On My Mind: Cowboy Boots and Storage Beds

This is the storage bed I really wanted but I could not justify the price considering it’s going in our guest bedroom.

I also loved the puffy fullness of this headboard, but again the price just wasn’t quite right.

When I was initially sifting through Wayfair this storage bed was sold-out in the white colorway. And it was not on sale. Now it’s 55 percent off, bringing the price down to under $400.

I’d literally never heard of Daals, but the product images looked exactly like what I’d been hunting for: an almost sculptural bouclé headboard. The reviews seemed promising, so I took a chance during the brand’s Labor Day sale. You should be warned that it was not the easiest to put together. I realized that with West Elm, you’re actually paying for the white-glove delivery and breezy assembly, which almost makes it worth it. We assembled the Daals in about three hours, with the bigger frame pieces being the most challenging to screw together. It was almost like the fabric was getting in the way of the holes. Once we had passed those steps, it was relatively smooth sailing. The bed frame now holds boxes of books, vacuum-sealed pillows and linens, a few empty duffel bags, and more. The best part is that the bedscape still looks really nice while hiding away all that disarray beneath.

Another item for our new home is this stone drying pad. We typically just use dish clothes, but the smaller version wasrecommended by professional home organizer Diane Lowy. I opted for the larger one since we have the counter space and snagged it for under $100 during the Container Store’s recent fall savings event.

For our living room, we also bought asoundbar. It’s been on our list for quite a long time now and after we upgraded to an 85-inch Sony TV, we knew we wanted more of that home-theater experience. The Sonos Beam has been a true game-changer. We just finishedAlien: Earthand right now we’re watching HBO’sTask.

For part of undergrad, I attended Texas Christian University — it’s where my college running career began — so I’ve always had a love forcowboy boots. Over the weekend, I headed back to the Lone Star state for my best friend and former teammate’s fifth wedding anniversary. The theme was Fort Worth chic, so I brought my Tecovas.

I also have my eye on the Loretta, which have a similar snip toe, but are taller than the Annie.

My friends’ gathering was at Terry Black’s Barbecue on West 7th Street, which happens to be the newest location offering the signature Central Texas barbecue, from sliced brisket to pork ribs, and mac and cheese. The original barbecue sauce would make a nice stocking stuffer for my dad this Christmas.

In November, I’m going to Paris and Stockholm and I’ve been looking for waterproof walking shoes since it’s likely going to be cold and rainy. Our sleep writer Amelia Jerden dropped these Sorel clogs into our team Slack channel, and I’ve been obsessing over the new black-with-white-trim colorway ever since. They remind me of the mules from theSorel and Proenza Schouler collab(which I also own) but for much less.

I ran out of myregular daily moisturizerfrom Prequel, so I decided to try this one from Innbeauty. It makes my skin super glowy and dewy, and I love that it contains peptides and bio-retinol (a plant-derived alternative to retinol that is supposed to be less irritating) to boost firmness and smooth skin texture. I haven’t been using it for long enough to see any long-term results, but I appreciate how my complexion looks instantly brighter when I use it.