Monday Memos // 94

Listening:

“Audience No. 2” by Autolux.

“Dog” by Widowspeak.

“Il Ballo Del Mattone” by Rita Pavone.

Reading:

From most important to least important…

I'm a Chef With Terminal Cancer. This Is What I'm Doing with the Time I Have Left — “When we think we have all the time in the world to live, we forget to indulge in the experiences of living. When that choice is yanked away from us, that’s when we scramble to feel.”

APPROPRIATE MOMENTS TO RESPOND WITH LADY GAGA’S GUTTURAL HOWL FROM THE SONG “SHALLOW”

The long, long history of long, long CVS receipts

Nostalgia for the Present by Brooke Shanesy.

Craving:

This weekend I celebrated one year since I moved up north. Sunday I had a lovely breakfast feast at Champs Diner, which included lots of coffee, a giant tofu scramble—the “hungover hippie”— and a gigantic, classic pancake. It was hard not to get the giant stack of fancy pancakes, but the one was ample.

I want to go back for a sundae or a shake. (image via nooklyn)

Wearing:

Sweaters! Pants! Jackets! Socks! The weekend skipped ahead and really felt like winter. I loved it.

I had to buy this Katie Kimmel sweatshirt.

Watching:

I saw A Star Is Born alone on Saturday morning (do not recommend the alone or in the morning part). I honestly thought it would be cheesy at best, but wow, it was actually well done and really good. However, I was not thoroughly warned that I would feel deeply depressed when it was over. (Side note: did you know Lady Gaga had a small cameo in Sopranos? She was “girl at the pool number 2.”)

I also watched Scream for the first time on Saturday night. As much as I have seen thousands and thousands of movies, I haven’t seen a lot of classics or standard fare. It filled me with suspense, it cracked me up, I yelled at the characters on the screen. A good balance for the day.

Treasuring:

Goofing: Skipping down the hall. Making weird faces and making weird sounds. Risking, and forgetting, embarrassment.

Monday Memos // 76

Listening:

"Drover" by Bill Callahan.

"Cloudy Shoes" by Damien Jurado.

"Soft Spoken" by Naia Izumi.

Reading:

A visual read and sooo goood — Scenes Unseen: The Summer of ’78 — Admission to the exhibit, like the parks and starlight, is free.

I wonder where they are now? (via The New York Times)

Craving:

Last weekend, one of my favorite humans came for a visit and we made sure to eat a slew of delicious foods. All of my pants feel too tight but it was worth it. 

Favorite spots/items:

• Bubby's and their James Beard pancakes with caramelized banana and toasted walnuts. Everything at Bubby's was great, but those pancakes really excited me. We love pancakes. 
• Fish Cheeks and all their seafood-focused Thai things (fried snapper with crispy herbs, short rib massaman curry with roasted sweet potatoes, and yum goong, which is a dish with poached shrimp, cilantro, culantro, cucumber, coconut milk, red sorrel, betel leaf, and fried shallot), plus the adorable couple sitting next to us that gabbed all about NYMag and walkup apartments with me.
• At Dos Caminos—kind of a whacky place with giant mortars on the tables and dance scenes in the basement—we had the a salmon entree with braised kale and poblano chili verde, epazote crema, radish, cilantro, and lime. The braised kale was amazing.

Bubby's

Fish Cheeks

At work I also aided in testing waffle makers, which resulted in sampling fresh, steaming hot waffle upon waffle. One of the recipe developer/chefs from the test kitchen made us a giant bowl of this crispy waffle recipe from Epicurious, and I would definitely recommend it. This work project did not help me fit back into my pants either. 

I took a lot of waffle glamour shots. 

Wearing:

The weather is still confused and confusing, so I think my clothing reflects that. I've been wearing flowery dresses and getting too cold. I've been wearing my winter boots with bare legs and jackets. I've been wearing short tees and attempting full days without socks. 

Inspired by the previously mentioned weekend, I now own this shirt. (via zara)

Watching:

Saw: Westworld--after anxiously awaiting this for what felt like years, I wasn't as into the first episode of the new season as I thought I would be, but I feel like it might just be a slow build back to the chaos. 

I Feel Pretty--I wanted this movie to be better or at least more entertaining, but I really didn't love it. The best part was the fact that I was sitting in the same row as The Sartorialist/Scott Schuman at the theater. I will say the heartfelt monologue was nice to hear, but didn't really linger.

Wild Wild Country--now this proved to be better than I could've hoped. So many crazy stories and characters, so much beautiful editing and footage, and a fabulous soundtrack. I want more. I also feel inspired to dress in sunset-hued color palettes. 

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh a.k.a. Osho. (image via netflix)

Infinity Baby--a random pick from Amazon. The cast is amazing, the story is weird and intriguing, but there's something unfulfilling about it. I wanted it to be more like Her in it's futuristic strangeness. Still worth watching on a lazy afternoon.

Treasuring:

Swimming and sweating: During the feasting weekend extravaganza, we also went to a infrared sauna, a steam room, and a big indoor pool. It felt so good to have all that sweating and warmth. I have missed swimming so much. I want to put all these activities on repeat. Maybe I am starting to miss my Florida perspiration. 

We jammed to music in the 150 degree heat. (via higherdose)

Monday Memos // 23

Listening:

"Ride On / Right On" by Phosphorescent.

Last night I was driving home and had one of those nostalgic flashbacks. I remembered a phase of blasting this song in my car over and over again. I can still listen to it over and over again. 

Listen to the entire album. 

Reading:

For the past few years, I've visited Asheville, North Carolina during December. Each of those visits results in a trip to Malaprop's bookstore/cafe and the purchase of at least one book. My favorite part is the "blind date with a book." The employees cover dozens of books in brown paper and write adjectives across the front. My first blind book led me to Maria Semple (eternally grateful!) and the latest selection brought me to:

"2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas" by Marie-Helene Bertino.

Most important, "2 A.M. at the Cat's Pajamas" also shares this in common with the best of TV sitcoms: Despite the contrivances, its characters are worth rooting for. Lorca, Sarina, especially Madeleine — even Bertino's version of Philadelphia — are all imbued with such wit, flaw and charm, they deserve whatever love they're offered. Just don't count on the city to return your affections. (via npr.org)

It's not sweet and innocent, but it's a nice break from absolute heartbreak and sadness. I'm excited to see where the story goes. 

Is this why I keep staying up til 2 a.m.? (via beautnspa.net)

Craving:

Pancakes. 

My favorite place in town to get pancakes closed months ago, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own for Saturday brunch. I used Ambitious Kitchen's recipe for whole wheat banana bread pancakes (mini chocolate chips included) and they were superb---so superb I ate 2 servings and still wanted more. 

I might have to make my own brunch every weekend or make a double batch next time and try to save some for midweek eating. 

"Cravings" aka drooling over all the Ambitious Kitchen recipes. (via ambitiouskitchen.com)

Wearing:

Lipstick. 

I told myself I wanted to wear more lip color in the new year. It's fun, easy and I have been accumulating many brands and colors with my Play! by Sephora beauty subscription box, plus freebies here and there. 

Old favorites: Nars lipstick in "Heatwave" and "Schiap." 

New favorites: Smashbox Always on Matte Liquid Lipstick in "Driver's Seat" and Clinique Almost Lipstick in "Black Honey."

(Also, I could definitely be a makeup copywriter.)

Watching:

"Santa Clarita Diet."

It's cheesy, for sure, but sometimes you need to watch a show to a) be on top of popular culture b) always be up for trying a new Netflix original and c) because Drew Barrymore is lovely. Plus, I appreciate the fact that the husband (Timothy Olyphant) is completely devoted to whatever is happening to his wife--cheers to some feminism. 

It all kind of reminds me of an early 2000s comedy meets "True Blood." The ads I initially saw on Instagram are pretty great, too. 

A vegetarian nightmare. (image via comingsoon.net)

Wanting:

From the shirts to the skirts to the pillows to the socks, I want absolutely everything from Gorman. Seriously, can I have one of everything? The shapes, prints and styles are perfect. 

gone bananas pant (via gormanshop)

earn your stripes pantsuit (via gormanshop)

fleur toile dress (via gormanshop)

fleur noir et bleu dress (via gormanshop)