The Link Up: Two “New” RomComs Emily Watched With Birdie, Jess’ Easy Scar Treatment, And 4 Proudcts To Make Your Meals Taste Even Better

Happy Sunday, Happy Easter, And Happy Belated Passover to those who celebrate! Emily was on an extremely exciting shoot this week in Southern California that we can’t wait to tell you all about and we LOVED getting to introduce you to our first design coaching clients, Chrissy and Peter (intro here and design plan post here). So a full week it was and we hope yours was good too. Now it’s time to link!

This week’s house tour is an incredibly fun yet chic sunroom-turned-kitchen that was designed with the owner’s cats in mind…yes, their cats. The first consideration was choosing a color palette that the cats could see (blues and greens) and the creation of a custom cat tree. But honestly, the design is so fun that aside from the cat tree you wouldn’t know they were so considered. Go check it out here!

From Emily: Two unexpectedly cute movies to watch with your tween this weekend. Elliot (9) and I had a girls’ night last weekend and I have successfully trained her to love teen rom-coms/coming-of-age movies (my master plan is clearly working). But y’all, we’ve seen ALL OF THEM, but somehow hadn’t seen these two. We watched Work It and Tall Girl, both of which had Sabrina Carpenter in without us even knowing! Both were so cute and fun (Work It is a dance movie, thus combining a lot of my favorite themes) and Tall Girl has some great messaging around being different, loving ourselves, and bullying. Unlike Kissing Booth (which I love, but admittedly has some poor messaging) these two felt really good to watch together (Work it is TV-14 and I have no idea why, it was very tame in every way). Obviously, if you haven’t watched To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before that is a solid go-to for us. But it’s nice to have some new movies to add to our spa night repertoire.

From Caitlin: This interview with Yoni Appelbaum on how moving is correlated with economic mobility is REALLY interesting (I promise!). As a Delaware native who jumped ship at 17 in favor of greener pastures (4 years in Boston followed by nearly 13 years in LA!), this portion really spoke to me: “People used to move toward opportunity. We’ve driven the housing costs up so high that instead of moving toward opportunity, Americans now move toward cheaper housing, if they move at all.” I’ve witnessed this shift firsthand – my 2012 move to LA would not be fiscally possible for me today, and my only dreams of buying now involve me moving to a place with fewer opportunities. I enjoyed the interview so much that I grabbed Yoni’s newest book, Stuck. Highly recommended for my fellow policy wonks!!

Also from Caitlin: If you’re looking for a sneak peek into the future, might I suggest AI-2027.com? It’s the first release from the AI Futures Project, a nonprofit org helmed by Daniel Kokotajlo. (I’ve been following Daniel for years – he’s an OpenAI whistleblower who worked as a governance researcher on scenario planning.) 5 years ago, he published some thoughts on what 2026 might look like – and man, he nailed it. (He was earning that OpenAI paycheck!!!) It feels like most of my friends and family haven’t grokked the radical impact AI is about to have on the economy – it’s going to be bigger than the industrial revolution, and it’s about to happen overnight – so this is a great, thorough readable introduction to the next few years. Settle in for a nice Sunday scary!

From Jess: If you read last week’s Link Up then you know I had an emergency surgery for an ovarian torsion. One of my least favorite days to date but luckily the incisions were pretty small (and most importantly everything was benign!). But to help minimize the appearance of the scars, my surgeon recommended these Mederma Medical Grade Silicone Scar Sheets. I think they are available at places like CVS and Walgreens if you want to avoid shopping online. Anyway, I just started using them and they are so easy. Of course, I haven’t seen any big results yet since it’s only been a couple of days but they are reusable, washable, and can last up to 21 days! They are good for burns and old scars too apparently. I didn’t know they existed before I was told about them and thought this info could be helpful to some of you too<3

Also From Jess: Now, I know this is so location-specific, but if you find yourself in Orange County looking for a splurgier place for brunch (they do dinner too) may I suggest the Restoration Hardware Ocean Grill at Fashion Island. It was my best friend of 25 years’ birthday and I really wanted to take her somewhere special that she hadn’t gone before. And while taking her to a restaurant at a mall wasn’t my dream scenario, the pictures looked too pretty to pass up. Also, it’s on the top floor with an ocean view so you don’t feel like you are at a mall at all. Let me just say that it was as beautiful as I hoped it would be, the service was exceptional (thanks, Hannah!), and the food was delicious. I’ll be honest, I got a little nervous when I saw the menu because it was simple, but everything was executed perfectly with so much flavor (it’s a bit of a splurge but get the mini lobster rolls with caviar). Oh, and the store itself is also stunning:)

From Arlyn: Psst…got undereye circles you’re ::cough cough:: tired of? I just started using this new color corrector from Tarte, and it makes SUCH a big difference for my toddler-induced dark circles. I had to get used to the application because at first, I just caked it on and it wasn’t a good look, but once I figured out how best to apply it and with the right brush (I use this one), it’s been so great. I need to find a setting powder because it’s a bit sticky and does crease a little without it, but in general, I’ll take running my fingers along the underside of my eye to smooth things out a few times a day then looking like I’m running on a perpetual 4 hours of sleep a night. As the name suggests, it’s a color corrector, NOT a concealer, so it’s going to have a bit more of a red undertone to balance the blues of eye circles, so you’ll want to add your foundation or any skin tints you typically use on top for the full effect.

From Mallory: I found the PERFECT transitional jacket – or shacket if you will – it’s this guy and let me explain. I’m the kinda gal who needs to always bring a jacket “just in case” and this one is the one I reach for always. Plus, it’s currently on SALE for $100 off. The fit is amazing, it’s crazy soft and it’s super high quality and goes with everything. Note it’s lighter than your average leather jacket (which I like because I don’t love how constricting leather jackets can be) and it’s a super classic silhouette so you don’t have to worry about it going out of style. I could not recommend this guy more!

From Gretchen: Almost a year ago now, Em hosted an event at Rejuvenation with the Brownstone Boys to promote their book, For The Love Of Renovating, and like with any good social event, there was of course, a drink station. This was how I first became acquainted with Straightaway Cocktails. They’re an alcoholic beverage company actually based out of Portland, but are seemingly popping up everywhere. The packaging is so cute that I’m tempted to keep them out on my counter and call it decor, plus the drinks themselves are simply delicious. Well, this week when I flew back to Portland, I noticed they had these beautiful boozy cans offered on the plane! I snagged the espresso martini one and it might just be my new go-to flavor (the margarita in a can being my original fav). Now be careful, because these drinks pack a PUNCH! The espresso martini is something like 20% ABV and the old fashioned (another big winner on the flavor front) is double that! But if you’re looking for a big buzz packaged up in a cute little can, then maybe give this a shot! (Pun intended)

From Marlee: I’m a big major huge foodie <3 (did any PDX locals partake in Pizza Week last week?!) and I can’t take a trip to the grocery store without buying a least one new fun and/or intriguing goodie to try:) With that said I would love to share some consumable goods that I’ve been enjoying recently. Some of these are local to Portland (look for them at New Seasons) but if you’re not in the area you can order them all on various websites! Enjoy!

Oregon Seaweed Chili Crisp: the best chili crisp I’ve ever had. I also LOVE the Fly By Jing Chili Crisp, but this one is great because it’s pretty mild so you can pile it on and get a ton of flavor without overdoing it on the spice. Put it on rice bowls, toast, sandwiches, EVERYTHING! The hint of seaweed is incredible and not overpowering at all.

Tanglewood Chai: the BEST chai concentrate – it’s sweet (but not too sweet) and has the perfect amount of spice that leaves a little burn in your throat. I just drink over ice with oat milk (1:1 ratio) but on their website, they recommend putting a little splash in your oatmeal (GENIUS) or using it while baking.

Momofuku Spicy & Tingly Salt: a large sprinkling of this plus a little oil and honey makes the best salmon rub of all time. I received a pack of these as a gift two Christmases ago and I’m finally down to the last couple of sprinkles:( The tingly one is my fave!

Grillo’s Pickle de Gallo: I recently went to a birthday party where the host supplied hot dogs and it was everyone else’s job to bring a topping – I picked this up on the way and it was soooo yummy. I only had the chance to try it on a hot dog but this would be so good on sandwiches or as a dip for chips.

Thanks for reading and you bet we have a fun reveal for you tomorrow. xx

Opening Image Credits: Photo by Kaitlin Green | From: A One Day Makeover For My Friend – A Teen Basement With Colorful Gallery Wall Using What They Already Had

The post The Link Up: Two “New” RomComs Emily Watched With Birdie, Jess’ Easy Scar Treatment, And 4 Proudcts To Make Your Meals Taste Even Better appeared first on Emily Henderson.