Monday Memos // 40

Listening:

"Hamilton Road" by Ducktails.

This feels like summertime music and it pretty much sounds like Kurt Vile. (I enjoy the descriptions of sound/genre found on Wikipedia: The band's music has been alternately characterized as "hypnagogic pop", "woozy, horizontal pop" and "lo-fi." Hypnagogic? Horizontal? Okay.)

Turns out Hamilton Road is in Ridgewood, New Jersey (shout out to nearby Park Ridge, NJ—my ma's hometown).

"Bowlly Goes Dancing Drunk Into The Future" by Loving.

I think the heat and humidity just makes me crave slow, woozy pop. I can't find much intel on the band, Loving, but I dig it. The song titles are really great, too.

Reading:

My love of food and words continues, and this week it entails Oreos: "Fireworks Oreos? A Reporter Digests."

I'd say the classic flavors usually reign supreme. (image by Tony Cenicola via The New York Times)

Craving:

S'mores (or s'mores adjacent treats). 

I was hoping I'd find my way to some graham cracker-chocolate-marshmallow goodness for the patriotic holiday. All I ended up with was a belly full of watermelon, chips and kabobs—still delicious. 

Here are some inspirational recipes I might need to make to quell the craving. 

S’More Life: Chocolate Chip Cookie S’mores via i am a food blog

Saltine Cracker-Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches via Joy the Baker

Lots of drool-worthy recipes: 8 More S'mores via Food52

Wearing:

Sandals (beach trips, it's so hot) and sunscreen (always and forever) and scratches (I think my cat keeps scratching me in my sleep and mysterious packing/cleaning brushes with sharp edges).

This seemed like an appropriate image to encompass all of that. 

Watching:

"Catastrophe" Season 3. It's a lot of chaos ("unemployment, mortgages, jealous coworkers, drunken mistakes, friends in rehab, disastrous job interviews, insane family, and, of course, keeping the children alive") but it is still quite funny. 

"Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney are as sharp and scabrous as ever." (image via radiotimes)

Wanting:

A dresser-like object (aka something with drawers to put my clothes in). Simple, but necessary.

Monday Memos // 39

Listening:

Life with a new weekly deejay gig has my mind swarming with music new, old and beloved. 

The video is really fun. Favorite part of the song: minutes 1:00-1:50.

This music reminds me of my 15- to 17-year-old self. Digging the decor.

A perfect and sweet song. 

Minutes 1:10-1:35: best part. 

Reading:

I love a good story and a great dessert. This one by Dorie Greenspan is sweet and lovely (I really want to eat a bakewell tart now, too). "If you bake for your baby, you’ll build memories, sweet, loving and enduring." I definitely have a thousand fond memories surrounding oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, lavish chocolate cake, flaming figgy pudding, and on and on and on.

As these hot summer months make people feel rage, I really enjoyed this story about finding light on a bad day. Maybe I'll throw my troubles in the side yard before I step inside the house or wash them down the drain when I spit out my toothpaste...

"The look was, as the British say, homely, but the textures, the tartness of the jam and the lovely, soft, slightly chewy and not very sweet cake made it the kind of dessert you come back to, finishing it sliver by sliver and dashing any hope you had of tucking some away for breakfast." (image via Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Rebecca Bartoshesky.)

Craving:

Zucchini. 

I've been eating this summer squash for lunch, dinner and dessert. Back at it with the spiralizer, I've been making peppery lemon zoodles and still in a baking frenzy, I made a batch of oatmeal chocolate chip zucchini cookies. 

I miss having a big basket of fresh zucchinis appear on the porch at my grandma's house. She'd make these crispy, breadcrumb-covered delights. I'd often make a loaf of bread or muffins with the extras. We'd swap peaches, baked goods and cocktail hour hangouts with our squash-giving neighbor friends. 

I love the look of squash blossoms (and eating fried ones!). (image via spoonflower)

Wearing:

Sunscreen, tank tops, and anything billowy. Aka hundred degree heat index wear. 

Kinda wish I still had this outfit to wear. (image via mom & dad)

Watching:

I'm intrigued by the new animated series "Danger & Eggs."

"The show is about a girl named DD Danger (voiced by SNL‘s Aidy Bryant) and her best friend, a giant egg with a face, arms and legs named Phillip (voiced by Eric Knobel). They go on wacky adventures together in Chickenpaw Park, like riding an abandoned water slide, forming a band, inventing games, hanging out with raccoons and discovering a secret underground lab." -Mey Rude

DD and Phillip. (image via Amazon/Puny Entertainment)

I learned some valuable life lessons watching "Vegas Vacation."

Wayniac. (image via blu-ray.com)

I really want to see the new Sofia Coppola movie, "The Beguiled." Even if the story is boring, she always has great imagery and music. 

I'll watch anything with Kirsten Dunst. 

Wanting:

Two weeks into my latest intern job (New York Magazine's shopping section, The Strategist), I have been flooded with interesting objects I can't help but add to my Amazon shopping cart (current total of dream products: $591.22. FINGER, DO NOT CLICK BUY!).

Plus, this week has seen an influx in one of my favorite articles from the site, "Celebrity Shopping," where you'll learn what all your favorite famous people love to buy. 

Aubrey Plaza made me want to try some new deodorant. 

Mae Whitman made me want some Rachel Antonoff clothes. 

RuPaul made me want some super essential oil elixir. 

It goes on and on. 

This RA Jonny shirt is so good. (via rachelantonoff.com)

Monday Memos // 38

Listening:

"Rican Beach" by Hurray For the Riff Raff. (Found this via Kate Miss and her always enviable music mixes.)

"Mississippi" by The Cactus Blossoms. (Heard this on a new Twin Peaks episode.)

"Moses of the South" by Colour Revolt. (Discovered this through a favorite music recommender.)

Reading:

The Writing Process. This is perfect. 

I want to see the movie "The Big Sick." Here's a story behind the story.

I want to read this children's book: "What Are We Even Doing With Our Lives?: The Most Honest Children's Book of All Time." 

From "What Are We Even Doing With Our Lives?" (via amazon)

Craving:

Chocolate chip studded stuff. 

Last week I made mixed nut butter chocolate chip cookies (adapted from this recipe) and chocolate chip banana bread bites. In total, I think I ate 26 of the 30 baked goods. Delicious, and actually fairly nutritious. I need to go make more; I'm thinking chocolate chip zucchini something.

I love chocolate chip cookies, truly. (image via acozykitchen)

Wearing:

I put on many things last week I've never worn or only worn on occasion. It was nice. Refresh!

Top picks: a shiny skirt, an off-the-shoulder striped dress, and thick canvas tank top. 

Cher is always in my thoughts when it comes to dressing. (image via paramount pictures)

Watching:

Dave Chappelle's Netflix special "The Age of Spin." Brilliant.

"The Wedding Singer." Killer soundtrack and terribly wonderful outfits. 

Julia Gulia. (image via the movie review)

Wanting:

"Salad for President: A Cookbook Inspired by Artists." By Julia Sherman.

The creator of the immensely popular Salad for President blog presents a visually rich collection of more than 75 salad recipes, with contributions and interviews by artists/creative professionals like William Wegman, Tauba Auerbach, Laurie Anderson, and Alice Waters.

This book looks beautiful and delicious. I want to be like Julia Sherman.

You had me at Heirloom Tomatoes with Crunchy Polenta Croutons. (via amazon)

Monday Memos // 37

Listening:

Land of Talk's "Life After Youth."

NY Mag has a column this month called "That's a Bop"—an effort to introduce you to artists and songs beyond the top-ten list. The headline for the article on Land of Talk called to me: "This Song Will Motivate You to Pick Up That Side Project You’ve Been Neglecting." 

I don't want to waste it this time / I don't want to waste it, my life

Reading:

"The African Svelte: Ingenious Misspellings That Make Surprising Sense" by Daniel Menaker & illustrated by Roz Chast. 

During his time at The New Yorker, Daniel Menaker happened across a superb spelling mistake: “The zebras were grazing on the African svelte." Fascinated by the idea of unintentionally meaningful spelling errors, he began to see that these gaffes—neither typos nor auto-corrects—are sometimes more interesting than their straight-laced counterparts.

Menaker glances at familiar fumbles like "for all intensive purposes" and "doggy-dog world," but readers delighted by language will find themselves turning the pages with baited breath to discover fresh howlers that have them laughing off their dairy airs.  

The introduction is by poet Billy Collins, too. 

Craving:

Mediterranean fare.

I've been consumed by the thought of falafel and hummus and tahini dressed things this week. I could go for a gyro or pita platter, too. I think the seed was planted when I saw these falafel waffles. 

Oh, Ladycakes makes to most delicious looking foodstuff. (image via ohladycakes)

Wearing:

The shoe archive.

I've been digging around my closet, dusting off old favorite shoes, letting neglected pairs out for a walk or two. 

Chunky white ones, spray-painted red-toed ones, super metallic strappy ones, old slipper-like ones, etc.

Watching:

Currently watching a hodgepodge of shows I've already mentioned here before. However, what I really want to see is the new movie "Band Aid."

A directorial debut from Zoe Lister-Jones, the story follows a couple (played by Lister-Jones and Adam Pally) who can’t stop fighting and end up working through their grief by turning all their fights into song. Fred Armisen plays the drums. 

Wanting:

A beautiful, affordable, comfortable apartment. Wood floors would be nice. A decent closet would be great. Come on universe!

Hey, I could hang with this kitchen if I had to. (Image via The Los Angeles Times California Home Book)