Something and Nothing
What's happening (and not). Plus, LOEWE, Jon Batiste and more.
What to write. What to write. What to write.
I’m having one of those weeks when the words fail me for no reason other than…sometimes that happens. I’m tempted to just be like, “Today’s intro is sponsored by DOES ANYTHING ELSE EVEN MATTER THAN BEYONCÉ’S NEW ALBUM???” But that feels a little lazy.
Instead, I’ll be brief since there are tons of other people’s worthy words in the links below, and in the spirit of not overthinking Overthinking It, I want to get this out when it’s supposed to get out. Aka, today.
I spent the last two weeks living out my Carrie Bradshaw fantasies in the West Village townhouse of my dreams, dogsitting (again!) for two sweet pups named Otis and Bea.
It’s been wild to sleep alone in a multi-floor, single-family space in Manhattan. I was equally afraid to put the alarm on, for fear of it going off accidentally, and to not put it on lest I be the subject of a new alert on that Citizen app someone with my level of anxiety never should’ve downloaded.
But I wasn’t alone, thankfully. Bea and Otis were here and that’s been reassuring. (So reassuring that when I arrived home after spin this morning and they’d already gone on their walk with the regular dogwalker I was sad! And when they didn’t return an hour later as usual, I got nervous! (Unbeknownst to me, they had a date with the groomer—WHEW.)
texted last week and said: “I see a dog in your future.”I get it. I have a lot of doggo friends and have enjoyed time with Maggie, Indy, and these two. The consistent early morning wake-ups and the late-night walks on the other hand are…a lot. But I do appreciate the structure, continuity, and snuggles. We shall see.
In the meantime, it’s been great to get some QT back where I lived before moving to Paris in 2014. Since I’ve had to walk Otis and Bea 3x a day, I’ve had lots of opportunities to see what’s new, what’s old, what’s changed. The essence of what I originally loved about this neighborhood remains: the short-story buildings, the flower boxes, the lamposts, and the way the afternoon light hits it all just so. The brownstone steps, the independent coffee shops, the neighborhood pharmacies, and the crooked cobblestone streets. So, essentially, a mini Paris. :)
Which is why I wouldn’t live here again. That was all Then. Now needs to be a bit more new-to-me. (And I’m sure the France Feels and focal points will follow me wherever I land regardless. Have you been following my “French Fridays in NYC” Instagram stories, btw?) As lovely as the West Village is, and as many wine bars and cafés I’ve bookmarked to visit the next time I’m in the neighborhood, and as much fun as I’ve had Tik Tok-ing with the kids of a dear friend who still lives nearby, I know it won’t be where I make my next home.
And how good it feels to know something! Especially during a week when I feel like there’s nothing…to write.
(601 words later…)
Happy Beyoncé Day. Happy Easter. Bon week-end. xx — Sara
Clickable
When artists choose mothering over creating. | T Magazine
This guy played the system to make a hotel home. | The NY Times
Lay off the ‘picky eaters.’ | Saveur
I want to write features like this. | The New York Times Magazine
A beautiful tale of a dog’s devotion in love and death. | The Atlantic
Americans can’t get enough of French bistros and brasseries. | Eater
On saving jars and the meaning behind labels. | The Yale Review
Neuroscience podcaster fools us all. | Intelligencer/NY Mag
LOL “Just send me the fucking photos!” |
TGI Friday’s was a singles bar. I just liked the breadsticks. | Delish
Watchable
Be honest: Do you know how to pronounce LOEWE? Aka, the luxury Spanish fashion label beloved by the Kardashians and other celebrities? I do, but there was a time when I did not and sort of just uttered it under my breath hoping no one heard. Eventually, the “right people” said it in front of me and I was shook. “But, but, but…there’s no ‘v’ in there! I don’t…get it?!” I’m not the only one, which is gratifying, of course, and why this video appropriately titled “Decades of Confusion,” and made by the brand starring Dan Levy and Aubrey Plaza, is so self-deprecatingly funny.
On Repeat: Jon Batiste, World Music Radio
A few years from now, when I’m settled into my new home with nice light, a washer-dryer, and outdoor space, not to mention a full-time job I love that pays for it all (and unlimited vacation days, natch), I’m going to put this album on and it’s going to instantly remind me of the two months in the middle of winter 2024 when I was nomadic and floating around NYC without an address, slightly uncertain of my future wondering what the hell I did and why. And it will make me smile. Jon Batiste’s “World Music Radio” is my go-to at the moment for any mood—but mostly when I need a pick-me-up and a reminder that everything is fine—and I encourage you to make it yours. I loved his first major studio album “We Are,” which I only discovered after it won all the awards at the Grammy’s in 2022. (I don’t think I was alone in wondering, “Wait, who won?”) His second album is equally as instrumental and poppy—as poppy as a funk and soul album can be. Songs like “Raindance” make me want to, yup, dance in the rain; and I don’t know who “Billy Bob Bo Bob” is, but I want to meet him. The closest I came was last week while seeing Jon perform at the Beacon Theater where I was up and out of my seat dancing the whole time. It didn’t matter one bit that I attended the concert solo. What a musician. What an entertainer.
Currently Overthinking…
…class time/location/instructor for my last regular (and 50th!) Soul Cycle ride in NYC before heading out to Long Island for much of April…
Souvenir: Shamrock Shake
Today’s souvenir comes from my friend Shira who says this time of year always reminds her of Shamrock Shakes and McDonald’s Monopoly: “When circumstances aligned, sometimes [we’d get] that and a hash brown for breakfast on the way to school. It’s an experience in tandem with the Monopoly situation. We wanted the stickers and that was our purchase. We’d plaster the dashboard with our hotels and properties.” I have zero recollection of such shakes or stickers—we collected the character glasses and Happy Meal figures. What about you? Were/are you a fan?
So interesting, that picky eaters piece !! Great selection of reads as usual.