By Dahlia Brue

I have three kids and a dog. I’m not a careful person. I have piles of clothing on the corner chair in my bedroom. I cook a lot. I have dinner parties with my girl friends or go out to dinner with my husband and our couple friends. I go to SKYZONE for birthday parties. I travel often and then there are months where I don’t leave the state.

I wear white or cream. Often. I wear a lot of wool and silk-precious material that are not easily washable. I put together a seriously awesome outfit sometimes when no one will see me that day. I have 3 suits that I adorn often on a Tuesday in the middle of January. This is what we at Idun call the Practical / Impractical.

Typical scenario: There is a wedding in a few weeks. You buy an expensive dress. The dress sits in your closet for months and you wear it maybe three times over the course of a few years. The same goes for a nice bag or heels.

It’s a random weekday during a month where nothing particularly interesting is happening. You wear yoga pants and a sneaker or your go to jeans and t-shirt. You wear a tote you got for free from Outdoor Voices or a hotel (this is my go to bag, I get it.)

Why do we dress for occasions and bring out our best -- and in our everyday we dress for only comfort and ease? Why do we put money and effort into the occasional dress that we wear for a few hours a few days out of the year, and in our everyday we come up with a lot of “I can’t.”

I can’t wear white/cream, it will get dirty. I can’t pull it off. Minneapolis/St. Paul (or enter your city here*) is a casual city, I can’t dress up too much. I’m here to say. You can. And you should.

You can wear white and get it dirty. You can pull it off. Your city deserves to have people bring it on a Tuesday in the middle of January.

We should own pieces that we wear all the time. You should own the sweater or a t-shirt that will last for a long time and that you want to enjoy once a week. That is, arguably, the opposite way we think we should shop. Innately, we think you should spend a lot on a dress or pair of heels because it’s for a special occasion. In my opinion, it is arguably more practical to spend the extra money on the things you will wear all the time than on that occasional piece. Buy the cream wool sweater that is slightly oversized that you love. It’s worth every wear. If you do splurge on the dress for that wedding- wear it to dinner with your girl friends. Make that occasional dress not so occasional. Pair it with sneakers or boots. Or elevate your city and let’s all start dressing intentionally and like we care about putting our best foot forward. There is effort in the effortless. There is practicality in the impractical.

Look I -  Maiden Noir Pillow Jacket and Maiden Noir Tech Shorts

Look II - Suzanne Rae Fringe Pants and Suzanne Rae Satin Bow D'Orsay

Look III - Building Block Bucket in Nude and BSIDES Plein High Straight

No 1. Scallops with Sage and Capers

1 tbsp salted capers

olive oil

24 medium scallops trimmed

1 bunch of fresh sage leaves

juice of 1 lemon

(serves 6)

Put the capers in a sieve and rinse under cold water. Leave to soak in cold water for 40 minutes, then rinse again.

Coat a skillet with a little olive oil, to prevent the scallops from sticking, and place over a high heat. When smoking, add the scallops, season with a little sea salt and black pepper, and cook for 2 minutes on one side.

Turn the scallops over and immediately add the capers and sage leaves to the pan, plus a little extra olive oil so that the sage leaves fry. Cook for a further 2 minutes shaking the pan constantly. Squeeze in the juice of the lemon and serve. 

No. 2 Spaghetti with Lemon

1/2 pound (250g) spaghetti

juice of 3-4 lemons, preferably Amalfi lemons

2/3 cup (150ml) olive oil

5 ounces (140g) Parmesan, freshly grated

2 handfuls of fresh basil, leaves picked and finely chopped

finely grated lemon zest (optional)

(serves 6)

Lemons, olive oil, basil... the only other ingredient needed is sun.

Cook the spaghetti in a generous amount of boiling salted water, then drain thoroughly and return to the pot.

Meanwhile, whisk the lemon juice with the olive oil, then stir in the Parmesan- it will melt into the mixture, making it thick and creamy. Season with sea salt and black pepper and add more lemon juice to taste.

Add the sauce to the spaghetti and shake the pot so that each strand of pasta is coated with the cheese. Finally, stir in the chopped basil and, some grated lemon zest.

In my experience, becoming a mom has been a dichotomy. It is a beautiful experience.  Dark and magical— all at the same time. It’s given me a fuller understanding and appreciation of my own mom. What an important undertaking. 

 -Hillary Brue

On Children

by Kahlil Gibran

    Your children are not your children.

    They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

    They come through you but not from you,

    And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

    You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

    For they have their own thoughts.

    You may house their bodies but not their souls,

    For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,

    which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

    You may strive to be like them,

    but seek not to make them like you.

    For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

    You are the bows from which your children

    as living arrows are sent forth.

    The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,

    and He bends you with His might

    that His arrows may go swift and far.

    Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

    For even as He loves the arrow that flies,

    so He loves also the bow that is stable.

“art doesn’t ask

to be perfect

poetic

precise

it asks to exist

to breathe

to be

This is what it has always been about”

From the book of poetry: yesterday i was the moon by Noor Unnahar

Artwork by Rachel Schultz