My March Recommendations Are IN
Side-stepping a career spiral, THE skin mist of spring, three rad vintage posters under $100, and the summer shoe you're going to live in.
A few weeks ago I was kind of spiraling. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what set the spinning in motion, but rest assured it was somewhere at the intersection of Career Angst + Under-Eye Bags + Reels Dread.
We’ve all been there. Navigating social media’s quixotic, often fickle (drive-you-MAD) agendas does not help. But the silver lining here is that I was served (in a Reel, no less) a blip of a podcast that caught my ear/eye. It was from the motivational speaker Rich Roll’s podcast. And the person speaking was Dr. Ellen Langer. She wasn’t familiar to me, but what she was saying in that moment felt like it was meant for me. She was talking about the pointless nature of regret, and how any decision we make—no matter how conflicted or compromised we feel in making it—we must believe that it WILL BE and IS the right one. No matter what.
Regret over roads not taken or things said/not said is in fact the nature of being mindless as opposed to MINDFUL, which was the focus of the episode—and also why in addition to being the first woman to earn tenure in Psychology at Harvard, the author of countless bestselling books, and an indefatigable researcher, Langer is considered THE Mother of Mindfulness. The two-hour listen was riveting (I shared it with countless friends and my husband), but what really held my attention, and has stayed with me, is THIS: When we are mindful—aware and taking in our lives as it’s happening—we declare in this very moment that we are exactly where we are supposed to be, doing what we’re meant to be doing. Being who we are meant to be.
I got it. So, that’s what I’m kicking off the March list with here…my #1. (Photo below, courtesy of the Rich Roll Podcast).
And, here’s a little more:
• Mind Your Body. Langer’s latest book “The Mindful Body” (the hook of the show) is related to how our thoughts inevitably affect our bodies, our choices, and the course of our lives. I know this isn’t news to most of us, but what’s fascinating is all the research she’s done over decades that literally PROVE how we think determines our lived experience (when you listen, I suspect you, too, will be captivated by what she shares!).
• Regret nothing. Regretting the moves/decisions we made or didn’t make holds us captive, while alternately choosing that the decision you made was right, because you will make it right, reminded me that we have the power to shape our futures, every day. And, most importantly, that no “mistake” can really derail where we’re headed. Because we get to decide.
• Be curious. Langer shares a devastating story about a fire in her home and losing all her years of notes and papers. She was scheduled to give a talk overseas and because she didn’t have her notes she called someone who took her class to share their notes. Since she didn’t have her own slides or notebooks, reading someone else’s notes made her own research + information TOTALLY NEW to her. And she shares how it ended up being the best talk she’d ever given, because when we can be open and curious to new things, it energizes us to do incredible things.
• “Mindfulness is the way you are when you’re having fun.” That is maybe the ultimate secret here—when we feel good and are enjoying ourselves, when time seems to fly by, we are in the moment…and mindful. When good things have space to happen.
What app to download: If you wake up to birdsong, sometimes obnoxiously loud birdsong, you probably know it’s the start of migration season here in the North East. The other morning I was laying in bed and heard the most beautiful warbly bird singing on our roof (we are the top floor, so it was pretty much next to my head). I didn’t have a birdsong identification app, but recorded his/her tune, and once I had downloaded two of them: Picture Bird and Merlin Bird ID, I quickly discovered it was a Robin (likely looking for date). Here’s the recording I took yesterday around 6 a.m. (try to ignore the roof fan hum)…it’s wonderful🐦⬛
What’s great about Merlin is it gives you a detailed overview of your region, which birds you’re likely to see/hear when, as well as captivating facts about these beautiful creatures on their annual winged odysseys. If it’s been a minute since you’ve watched 2001’s Winged Migration, please do fire it up tonite/this weekend. Also, if you live in a city like we do, where skyscrapers and tall buildings with reflective glass are detrimental to bird life in busy areas, consider buying removable adhesive decals or reflective window tape for any large windows you have that might be invisible to birds in flight. We mix ours with Raffi art and anything else we can tape to our largest window so birds know we are there:).
What to thrift for: If you read my Thrifting roundups, you know a few months ago I scored this XXL vintage Takaaki Matsumoto exhibition poster from the ‘80s on eBay for $75 (it’s currently being framed, will share finished product soon!).
My win thus triggered a slew of ravenous vintage poster hunts, one of which ended with me buying one from the ‘70s of Pete Townsend onstage setting his guitar on fire and a serigraph of a tiny Paris exhibition for a neon artist (weird + awesome). I am all for saving your pennies to buy mint investment-poised fine art, but I also think these limited-run posters commemorating once-in-a-lifetime events feel so moving, desirable, and valuable, too. Namely because they offer a visual snapshot of a particular moment or event in time—and for rare and one-of-a-kind pieces, they are an affordable gateway to building a collection that really reflects what you love and feel inspired by. Here are a few other extra-special examples—all under $100—which I would definitely buy if I didn’t owe my local framers so much money.
Vintage Sam Francis Exhibition Poster, 1968 (some wear, who cares! It’s Sam Francis!), $99.
Vintage Mission of Burma at the Fillmore, $30. MOB has a history of fantastic poster graphics, and even though there are a bunch more options of varying sizes on eBay and other resale sites, this one was my favorite.
Vintage Man Ray poster, 1981, $85. Just gorgeous and kind of huge. Would be divine with a simple Blick wood gallery frame. If you buy it, I want to see it in your house…we all do!
What to spray on your face ASAP—I am a crazy fan for RMS products, and I’m equally obsessed with founder Rose-Marie Swift who I want to adopt me (my mom would likely be open to sharing:). Their press person was kind enough to send me this product recently, and at first I was mildly offended by the weighty glass bottle (so precious for a face spray!), but then I held it in my hand and I just knew…the way you know about a good melon. The mist itself is the finest I’ve ever come in contact with, and the formula is like a super hydrating tonic of vitamins for your face. With Superfruit, pea extract, mineral-infused sea water, and a few other gold-standard ingredients, this do-it-all face mist allegedly firms, hydrates, and brightens. All I can say (so far) is I’m going to have to order another one soon because I can’t stop using it. Thankfully, it has a really light herbacious scent, too, so I feel refreshed every time I’m misting.
What to put on your bed (plus an ATA exclusive discount!)—Spring is always a big time of year for me to overhaul my closet (Lordy, AGAIN) as well as my core home essentials. Things we use and wash constantly (and get kind of gross) like bath towels, wash cloths, kitchen towels. AND definitely fresh new sheets feel so good to upgrade, especially in classic shades and super-soft/environmentally sound materials. Hence, I was honored (ie: very, very PSYCHED) to curate a tiny shop of bedroom and home/LIFE essentials with the legendary linens/home company Kassatex. Featured in this tiny “shop” are loads of CB-approved everyday things for your tiny kitchen and extremely cool bathroom as well as bedroom that are effortlessly luxurious in a down-to-earth way. If there’s ONE thing I urge you to stock up on today/this spring, it would be their world-class (like, literally, in every fancy hotel you’ve never wanted to leave:) Linen and Bamboo sheet set, duvet, and sumptuous linen pillow shams. I went with classic white, which felt fresh for spring and easy to layer with printed shams and quilts you already own/love. Best of all, every one of you gets a 20% discount by just using the code CB20 at checkout. (The coal shade is super gorgeous, too…😬…do it!).❤️
The softest, most decadent sheets I’ve ever slept on…truly. They make my bed look understatedly extra, too. Courtesy of Kassatex😴.
What to walk for three hours in when it’s (finally) 70-degrees. My favorite sandals to buy every year are by Suicoke—never once have they given me a blister (to which I’m prone), and I love that in the peak walking-obsessed years of my life they also happen to be the chicest sporty shoe ever. When I posted about these Armani vibey specials in my Stories recently, they got a billion clicks, which made me think they’ll be sold out soon. However, you can also get these (which are more of a classic vibe), or scan The RealReal, which always has a good variety of fast-rotating second-hand Suicoke options. Oh, and until it’s really warm out, please do wear them with these socks (any color will do).
What to drink tonite at sunset—Kevin came home recently with a bottle of Turi Bianco, a natural white wine by Salvatore Marino and it was positively delicious. It takes a lot for me to go in on a second glass of wine during the week (even in my tiny vintage wine glasses), and this one was light and crisp and dry and SO festive for a special occasion, but also perfect for an ordinary night at home. And if you love natural wines like I do, it was affordable, too…if you try it, lmk what you think. Any any other notes/cool things to offer this month, drop them in the comments. We all want to know…xxCb
I love Merlin ID! The Seek app is also great for identifying flowers and plants.
great newsletter! how would you say the suicoke sizing runs? the size chart on their site is a smidge confusing thanks!