Well, here we are again. I got out of bed at noon and ate a Levain cookie for breakfast. I’m doing a lot of this:
And this:
I’m choosing to move forward by getting 90% off social media, adopting informational hermit tendencies, and focusing on things I can control. In that spirit, here’s what I got up to in October.
I watched “English Teacher” on Hulu two times- once alone and again with Liam. It’s totally delightful, truly funny, and very rewatchable. A perfect watch for a week when you feel mad and frustrated but gotta keep it moving.
Went to QC Spa on Governor’s Island for my birthday earlier this month. On your birthday you can get 2 admissions for the price of one. It was a gorgeous day, and everyone there was also having their birthday which made for a very weird fun atmosphere. Don’t get the lunch there though— total ripoff.
Later that day I ate at King in Soho with my family. A lovely homey restaurant. One of the chefs also has a great Substack. I made her pancake recipe when my GF sister came over for breakfast. They were good!
I saw “Anora” which I love love loved. I reminded me of “Moonstruck” which is also set in Brooklyn when it’s way too cold. It was a different movie than I was expecting from the trailer but in a good way. If you haven’t seen Mikey Madison in “Better Things” you should fix that!
I also saw a movie I hated which is “The Wild Robot.” This movie was trash. I have no idea how it has a 98% rating. Honestly that should have warned me about what was to come with the election. The people in this country do not know a good thing from a bad thing.
I’ve been experimenting with roasting chickens and really like this recipe from Bon Appetit. You can do without the pretzels though. Consider this my endorsement for covering just about anything in honey mustard and shoving it in the oven.
Earlier this year I became very dissatisfied with my robe when I went to a spa and used a Really Good and Giant Robe. My old robe (from a Brooklyn favorite homewares brand that shall not be named) hit at the knees, which became unacceptable after my mind had been opened to the ankle-length robe. Plus, it was several years old, fraying in many places, and I lost the waist tie. I got myself a robe from Tekla which is just wonderfullllll. Three pockets, reaches to the floor, very thick. I can and have lied around for hours in this robe after a shower. It’s heaven.
I finished “Anna Karenina” which was good but not great. Ok— I didn’t finish it. I put it down after she killed herself (at 93% of the way through. Good enough?). Toxic rich people failing to communicate efficiently, who occasionally feel a little bit bad about peasants.
October was the month I started my house hunt in earnest. I’m trying to GTFO of the city and go plant some flowers upstate. This has done disastrous things to my brain. We totally fell in love with the first house we saw, only to be told it had an accepted offer that was not worth competing with. I cried, and have checked Zillow every 15 minutes ever since.
i mentally lived here for many years With houses on the brain, Liam and I channeled that into our costumes for my sister’s Halloween party. We were houses. We didn’t have any costume planned the morning of the party, and then were suddenly hard at work on these insane house hats by noon. It took us all day to make them, but it was really fun, and worth the paper cuts and Gorilla Glue on my hands.
I’ve been spending a lot of time in the East Village since I started my type design program at Cooper Union, which is fun because it’s my old stomping grounds, but also fun because it is the epicenter of Fun Little Treats. The amount of restraint I have had to cultivate to not bring home delicious baked goods every time I got to class should be awarded. That said, the bagels I got from Apollo Bagels were absolutely divine. I got a half dozen, froze them, and then had them with cream cheese for breakfast. That was an amazing week.
I listened to Art Garfunkel’s album “Breakaway” a few times, which is a very good album. I’m pretty sure it’s all covers (including one of my all time favorite songs, his cover of “Waters of March”). I also really like “Disney Girls,” a cover of a Beach Boys song. Honestly a lot of my favorite songs are covers. If you can do a song better, you should go ahead and do it.
I’ve been really loving Catherine Shannon’s substack. She’s a great writer and very insightful. These two posts are especially good, and this video actually made me LOL during last night’s trauma.
Earlier this week I made this lamb ragu recipe along with some homemade pappardelle, which was quite honestly mind blowing. I had it for dinner three days in a row.
For my birthday I got this amazing vintage Coach bag. I was lacking a crossbody that could actually hold anything, and this bag does the trick. There really is no reason to buy a new bag when vintage Coach is right there. I got this one on Japanese eBay. I saw a lady on the subway last night (phenomenally dressed, exited at Clinton-Washington) who also had a vintage Coach bag. The rich Clinton Hill ladies know!!!
Bye!!!
Wow! Someone else who loves Art’s Breakaway.
His version of I Only Have Eyes for You is my favorite in the world.