Monday Memos // 45

Listening:

"Angel in the Snow" by Elliott Smith.

Perhaps influenced by the weird feelings my lack of sleep (and the lunar eclipse?) have been giving me, also maybe because it was Smith's birthday on the 6th, I happened upon this song and have listened to it too many times.

"Ashes To Ashes" by Warpaint. (David Bowie Cover)

I love looking for new-to-me cover songs, especially when they combine two different artists I really enjoy.

"Sick of Myself" by Matthew Sweet.

This song gives me a huge pang in my chest. Serious 90s nostalgia. I remember blasting this on my boombox in my bedroom, flipping through the cd insert, memorizing the lyrics, and thinking the cover photo looked like a girl. 

Reading:

An Ode to Bad Family Vacations - This is a nice piece on remembering those hilarious and harrowing moments on trips. My own include: my years of overwhelming carsickness, hangry outbreaks, inappropriate soundtracks... oh the memories of a family of five in a mid-sized car driving from Florida to Maine.

I plan to read this in the coming week to prepare for next Monday's solar event: Annie Dillard's Classic Essay: 'Total Eclipse.'

A total solar eclipse in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway, on March 20, 2015. (image by Jon Olav Nesvold / Stringer / Getty via the atlantic)

Craving:

Mediterranean food (hummus, pita, falafel, pizza, salade niçoise), breakfast food (eggs, toast, granola, doughnuts) and water water water water water water water water water (have I mentioned how hot it is?). 

Yes please. (image via muncheezdc)

Lots of coffee, too. (image via onnit)

Wearing:

Breezy button-ups.

Much of my dressing lately involves the best items for extreme sun and heat. I thought to old men on the beach: breezy tops in light, often tropical colors. Lots of linen and light cotton (I really need some loose linen pants).

Happy to report my summer look is very James Bond in "Thunderball." Shorts, shoes and all. Now I want to watch this. (image via bamfstyle)

Watching:

"Lovesick" on Netflix. (Originally called "Scrotal Recall," which is probably why I never watched it until now.)

I was exhausted and beat from hours in the harshest sun, so I showered, plopped in my bed and needed something easy. I was skeptical, but pressed play on this British sitcom. I should've known I would be instantly binge-watching—historically, I am quite captivated with these Channel 4 picks. (I noticed some characters from "Fleabag" and "Chewing Gum.") I laughed, I cried, I watched nearly 2 seasons in two days...

Roxanne at Paste describes it perfectly: "'Lovesick' thrives on gawkily funny and often sexually charged situations, handled in such a down-to-earth manner it doesn’t feel like your typical, canned-laughter comedy. Instead of being overly in-your-face with punchlines, the series relies on its well-defined protagonists for humor, and by introducing new characters and environments in every episode, 'Lovesick' feels more elaborate than your average sitcom, allowing for the occasional surprise."

Daniel Ings, Antonia Thomas and Johnny Flynn. I hope they make more seasons. (image via netflix)

Treasuring:

(Note: I decided to change up this last category for a bit. I keep finding more things I'm just excited about or appreciating, and thought it'd be nice to recognize those instead.)

At least every Friday, I check out NY Mag's Grub Street site, particularly for their Grub Street Diet column. This week (Scoop Week, how perfect), I was scrolling through and saw my own piece right above one by Mark Bittman! Although mine is simply a compilation of ice cream makers to buy on Amazon (they did find a fitting person to write that, I might add), it sure does feel like something!

I stumbled into helping a friend make a short film the last few days. Even though the hours a day—in the midday sun, the sun I try to avoid most often—makes me feel deliriously fried (physically, mentally, and sometimes emotionally), it's been extremely enjoyable. Tromping through tall grasses and holding up reflectors to get the light just so, sweating through every layer of clothing and fearing the sound of a possible rattlesnake... it's all really interesting to watch happen and be a part of. I can't wait to see the finished project. Go support this superb dude, if you can.

So much Florida flora.

Monday Memos // 43

Listening:

"This Strange Effect" by The Kinks

"Shark Smile" by Big Thief

"No Matter Where We Go" by Whitney

Reading:

Always Modern Love: How to Stop Breaking Up

Nayyirah Waheed's poems: "Perhaps the most famous poet on Instagram"

Craving:

I'll call it "food to fuel."

I've been so busy this last week. I'll be working, moving, grooving, sweating and suddenly I NEED TO EAT SOMETHING and it will be any number of things. Iced coffee, cold grapes, pizza, fresh fish, toast with jam, a Rice Krispies treat...

I wonder how many gallons of ice cream I've consumed in my life?

I'm not usually partial to pepperoni, but this is picturesque.

Wearing:

Jean shorts, gym shorts, short skirts, dresses that could be T-shirts. 

This. (image via pinterest)

Watching:

"The Incredible Jessica James." A most recent Netflix original movie starring one of the dope queens, Jessica Williams. It was one of the movies I needed in a trying moment and it made me feel significantly better. 

"The Incredible Jessica James is a little odd duck of a film, an old-fashioned romantic comedy that’s decidedly modern in its frame of reference, a character-driven piece that never lets us too deep into its protagonist, a movie as pleasant as it is fleeting."—Vulture

Wanting:

I want to be on my favorite island. The pang of nostalgia hits me hard in the height of the summer.

I want to smell the salt in the air and the slight stink of skunk. I want to taste my grandma's oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and a scoop of ice cream from Ben and Bill's. I want to feel the soft grass between my toes and the warm spot at the tip of the jetty. I want to hear the honk of the ferry and the old song lingering from the carousel. I want to see those greying shingles and the setting sun turn everything that spectacular shade of green.

This spot, this view is burned into my brain.

I could plop right down in it.

Nearly a decade ago—can you spot the ghost photographer?

Monday Memos // 41

Listening:

"Trampoline" by EZTV

"Egyptian Reggae" by Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers

"I Live For You" by George Harrison

Reading:

I want to read the new David Sedaris book "Theft By Finding." I think it will really inspire and resonate with me due to my own years of obsessive journaling.

"For forty years, David Sedaris has kept a diary in which he records everything that captures his attention-overheard comments, salacious gossip, soap opera plot twists, secrets confided by total strangers. These observations are the source code for his finest work, and through them he has honed his cunning, surprising sentences.

Now, Sedaris shares his private writings with the world. Theft by Finding, the first of two volumes, is the story of how a drug-abusing dropout with a weakness for the International House of Pancakes and a chronic inability to hold down a real job became one of the funniest people on the planet." 

December 26, 1983 "This is my twenty-seventh birthday. I’ve been anticipating this age for a long time, thinking that when I reach it, I’ll make a big change. I seem old to me now." (image by Nicole Antonuccio via the AV Club)

Craving:

In no particular order or rank: dark chocolate, sweet potatoes, parsley, nutritional yeast flakes, jumbo cookies, scrambled eggs, and scoops of ice cream. 

Parsley illustration from Köhler’s Medicinal Plants, 1890. (image via PD Art)

I dream of Jeni's. (image via Goldbely)

Wearing:

Vintage Salvatore Ferragamo Vara flats.

For some reason I forgot I had these divine shoes, so I dusted them off this week. I lucked out in finding my pair in a thrift store about five years ago for a great deal. I was first drawn to the shoe by way of the blog Calivintage and her cool roof pictures. 

(image via calivintage)

Watching:

"Friends From College" on Netflix. 

In between the Twin Peaks and Handmaid's Tale intensities/works of art, there are times for lighthearted, comedic shows. I watched two episodes so far and enjoy the chemistry of actors. 

"A group of friends from Harvard, played by Keegan-Michael Key, Cobie Smulders, Annie Parisse, Nat Faxon, Fred Savage, and Jae Suh Park, are facing down their forties. With interwoven and oftentimes complicated relationships with one another, "Friends from College" is a comedic exploration of old friendships, former romantic entanglements and balancing adult life with nostalgia for the past."

I actually found the show via Billy Eichner's Instagram—I always want to see what tv he's doing. Fred Savage (left), Nat Faxon, Keegan-Michael Key, Cobie Smulders, Jae Suh Park, Billy Eichner, Annie Parisse (image via David Lee/Netflix)

I also rewatched the end of "True Detective" (season one, duh—blown away by the scenes, story, acting, sentiments...) and "Catch Me If You Can" (a young Leo and Tom Hanks duo is hard to beat, plus Christopher Walken—woohoo!).

My great grandfather "worked for Pan Am" when he was in the CIA. I wonder if there's any garb from that era floating around in some family storage? (image via YouTube)

Wanting:

In the latest installment of "I spend so many hours a week on Amazon and I can't get this _____ out of my head":

The Pandawell 8-pin Lighting Mobile Phone Fan, for quick, personal cooldown sessions.  

(image via The Strategist)

These key rings are nice looking, and my carabiner only completely closes some of the time now. 

(image via Amazon)

This Mara Hoffman Tie Front Dress looks like a great summer wardrobe piece (if only it wasn't $350 more than I'd like to spend).

(image via rent the runway)

Monday Memos // 34

Listening:

I've had some great listening moments lately on long bus trips and crowded subway rides.

Reading:

I love reading a physical paper. This week it's been The Village Voice. 

Favorite articles:

Maximalism or Minimalism? The Modern Ice Cream Lover’s Dilemma by Nora Whelan

Ample Hills’ It Came From Gowanus with munchies topping (left) and Van Leeuwen’s strawberry with sprinkles (image by LISA SHIN via villagevoice)

APRIL BLOOMFIELD AND THE ART OF CUTTING MEAT by MITCHELL KUGA

White Gold Butchers co-owner April Bloomfield: “That meaty smell always felt so wholesome.” (image by Noah Fecks via villagevoice)

Craving:

Everything.

Hailing from a place where there are three places to eat breakfast, one good Thai restaurant and new, worthwhile restaurants popping up only every so often, being in New York City is my culinary dream!

I've had so many solo feasts and delightful treats. Favorites include: a vegetarian combo platter from Meskerem Ethiopian Cuisine; a cup of vegan ice cream from Van Leeuwen; a $12 pile of interesting, delicious salads from LifeThyme Market (beets and dill and salmon and zucchini noodles and yams, etc.); chicken pesto meatballs from Penelope...

It was unseasonably warm and my feet felt like they were bleeding and the ice cream tasted just like heaven. 

Wearing:

Consistent the last several days: Grandma's ring, novelty socks, a colored wrist band, Apple watch, something black, blisters.

Watching:

"Twin Peaks." ! ! !

I've only watched the first hour (don't call them episodes--it's an 18-hour work), but I think we're all in for a treat. Riveting! Exciting! It's finally here. 

Kyle MacLachlan in the revived “Twin Peaks.” (image by Suzanne Tenner/Showtime via nytimes)

Wanting:

Today I met the founder and creative director of one of my favorite shoe brands (Loeffler Randall), Jessie Randall. Her and one of my editor's were wearing the Lulu mule in silver and let's say I've got shoe envy. 

But really, I'll take one of anything. (via loefflerrandall)

I also met Jenna Lyons (! ! ! she was the sweetest and took my business card ! ! !) I want to wear billowing culottes and white sneakers and kimono jackets like her. Or anything like her.

I was going to snap a quick picture but instead went and talked to her. This is older, but still a great example. (image via pinterest but looks very sartorialist)

Lots of wants when you exist in the city of dreams.