Weekend Reads for the End of June

Weekend Reads

Postal Service would restrict mail-in voting under Trump proposal, chief says. (Politico)

Where Billionaires Summer, a Gardener Died in the Snow. (New York Times – gift link)

Louisiana man becomes first in region functionally cured of sickle cell disease. (The Guardian)

Incoming female students at US Naval Academy must cut hair below chin. (Navy Times)

An Open Letter to the Dead Duck Seen Floating in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. (McSweeney's)

I wish I'd never seen these ads. (Fritinancy via Substack)

What 1980s novelty Garfield phones tell us about our rampant consumerism. (It's Nice That)

TikTok Shop Is The New TJ Maxx. (Camille Moore via Substack)

The Vegans Bought a Cattle Ranch. (Alta)

Balenciaga Just Announced a Partnership With Substack. (Hypebae)

Olivia Rodrigo’s Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival Sells Out in 30 Minutes. (Rolling Stone)

Do Not Give In To The Temptation of Respectability. (Ijeoma Oluo: Behind the Book via Substack)

My sister is considering making a stair runner from two of these. There are folks who have; this blog post and this TikTok are inspiring me too. I'm vibing on this one…

And for my local yokels, Hamilton is coming back to D.C. and will be at Broadway at the National (so no other theater drama). Get tickets soon, they will sell out!

Style Inspo & Sale Alert

After so many seasons of beige, I am thrilled to see so much color this summer. And it's not a specific color; you'll find pastels, neons, brights, primaries, muted tones, and more.

keychain | glasses holder | caviar mirror | bead necklace | fish earrings | flip flops | pouch bag | lipcolor | swimsuit | battery pack | wallet | scarf | tank | sunscreen | water bottle | tote | bracelet | canvas sneakers | sunglasses | dangle earrings | hair clip | phone case | blue bag | sweater | lip balm | linen pants

While black has been a favorite go-to neutral to pair with color, this year I encourage you to try chocolate brown. It's a big trend, and I find it really looks beautiful with all these brights!

wide leg pants | sleeveless polo | shorts | tank | sandals | sundress | sneakers | silk dress | bag | ankle pants

Sale Alert

The Athleta Semi-Annual Sale is on with up to 60% off. I know y'all love Athleta as much as I do; if you know the brand and the fit this is a good sale to stock up. Shop fast, items sell out quickly. I grabbed another pair of these shorts, this top (love how it doesn't ride up), and these pants (which are truly some of the best travel pants).

The SPANX End of Season sale has been extended to June 30th. This is the link to the items part of it, which are up to 50% off. AirEssentials, intimates, swim, jeans, work-appropriate pieces, and much more. It includes these pants which I own and are in my recent capsule wardrobe! If in doubt, size up (the L juuuust fits me).

If you read the updated Soludos espadrilles review and were on the fence regarding buying a pair of Dali espadrilles from Soludos, this weekend may push you over. Right now get 1 pair for $79, 2 pairs for $120, or 3 pairs for $150 (mix and match colors + styles). Also, code ALISON20 gets you 20% off at Soludos though I can't guarantee the code will work on this promotion.

The M.M.LaFleur 4th of July Sale launched early; at this link save up to 70% on select styles. It includes new styles, OrigamiTech, plenty of dresses, a lot of the cool new prints, denim, and more. I am obsessed with this shirt, which I had in my post on how to style Mary Jane flats. I can't decide which color to get!

L'Agence is having its Summer Sale with up to 50% off select styles at this link. L'Agence is a label I mainly shop during sales as it's not cheap, but it is beautiful and quality. I love this silk blouse and the matching pants!

Lele Sadoughi, a favorite jewelry brand of mine, is having a Sunglasses Sale. Buy One, Get One Free on all full-priced sunglasses. Use code BOGOSUNGLASSES. I need prescription sunglasses, but if I didn't I'd totally be getting these and these.

The M.Gemi Semi Annual Sale is on. Twice a year, the Semi-Annual Sale offers a chance to snap up retiring styles and limited-edition colors at up to 60% off. It includes a lot of beautiful flat sandals to enjoy now and next summer too. How awesome are these cow print clogs?

Banana Republic has 60% off sale styles through 7/8, plus an extra 20% off sale styles. No surprise, I dig this striped top. And how pretty is this dress, and this dress!

Tommy Bahama started its End of Season Sale yesterday and the sale goes through July 26th or when items sell out. Tommy Bahama really impresses me with quality; it is my favorite linen (I have these shorts and this shirt; the pants are at the tailor to make the right length for my 5'3″ self). I also consider these shorts to be some of the best shorts for grown women. From the sale, I really like this rashguard (here's the matching one-piece suit also on sale). I think this bag is adorable and this pleated skort is on trend and a great price.

Hear/See/Read

The early 2010s were a time of raw oversharing It Happened to Me essays about the things we weren't supposed to discuss. Abortions and one night stands and cysts in nether regions and addictions and hoarding and danger. It was liberating, empowering, kinda gross, and totally engrossing. It was the perfect period in time for Lena Dunham, who made an art of oversharing. Her show Girls was about that time, a time that so many felt was relatable.

It wasn't relatable to me. When Girls came out, I was a mother of a toddler, living in suburbia, working in Corporate America, wearing blazers and Nine West pumps. I felt I was supposed to relate to Girls and Dunham, likely because I worked with many women a few years my junior, and I was part of the blogosphere where most of my peers were a decade younger.

So I know a lot about Lena Dunham, though I never really cared too much. When she was in the news, I breezed over the articles and moved on just as I do with many other celebs that are hot in pop culture but not relevant to my life (hello, Gwyneth Paltrow). When her first book came out, I had no desire to read it, no desire to decide for myself if the negative press was right or wrong. But when Dunham's second memoir, Famesick came out this year, it was hard to escape the discussion.

Dunham was everywhere this year. Substack, late night television, fashion news, NPR, the New York Times, every talk show and every podcast. And people whose taste I trusted said this book was amazing. So I got on the Libby waiting list for the audiobook and after enough weeks that I forgot about it, I was notified it was available.

If you follow me on Instagram Stories, you know I didn't like Famesick, but I couldn't quit it. Like the 2010s, Famesick was an oversharing navel-gazing pretentious It Happened to Me, but with more wealth and famous names. Dunham read it with her signature monotone voice, as she dealt with chronic illness and pain, overworking, oversharing, falling apart, and trying to put herself back again.

I think, yet again, I am just too old for Lena Dunham. Because I read Famesick and I just kept thinking her parents did her a major disservice while also feeling for them. I felt for Jack Antonoff, and Dunham's brother, and Jenni Konner, and Bruce Springsteen. I sympathized with what Dunham has experienced with her health and the medical community; doctors did her dirty again and again. But Dunham sapped the people around her dry and was offended when they couldn't give her more.

It was hard when she'd mention her age, and I realized it was the age I was when I watched Girls. When I was forced into adulthood, adult decisions, really hard situations regarding health and relationships and finances. It fucking sucks when your body betrays you and no one understands how terrible it is, but it's an explanation, not an excuse for one's actions. I finished the book and still don't think Dunham realizes how much chaos and pain she has caused those closest in her life. Them, and Bruce Springsteen. Damn, that dude's a saint.

Let's head into positive waters now. Sugar is a show on Apple TV starring Colin Farrell that is two years old but I never heard of until now. It's being promoted because the second season came out. We are only a few episodes into this show, writing this recap I ended up reading some spoilers, but I am still excited to watch another episode.

Colin Farrell is lovely to look at, the show is filmed in a beautiful way, if I hadn't read up on this show I would have no idea how things would pan out. The other characters are also really intriguing. Karl loves it and so do I, and I think even our daughter would enjoy it. If you're feeling that most of your shows have wrapped up for summer, check out the two seasons of Sugar; you won't feel as though it is time wasted.

And finally, we watched Project Hail Mary. It's a movie I wish I saw in the theaters. I hadn't read the book, I know there are differences as I went down a bit of a rabbit hole after watching the film. I loved the film. The ending felt a bit Disney; I hear it doesn't feel that way in the book. It makes me want to read the book. My eyes still struggle to read small text, Audible has an exclusive for the audiobook and I no longer use Audible, my Kindle is on the fritz so not sure when it will happen. But I do recommend the film, it is interesting and beautiful and encouraged some really great discussions between family members.

For Your Entertainment

I'm Gen X, I will forever be a Madonna fan. I am not obsessed, I never was, but I respect the hell out of the woman for her artistic ability, her creativity, her drive, and her longevity. Madonna is back, and for her short film, “Confessions II” (it's not really 15 minutes long, a quarter of it is the ending credits) she brought all her friends and her daughter to join in. It's worth seeing, at least from 6:06 to around 7:15.