A Few Little Updates + What Caught My Eye (No. 70)

I wish I had some big news for you this week, dear Reader, but unfortunately I don’t. I sort of blew my proverbial load a little too soon, telling you all about Oslo mid-week, but I just couldn’t contain myself. And now? Well, I have nothing to tell you about except that the dogs are snoozing after their walk, I had a couple bites of leftover Chinese for breakfast, and that I’m slightly hungover from having exactly one tequila soda with dinner last night (hence, of course, the need for General Tso at 8:00 am).

In any case, while there is no big news, there are a few little updates to share:

1. It’s been a very good week for me over on Forbes. I took a brief pause writing there until I had some stuff sorted with my father and my travel schedule, but I came back swinging this week. On Monday, my interview with Michael Bastian, creative director at Brooks Brothers, was published, where we discussed all things madras. Later in the week, my piece on Mr Porter and my interview with Toby Bateman, the company’s CEO, was also published. I can’t believe I was able to go to London for the story. It felt like a dream. And doubly like a dream if I could find a way to weasel myself into writing for their Journal, I think.

2. One of the best ways to motivate me to do something is to tap into my ego. I’m easily embarrassed and take myself very seriously and this combination, while probably hell for everyone around me, does tend to push me faster towards a goal. Because of this, I’ve gotten a personal trainer. A 22-year-old who hands me a five-pound weight and tells me how bad my form is. While I’ve been in total and utter pain for the last two weeks, I’m happy to say that I at least feel better about myself, if I don’t exactly look any differently yet.

3. The other way to motivate me is, of course, through compliments. This is why I can’t physically shut the fuck up about my haircut. Last week I got a mullet of sorts and quite like it. Considering I usually think I look like that one girl from American Horror Story whenever I shave my head, this is a nice change of pace when I look in the mirror.

4. I’ve decided to shop my first novel again. I’m happy that I published a book by the time I was thirty, I don’t think it got the reach or attention that it could have. I’m also happy to say that I have the rights back to Arthur and I want to go about it the proper way this time: find an agent, meet with publishers, sign a contract, get a fat paycheck. I think it’s time to get back to what made me happiest, writing-wise, and bring Arthur’s story back, expanded, and set up for the trilogy I had originally envisioned it to be. Would love any help here, if you can spare it.

5. As I’m sure you know by now, I’m more than happy to beg, grovel, and plead (just ask my 22-year-old trainer when I’m on the dumbbells) . Especially if it saves me a few dollars. Because of this, if anyone has a place for me to stay / sublet for the first two weeks of September for NYFW, I’d be very grateful. The same goes for a trip to Paris that is only vaguely planned but thinking around November. Of course, a hotel is always the other option, and I know I have some subscribers that work in hospitality PR (ahem). I’d be very grateful for any help, too.

6. A special thank you to everyone who answered my email on pitches I’m working on. It was very helpful! If I didn’t reply to you, it’s because I find Gmail to be overwhelming with replies vìs-a-vìs Substack because it aggregates them all into one thread and I get lost (meaning: I’m stupid, so make a new email to help me sort better). A very special thanks to Catriona for taking the time to help me understand affiliate links. And if anyone is interested in doing a guest post, I’ll be opening up that form shortly.

Have a great weekend — cheers

The Prisoner

With Twin Peaks being one of my favourite shows, I’m not surprised that I’m enjoying The Prisoner as much as I am. The concept is simple (if, perhaps, novel for the 1960’s) enough: a secret agent resigns and finds himself trapped in a surreal prison known as The Village. It’s a bit silly, a bit of a thriller, with a lot of mystery at the periphery of the main plot that feels very Lynchian in its mix of dread and camp. It’s currently streaming on Criterion and I think worth giving it a try.

Muriel’s Wedding

I’ve heard of Muriel’s Wedding for years but never got around to watching it, that is until this week. And I’m so glad we did. First of all, I love Toni Collette (though I’ve never seen Hereditary because I’m a baby). Secondly, it has one of those 90’s-era plots that’s a bunch of points on a map only tenuously connected by a feasible storyline. And third, I just love bathos in a story — and, I have to say, Muriel’s Wedding is chock-full of that.

French Magazines

While I don’t know every word, I do like to peruse a few French magazines now and then. Even before I started taking my studying a bit more seriously, I have had L’Etiquette and Monsieur in my rotation throughout the years. The former has released their 100 Icons of French Style edition, which I’d been eyeing and was happy to see come in a digital version (the shipping otherwise wouldn’t have been worth it). Monsieur is a quintessential menswear magazine and has been around for more than a century. I’m surprised more people don’t talk about it, as I find it very well-written and au courant. If they ever lower their editorial standards, I’d love to write for them one day.

Apartamento Notebooks

As the move away from the farm continues as a crawl, I’ve been preemptively packing up my office to move the thousands of notebooks into the storage unit. And yet, like a junkie, I can’t help but think, “Just…one…more...” as I hit “add to cart”. I stumbled upon these notebooks by Apartamento and think they’re incredibly chic. The colorways are pitch-perfect and the branding, while bold, works here since the rest is so constrained and slightly top-heavy. I’d buy a set, if my back didn’t hurt from packing up 500 Moleskines into moving boxes this week. The first step, as they say, is admitting you have a problem.

Flamingo Estate Green Goddess Candle

Second only to notebooks, cats, and the fat around my tummy, candles also fit nicely into the “useless things I have too much of”. Even so, Flamingo Estate’s Green Goddess candle has made me float on air, cartoon-style, into the kitchen when it’s lit.

It’s spicy with heavy notes of basil and rosemary, and sometimes mingles with the scent of the tomatoes that are ripening on the windowsill near the sink. This, to me, is one of the only redeeming qualities of Summer.

Marimekko Piccolo Mug

One good thing about an impending move is not only getting rid of stuff, but the other end of the pendulum: buying stuff. The mugs that have made their way into the kitchen are a veritable Epcot Center of crockery — Royal Albert rose-print china, a set of Polish pottery from my mother a few Christmases back, a couple wabi-sabi inspired espresso cups, handmade by a lesbian in Appalachia. And while I do have a four-set of Arabia mugs, I think there’s always room for a little more bits of Finland in my life. Which is why I’m eyeing these mugs from Marimekko in their striped Piccolo pattern, perfect-sized for midday double espresso.

Quince Linen Duvet Cover Set

Something I think we desperately need, though, are more duvet covers. As you may remember, I’ve become a recent covert, thanks to the Finnish Design Shop’s Tenten set. Since then, I haven’t had a waking moment where I haven’t thought about tucking myself into bed and snuggling up with a book in one hand and Milo’s head resting in the crook of my other arm. I think this terracotta-colored linen set ticks all the boxes for me and is fairly reasonably priced, too. I might as well grab a spare while I’m at it. I feel I'm always doing a load of laundry with three dogs and their twelve muddy paws to worry about.

Marimekko Jokapoika in White

My basic uniform, when it comes down to it, is a white button-down, some beat-up sneaker, and a wide-legged pant. I have more white shirts than I need, but that doesn’t mean I have the Platonic ideal of the white shirt. Well, that is, until perhaps right this moment. While looking at the aforementioned mugs by Marimekko, I stumbled on this white jokapoika which has the subtlest contrasting stripes to it. I think it’s very chic and would be perfect year-round. I’m debating the size I want to get — oversized or a just-right fit — but once I do…well, I know I simply won’t want to talk about anything else.

Buck Mason Big Chino

If there is one thing I’m good at it’s not anchoring myself to my upbringing. I mean, you’d hardly know that my early schooling was in rural Kentucky by the way I spell favourite and watercolour, now would you? In any case, this talent of mine has also allowed for me to cast off the shackles of early-aughts skinny jeans and fully embrace a big ol’ pair of pants. I’m sure this also has to do with my slightly crippling body dysmorphia, but — lucky for me — it’s also on-trend, so it’s kind of a two-birds-one-stone deal. Buck Mason’s Big Chino are undoubtedly “inspired” by J. Crew’s own version, but because they are more expensive, they must be better. I do regret not going one size up since I’m wearing them higher, but this is nothing that my seamstress can’t fix. I’m constantly there anyway to get my pants hemmed (I’m 5’9” and fiendish about where I like my pant leg to break).

Ninja CREAMi

Now that I’m trying (half-heartedly, I should add) to eat better, I’m convinced making my own ice cream at home is the ticket to having a six-pack. At least, that’s what all the influencers on Instagram are telling me — and when have they ever lied to me?

We have invested in a Ninja CREAMi. And that is exactly how I pitched this purchase: an investment. Considering Tillamook (the only ice cream I like) is now $9 at the grocery store and it takes about two weeks to go through a tub…well, as you can see, after a year this baby would pay for itself.