Things That Are Making Me Happy
Birds, cake, pearls, a $1 t-shirt—a short list of inspiration during a week you might need it.
Today’s edition of A Tiny Apt. is long/full of gems and will likely get cut off, so, please do click through to read it in full on your browser/Substack app. And since it’s Free, please consider sharing it/liking it…it ALL means a lot❤️.
Over the past three months or so, I’ve been working on an essay called “When Friends Die—and the Tiny Apartments They Leave Behind” (a real banger 🙄) in honor of my late friend Andrew’s birthday coming up in February. I was scheduled to share it this week, it’s been so long in the making, and I know given all the laboring it’s time to push it out into the world.
But, fu*******ck…sending that one out today, dwelling in those memories, it just felt wrong. The world is burning and yet again we are all here trying to figure out how to get dressed, go to work, make a meal, love everyone we can. Not to mention, that very quiet act of processing the past few weeks is very much its own kind of work, a duty that takes time and care and patience, even if in moments, it can feel unbearable. (I hope all of you are taking the time/space that you need ❤️).
I will share that essay soon, but today I thought it better to dwell in some beauty, kind of like if we could sit together and have some tea (or tequila…you pick ⬆️). It won’t solve all our problems, but it might be the tiniest antidote to keep us moving forward (jerky as it may be). So, here we are, a tiny pleasure bomb—aka: a handful of things keeping me sane right now that I thought you might like, too. To kick us off, here are some birds having a dinner party, captured right before the snowstorm. It’s the little things ❤️…love you all.
1. “Between the Shadow and the Soul,” by Lauren Groff.
I am not a huge fiction reader, but for some reason, I cracked open one of my recent New Yorkers and went straight to this story. Somehow it seamlessly/magically melds a trio of things I’m deeply invested in these days—mid-life angst, renovating an ancient dream home, and native gardening. I think it’s also about this idea of throwing ourselves into something full force when we’re either avoiding what we’re facing/facing what we’re avoiding. Either way, I split it over two nights before bed and savored every word. If you need some existential soothing with a little home porn thrown in for good measure, this story is a straight-up gift.
2. A pair of Red shoes, but the right Red.
I was struck by this glossy red pump in a recent Phoebe Philo drop (conveniently featured alongside the navy/gray outfit I 100% want to wear Every Single Day), and felt not unlike Marie (oh 👑 Carrie Fisher) in When Harry Met Sally.
I did a thorough search for the right red shoe (there aren’t many), and this one by Alohas from Nordstrom is the one I like best with the most interesting-but-still-wearable shape. (It also happened to be the least expensive, so that feels like a win). Extra nice with a voluminous jean and an oversized gray or dark brown sweater.
Reminded me that I have a whole folder on my phone dedicated to THAT red…
The right red things (mostly w/neutrals) from top left: One of my vintage Charles Jourdan shoeboxes; VOLA sink tap; vintage chairs with burl wood; Coach look-book shot from 2021; vintage Carven trench-coat with satin lapel spotted at Vintage Thrift recently ($45!!); interior red kitchen cubby; a vintage theater company tote bag carried by a woman I chased down the street to ask her about it (have never stopped looking for it on my resale sites either); Viktor & Rolf tutu therapy; 2018 T Magazine cover that’s burned in my brain.
PS: We’re planning on painting the stairs in the cabin (finally built and awaiting installation, below) a similar red. I am equal parts GIDDY and terrified…mostly terrified (the nervous breakdown will be televised…🙋🏻♀️)
This is the idea…
More red (sorry/probs should have been its own newsletter), above: Vintage Vico Magistretti chairs. Below: My tiny design “library,” anchored by a vintage Le Corbusier book Ronchamp (red! looked for this exact version/couldn’t find it but did find this one), as well as vtg Palaset cabinet found on the street!) and, the interiors gift that keeps on giving, my Lachaume Paris wheat bouquet (highly recommend if you want to send someone something that’s organic and long-lasting).
3. Pearls…but different.
Spotted this choker on the Rachel Comey site recently and felt that little flippy feeling when I see something I love. It’s under $300, which seems worth it for something you can take/wear everywhere and will be just as chic when you’re 85 (and if you ARE 85, please send me your photo wearing it as you are my muse).
4. Today is Christian Dior’s birthday.
The Dior series The New Look on Apple TV was one of the best things I watched last year, and if you didn’t catch it, it’s worth adding to your watch list. His birthday today—and his story of finding his voice + visual identity in the wake of WWII’s horrors—is a helpful reminder of what Toni Morrison wrote back in 2004 about the role of artists during dark times, “This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”
In honor of him, a quick search for some very good vintage Dior (the brooch is 💋). From top left: Vintage Dior trench; vintage 1980s rope brooch; vintage 1970s mohair coat; vintage Dior wool blazer.
5. Incense under $10. Also, pot pourri that’s $50.
Someone I admire and am endlessly inspired by is Lisa Przystup, the author of the book Upstate: Living Spaces with Space to Live (Phaidon). As I was pulling together this newsletter, I was DMing with her and thought it smart to ask if there was anything she was super into lately. Among her many tips, here are two home scents she suggested that I am ordering today (because among many things, I am also an incense hoarder). If you try them, LMK what you think…
Above: Cedar cone incense, $9. Below: Santa Maria Novella pot pourri box, $50.
6. I made this GF clementine cake, and it was perfect.
I am a terrible baker. My sister is an amazing baker, but mostly everyone else in our family sucks. But then I saw this clementine cake recently prepared by Dominic Franks/aka: Dom In the Kitchen (created by Claudia Roden and “made famous” by Nigella Lawson) and immediately headed to Key Food for almond flour. I prefer gluten free everything, so this was right up my alley, especially given it’s only five ingredients that most of us typically have on hand. The results were miraculous, especially topped with a dollop of this INSANE Ghia hazelnut spread (which fwiw has half the sugar of traditional spreads). Bonus: Boiling the clementines made the whole house smell like a tropical paradise…during a snowstorm.
7. The t-shirt that cost $1.
About a month ago I thrifted this XL men’s black Hanes Beefy t-shirt, and I’ve been wearing it numerous times a week as this sort of minimalist sweater/sweatshirt hybrid/writing security blanket, aka: Michael Douglas’s bathrobe in Wonder Boys. It is both warm and pleasingly un-bulky (and almost kind of Row’ish, too, if you ask me). You can buy it new for $17 here (I like the white, as well), a great deal that’s likely to last forever, unlike most things. Which these days is something—over and out...xxCb
I’m constantly updating ShopMyCloset editing in/out ever more design treasures and closet gems (the recent Work Clothes section I added is a DELIGHT). Reminder: If you buy something we might earn a tiny commission.✨
Aww the tiny pleasure bombs! ❤️🙏❤️
The red staircase is where it’s at!😍