EOY: Not a Wrap-Up, But a Segue
If you know me, then you know my fervor (and I don’t use that word casually or dramatically) for Italy, and all ways of life associated with this bountiful country and culture. I’ve been dabbling in the language with a few classes taken over the past decade or so, and I finally got to return after a five-year lapse this October. I had never been before in thick of fall, and found it to be refreshing, approachable, and more natural. The latter sentiment meaning, it wasn’t overrun with tourists, so I felt I was more at one with the daily life of the citizens and not thinking about how to avoid crowds. The above snaps are from Modena, specifically. The mecca for balsamic vinegar, Ferraris (and other fast Italian cars) and an elevated food scene. I was primarily there for the elevated food scene and in particular, the highly coveted reservation I managed to snag a renowned restaurant.
Modena was the last stop on our eight day trip, and sadly, it was all too brief, a mere 1.5 days / 2 nights. The entire trip was a wonderful jaunt across the pond to celebrate a belated 40th trip around the sun and our wedding anniversary filled with many indulgences from food to hotels. I won’t spend this entire post waxing on about the trip, there’s links to get to! But I suppose the reason I bring it up at all, is at the close of any end of year (EOY), I’m always looking back most fondly at my travel (again, no surprise if you know me), and this October Italy trip was the last one of the year, so it is still sitting top of mind.
From the social media vantage point, it would appear I flittered around the world and the US, here to there without a care in the world, since my curated and filtered Instagram is always just that, highly arranged and showcasing the beauty of exploring new places. Behind the scenes, it was a year of change of geo-relocation, a year of new births in sibling offspring, and a year of new goal realizations. Every year that I travel, I acknowledge what an extreme privilege it is to get out of one’s confines.
With 21 days left in the year, this blog post is meant to not wrap up a year, nor be a gift guide steering more purchases, but my love for lists. My love for lists of links. I’ve been squirreling away links for this one over the past month, and they’re overdue for their pass along. So without further ado, here’s stuff I clicked on to segue into another calendar year. See ya on the flipside!
Alexa Chung spills 40 Pearls of Wisdom on Vogue, and I’m partial to #3, 6, and 23. Actually they’re pretty darn good. The neck, need to remember to moisturize the neck!
Fascinated by an artist’s “Stack” of artwork she’s created and inspired by her grief after a still birth. The materials used and color application, my god.
I love a good “how it’s made / factory deep dive” video, a behind the scenes peek. I think it goes back to childhood PBS videos on kids’ programming where they’d show how crayons were made? I dunno, but that’s the closest reasoning I can provide as to why I still sit in awe to videos like this one showcasing Bavarian glassware, Faber Castell colored pencils, and a paper mill.
Any other oldest siblings out there? Any other oldest daughter siblings out there? This Atlantic piece explains a break down of dynamics between sibling order, and specifically eldest daughters and the pressures most inevitably inherit. Ahem, speaking from my own experience, there was a lot this piece got right.
No link, just found this interesting: If you know someone who loves a wall calendar, TikTok told me that 2024 calendar year is the same as the 1940, 1968, and 1996 calendar year, so you can find secondhand ones on sale that could be a cute vintage gift.
My discovery of ceramicists knows no depths. Here is one from North Carolina, and these hand painted plates would look so lovely serving up a dessert, I think.
Another discovery: Korchmar, a leather good company over a 100 years and started in my home state and city (Cincinnati, OH) is still cracking out high quality bags. I especially love this “Twain” style for a carry-on and duffel for the weekend. Good craftsmanship and quality justifies the three-digit price tag, folks. Don’t balk at it.
For the gift giving season, no matter the size or cost of your gift, wrapping paper is the first part to gift giving and the first detail gift receivers see. Make it count. I have two favored options for you: Handmade cotton paper from India (looks like wallpaper!) and fanciful, color-bursting designed paper from Polychrome.
Was super excited to discover a new “magazine” and one based upon a single color, called The Colour Journal. First up, the color blue. This special piece of analog reading material is top of my wish list, and I’m hoping to collect all six upon their release. I’m pining for the limited edition ones that come with the slip sleeve for even more flair and high design.
Swinging back to the Italian way of life, NYC’s Rubirosa, a famed and savvy pizzeria in SoHo, offers up a slew of Italian goods online, and with some pretty sweet packaging design, if I do declare. Perfect for the Italophile in your life.
The highly sought after fashion label, The Row, unbeknownst to me has been publishing their playlists to bring their suave, quiet luxury sounds and mood into your own life, should you wish to not only walk the walk with their wares, but also with their grooves in your ear.
As the recent owner of a watercolor on hotel letterhead, I found these watercolors on repurposed The Met letterhead by this artist all the bit charming.
Some more history apropos to the holiday and to Italy to end on: The craft of nativity scenes is storied to have started in Naples, Italy and is still thriving today. (Peep The Met’s grand nativity scene they set up every year around the Christmas tree inside one of their main galleries.) In Italy, the scene is called “presepe” after praesepire, a Latin verb meaning to fence or enclose. Read more here to understand how Naples is entwined with nativity depictions, and how it’s still a sacrilege art today.