Midsummer, Midyear, My My My
Welcoming myself back to my bi-annual blog. Truly. Maybe I should rename it to that given the frequency that I pop in here. Time lapses as fast as a blink when I think about it in the frame of six months.
In the past six months, I made one of the more larger moves (literal moving locations) of my adult life since the last blog post. From college and on, I’ve moved three times including this most recent one. I’ve relocated an hour and half away from NYC and set-up shop in a new state. While not considered the true “tri-state,” Philadelphia feels close enough to be part of the “tri-state enclave.” Can we argue for a “quad-state”? I won’t wax poetics on everything that has been gained in this move (it could take up multiple paragraphs), but I’ll just say as all the media headlines continue to reiterate: NYC real estate isn’t sustainable.
Also, in the past six months, I’ve pulled out some wonderful travel experiences, more so than other years. One of my oldest NYC friends turned 40, and gathered a circle of friends in Cadenet, France (a small town in Provence) where we stayed in a large home that looked like something out of a Sally Rooney novel. Then, two weeks later, I went to Portugal for an actual vacation (previous Cadenet jaunt was a remote week) and saw many corners of the country from cities (Lisbon and Porto), to islands (Sao Miguel), to the southern coast of The Algarve. What a summer kick-off.
With the recent move, I’ve been knee deep in rugs, rugs, rugs. Hours, I repeat, hours have been spent reviewing rug designs ad nauseam. After all the time spent on this endeavor, I finally found one. A luscious deep, rich blue Pakistani wool rug, found of all places, in a tiny shop, called Music for the Eyes on Whidbey Island, Washington. It’s really more akin to a piece of art in my book given the hand-woven and hand-dye techniques seen on this area rug. I’m glad I held out and waited to find one in person, and one that is purchased from a small shop. With shipping these days, and our extended trip, the rug was waiting for us upon our arrival home. We rolled it out this morning, and I’m happy to report I’m just in love with it as I was on the opposite coast.
Speaking of six months, I’ve been weekly updating this guided analog journal, The Moon Lists. It’s filled with prompts and questions, and I’m really excited to look back through each week at the end of the year. Even better, the author started a Substack, and it’s been one of my handful I pay for and invest in. The content hits a mark for me and my interests every time.
I got myself an entire box of these pens after declaring (to no one in particular) that it’s my favorite pen of all time. Not hyperbole.
Read this New Yorker opinion article about the case to not travel, written by a philosophy professor and with references to Socrates, Emerson, and Pessoa, it takes a very black and white approach behind a somewhat elitist lens, and it leaves no room for nuance. I wasn’t a fan of the argument set-up but always good to read other views in an industry you support and partake in, so to understand a fuller, deeper picture.
I watched the Love to Love You documentary on Donna Summer, and it was a surprise (at least to me!) to learn how entwined she and her career was with Georgio Morado. By the end of the documentary, you realize just how many radio hits (not just disco) she had and how she really cut through the culture.
Speaking of Puget Sound waters and its beauty, this NY Times piece about the state of salmon (and orcas) in the area is pretty much the wake-up call, I’d say. I’m tempted to stop eating salmon in solidarity, but then is that really helping anything? The system hasn’t set up the indigenous communities, the fisherman, the local businesses, nor the natural habitat and its wildlife for success. What’s a seafood lover to do?
Other home interior research I’ve been invested in: accent chairs. I’m hoping we can find an arrangement in our loft to fit a comfy, yet beautifully designed one in our space for some extra seating besides just our sofa. Even though I can’t afford anything on The Expert, it’s been fun to peruse all the gorgeous designs, especially the vintage. This reupholstered Carl Axel chair from the 1930s in the gingerbread cotton velvet is a showstopper. Sigh, a girl can dream.
Loved this Vogue interview with the prop manager on “And Just Like That” about everything that goes into displaying the various books and magazines throughout the scenes. It’s not that easy it seems…
Did ya know? If you text text any fruit or veggie emoji to 361-NYT-COOK, you’ll receive a NY Times recipe link texted back to you for inspiration. This is my “surprise and delight” for ya. Enjoy.
Among all the many, many sales happening now that it’s mid-summer, Merci has marked down a ton of their linens. Good for Merci in offering up international shipping, but bad for me, as I’m enticed now to indulge in even more from this Parisian concept store not IRL.
New-to-me sites as of late include: Chefanie for all your whimsical home goods; For The Love of Pampas for all your dried flower needs; Made In for all your kitchen essentials that won’t break down after a year’s worth of wear but will stand the test of time.
If you made it to the end of this lengthy post—congrats. You’re not distracted and undeterred by long-form reading—yet. Viva the long-form, viva the OG way to share informal content across the www.