This Week’s Practice: Keep Going
Momentum over perfection, a few skirts & healthy recipes you will make on repeat, and new voice recordings!
Hello Style Pantry friends,
Before we dive in, a quick bit of housekeeping:
🎧 new this week: voice recordings
Some of you may know my sister is legally blind—she has Retinitis Pigmentosa—and I’ve been thinking a lot about how to make Style Pantry more accessible. So starting this week, I’m including an audio version of the newsletter. Whether you’re visually impaired, on the go, or just prefer to listen, I hope this helps you enjoy these posts in a new way. Also—this post is a little longer than usual. So if you’re reading via email, make sure to click through using the little (...) at the bottom so you can read the full thing.
👇 Listen to the audio below
This past week, I gave myself a quiet challenge: make one thing every day that felt slightly hard. Just enough effort to shift the energy and spark a little creativity across the board—less procrastinating, more doing. In that spirit, I’m sharing a few of those moments with you here: the scallop dish that made me feel like a chef, and the knife-pleated tennis skirts that tested my patience.
For paid subscribers❤️, I’ve also tucked in a few things I made this week that you’ll want to make on repeat—and bonus, they’re easy to pull together for last-minute, show-stopping dinner parties. I’m also sharing the inspiration behind the long pleated skirt I can’t stop wearing—it’s become my go-to for every kind of gathering.
So I cooked scallops, not to serve but to learn. I made basil oil from my garden herbs, tried a corn velouté I remembered from a chef-y course, and seared the scallops in butter, garlic, and thyme—flipping just once and spooning like I was working a steak. It turned out beautifully, topped with a single pansy from the garden. And even though the basil oil came out too pale (I blanched too long—thanks to my friend Tyler for the tip, mid-crawfish boil), the process felt like a win.
On the sewing front, I worked on knife pleats in perforated nylon—something I had avoided due to their unforgiving nature. I’ve been tweaking the fit and flow, aiming to balance structure with movement. I finished two skirts I really love. I’ll wear at least one to tennis camp this weekend—still deciding which feels the most like me.
All of this, by the way, was an attempt to push back on procrastination. To stop waiting for motivation and instead build it by doing the work. I’ve realized lately that inspiration doesn’t come before the act—it follows it.
And then there’s this cookbook.
I’ve had photos taped up all over my office—dishes I’ve made, ideas I want to share. For a while, I was really leaning into it. But I made the mistake of mentioning the project to someone too soon. They didn’t seem excited. And just like that, I started second-guessing everything🙄.
It reminded me of something I’m still learning: when an idea is new, tender, and still finding its legs... It’s okay to keep it close. You’re not hiding it—you’re protecting its momentum. Sharing too early means inviting opinions, and opinions can cloud your clarity. I’m learning that the hard way. But also—maybe the right way.
So, I’m back to my daily practice. One dish, one sketch, one stitch at a time. Just doing the work. Not waiting.
If you’ve been feeling a little stuck, consider this your nudge. You don’t need a plan. Just pick something. Start. See where it goes.
Inside the subscriber section this week (below the round-up), I’m sharing the healthy dishes that grounded me when I wasn’t in the mood to be healthy. You don’t want to miss this! They will become your go-to and the easiest presentation-worthy dishes for any last minute gathering.
My sister recommended this book, and I’m curious to dig in. The hormone world feels loud and overwhelming lately—I'm hoping this one might help simplify things or at least make it all a little easier to digest.
I’ve been really into black lately—kind of unexpected for the season, but it just feels right. Black maxi skirts (a fav here and all sizes are selling fast) and flowy cotton dresses like this one have been on repeat. This one is especially good, and try this for a more flirty style.
Still deep in my wine kick (thank you, Coursera and MasterClass!). This bottle is officially on my list (thanks to James Suckling)—and this one’s living rent-free on my dream wish list.