🤔 Brainteaser of the day: What breaks but never falls, and what falls but never breaks?
Click here to see the answer.
✅ Today’s Checklist:
📚 This fall’s most anticipated books include a Big Little Lies sequel.
🏡 Google’s new AI agent can fill out the permission slips and plan the meals for your family.
🕯 Six pumpkin spice candles at once is where designers draw the line.
📍 Columbia, Maryland is the best U.S. city for women for the third year in a row.
All righty, I’m upping my millennial wardrobe and getting a little trendier this season. Not too trendy, let’s not go crazy now. At heart I’m an elegant, timeless-pieces girl who likes to dabble in the fun stuff here and there. So working off the trends worth paying attention to this fall, here’s what’s actually on my cold-weather shopping list, all of it cozy and cute.
Fashionista, going out, trendy babygirl
Skirts: Let me start with these corduroy mini skirts from Halara, because I’m so excited about them! I actually bought a pair earlier in the summer to try on the sizing, so I already know they fit me like a dream, and it worked out even better because now they’re on sale. I bought six (don’t judge me) in different colors, for $120 total. They come in a mini and regular length. They’re stretchy with built-in shorts, so you never have to think twice about bending over or a rogue gust of wind. If you’d rather grab a dupe, here’s a similar one on Amazon.
Jeans: I’m loving these Abercrombie curve-love wide-leg jeans. They’re labeled “low-rise, ultra-loose,” but as a wide-hip girly, all I can say is they fit well and go with basically everything else on this list.
Tops: Digging a long cardigan, a chunky cable knit sweater, and a gold choker to make any throw-on outfit feel a little more intentional. A good pair of boots grounds all of it.
But the one I’m truly obsessed with is this long scalloped cardigan. It’s trendy enough to feel current while still being timeless and honestly a little sexy, and you can wear it so many ways. For a night out, I throw it over a lace bra or a lace-type top and call it an outfit.
I’ve also been needing a jacket that isn’t my leather one or a long trench, and this suede bomber is the perfect fit.
For work, chocolate brown is very in this fall, and I love this chocolate brown blouse for a work event or a regular day at the office. And to round it all out, some solid basic knits to layer under everything.
Cozy, lazy, cuddly
Now the soft stuff. This two-piece lounge set is cute enough to run errands in but perfect for vegging out on the couch, and it’s got 18% spandex, so it has that stretchy, athleisure feel. There’s also a sporty set in a polyester-spandex mix if you want something a little more workout-adjacent.
When I travel, I live in this airport layering set. It’s comfy for the flight, and if I’m landing somewhere cold I just pile layers right on top of it.
And you can never go wrong with a good old fleece jogger set from Quince that’s warm and cozy enough to sit on the couch all day, or run outside and play with the kids, or knock out an errand and still feel cute.
That’s what’s in my cart! Grab the pieces that make you feel the most like you, cozy up, and enjoy the season.
Thania (TA Content Mgr)
A client signs, a new hire starts Monday, a coworker covers for you during a brutal week. You want to say thanks with something real, and then the questions pile up. What do they like? Where do they live? Is it weird to ask?
Goody handles all three. You set a price point, your recipient picks their own gift, and they enter their own shipping info. If your pick isn’t their thing, they can swap it for something that is.
New accounts get a $20 gift credit, so your first thank-you is on Goody.
📚 Read: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Belle da Costa Greene became one of the most powerful people in the art world as J.P. Morgan’s librarian, all while hiding that she was Black. It’s a gripping story of brilliance and reinvention, and of everything she risked to build her legacy.
📺 Watch: The Love Hypothesis (Prime Video)
The beloved book finally got its movie, and the adaptation does not disappoint. You’ll tear up in the opening scenes and laugh through every awkward (and sweet) Olive and Adam moment.
🎧 Listen: Day and Night by Carly Rae Jepsen
She’s come a long way from “Call Me Maybe,” and this album proves it. Put it on for your Saturday errands and see how fast it becomes a repeat.
Sunday night, and the dread shows up before you’ve even opened your laptop. Something slipped over the weekend: a deadline that moved, an approval still sitting in someone’s inbox, a handoff nobody confirmed. By Monday morning you’re not leading the day. You’re doing archaeology on your own projects.
monday.com puts every project, task, and deadline on one board your whole team actually checks, so status stops living in six different apps and starts living in one place everyone can see. Automations route reminders and updates without anyone typing a status email, and integrations pull Slack messages and inbox activity into the same view, so nothing gets lost between tools.
Layer the Executive Digest agent on top, and it scans every project overnight, flagging what’s behind schedule or waiting on your sign-off before you’ve had coffee.
A Risk Analyzer agent catches deadlines about to slip, and monday sidekick answers “where do things stand?” in plain language, no digging required. Dashboards roll it all up by team so a glance tells you more than a status meeting used to.
You start Monday already running.
🔍 Want the full rundown first? Read our monday.com review.
📆 Upcoming Events
* Smart Girl Society is our private community for women who want deeper conversations, accountability, and tools that actually make life easier. Join the waitlist to get in the next round.
Belmont is a Maine Coon adopted from the Asheville Humane Society, and these days he “rules the roost” at home. His three great loves: snuggles, chicken bites, and his University of South Carolina blanket.
Pssst…Lemonade Pet starts at $10/month and settles around half of eligible claims on the spot, right in the app. Add the wellness plan and vaccines, checkups, and dental cleanings come along too. Whatever’s left over from claims at the end of the year goes to a cause you pick.
🐾 Got a cute fur baby? Submit them to be our pet of the week in an upcoming issue.
Have more feedback? 💌 Reply to this email and tell us.
✨ P.S. Want more inspiration and positivity to kick off your week? Sign up for our Motivational Monday texts (U.S. only).
👀 Want to see if your company is a good fit for our 250k+ ambitious readers? Join our Sponsor Waitlist here.
Join 301k+ smart women reading The Assist every Saturday.
