Monday Memos // 73

Listening:

"This Stuff" by Frankie Cosmos.

"Thanks 4 Nothing" by Nilüfer Yanya.

"Goodbye" by Porches.

Reading:

Finding My Florida - I came across this Florida story in the New York Times and thought it was an accurate and enjoyable journey through the state. There are so many worlds, great Cuban sandwiches, and lots of mossy oaks. 

Pizza Horoscope. - Because I exist on the cusp, looks like I need to eat a whole white pizza—"an exquisite pairing of garlic and ricotta"—with a variety of spontaneous toppings from the fridge AND a Grandma pie. Done.

The Orlando house where Jack Kerouac wrote “The Dharma Bums.” Looks like my old FL home! (image by Zack Wittman for The New York Times)

Craving:

I crossed another Brooklyn Blackout cake off my list last week, this one from Little Cupcake Bakeshop. It looked heavenly and there was a framed plaque showing off Food & Wine's description of this particular cake as "one of the best chocolate cakes in the U.S."

I have to disagree. It was delicious, but the frosting was a far too sweet and the cake was a bit too airy. I'd still be down to try more of their baked goods. The carrot was tempting and the banana Nutella looked lovely.

Wearing:

Dug into my storage unit and it was like going on a shopping spree. I got so excited about shoes and dresses and shirts I forgot about. I gathered several pink tees and green dresses. Pink, red, and black boots. A glorious leather fringe vest. Maybe it's to my advantage to slowly have access to my things over a span of time. I'm ready to shed the coats and sleeves. 

Youth fashion inspiration below. Digging the overalls and chucks. My mom and I at a May Fair is very spring-floral-forward. 

Watching:

I want to watch Barry on HBO—Bill Hader is always wonderful. I'm ready for Westworld to return. I've been catching up with the last season of Atlanta so I can get back into the new one.

I'm sad I'm done with High Maintenance and caught up with Queer Eye. 

I'm curious about the movie Chappaquiddick. Having lived on that island, I'm curious to see the familiar places in the film. Kate Mara, Ed Helms, and Jim Gaffigan—interesting selection for a cast.

Ted Kennedy's car being pulled from the water next to the Dike Bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard. (AP photo)

Treasuring:

Open Windows: I love hearing the violinists and singers in my building. I love having open windows WITHOUT SCREENS because there aren't a thousand bugs ready to swarm inside. I love hanging with my family, the breeze coming in, the cats all sitting in the sunshine, and it feeling like spring is here. 

Illustration by Monica Lynch via thehousethatlarsbuilt

Monday Memos // 44

Listening:

"Track A - Solo Dancer" by Charles Mingus

"So Good At Being In Trouble" by Unknown Mortal Orchestra

"Curse Your Branches" by David Bazan

Reading:

Reassuring advice from Toni Morrison and her father: The Work You Do, the Person You Are.

I'm ready for the return of "Difficult People" this week and as always, Julie is a hoot. What Julie Klausner Can’t Live Without.

Temp tee! (image via the strategist)

Craving:

A craving and reading combined, I was looking through the August issue of Bon Appétit: The Simple Issue. Every recipe has five ingredients or less and made my mouth water.

Catching my eye: Jam Toaster Tarts, Corn Flake Cake, Oven-Dried Strawberries, Grilled Halibut and Summer Squash with Pumpkin Seeds, Lentil Purée with Cumin, Cilantro, and Lime... drooling.

"Sweet corn makes for an awesome dessert—if you like carrot cake, you’re going to love this one. You’ll get a corn three-way with fresh corn kernels, a little bit of cornmeal to get a cornbread-like flavor, plus the crunch of Corn Flakes is so damn satisfying." (photo by Laura Murray, styling by Judy Mancini via bonappetit)

"They're chewy—a bit softer than a dried apricot—with a plump, juicy consistency." I could top a lot of things with these. (image by Alex Lau via bonappetit)

Wearing:

Pink. Hot, pastel, salmony. I appreciate the spectrum of pink. 

Button up Hawaiian shirts. Old tees. Bright sandals. Lip glosses.

I cannot wait until I get to wear pink in the form of socks, sweatshirts and jackets. 

Watching:

"Good Girls Revolt." New York in the 1960s | Magazine fact-checkers and reporters | Mad Men vibes | Female inequality and liberation. I'm breezing through this while cleaning and unpacking.

I like following the journalism and outfits. (image via amazon studios)

"Housesitters."

Sometimes you need a palate cleanser between Game of Thrones, the summer heat and angst, and moving. My friend was watching "The Out-of-Towners," which got us talking about Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin, which led to rewatching this oldie. Some easy slapstick humor and goofiness.

Goldie in the grass—this instantly made me think of Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World. (image via universal studios)

I saw this super weird and amazing trailer for "The Great British Bake Off" and can't wait for it. This is where my love of tv and sweets and nerding out collide!

Wanting:

I'm looking into getting tickets to see one of my favorite podcasts live: My Favorite Murder. They'll be in my state in November. 

Stay sexy and don't get murdered. (image by Mandee Johnson via rollingstone)

I would love to see the Color Factory in San Francisco. 

"This two-story interactive exhibition celebrates color and material, featuring work by some of our favorite artists and collaborators... Lose yourself in 10,000 colored ribbons, sink into a giant yellow ball pit, catch some rainbows, smell colorful memories, and taste a spectrum of treats from our favorite stops in San Francisco. The pinks will delight you, the blues will amaze you, the yellows might make you hungry."

Yellow (image via colorfactory)

Swoon. (image via colorfactory)

Monday Memos // 26

Listening:

"Atomic Bomb" by William Onyeabor. 

I heard this music blasting from the kitchen at my work last week and I needed to know all about it. William Onyeabor. A perfect combination of funk and Africa and fun. I cannot stop listening.

“Onyeabor was something like Nigeria’s answer to Parliament-Funkadelic, churning out space-age disco-funk in the 1970s and ‘80s with synths and drum machines. But nobody knew who William Onyeabor was, or at least nobody knew his real story. After a conversion to Christianity in the mid-1980s, he turned his back on music and then history gets murky — some say he went to film school in Soviet Russia, others say he studied law in London.”

— Lars Gotrich (NPR)

Reading:

 Bon Appétit's Healthyish. 

I saw this pink cover and was instantly amused. So I got a subscription (6 issues and an apron for $6 seemed quite reasonably). The food, images and stories are perfect. I love the companion site and Instagram scroll. 

I want to eat all the things. 

Mmmmm poke. (image via amazon)

Craving:

Kombucha. 

This craving comes in waves. I remember getting hooked on kombucha years ago (6? 7?) when I first tried some GT's in Baltimore. It was an expensive, often explosively messy habit.

The past few weeks I have been craving the stuff again. GT's is always the most satisfying (Trilogy, Third-Eye Chai, Gingerberry) and perfectly effervescent. 

Maybe one day I'll make my own? (image via synergydrinks.com)

Wearing:

Pink Birkenstocks.

I got these today and I can already tell I will wear them all the time. I can always get down with an orthopedic shoe, no shame. Plus, it already feels like summer in Florida so it is not inappropriate to wear/buy sandals right now. 

Style: Madrid EVA. (image via Nordstrom)

I could go for the navy, white, red and black pairs, too. (image via zoesessums)

Watching:

"Felicity."

I might be nearly 20 years late, but I don't think I would have fully appreciated this show as an 8- to 12-year-old. I would have really related when I first went to college and lived in student housing and was confused about many things, but nonetheless, I am fully hooked and enthralled with "Felicity" now. 

It's funny to watch a show far beyond the time it aired. I find myself looking up actor facts and hoping to avoid spoilers. I feel like I am in my own little time-warped world when I am watching. I am constantly cracking up and cringing. The 90s are really speaking to me right now, I suppose. 

Scott and Scott are dreamy. (image via pinterest)

Wanting:

Humongous things. Dream things. Life-changing things. 

Can this space be like "The Secret" or a mood board wherein I tell you what I want and then I get it? Positive thoughts attracting positive changes? I really want to get a job in the editorial field. I want to win the HGTV dream house. I want to move to a new city and state. I want to have so much fun. 

I think I can do all of these things. I can! I will! Let's send out good vibes, thank you!

This is how I would feel if I could work for Ban.do! That office! (image via stylebyemilyhenderson)

Uh, yes please! (image via designlovefest)

I could live somewhere like this again. (image via sfgirlbybay)