I’m writing this Monday morning in a bit of stupor after a glorious evening with the supremely delightful Catherine Newman. A friend took some videos of the night and I’m crying laughing in every single one. I had never truly moderated an author event before (Elise Loehnen needed zero help from me) and I was a sweaty ball of nerves, but Catherine was sweaty too — the 100 degree heat may have had something to do with it — so we simply mashed our damp armpits together in a hug and dove in.
We talked about her new book Wreck, a sequel to Sandwich, where we get to spend another riotous time with Rocky and her family and her cooking and her warmth and neuroses. We talked about sleepless nights (and husbands who have zero trouble in that department! Infuriating!) and The Giving Tree (a horrible book, but what wouldn’t a mother sacrifice for her children?) and the deprivation of illness alongside the abundance of feeding a family.
She complimented my bubblegum pink nails thanks to a manicure from my six-year-old and I complimented her everything. There is something about Catherine that makes you feel undeniably alive. She clearly loves life and it is contagious. Can’t wait to do it again for her next book! Truly, it was perfection.
I love Boden for kid’s stuff, but I started poking around the Women’s section because everything is currently 20% and found so many good pieces (apparently I’m into all things navy!). Like this Knitted Bomber Jacket. Or this Swingy Cropped Trench. A basic Navy Long-Sleeved Tee to wear as a base layer. A Cashmere Neckerchief. High-Rise Wide-Leg Jeans in a dark chocolate color.
I am not a purse person — I keep my random assortment of things in a Wild Plum Wine Tote and never swap it out — but this Jamie Haller Ring Tote stopped me in my tracks. If I were ever to spend $2000 on a bag (!!), it would be this one.
Missing the delightful charms of The Other Bennet Sister? My Brilliant Career is really scratching that itch. It is supremely fun and feminist and sexy. The gloriously uninhibited Sybylla has a line about how women make up half the world and gave birth to all of it and I couldn’t love that more.
Glossy and sexy and deeply menacing, The Plunge is a mental Turkish bath — equal parts steamy and shocking, and I came out of it a little dizzy in the best way. Liv, a playwright, arrives in New York with a scar above one eye from a car crash on a coastal road in Northern California, the one that killed her fiancé and left her swimming in her depression inside a tiny maid’s room at a friend’s apartment.
There’s a gorgeous but enigmatic jewelry designer, Damon, who wears a tan and his silvering beard well. Women can't help themselves around him, Liv included, and neither can Isabel, an older woman who's clearly been exactly where Liv is standing now.
Damon and Isabel pull her into their world — parties, dripping jewels, long flowing dresses — but something's rotting underneath the glamour, and Rex, a journalist with a nose for old wreckage, starts circling, threatening to drag that crash back into the light.
It all crescendos at a villa on Lake Como, tense and boozy and gorgeous, and though I never fully bought the plot's logic (why is Liv so beholden to Isabel?), I devoured every page.
Liv wears a vintage Led Zeppelin tee that belonged to her late fiancé. This vintage-inspired ‘Nice’ shirt scratches that itch for me.
The Plunge is a very sexy book and Liv, our redhead, would look sensational in this cypress green bra and panty.
Damon knows a rare pearl dealer and perhaps he’d create something like this from his collection.
Isabel, the older, glamorous woman, seems to float around in a series of long dresses, like this cream colored satin one.
Rex, the villain of the story, comes to breakfast in a red Breton boat shirt which is undeniably and excellent look.
Damon, the love interest, wears a pair of beat up boat shoes like this perfect pair from Massimo Dutti.
In Lake Como there’s a coral dealer, Bruno, who wears a large gold signet ring. This is my sparkly version.
Isabel heads to a party at a sixth floor walk-up in a sheer black shirt and a pair of jeans. So sexy.
At one point she drinks a stream of Nespressos, eats a sleeve of fig crackers with some nice cheese and slathers on an expensive face mask that smells of rotting pumpkins. This doesn’t smell exactly like rotting pumpkins, but it does have a particular scent. Such a gorgeous mask though for exfoliating and hydrating.
A pair of dark brown bike shorts to throw on for walks around Lake Como.
In case you missed it, I’ll be chatting with Belle Burden on September 11th and, oh boy, have tickets been selling like hotcakes. When I announced it on Instagram, a woman left a comment saying “sorry, I don’t agree with this rec.” Why?? Why even say that on an author event announcement? People continue to fascinate me. Anyway, it’s going to be AMAZING and, if you’re in the area, you can grab a ticket HERE ←
Hope you’re reading something good 💚
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