Last of the Old West
Weekend Reads v. 27.7.2025
This morning, jet lag enabled me to be the person I aspire to be. I woke up without an alarm just before 5am, showered, and was out the door in time to see the sun rise over Jackson, Wyoming. I’ve never been one to compete with the sun for dibs on who woke first, so beating him (her?) to the punch this morning felt sorta magical.
Most of yesterday was spent waiting and sitting and nodding off in public as my husband and I hopped from the East Coast to the Midwest to the West. The trip back west – for me, anyway – feels a little like coming home because for so many years I made the journey from the Carolinas back to California. Even yesterday, the soaring mountains and time zone magic that handed me back two hours of the day felt energizing enough to push through the fact that I’d been awake for ages.
We did some of the things that bloggers and tourist guides recommend in this valley of towns that claims to be the “last of the Old West.” We literally saddled up to the bar at Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. We enjoyed a coffee from Snake River Roasting Company (who has the cutest merch) and later Cowboy Coffee (I see you, perfect breakfast burrito). We picked up gifts for the friends back home at Made. And we found a local outdoor store to replace my sneakers.
I took some pictures of our wandering adventure around town, if you’d like to see them.
The price tag on this necklace borders on obscene, but that does not take away from the fact that a necklace hand crocheted from gold is a thing of beauty.
I can’t believe I’m even suggesting this, but the calendar is whizzing by so I guess it makes sense to tell you these notepads would make great back-to-school gifts for a teacher. And these are helpful notepads and stationery items that might make the return to a school year a little easier for any parent or student you know.
Speaking of too soon, the lineup of autumn drinks you will soon be able to order from Starbucks. Because nothing says “Welcome, Fall” quite like sweating in 97-degree weather while drinking a PSL.
Most of the items in this home collection from Zara are made in Portugal and have the feel of something you’d stumble upon in a small shop while on vacation in Tulum.
I’ve seen a specific type of bead necklace on Must-Have-For-Summer lists, and that type is very expensive. As we enter the dog days of Summer, I’m happy to report a more affordable version has arrived. This necklacewould be just as lovely with a T-shirt as it would be paired with a dress.
It feels very strange to see so many people trying to recreate the 1990’s. It reminds me of how people used to pine for the 1950’s or 1960’s when I was a kid. I guess this means I am officially vintage?
An interesting fact from Rob Henderson:
“Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, and Mao Zedong all shared at least one thing in common: they hated their fathers. Remarkably, all 3 seemed to have loved their mothers, and Hitler and Mao saw themselves in alliance with their mother against their father. (source: Father Nature The Science of Paternal Potential by James K. Rilling). When I shared this finding on Twitter, the psychoanalyst Jonathan Shedler posted a reminder that there’s a term for this.” (Source)
Small, inexpensive things that make life better.
Rich people are just like us! They also fall for scams…just with much bigger price tags. (WSJ gift link)
I’ll be back with more photos this week!