From the Desk Of...

Welcome to From the Desk Of…

I’ve always been a curious person - perhaps bordering on a bit nosy - and I’ve come to believe that you can learn a great deal about someone by looking at their desk.

What’s on it. What’s around it. What they keep.

This series is an attempt to capture those details: the objects, the habits, and the other telling things that shape a creative life. Think of it as a home visit, but without the awkward part where you have to pretend you weren’t already looking around.

For the first installment, I’d like to introduce you to Ali LaBelle .

We met when I was living in Los Angeles, after I (shamelessly) slid into her DMs…a strategy that has proven, somewhat surprisingly, very effective over the years. We got coffee in Larchmont, talked for too long, and I walked away with the distinct feeling that we were going to be friends.

Since then, she’s been something of a modern pen pal- keeping in touch across cities and seasons of life. When I started thinking about this Substack, she was one of the first people I called for encouragement and, more importantly, good advice. She gave both in equal measure.

Ali is the voice behind A La Carte, a Substack that reads like a very well-hosted dinner party - thoughtful, specific, and quietly indulgent. She writes about style, interiors, food, and the small details that make a life feel considered, always with an eye for what is both beautiful and actually lived-in.

And so, naturally, I asked her to be my inaugural guest on From the Desk Of… She was gracious enough to answer all 43 questions, and she doesn't disappoint on a single one.

Describe your workspace.

I work from home, so my workspace is really just wherever I happen to be sitting with my laptop on any given day. Sometimes it’s my sofa or my balcony, sometimes a coffee shop, but most often it’s my dining table. Officially, I have an actual desk in my living room that I’ve sat at maybe once—it’s more of a decorative object at this point. I like to float around depending on whether I have calls, I’m writing, or I just need to feel like a different person for a few hours.

What’s always on your desk?

Somewhere between one and three beverages, a cutting mat and X-acto knife, and a candle.

What’s currently on rotation on your desk? Is there anything new or unexpected finding its way there lately?

I have an ever-changing stack of books on my dining table that I’ve pulled to reference, either for a mood board I’m making or for inspiration as I write my book (out next year!). Right now the stack includes Jenny Walton’s Jenny Sais Quoi, Michael Diaz Griffith’s The New Antiquarians, a couple of old Martha Stewart books, and a handful of vintage art books.

Are you a tidy desk person or more… layered?

Layered, unfortunately. There’s always a mad scramble to clear my dining-table-desk when someone’s coming over for dinner.

Your favorite everyday pen or pencil?

A Le Pen in dark brown.

Is there a desk accessory you dream of owning? (a Ralph Lauren leather blotter, a Montblanc pen, etc.)

Not a specific accessory, but I dream of having an entire dedicated office. A room that is just for work, with a door I can close.

Do you keep a notebook or planner? If so, what kind?

No, I’m a digital girl. As much as I love paper and stationery, I’m much more organized when everything’s on the Cloud.

Do you have any favorite stationery?

Choosing Keeping in London sells these beautiful lace cards that are so delicate and special. I stocked up when I was there two years ago, but I’m all out now, and it’s tragic.

Is there a card or note you’ve kept over the years?

I save most of the cards my friends and family have given me over the years, but they go into a box in my closet that I rarely open. I just have this feeling that someday I’ll be so glad they’re there—it’s like an archive of love notes from my favorite people.

Coffee or tea?

Both! I drink espresso and matcha interchangeably. I have really cute teacups that I love drinking from, so sometimes that influences my beverage choice.

Is there a ritual or routine to the way you start your day?

I’m a slow starter. I like to lie in bed for a long time—sometimes a couple of hours—usually scrolling or doing the NYT Crossword while I ease into being awake. I don’t think this is laziness so much as a deeply held commitment to leisure. Eventually I get up, get ready, make my way to the kitchen, and eat breakfast while I answer emails.

And one for how you end it?

I’m much more ritualistic about bedtime than I am about mornings. It starts a couple of hours before I actually go to sleep: skincare, red-light mask, magnesium, air conditioning set to 65, poplin pajamas. I’m a deep and consistent sleeper, and I’m convinced it’s because I take the wind-down seriously. Sleep is not something I’m casual about.

Whose desk would you most like to rummage through?

Ooh, good question. I bet Nora Ephron had some interesting notes and tidbits hidden in drawers. Maybe Dries Van Noten? Or Miuccia Prada? I’d be interested to see what things these big, impressive designers have quietly stashed as inspiration.

A place you’ve traveled to that felt especially creatively inspiring?

Milan is my favorite city for inspiration, so much so that I’m currently planning an inspiration trip there with the travel company El Camino in the fall! I think Milan has this perfect blend of modernism and heritage—it’s an old city that’s home to so much innovation across design, fashion, architecture, and art.

A favorite shop you’ve discovered while traveling?

I lost my mind the first time I went to Santa Maria Novella in Florence—this was before they started opening stores all over the world, and I had never heard of them. It’s been there since 1221, originally a convent infirmary and later, in 1612, the pharmacy it’s known as today. It’s just the most beautiful retail experience you’ll ever have.

A favorite bookstore?

Daunt Books in London is just as special as you think it’d be. But my favorite favorite bookstore is my local one, Vroman’s. It’s a fixture of the community and I hope it never ever closes.

If you could go on a creative retreat anywhere, where would it be—and what would you do there?

I’m really excited about the trip I’m planning to Milan and Turin—I think that’s going to be a major source of creative invigoration for me. But if I were to plan one just for me, I’d maybe choose somewhere in France. I’ve been wanting to go to the South of France forever—Nice, maybe!

Favorite gift you’ve given?

I commissioned a hand-drawn Bode pillow for my sister’s 30th birthday that basically was a big inside joke between us—it had a drawing of her dog Maisie, a nod to her childhood nickname, a reference to our first sister trip. She always says that it’s the first object she’d save in a fire.

Favorite gift you’ve received?

Not to harp on about my sister, but we know each other so well, it’s easy to gift each other! Years ago she was living in Seattle, and during one of my visits to see her, we stopped into an antique store where I fell in love with this little rug. It was just so pretty, and I wanted to buy it, but I didn’t want to carry it back with me on the plane or deal with it, so I left it behind. Fast forward weeks later to the holidays—I unwrapped a box with a note inside that said “Look under the sofa”, and my rug was there with a bow around it. She had dropped me off at the airport, then turned right back around and bought the rug without me knowing.

A book that changed how you see the world?

Marjan Kamali’s The Stationery Shop did that for me. It’s such a sensory book, and I think just reading it made me a better writer. I also loved listening to Ina Garten’s memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens—the back half is about how she stepped into her own ambition and just let her gut guide her, and I feel really connected to that type of thinking.

A film you could watch over and over again?

That Thing You Do.

Comfort TV show?

I am, for better or worse, a committed reality TV watcher. Something about watching the Housewives implode at a dinner table or strangers fall in love behind a wall requires exactly the right amount of brain engagement to make any stress I’m feeling temporarily disappear.

A favorite children’s book?

Madeline. Boring answer, everyone loves it, but I’m a big Bemelman’s fan. I love his non-children’s books, too.

A book you judged by the cover—and bought because of it?

I bought a vintage book about dance steps years ago that I’ve genuinely never opened. I just love the plaid bookcloth it’s bound in. It lives on my shelf and it’s beautiful and that’s enough.

Your favorite object in your home?

I have two paintings made by my grandpa that I love more than anything else I own.

Do you listen to anything while you work, or do you prefer silence?

I prefer silence—I do a lot of writing, and I need to be able to hear the voices in my head.

If you do listen—what tends to be playing? (a particular artist, genre, or playlist)

If I happen to be doing something I don’t need intense focus for, I like listening to Bossa Nova—the restaurant Pujol in Mexico City has excellent playlists on Spotify that I always rotate through.

Any podcasts you return to regularly?

I love Handsome, Giggly Squad, Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino, Sentimental Garbage, Diabolical Lies… mostly pop-culture pods.

Do you have a favorite accessory?

I have a Portuguese basket bag that I love—it’s such a great shape and makes even my most boring outfits feel intentional.

Is there an accessory you wish you could wear (admire on others, but aren’t quite sure you can pull off yourself)?

Glasses. I just haven’t found the right ones for my face. I’ve worn contacts every day for over 20 years, but one of these days, I’ll break the cycle.

Is there an outfit you feel most creative in?

I have two answers to this. The outfit I feel most like myself in is an A-line midi skirt, a white tee, and a trench coat—that combination is basically my uniform. But the outfit I feel most comfortable actually creating in is a pair of Donni pants and a giant grey sweatshirt, which is what I’m wearing as I type this.

Your favorite place to observe people?

I could sit at a sidewalk café for hours. The patios at Barra Santos and Capri Club here in LA are great people-watching spots.

What do you collect, intentionally or accidentally?

I’m a collector in general — I just like to be surrounded by beautiful things. Art books, cookbooks, pewter and silver tableware, lace tablecloths, baskets, restaurant ephemera. None of it was really planned, but somehow it’s become a collection.

What’s a rabbit hole you’ve gone down recently?

I picked up a 1997 book about Thonet last weekend at Bart’s Books in Ojai, which sent me down a whole ‘90s-early 2000s interiors spiral. There’s something about that era’s restrained minimalism mixed with timeworn objects that I can’t get enough of right now—Rose Tarlow does it so well, too. I also recently tracked down an early copy of her book The Private House, so the rabbit hole turned into another rabbit hole.

If you could host a dinner party anywhere, with anyone, what would it look like?

It’d be in a cozy stone cottage in the Cotswolds, ideally in the fall, when the leaves are all changing. I’m inviting my sister and a handful of my best friends—people who appreciate good food and an unfussy atmosphere. There’s a fire in the fireplace, and we’re all cramped in the dining room eating comfort food—mashed potatoes and some sort of pie and roasted vegetables. There are a lot of candles—no overhead lighting!—and we’re eating off of classic china patterns that never seem to feel grandma-y or like they came from a forgotten antique shop.

Favorite snack?

I love a mid-afternoon chocolate chip cookie.

Favorite pasta?

Ooh, this is tough. Maybe a spaghetti al limone, or something in a really light and buttery tomato sauce. I love Alison Roman’s mac and cheese when I’m cooking for a crowd, but if it’s for myself, it’s usually something simple and fresh with ingredients from my local farm market.

Favorite dessert?

Tiramisu!

Favorite flower?

Marigolds in the fall, garden roses in the spring. And mimosa! And tulips!

I have a deep love of very specific color naming—and find it quite amusing (“Dead Salmon” by Farrow & Ball). If you could name your favorite color, what would you call it?

Pistachio Toothpaste. I love a very specific shade of green that’s somewhere between a pistachio and a mint.

Do you have a favorite pretentious or whimsical word?

There are certain words that always just make me laugh. “Calamity” is one. “Galore” is another. I think I like sort of out-of-date words that pack a lot of personality.

Book that made you laugh a lot?

Anything by David Sedaris. I’ve read almost all of his books, and they’re all wonderful.

Favorite idiom?

“All roads lead to Rome” is a good one. I mean it literally as often as I mean it figuratively.

What do you do to get out of a creative rut?

I struggle to get out of a creative rut in my own day-to-day. I need a pretty significant interruption, like a trip somewhere exciting or a life-changing meal. Sometimes I just let myself be in the rut… These times come and go, and trying to muscle through them doesn’t usually help. Sometimes the most productive thing I can do is just wait.

Thank you, Ali, for indulging my nosiness, and for being the first desk (or table, rather) we visited.

If you enjoyed this, consider sharing it with someone who still writes letters, keeps too many books, or has a desk they also never sit at. More desks, more objects, more people worth meeting…coming soon.

Curiously Yours,

Carly