Monday Memos // 106

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.

I can’t stop thinking about this bagel.

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.”

Monday Memos // 100

This week is brought to you by ONE HUNDREDTH MEMO! That corresponding with my birthday week and the colossal wave of happiness I am feeling is such serendipity—it’s spectacular.

Listening:

My first Monday Memo (April 26, 2016), I was listening to Beyoncé’s newly released Lemonade. (It came out April 23).

“After Laughter (Comes Tears)” by Wendy Rene.

"What If Birds Aren’t Singing They're Screaming" by Aldous Harding.

“Playita” by Land of Talk.

“Suspended in Gaffa” by Kate Bush.

Reading:

My second Monday Memo (May 2, 2016), I had just started Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, which remains to be my favorite book. Life-changing. I’d love to read it again one day.

Bon App’s advice column. Hilarity ensues: “Is It Ever Okay... To Take Home the Wine You Brought to a Party?”

Passion, Romance and Yearning: Photos of People Kissing: From simple pecks to full-on makeout sessions, a new compilation of photographs reveals how couples have kissed in front of the camera since the late-Victorian era.

The look on that cat’s face! (photo from fine art images/heritage images/getty images via bonappetit.com)

Craving:

My first Monday Memo, I was craving Brownie Brittle. “Can't stop thinking about and replenishing my stash. I eat it plain, I crush it up and put it on ice cream, I smear almond butter on it. The Peanut Butter flavor is hard to find but it is perfect. The Mint has the best chips. The Salted Caramel is that perfect salty/sweet combo. Even the gluten-free Trader Joe's version is great. I could go on. Yes, I have a problem.” I keep seeing new flavors in the stores and it still calls to me, though I try to resist the siren song. The Trader Joe’s version gets me sometimes though.

This week I ate a lot of oranges, drank a lot of ginger ale, and a lot of Conde Nast cafeteria meals. Plus, taste tested white English muffins. I’m not sure what my favorite brand was, but Stone & Skillet makes a nice, buttery dense version—very different from the Thomas standard.

I might just need to seek out the special holiday flavors. They look good. (image via sheila g’s)

Wearing:

My first Monday Memo I was was wearing “black tees and a black skirt or cut-off shorts. Plus a lot of light blue.” Seems about right. The beginnings of summer.

This week was a lot of black Chelsea boots, black leggings, black down jacket, black beanie. The winter version of black and simple.

Below is documentation of self—wow does my hair look dark!—attempting to let self portraits free, out into the world. That was in the same span of time, just playing with makeup and bang positions.

Watching:

My first Monday Memo, I was watching Friday Night Lights. Wow, I forgot about Tim Riggins. Good times.

I finally saw The Favourite last weekend and it was one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. It was strange and beautiful and WILD.

I really want to see the short animated film called Bao, where an older Chinese woman feels lonely at home and one morning, while eating breakfast with her husband, one of her pork dumplings springs to life as a giggly dumpling boy. There’s a dark twist.

Dumpling baby! (image via pixar)

Treasuring:

Life: This has been one of the hardest, most exhausting, most intense years of my life. It’s also been one of the most exciting, most fulfilling, and most enriching years of my life. Year of the dog, you have been something else. Something else! I’ve gathered a lifetime of stories. I made amazing friends and connections. I’ve cried a thousand years. I’ve walked miles upon miles. I’ve taken so many buses and trains. Life is life is life and I feel so fortunate for this one.

Year of the Bee, personally, I’ve truly been buzzing. (BEE / earnest, hardworking, democratic / sensitive creatures / they're artists at heart) (image via @dailyanimalspirits)

Do you have a favorite Monday Memo moment? Tell me please!

Monday Memos // 85

Listening:

"Don't Go Back at Ten" by Girl Ray.  This video is brilliant.

"All My Friends" by Land of Talk.

"All Our Base Are Belong To Them" by The Books. Minute 1:28–1:56 is my favorite.

Reading:

Rejoice! A new advice column to read! Dear Pepper — I am becoming a great fan of Liana Finck.

The Extinction of the Middle Child. They’re becoming an American rarity, just when America could use them the most.

I still enjoy this even though I really did win the roommate jackpot and love mine dearly (also makes me want to draw little doodles): Perfect Roommates You’ll Never Find

For interior/color palette drooling: Inside Villa Stenersen, Oslo’s Under-the-Radar Gem of Modernist Architecture

"The gallery room, which would have at one time been lined with drawings and paintings by Munch, lies on the other side of the glass bricks. The family's residences — including the nursery and master bedroom — were located on the topmost floor." Aka DREAM ROOM (via sightunseen)

Craving:

Fresh cherries. Iced coffee. Trader Joe's quinoa pesto. Persian cucumber salad. Thai cucumber salad. Sparkling water. All signs point to: it's summer.

I want to make this Smashed Cucumber Salad with Hot Vinegar. (via bonappetit)

Wearing:

Chic black sacks. Think art teacher caftans and slightly detailed pillowcase dresses. 

Thank-You-Mom business skirts. My mom gave me a bunch of nice Banana Republic sort-of pencils skirts and I've been pairing them with tees and funky button-ups.

Cushioned shoes. The heat and all the wandering make comfortable footwear a must. 

Questionable meets fun!

Watching:

Friday afternoon I needed a break from work, from texts, from thoughts, from self. So I went to the Angelika Film Center (one of my favorite movie spots) to see Sorry To Bother You. I hadn't read much. I hadn't done research. I just knew Lakeith Stanfield would entertain me. Turns out it is INCREDIBLE. 

Boots Riley's Sorry to Bother You ambitiously pushes the envelope of the sci-fi and comedy genres for a wholly unique, refreshing and hilarious film. —Molly Freeman

If you’re not bothered — also tickled, irked, mystified and provoked — by Sorry to Bother You, then you’ve fallen asleep on the job. —A.O. Scott

GO SEE IT NOW. If nothing else, it is worth it for the outfits and Tessa Thompson's constantly changing statement earrings.

I am now even more enamored with Lakeith Stanfield and Tessa Thompson. 

Treasuring:

Oceans and elation: On Saturday, I woke up too early and saw a bunch of hilarious street art in Harlem. I got a free juice from a literal oasis—Oasis Jimma Juice Bar. I took a long train ride to Brooklyn. I took two busses to the beach. I had an outrageously wonderful time in the ocean breeze, swimming in the water, eating snacks, telling stories, feeling so happy to have amazing new friends.

I laughed a lot. I was sandy. I took more bus rides. I wandered. I took more train rides. I ended up in Queens, at a party with a great deejay, lots of machinery covered in tulle, and great outfits to observe. The city got windy and the trash swirled in the air. I basked in the smell of my favorite tree (calliandra/powder puff). The rain poured. A stranger stuck his foot in the door of the 2 train so I didn't have to wait for another. I got into bed with my tangled matte of beach hair and thought about how many stupendous days I've had this year. 

Calliandra surinamensis and Calliadra haematocephala (Pink Powder Puff Tree). (image via youtube)

Monday Memos // 69

Listening:

"Ojos Del Sol" by Y La Bamba.

This song got me. I heard it on High Maintenance (a thousand times over, it is SO AMAZING) and it reminded me of something else. It took me to another place. I want to listen to it on repeat. On Sunday I had this leap of happiness and I just wanted to walk around in the cold windy night with this song as the soundtrack. So I put on my warm layers and walked by the water and literally skipped through a tunnel and played this song again and again and again. 

Reading:

Your First Kiss: What Was It Like? - I think I spent at least half an hour reading every single comment. 

Bon Appetit's sandwich guide in the March issue is top notch. A particularly fun read: 7 Sandwich Secrets We’re Stealing from Chefs (Thanks, Chefs).

A Day In the Life of a Line Cook at One of NYC's Fanciest Restaurants. Great and eye-opening.

I love this picture and would frame it. "Wylie Dufresne’s Scrambled Egg Sandwich." (image by Alex Lau via Bon Appetit)

Craving:

To say there are a lot of delicious things in New York to eat is like saying there is a lot of water in the ocean. I am overwhelmed and delighted by it all. 

On Friday night I went to see The Shape of Water — I loved it — and in a fabulous twist, the random theater I chose just happened to be a few blocks away from Levain Bakery. HOW DID I FORGET TO GO HERE??? I had the cookies shipped to me for a birthday a couple of years ago because I heard so many rave reviews about them (thank you David!). I popped into the bakery around 6pm as the wind and snow were destroying umbrellas outside. The warmth and scent of cookies enveloped me. I could've fainted from the smell. I got a chocolate chip walnut and a double chocolate peanut butter cookie. They were both gone by the next morning. 

(Note: I wrote everything before I read about the Oscar winners. Turns out my pull to The Shape of Water this last weekend was a good feeling. Sitting there alone, in the middle of the theater, I felt very comforted by the colors and story and people sitting near me. I do wish there were always multiple winners. So many wonderful choices.)

Wearing:

Purple vans. All the jackets. Black loafers. My It's-It sweatshirt. Chapstick. I really should be stepping it up now that I work in the same building as Vogue, Teen Vogue, Glamour, etc. Lipstick? Wide leg culottes? Chic jumpsuits? Silk? 

Watching:

I watched the first episode of Here and Now. I'm intrigued, I have questions, and I'll give a few more episodes a try. I'm caught up with This Is Us finally and all cried out. I still miss my pretend Australian tv friends.

Yesterday I was reminded of the movie Delicatessen and it made me want to revisit all my Jean-Pierre Jeunet favorites (The City of Lost Children, A Very Long Engagement, Amélie).

The colors in The Shape of Water reminded me of Delicatessen. (image via Delicatessen)

Treasuring:

Wind: The wind last week was strong and made everything feel extra cold, but I loved it. The wildly dancing snowflakes. The whistling in the leaves. The rippling of the water. The hilarity when attempting to walk with an umbrella. 

A nor'easter y'all! (image via NYPL)

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLE! I hope you win all the things.