bagels — Blog — Zoë Sessums

Listening:

“Did I Ever Love You” by Leonard Cohen.

“Cyprus Avenue” by Van Morrison.

Reading:

They Told Their Three Sons to Stay Out of the Bedroom When the Blue Light Was On

Touristy Things I Still Do After Five Years of Living in New York

The Tallest Man I Ever Loved

This picture is amazing. (Photo: Michael E. Northrup via nymag)

Craving:

In the last month (oops) I’ve consumed so many divine things. Sesame bagels from Montreal. So much pizza (Ops, Roberta’s, Paulie Gee’s, Best, homemade, etc.) So many It’s-Its ice cream sandwiches. So much good coffee. Lots of sumo oranges. Lots of odd but pretty good free meal delivery kits. Thoughtful and delicious savory pastries. Celebratory Vietnamese feasts. The most buttery kouign amann. A gut-busting sugar shack spread. Fun dinner party snacks. Belated birthday babka.

Scanning through all the foods in my mind is making me extremely full.

Wearing:

Golden wide-leg cords. The most amazing black Japanese crinkle cotton jacket. Black tights. Black boots. Wrap shirts. Old sweatshirts. Jeans. Striped shirts. Clogs. Sheer polka dot socks.

Watching:

I found a way to watch the second season of Fleabag and HOLY WOW IT IS SO BRILLIANT. I was expecting nothing less and sad to finish it in two days. I was so moved by several scenes I might have to watch it again very soon. I wish I could see the play version that’s currently showing in New York.

A few weekends ago I did the same with Shrill. So easy to breeze through and quite entertaining. I want all of Aidy’s character’s shoes.

There’s a great priest plot. (image via british vogue)

Treasuring:

Happiness: I feel a bit like Charlie Bucket. "Don’t forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he wanted." "What happened?" "He lived happily ever after.”

Listening:

“Dead Flowers” by Townes Van Zandt.

"Random Rules" by Silver Jews.

“No One's Easy to Love” by Sharon Van Etten.

Reading:

This was wild and crazy: A 4-Year-Old Trapped in a Teenager’s Body

This was true: 20 Things John Mayer Looks Like in This Photo

This was silly: Quiz: Who Wrote It: Edgar Allan Poe or an Emo Band?

This was funny and informative: Trader Joe’s Gets into Jackfruit in 2019: The Journey Begins

Craving:

Highlights: cumin-roasted carrots, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, a fresh Goldberg’s pumpernickel bagel with buttery spread and jam, tuna salad with Branston pickle, extra crunchy dill pickles, and homemade sesame chicken with broccoli.

A perfect New York bagel via Baltimore. (image via Goldberg’s)

Wearing:

It’s been cooooold, so lots of wool socks, turtlenecks, scarves, and beanies. I also wore my new red jumpsuit twice this week. I had a relaxing family weekend where I primarily wore sweatpants and sweatshirts. I looked in the mirror one day and thought I could be mistaken for dude in a 90s grunge band—lots of long disheveled hair and bagginess.

Watching:

TV: I watched the entirety of Sex Education on Netflix in roughly two sittings. I’m having withdrawals. It reminded me of The End of the F*cking World. Endearing characters, English accents, hilarity, really good music.

Gillian Anderson makes for a good wacky mom.

Movies: I rewatched The Big Lebowski over the weekend. It had been years since I had seen it—brilliant as always. I forgot how good the soundtrack is too. When I Googled the movie, this shopping link for the Dude’s sweater (from Dillard’s) came up: Pendleton sweater.

Treasuring:

Unwinding and nostalgia: A weekend in the suburbs means becoming so calm I have no worries or needs. Family laughs and baking cookies and dancing to bad music (We all have “Closing Time” stuck in our heads now, unfortunately). I made a visit to my storage unit for a stack of old journals from 2005-2008. Often painfully angsty and full of pointless minutiae, it’s been eye-opening and very humorous to revisit. So much and so little has changed.

I read a lot about this period of life—my sweet sixteen with Blake and a tandem bike.