Hello darlings,
Mr. DitL and I just returned from the most fabulous adventure in Paris! It was a big family trip – 11 people in total, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the beautiful Parisian chaos.
We admired art at Musée de l’Orangerie and Musée d’Orsay, took in history at Versailles and Musée Carnavalet, enjoyed nightlife at Cabaret Paradis Latin and Le Duc des Lombards, oohed and aahed over stained glass at Notre Dame and Saint Chappelle, strolled along the Seine and the Champs-Élysées, and ate everything, everywhere, all of the time.
I’m exhausted, happy, and have mountains of laundry to do. Keep an eye on my Instagram, where I’ll be sharing some more photos and giving some Parisian gluten free pastry and jewelry shopping recs.
I hope that you are all having a lovely spring so far! We returned home to our both our cherry and pear trees blooming, which was a beautiful (if sneeze-inducing) welcome home.
xoxo,
Becky
What I’m reading
The Spellshop Series by Sarah Beth Durst: (Bookshop.org | Amazon).
My nervous system has been on high alert for much of 2026 and these beautiful, gentle, enthralling, cozy fantasy books were exactly what the doctor would have ordered if doctors prescribed books. A huge thank you to whichever one of you recommended these to me (I’m sorry I forgot who it was!)
There are two books in The Spellshop series so far, and both are centered around women who are trying to make new lives for themselves after fleeing the busy imperial city where they’ve both been living and working for all of their adult lives after the empire they lived in fell to a violent revolution. (The only on-page depiction of the violence is when the main character in The Spellshop realizes the library where she works is on fire and flees.)
Each book follows one of these two women as they find a new home and learn who they are outside of the confining role that their past had trapped them in. One starts a Spell Shop, leaning magic from the books she salvaged from the imperial library, and the other finds herself as one of the caretakers of an enchanted greenhouse.
Both stories have strong themes of found family, self-reinvention, and community care with a little bit of sweet love story on the side. Expect whimsical magic, vivid side characters, and vivid, beautiful, creative world-building.
These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean: (Bookshop.org | Amazon).
A contemporary story by one of my all-time favorite Historical Romance novelists, Sarah MacLean, These Summer Storms is about a woman returning home after the death of her father. We’re introduced first to the main character’s grief and confusion, with hints about her complicated relationship with her family – and we gradually learn more and more about the complex, incredibly wealthy Storm family as we see them reeling after the sudden loss of their tech mogul pater familias.
I loved this book. As soon as I thought I had a handle on where the story was going, a man with a briefcase appeared with a twist: assignments that each member of the family must complete to earn their share of their massive inheritance.
If you like reading about rich families with dark secrets, this is a steller example of the genre – with complicated, interesting characters, hard-to-guess secrets, and (of course) a spicy love story. There’s even a fun Easter egg for readers of MacLean’s historicals.
Want to see more fiction I’m loving? Click here.
Internets
Mixed metal is set to define 2026 jewellery trends: this report highlights that minimalism is fading as sculptural, mixed-metal and expressive styles are on the rise.
Lab-Grown Diamonds Take Command of the Engagement Ring Market. Did you know that lab grown diamonds now account for 61% of new engagement rings?
And another trend article: Pinterest Predicts 2026’s Top Trends, from JCK.
High-Flying Geology: The development and refinement of aerial photography in the World Wars transformed the discipline of geology.
Bodkins, pearl earrings and precious badges, anyone? This is how to buy Tudor jewels, according to The London Times.
Prehistoric jewellery has cosmic origins: A study of prehistoric Jewellery from the Częstochowa Museum collection has revealed meteoric iron in three bracelets.
Marie Curie worked with radioactive material with her bare hands. More than 100 years after her groundbreaking work, Sophie Hardach travels to Paris to trace the lingering radioactive fingerprints she left behind.
Book images via UnSplash. This post contains affiliate links.
