The Link Up: Em’s New Romance Novel She LOVED, Mallory’s Affordable Evening Wear Line Rec, And The Primer-Highlighter That’s ACTUALLY Worth The Internet Hype

Hi everyone and welcome to this week’s link up!! The EHD team was insanely lucky this past week and got to go on a three day team retreat up in Northern California (Grass Valley and Nevada City to be exact). You may have caught it on Em’s stories. We are going to do a whole post about it but we want to say a HUGE thank you to Holbrooke Hotel and The National Exchange Hotel for making our trip unforgettable. If you are in need of a special getaway these are two incredible options. Now, let’s jump on into the link up!

This week’s home tour is a STUNNING property in upstate New York designed by the extremely talented (and owner of lifestyle concept store Sincerely, Tommy) Kai Avent-deLeon.

Some News! Our EHD Mentee, Key’s show “Rental Redo” has been picked up for a full season! And even better news – they’re casting!! If you’re a renter interested in getting a home upgrade, apply here!

From Emily: We went on a team retreat last week and I was so excited to pull out 2 new fashion pieces I had been excited to wear (and they’re great for going back to the office). First, this work jacket/shirt from Alex Mill could not be cuter & I love that the pockets are big enough for a phone. Next up this boxy button-down from Everlane has my ideal silhouette & I love how comfy it is.

Also From Emily: A super sweet rom-com book that helped me manage my travel anxiety this week (that I read over my 3-day work retreat). The Soulmate Equation (here to order from an independent bookstore and here for your Kindle) is the perfect travel read – light, easy, sweet, hard to put down clever, and comforting.

Also Also From Emily: After I was done with that book I dug into this month’s Atlantic Magazine (Huge fan over here, HUGE) and read this article about how social media has really made us all dumber (not to mention threatened democracy, quelled healthy dissent out of fear, and making us all have anxiety!). There is a lot of new data and even some solutions. It’s a long, but a good read (that can also be listened to).

From Mallory: I went to a fancy event recently and needed another fancy dress but didn’t want to spend a ton of cheddar. I found a Nordstrom gift card I had from Christmas and went a browsing. I was so stoked to come across this beauty – it looks so pretty in person and I felt like the sparkly life of the party! This brand Nightway has a ton of really pretty dresses (and for $100 price range). I was super impressed with them! If you’re going to a wedding or formal event soon, check them or Lulus out for affordable (but still decent quality) dresses!

From Caitlin: IT’S (ALMOST) SHORTS SEASON, which means it’s time for my annual celebration of Madewell’s pull-on shorts. Arlyn introduced these to me when I first started at EHD back in 2019 and I have never looked back!!! They’re under $40 (though you can often snag them for 20% off during sales – I think there should be one this weekend, too), they don’t ride up, and they’re just SO freakin’ comfortable without looking sloppy. I have black and olive, but I am loving the two other colors they rolled out this year!! (And if you REALLY have shorts on the brain, UO is offering 25% off all their shorts this weekend – lots of really great wide-leg options, like these.)

Also From Caitlin: May be a little late on this one, but I’m OBSESSED with this long read about a former US intelligence officer who pulled off the biggest heist of classified intel in American history, made plans to sell the aforementioned documents to other countries for 13 million bucks, and whose entire plot was undone by a TYPO. Make sure to set aside some googling time afterward because you will ABSOLUTELY wanna dig up what happened next!!!

From Ryann: Guys, I bought a real bra for the first time in like 5 years. I’ve been wearing bralettes for so long but lately, I’ve wanted a little extra support as gravity keeps working its magic on my ladies if ya know what I mean. I went to Target with very low expectations, found this one, didn’t even try it on in-store, said what the hell, and bought it. I was SHOCKED how well it fits and how comfortable it is. It’s not a push-up and it’s wire-free but still gives me the lift I needed. Oh, and it’s $15 DOLLARS! I have it in black but have ordered it in tan so I can wear it with white tees. 10/10 folks!!!

From Jess: This is one of my current favorite albums, Drama by Rodrigo Amarante. Songs switch between English and Spanish and it’s just beautiful and soothing. I got to see him in concert and it was incredible. HIGHLY RECOMMEND if he’s performing in your area.

Also From Jess: A few weeks ago I said that I had purchased the Ilia The Necessary Eyeshadow Palette to continue my neverending commitment to “my glow”. Let me just tell you this is my most favorite palette EVER. The colors are so pretty, giving you a natural look with a hint of drama. I also bought the travel size of the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter Primer & Highlighter and I really love it. I kept hearing about it and figured the travel size was a safe way to try it. The coverage is light but still evens out my skin tone in the nicest way. If you are curious like I was, I am here to say give it a go! I think it’s worth the hype.

Opening Image Credits: Design by Kai Avent-deLeon | Photo by Chris Mottalini | via Clever

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