12 Things I Consumed [July 2024]
My favorite vintage store, some historic news, a twist on grilled cheese ...
Hello, hello, hello! It’s Friday and it’s summer and here in New York the sun is out and proud after a rather shy Sunday through Thursday. Understandable, he (binary of me, but I do think of the sun as male and the moon as female) needs me-time too. I’m seeing a high of 87 degrees through Sunday, which is pretty perfect. I hope you are able to get outside and enjoy it, and I hope the weather is just as lovely wherever you’re reading this from, if not New York. Now, onto 12 things I consumed in July …
“Meet the queen of the ‘trad wives’ (and her eight children),” a piece by Megan Agnew for The Times on Hannah Neeleman (@ballerinafarm), a Mormon and former Juilliard ballerina who now lives on a farm in Utah raising her 8 children with her husband, and posts about it on Instagram and TikTok for her 9.1M and 7.5M followers, respectively. The piece purportedly explores if Neeleman’s social media presence is “an empowering new model of womanhood — or a hammer blow for feminism?” I might write an essay about my thoughts (and feelings) on this because I have a lot (and I intend to keep these posts short and sweet, which I am not doing a great job of), but, what I will say now is that it does not read like an earnest exploration of the aforementioned question. It’s really tough to read a piece by someone who seems to have had their mind made up before meeting their subject. I understand Agnew’s critiques, her fears around the content Neeleman puts out, but her judgment is palpable — lots of potentially unfair assumptions and inferences, and quotes pulled out of context (realized the latter after listening to the accompanying podcast that includes audio snippets of the interview). I’m no aspiring trad-wife, so I have no reason to come to Neeleman’s defense here. I suppose the sort of profile I prefer is one that allows me to witness someone, hear them, and draw some of my own conclusions. I also don’t know that any person’s social media presence can ever represent “the ultimate act of empowerment” nor “the ultimate demonstration of oppression” for me. Anywho, give it a read, I’d love to know if it feels anything like this to you, or if I’m just … sensitive.
A Cherry Tarragon Grilled Cheese, courtesy of Miranda. I highly recommend living with a chef. I have not eaten this well regularly in years. We made the video linked above together and had a lot of fun doing it. And the grilled cheese itself? Impeccable. Easy to make, too!
A video of Alec Baldwin in court that made me laugh and reminded me to put 30 Rock on more.
The Stranger by Albert Camus. Had been on my list for a long time. It felt like reading an incredible journal? Highly specific observations and details. Deceptively simple writing (something I aspire to).
A few stops at Amarcord, my favorite vintage store in Brooklyn, and also the world. My emotions are involved in that declaration because I am a regular there, and being a regular is one of my favorite things. Marco, the owner, sources beautiful vintage designer pieces from Europe. He understands proportions and fit, and he is happy to style you. If I’m having a bad day, I go in just to play dress up with him and catch up. The selfish part of me wants to keep the place a secret, but the better part of me knows that anyone who appreciates vintage clothing should know about the store, meet him, and enjoy.
The BREAKING news that BREAK DANCING is an official sport at the Olympics this year. The first dancesport to appear in Summer Olympic history. We are certainly living through some historic times … and this feels like undeniably sweet history. The first medal event is on August 9th — I will be watching, hooting, hollering, and taking notes. Also, Happy Olympics! The logo caught me off guard … she is … absolutely serving. Of course, I had to know who she is, and the answer is Marianne. She’s served as a symbol of the French Republic since the French Revolution. Her hair is most often depicted long and loose, or covered in a cap. But for the Olympics logo, they wanted to incorporate a flame, resulting in the fierce bob below. And those lips! Liberté, égalité, fraternité!
A re-read of Joan Didion’s 1975 University of California, Riverside commencement address, “Planting a Tree is Not a Way of Life”. I go back to this every now and then, and am always struck. It’s worth reading. Maybe you print it out and take it to the park? Two of my favorite parts below (I’m trying to hook you):
And I’m not going to tell you that today you begin to live in the world because, as I said before, I don’t think that happens automatically. Some of you live in the world already and some of you never will. It takes an act of will to live in the world, which is what I’m talking about today. By living in the world, I mean really trying to see it, look at it, trying to make connections.
And that’s not easy, it takes work. You have to keep stripping yourself down, examining everything you see, getting rid of whatever is blinding you. And sometimes when you get rid of what’s blinding you, you get your eyes opened, you don’t like what you see at all. And that’s the risk. It’s much easier to live in a world you imagined. At Heaven-Haven, “where springs not fail.” A world in which the questions fit the answers and the answers fit the questions; the connections are already made. A world in which everything fits neatly into some idea or ideology.
I’m not telling you to make the world better, because I don’t think that progress is necessarily part of the package. I’m just telling you to live in it. Not just to endure it, not just to suffer it, not just to pass through it, but to live in it. To look at it. To try to get the picture. To live recklessly. To take chances. To make your own work and take pride in it. To seize the moment.
And if you ask me why you should bother to do that, I could only tell you that the grave’s a fine and private place, but none I think do there embrace. Nor do they sing there, or write, or argue, or see the tidal bore on the Amazon, or touch their children.
And that’s what there is to do and get it while you can and good luck at it.
A $15 reading light. I am a kindle girl, but I still buy books spontaneously / when I have a feeling before starting that I’d like to own a physical copy. And sometimes my bedside lamp is just a bit too bright. You can adjust the warmth and the brightness!
Various increasingly worrisome apartment tours. The market in Williamsburg / Greenpoint for a four bedroom apartment could be described as … grim. Right as we were coming to terms with the fact that one of us would be living in a basement, we lucked out, but truly they are con artists with those photographs on StreetEasy. I will not forget Emily and I stepping into an apartment that we were convinced was going to be perfect (a bit outside of our budget, but still worth touring, just in case), and both of our faces going frozen, eyes wide. It looked like the ugly, unkept, miniature cousin of what we saw online. Of course, the polite girls that we are, we toured the whole apartment and even asked if there was room to negotiate the price.
Grillo’s Pickle De Gallo with Vista Hermosa’s Sea Salt Tortilla Chips. I am a pickle enthusiast, so there wasn’t really a chance I wouldn’t like this.
The beginning of a much needed closet clean out. Moving presents you with a great opportunity to assess your belongings. I have a tendency to hold on, to think wishfully, but it feels so good to let go.
A MasterClass on Brain Health. My mom got me a subscription to MasterClass as a gift a few years back, and it really is a gift that keeps on giving. I don’t think everyone likes / would like MasterClass as much as I do, but it reminds me of being in school, and I miss being in school. Perhaps embarrassingly, I take notes while I watch. There are some great ones on writing too.
That’s it! Hope you have a lovely weekend,
Grace
This made me cackle especially #6