11 Things That Delighted Us Last Week: From Pink Gap Sweatsuits to Vintage-Looking Ikea

After the Hate Reads newsletter published some strong words against pull-on pants, Strategist writer Brenley Goertzen knew it was time for a rebuttal: “We simply won’t have that,” she writes, defending the style. Among the several nice-looking pull-on styles she rounded up are these barrel-y pants that editors Winnie Yang and Sam Daly wear multiple times a week. Yang, a longtime Le Bon Shoppe enthusiast, adds, “I like the capacious pockets and the comfortable barrel shape that works well for my short legs.”

When it comes to doing her laundry, actor Lily Rabe, a self-proclaimed “big scent person,” doubles down on scent. That means that after washing her clothes with her favorite nontoxic laundry detergent from L’avant, she puts this laundry oil on her dryer balls for some extra freshness. “I love getting into bed and smelling the scent on the sheets,” she says.

In the latest dispatch from the Strategist-staff Slack channel, there’s exciting news for kids’-section enthusiasts: “There are a lot of things — like pencil cases, cosmetic pouches, and so-called lunchboxes — that aren’t technically going-out bags but would make nice going-out bags all the same,” reports our writer Ambar Pardilla. One such example: this banana-shaped pencil case that Pardilla says will be “the conversation-starter at every dinner party.”

[Editor’s note: This banana pouch is currently out of stock.]

“I realize, at this stage in my life, that finding time to get a group of people together in an organized way is really hard,” says Georgia Freedman, a mom and author of the just-released cookbook Snacking Dinners. Her solution? An open-house-style mom’s-night-in party with an assortment of snacks to graze on. The snack of honor — jammy eggs made more special by the egg-pricing situation — live on a cake pedestal rather than your average serving vessel. “The base is small so it doesn’t take up much space,” she adds.

“On March 24, the Strategist staff chat lit up with news: The patent on Skinceuticals C E Ferulic — our top pick for vitamin-C serums — had run out,” reports our writer Tembe Denton-Hurst. While it’s still unclear exactly when or which brands will dupe the formula, one thing’s for certain: Skinceuticals’ serum actually works, with dermatologists and beauty editors long “insisting that the $180 price tag was a fair price for what you got: glowy, blemish-free skin,” writes Denton-Hurst. In fact, she says, “When I first started out as a beauty writer it was often explained to me as the one sample you never give away.”

Happening just three times a year, Le Creuset’s Factory to Table event is the only time to get the brand’s coveted mystery box, a $50 bundle that contains at least $350 worth of items. And while the so-called “Pot Heads” will go crazy for a Dutch oven, the real prizes are the rarer pieces, like these pumpkin-shaped cocottes that gathered a crowd in the parking lot closest to the convention center. There, Vulture news blogger Alejandra Gularte reported live from Le Creuchella, “a place to trade whatever you get in your box (or buy at the sale) that you don’t want.”

According to Strategist junior writer Bella Druckman a wall clock can either be “practical and easy to read” or “function more like a hanging piece of wall art.” This veggie-studded one might just be both. “I imagine it’ll look nice alongside an artichoke cocotte and Anastasia Inciardi Dutch oven, too,” she adds.

For our “Strategist Brain” series, we heard from our deals writer Sam Daly who — after picking up some pink Puma Speedcats and these blue clogs — realizes she’s become a pastel-shoe person. “I wear a lot of pink, blue, and white, so both pairs of shoes have been very easy to style,” she told us. As of late, she’s been turning to her aforementioned off-white-colored Le Bon Shoppe Arc Pants in particular.

For “Don’t Dilly Dally,” we rounded up a range of newly released products, including Bon Iver’s new coffee, Coachella-branded Loop earplugs, and Ikea’s Stockholm Collection, which is inspired by classic Scandinavian modern design. “The latest drop includes this oak coffee table that could easily pass for vintage,” says Strategist writer Katherine Gillespie.

“As a chocolate lover, I wait for this time of year,” says inventor and CleanBoss co-founder and CEO Joy Mangano who stocks up on these dark chocolate Cadbury eggs every Easter. “It is the dark chocolate and the crunch on the outside — and it’s just a little bit — so if you have a few, it satisfies,” she says. “If you have a passion for chocolate, you know what I mean.”