Monday Memos // 74

Listening:

"For You" by Elephant Parade.

"Sleep Till They Die" by La Luz.

(Courtesy deejay DQ)

Reading:

Shameless self promotion — This Cinnamon Raisin Bread Did More for My Love Life Than Tinder.

That tousled hair really does make one feel a certain way — Timothée Chalamet Made Me Do It.

Comfort Foods for Discomfiting Times — Chicken Pot Pie "Make one the size of a baby elephant, crawl inside, and shelter in place until science makes a comeback."

By Olivia de Recat via the New Yorker

I love this image. I ate several slices post photo shoot. (photo by Alex Lau and styling by Emily Eisen)

Craving:

This week was a serious carbohydrate extravaganza. I ate so many of the most delicious things. 

On Wednesday, there was a catered work lunch by Gordon Savory and The Good Batch bakery. I ate half of a roasted chicken caesar sandwich (roasted chicken, caesar dressing, parmesan, bread crumbs, aioli, seeded polenta bread), half of a warm burrata sandwich (burrata, roasted winter squash, parmesan, basil, pickled chili, toasted sourdough focaccia), some sweet and sour Brussel sprouts, and some seasonal farro salad. Wow. It was all delightful. Plus, I sampled the Chocolate Impossible Cookie (almond flour, gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, loaded with dark chocolate chips and chunks), the Sophisticate Cookie (oats, currants, pistachios and dark chocolate), and an oat strudel jam bar. I stopped myself from sampling the array of cookie ice cream sandwiches, but I know I'll have to go visit both shops in the future. 

I also got to experience the sheer joy and option overload of Café Altro Paradiso’s second-annual Bake Sale to Benefit Planned Parenthood. From what I can recall from the pastry blackout: a savory ricotta onion scone from Reynard Restaurant, an apple galette from Poppy's, one of Alison Roman's salty chocolate chunk shortbread cookies, a fudgy coconut brownie from the Smile, a walnut raisin sourdough loaf from Sullivan Street Bakery, a fig and smoked white chocolate oatmeal cookie from Otway, a peanut butter and jelly and a chocolate chip cardamon cookie from I don't remember, a sweet potato sourdough roll from Hemlock, a corn cookie from City House Nashville, and wow wow wow. Are you disturbed or jealous or both?

The decor of Cafe Altro Paradiso is lovely and I want to go back for a meal. I saw Dorie Greenspan there. It was baker foodie heaven. (image via Nick Solares)

Wearing:

My favorite things I wore this week: a cropped paisley button up, tan Sven clogs, red ankle boots with gold studs, sparkle socks, a denim jacket and my X and O earrings. Golden sparkles is a good theme.

I now want all the Carhartt Work In Progress clothes, particularly the teal and rose and dusty blue jackets and pants.

Watching:

Movies: A Quiet Place. Terrifying, endearing, and captivating. John Krasinski should feel proud. "a nerve-shredder. It’s a movie designed to make you an active participant in a game of tension, not just a passive observer in an unfolding horror." — R.E.

Also watched 6 Balloons. "Over the course of one night, a woman drives across Los Angeles with her brother, who is addicted to heroin, in search of a detox center." It had so many people I admire and enjoy on screen (Abbi Jacobson, Dave Franco, Jane Kaczmarek), but I didn't love it. It felt like it was missing something.

TV: Watched Barry. Satisfied and entertained, though not the same anticipatory nature as other HBO hits like Westworld or Insecure. 

Saw two more episodes of The Characters on Netflix starring John Early and Kate Berlant. Riveting and emotional and embarrassing aka HIGHLY recommend. It's fun to see how various comedians take the open-ended constraint of 30 minutes to do and play whatever they want. 

“Vicky With A V.” Also, fact: John Early officiated Amy Schumer’s wedding as Vicky. (image via Netflix)

Treasuring:

Writing words: I felt so excited to put out some personal words for Bon Appetit's Healthyish aside from simply writing about sales and gadgets. My coworkers had really nice things to say. I feel like I am inching toward getting good at this. Now I just need to get back to more journaling too — though I think that is roughly what this has become. 

My continual thought: WWDSD? David Sedaris in his Raleigh, North Carolina apartment in 1980. (Photo by Jeffrey Jenkins via the New Yorker)

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)