the best laundry detergent I've ever tried. I've been a skeptic of The Laundress for years (mostly due to the price), but my curiosity got the best of me during their recent 20% sale. I scooped up No. 723, the Original, and the Sport detergent to see if it was really worth the hype.

 

Hard to believe that it's been four months since I've checked in around these parts...and how are we halfway through August? Time is flying. Here's what I've been up to as of late:

Spent some moody time at the beach in April.

My sister and brother came to town over Memorial Day weekend and we had a great day in Portland, which culminated in the best dinner at my favorite place: Scales.

Had an amazing trip to Fortland on our legal retreat--cannot wait to do an overnight in one of their yurts.

My mom, sister and I flew to Chicago for a quick weekend in June--we stayed at London House (highly recommend), had an epic meal at Nobu, saw the Obama portraits at the Chicago Art Institute, and despite some tornado warnings and serious downpours, it was a super special, great trip.

In July, my brother and I flew down to Pittsburgh to visit my sister and her husband--we had too much fun, and the I love the city more and more each time I visit.

At the end of July, my sister came up again and we spent a few days in Portland before heading to my parents' house for a week. We had the best meal at Street and Co. (their clam pasta cannot be beat).

Olive turned 10, and spent a lot of time doing this.

And that's pretty much it--work has been busy and challenging but great. I had been going into the office a couple of days a week but with the Delta variant raging, I'm back to working from home, which Olive enjoys. I bailed on my 10 mile race that was originally scheduled for the spring of 2020--it was rescheduled to September 0f 2021 and training had not been going well. (I get overheated in the most mild conditions so throwing race training into the mix during a hot and humid summer was less than ideal). Hopefully postponing to April 2022 will be better. I'm also experimenting with a gluten free diet thanks to an esophageal issue that I finally went to the doctor about. As a wheat enthusiast, this has been a major blow to my pasta and bread loving lifestyle...but I suppose health = wealth so I'm going with it.

   

 

With swim season right around corner, this year I decided to be proactive. I usually wait to start looking for suits until we're in the throes of summer and by that point my size is sold out and I'm wearing the same sad suit of summers past. But not this year! I recently bought J.Crew's long-torso ruched femme one-piece (what a name) and it is absolute perfection. I dig the ruching, the long torso fits perfectly (no wedgies here) and it's also super classic and chic. 

If you're looking for the perfect one piece, this one checks all of the boxes.

 

 

It's no secret that my condo is rather small--it's definitely a one-person, one-dog space. Thanks to the super high ceilings, it doesn't feel that tiny, but the appliances in the kitchen are...not big--there's definitely no room for a french door giant fridge, which is actually fine because it makes me a little more mindful when I shop for groceries. When I do my upgrades, I'm going to be getting another small fridge (leaning toward the SMEG) but that means no ice maker, and I'm a lady who requires her beverages to be ice cold. In the past I've tried a variety of ice trays, but I recently picked up the lekue ice box which has become a total game changer. It saves so much space vs. the hodgepodge of silicone trays I was using before, and I love that the cubes are on the smaller side so they easily fit in my water bottles.

Although this is probably only of interest to the population of people who live sans automatic ice maker, I highly recommend the lekue ice box. 

 

I spent the weekend doing the usual (aka nothing), but I've got a serious itch to do a refresh in my condo. I'm already planning on replacing my kitchen appliances at some point and I also want to add a washer and dryer to my unit (there's laundry in my building's basement but it's kind of scary and I usually go to the laundromat that's two blocks away--I know, I lead a very glamorous life).

This weekend, I started small(ish)by ordering new bedding from West Elm--they were having a sale but it was still quite the investment. I bought a new set of their Belgian Flax Linen sheets and also got their European Flax Linen Linework Quilt and Shams. I'm excited for a more luxurious bedtime (and I seriously need a new mattress but that's a problem for another day). Another small change I'm planning is to add new hardware to my kitchen cabinets--I have my eye on the Massey collection from Rejuvenation...one thing at a time. 

Looking forward to a short work week--happy Tuesday!