Weekend Reads v. 30.8.2024
Soaking up these last days of summer
How are you celebrating this weekend, a.k.a. the unofficial farewell to summer? Will you have one last hoorah by the water? Or will you have completely turned your back on Summer to embrace a cozy, pumpkin-spiced autumn? It’ll be a birthday-themed weekend for me. I’ll be enjoying birthday flowers, a birthday brunch for a fun friend, and reminiscing about the incredible meal my husband and I enjoyed at The Inn at Little Washington. (I mean, that meal was once-in-a-life wowzers.) I hope the weekend is kind to you!
Would you take up basket weaving as a hobby?
This chocolate cake looks divine and has a secret ingredient.
Names of things you probably didn’t know had names.
Have you heard of an angel phone? It kinda sounds amazing.
The clever creators of Highlander Mountain House in Highlands, NC have a new property called The Outpost. Along with delightfully whimsical décor and a comfy Casper mattress, each room comes with a typewriter.
One of my go-to shops for holiday gifts is offering a 40% discount as part of a Labor Day sale.
This essay about envy and how author Elizabeth Gilbert was interesting.
“I was shocked when I realized that I actually wasn’t envious of Gilbert’s professional success. I admired it, but it wasn’t what had triggered me. What ignited my envy was the fact that she was doing the work that she wanted to do and was willing to chart her own course in a way I had been afraid to do.
Just the act of showing up and writing about what lit me up and connecting with my comparatively small community was all it took for the envy to disappear, not just with Gilbert but across the board. I now scroll Instagram with impunity, cheering on other people rather than resenting them or coveting what is meant for them. Instead, I enjoy what is meant for me.” Source
Science proves telling a stranger to “have a nice day” will develop feelings of happiness.
And one more long read for you. I have so many memories of pouring over catalogs when I was younger, so it’s not surprising I love reading about the magic of the J.Crew catalogs from the 1990’s. This piece captures some of the magic I’m talking about:
“J. Crew not only defined an aesthetic—American Prep, par excellence—it built a world. The styling was approached as storytelling. There was a familiar cast of characters, and seeing them return each season when the new catalog—or, “Source Guide” as the company savvily came to call them—arrived, was almost like catching up with old friends. Did anyone have a new haircut? Who was this new person in the mix? Who did we think was dating whom in this story we told ourselves, closely studying the snapshots of al fresco meals, piggyback rides (a recurring trope), and bicycling à deux for clues.
And what were they up to now, in this fictional universe of endless long weekends into which we imagined inserting ourselves? Were they off to a clam bake? Beach bonfire? A snowball fight? Impromptu sledding? Or, since PJs, robes and wooly socks seemed to be big business, a slumber party at someone’s weekend place?” Source