Monday Memos // 89

Listening:

"Down in the Willow Garden" by The Everly Brothers.

"New Orleans Instrumental No. 1" by R.E.M.

"Charcoal Baby" by Blood Orange.

Reading:

Books I want to read:

No One Tells You This by Glynnis MacNicol. "a fearless reckoning with modern womanhood and an exhilarating adventure that will resonate with anyone determined to live by their own rules."

Fresh Complaint by Jeffrey Eugenides. "Narratively compelling, beautifully written, and packed with a density of ideas despite their fluid grace, these stories chart the development and maturation of a major American writer."

The Incendiaries by R. O. Kwon. "a fractured love story that explores what can befall those who lose what they love most."

image from an illustrated book review by Kristen Radtke (via nylon)

Craving:

Hanging in Maryland, which thus far means feasting on Joe Squared pizza and trying a newer spot in DC: A Rake's Progress. The latter is set in The Line hotel, which is beautiful itself — a cobbling together of restaurants, a radio station, and hotel housed inside a 110-year old massive-columned church. 

We had fresh Chesapeake oysters and salty, buttered bread. My mom and I shared a crab cake with shaved cucumber, red onion, tomato and smoked onion tartar; an heirloom tomato tart with puff pastry, vinaigrette and various basils; plus a farro salad with summer squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, nectarines and yogurt dressing.

We also had an incredible fudge brownie sundae: spelt brownie, mint chip ice cream, tiny homemade Oreos, whipped cream and hot fudge. A winner!

Pre- and post-saucing. 

Wearing:

Since I haven't been wearing anything particularly outlandish (denim, black, black, black), here are some beautiful images of things I love and would wear. 

Leandra Medine shoes (leandra medine via vogue)

Mara Hoffman delights.

Watching:

Last Friday I watched The End of the Tour on the bus ride to MD. It was slow but great, sad but soothing. Maybe one day I'll read Infinite Jest. 

Today I read that True Detective season 3 is back in January. Fingers crossed it's like the first season and renews our love of the show. 

I haven't been going to the movies or falling deep into shows much recently, so enthusiasm is currently in the ebb phase. 

Treasuring:

Giddiness and excitement: I experienced a few days last week where I couldn't contain my wild smiles. I took a ferry ride from the beach to the city — through the sunset hours. I was handed an It's-It out of the blue. I met a stranger in such a spectacular way. I shared stories with lots of details. I daydreamed on car rides. I'm letting the waves of emotions wash over me and I'm constantly pumped for the future and the now. 

Hello It's-It, my old friend / I've come to talk with you again

Monday Memos // 83

Listening:

"Breathe In, Breathe Out" by Melody's Echo Chamber.

"SUMMER" by The Carters.

"123" by Girlpool. 

Reading:

MODERN LOVE: He’s Going Back to His Former Wife. Sort Of.

Good photos, interesting outfits: What 9 Instagram Employees Wore to Their New Offices

Read this for the sake of "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins: Do You Have a Favorite Poem?

Great tips and excellent tricks, and the best piece of advice "build your trip around croissants."

I love the nanny story too. (photo by Aubrie Pick via bonappetit)

Craving:

Last weekend I was in Seattle and ate so many fabulous things. I even got to experience first class Alaska Air breakfast (scrambled eggs, french toast with rhubarb thyme compote, and ricotta with salty honey, berries, and slivered almonds). 

At The Whale Wins, a white and blue cottage-like space, I ate burrata with asparagus, pesto, wine-soaked cherries, and breadcrumbs, custardy French toast, carrot and beet hummus with braised collards and jammy eggs. At Manolin, probably my favorite spot, I had oysters, perfect plantain chips, rockfish ceviche, giant fresh mussels on toast, grilled beef with creamed yucca and chimichurri, and some refreshing scallops. I had the best sushi ever. I had three halves of the some outstanding doughnuts. There's more, but I'm jealous of my past self already. 

I want to own a home with Manolin-esque decor. I love the PNW. (image via manolin)

Wearing:

I've been wearing lots of patterns and/or dresses lately to deal with the summer and the heat. At the end of every day my clothes were sweat-soaked and I needed a cold shower. My favorite look of recent days: a big vintage silky blouse as a dress, over a slip. It was just the sort of comfort and fun to wear for a full Friday. Lots of Keds and structured sandals. 

Watching:

Saw: I finished Killing Eve — watch it. I've watched a few episodes of Nailed It for some comic, baking lightness. Saw some Godard at one of my favorite New York theaters, Metrograph. 

To Be Seen: Beautiful Boy, which I am sure will make me sob. Three Identical Strangers looks wild and wonderful.

Short Bits: The BA video team is making some highly entertaining stuff.

Treasuring:

The Pacific Northwest: Seattle was beautiful. Chilly and breezy. Mountains and ocean. Waterfalls and ferris wheels. Fresh fish and pastries. One of my best friends and one of my favorite felines. I laughed so much and wandered and lazed. I cannot wait to go back.

This app randomly inserting a rainbow filter and it perfectly coincided with pride weekend. 

Monday Memos // 81

Listening:

"Blue Castaway" by The Shelltones. 

This song makes me feel like I'm in the scene of a movie, and/or makes me want to make a movie. More than 50 years later it holds up. I'm on a melancholy tiki party kind of music kick.

"Enchantment" by The Melody Mates. See above.

"You're So Vain" by Carly Simon. 

I was at the gym — the Planet Fitness in Harlem is a world of sights and surprises — and this older man on the elliptical next to me was belting out all the songs he was listening to. I heard this line "I'll bet you think this song is about you" and whether or not it really was Carly Simon, it's been stuck in my head ever since. A few days later even, an older woman was busking in the subway with it.

Reading:

I woke up at 6 a.m. on Wednesday because my body was excited for this series of stories to be released on Bon Appétit: America's Favorite Neighborhood Restaurants. 

I first learned about it in February, and was instantly ready to participate and ready to read about all these special places around the country. I wrote draft after draft of my own love story to one of my favorite places on the planet. It was revised and tucked away, then revised again and ready in waiting. And here it is: The Weird, Wonderful Restaurant Where I Always Wanted to Work.

Being lumped among this description makes me feel like my dreams are coming true: We asked 80 of the most interesting people we know—chefs, novelists, activists, comedians, NBA players, and more—to let us in on their most-trusted haunts, from a Tibetan dumpling stand in a grocery store in Columbus to a landlocked fish market in Tulsa. These are the spots we return to again and again, the places that make no claim to be the “newest” or the “trendiest,” and that’s precisely why we love them.

I recommend reading them all. I'm slowly and lovingly making my way through these gems. 

Craving:

Delicious moments experienced in the last week:

- a feast at Lolo's Seafood Shack, which is described as Caribbean Street Eats alongside Classic New England favorites. We had conch fritters, jerk chicken, sweet plantains, crab cakes, and more. 

- Levain cookies for breakfast. A wedge of a chocolate chip walnut and double chocolate chip to start the day is an excellent way to live. 

- A lunch provided by Fuku — a "casual chicken concept by Momofuku." It's hard to pass up free spicy chicken sandwiches with habanero mayo, slaw, and pickles. 

- homemade cherry cobbler. It was sitting just feet from my desk and made by a coworker with strong opinions about the definition of a cobbler. 

- a friend reunion dinner at Jajaja, a "contemporary Mexican spot with a colorful, all-vegan menu." This was incredibly good. Plus, they had plantain chips that were exactly like home! I ate things like crushed Mayan pumpkin seed dip, turmeric queso fundito, mezcal mushroom tacos... and we got free churros with coconut dulce de leche because our wait was so long.

Jajaja was a fun spot: images above via Gothamist and Guest of a Guest.

Wearing:

On Wednesday, because I was so pumped for the day, I wore my gold star corduroy jumpsuit. On Friday, I wandered around a sunny Soho with sparkly red socks and unfashionable sandals. On Saturday, I parted my hair differently (it felt like a whole new head of hair) and wore a very comfortable terrycloth dress (it was like a cozy towel).

I'm having a red, striped moment. (items via & Other Stories)

Watching:

I'm almost done with Killing Eve and loving it. My favorite show right now is I'm Dying Up Here (waiting each week for a new episode is one of those rare acts of media patience.) I saw Ocean's 8 and couldn't wait for it to be over so I could go home and be in bed. I saw the trailer for Bad Times at the El Royale and I am very intrigued. — Seven strangers, each with a secret to bury, meet at Lake Tahoe's El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one fateful night, everyone will have a last shot at redemption - before everything goes to hell.

Also, these Bon App videos "Pastry Chef Attempts To Make _______" are so good. The latest, an attempt at making Skittles, watch it.

Treasuring:

Visitors: I got to show off my workspace to visiting old and new friends. We toured various floors of the World Trade Center. I felt so official when the security desk called me about my guests in the lobby. I outfitted my office into a cozy guest room and finally got to host some family. I loved wandering around the city with my sister-in-law, pointing out landmarks, eating great food, and enjoying the peaceful living room together. It's nice to mix familiarity with the newness of my experience here. 

Last week, I pulled this animal spirit for the week ahead. On Saturday, at Bon Appétit's Healthyish Homecoming festival, a speaker said, "Don't be a chick, you're an eagle." At the risk of sounding cheesy, I really do feel like I'm soaring. 

Monday Memos // 75

Listening:

"Losers" by The Belle Brigade. (thanks MB!)

"The Heat" by Jungle.

Reading:

The Secret History by Donna Tartt.

Since The Goldfinch is currently cemented in my heart as one of my favorite books of all time, I figured I should give another Tartt novel a go. So far so great. 

"Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill."

Also jealous of this jacket that @god_save_the_misanthropes handmade for Tavi Gevinson after they met on a New York subway platform. (more details via thecut)

Craving:

I didn't go wild on anything in particular this week, but I am regularly enjoying: mini Nutter Butters, bodega date nut bars, sweet potatoes, scrambled eggs, furikake seasoning, sautéed spinach, and lots of coffee. A hodge podge for sure. 

A warm weather craving: OddFellows ice cream. The latest storefront is all about coffee and serves up wild flavors (Pumpernickel, Huckleberry, Pumpkin Brown Butter, etc) and delightful-sounding affogatos (espresso + ice cream).

The café liégeois, a sort of parfait meets sundae made with espresso, coffee-crunch ice cream, wafer cookie, and coffee “soil.” (Photo by Melissa Hom via nymag)

Wearing:

I got to experience spring and warmth for roughly 48 hours and it was outstanding. I went out and about without sleeves and pants. There were birthday parties and barbecues in the park, there are daffodils all over the place... I wore black floral dresses and black tees and one day I didn't wear socks.

Watching:

Movies: A Fantastic Woman. I watched this alone in a nearly empty theater on Friday night. It was beautiful, wild, and deeply saddening. I would definitely recommend it. It reminded me of an Almodovar film.

Daniela Vega is amazing. (She's my age!) Also, based on the scenery in the movie, I want to go to Chile. (image via sony)

Want to see: Hot Summer Nights. It is hard not to be enticed by all things Timothée Chalamet. A boy comes of age during a summer he spends in Cape Cod. I can relate to life changing New England summertime too.

Love all the people involved in Tully. I think Ron Livingston and Mark Duplass play brothers and wow I never realized how similar they look.

And since I miss my Australia accents, That's Not Me looks fun.

Treasuring:

Hilarity: I had several moments last week where I was laughing so much I couldn't get my words out. There are few feelings better than being overcome with humor. 

Mom: My mom is the best and I love talking to her. No more explanation necessary.

I have those earrings now and I've always had that face.