Dear Everyone,
April really came through in terms of quintessential April-ness. Every tree look psyched to be here. This month I was completely preoccupied, both mentally and physically, with Theodora’s first birthday. We had a really sweet picnic (not a branding thing, I just think a picnic is a great baby bday lol) and she had so much fun I feel like I barely saw her at the party. When I started working on this I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to come up with 30 things, but I did, I love stuff! Speaking of which, thank you so much to everyone who filled out my survey. It seems like the vast majority of you like the newsletters the way they are, although someone had a comment that really stuck with me. They basically said that too many things can make each thing feel less precious, which I get! Maybe for May I should do 20? Laughing at how uninteresting it is for me to write out my thought process for my newsletter, but I have to keep it 100 with you!!! Onto my beloved things…
Lemon Possets - I made these for Theodora’s first birthday and they were delicious. They taste like fancy lemon yogurt and are extraordinarily easy to make. I’m mostly writing about them because Haley mentioned it in her newsletter and we caused a riot over their pronunciation. Apparently it’s pronounced “poss-it” (like faucet) and NOT “poo-say” or “paux-say,” both of which are much funnier (and more fabulous).
LeSportSac Toiletry Bag - Last Picnic Style I recommended an insanely expensive makeup bag and I wanted to atone for that by recommending my other favorite toiletry/makeup bag, which is much more reasonably priced. Remember how big of a deal LeSportSac was in 2003? It’s still great for stuff like this. Cute prints, washable, and the thin nylon means you can really stuff the bag to the brim and still zip it up.
Pugliami Olive Oil Soap- Phoenix (my sister’s boyfriend) brings home these bars of soap from Puglia every summer. I think he first grabbed them because of the charming packaging but then we became obsessed with the soap itself. They don’t have my favorite packaging online but I guess it’s what’s inside that matters…if you ever go to Puglia let me know and I’ll tell you where to get it and also beg you to bring me back a bar.
love these guys like they’re famiglia Drip and Euki - Almost every period tracking app sells your data. That’s so fucking creepy and unnecessary. Anyway, I went on a whole deep dive to find an app that doesn’t do that, and Drip and Euki do not. I use Drip and it always predicts my period perfectly on time. I don’t use it for anything more than that, so I can’t speak to ovulation, or any other things you may want to track. Most importantly, I highly suggest looking into the fine print of your app!!!!!!!!!
Clambake Puzzle - There’s not much to say about this but for some reason it’s my favorite puzzle I’ve ever done. I guess I like how summery it is, even though puzzles feel like a winter activity. If someone invited you to their house for the weekend (lucky!) then I think you should bring this.
Ice Cream Cup - I have ice cream almost every single night after dinner. Sometimes I zhuzh it up and make a little sundae, sometimes just pure ice cream is all I need. Aaron got me this for Christmas along with some other ice cream accoutrements and this dish delights the h out of me.
Taking the FDR - Everyone who knows me knows I’m a total FDR-head. On Aaron and I’s third date I told him I wanted to be proposed to in a cab going down the FDR (he didn’t do that, but I still said yes). I just love the feeling of zooming with the window down, knowing you’re heading to a cute little dinner or on your way back home from a night out. It’s way more poetic than the West Side Highway. There’s a section with an overpass and during the spring, huge, heavy boughs of leaves lean over the side.
New London Pharmacy - This pharmacy in Chelsea is right off the 23rd street stop and has an amazing selection of French pharmacy goods. It’s gotten easier to source French pharmacy stuff online/in the city, but New London was the OG. Side note: I miss when Bow Tie Cinema was in business and you could go to Doughnut Plant down the street, grab a couple, and then sneak them in and have them while you watched your movie.
Fennel and Saffron Sea Salt - Peter got me a baggie of this from Kalustyan’s. The overpowering scent is dried fennel but then on your tongue you get the mellow saffron. It’s just a little something extra. I sprinkled it on seafood pasta the other night and it was a match made in heaven. I also think this would be great on grilled lamb or a roasted cauliflower.
Alexandre de Paris Hair Clips - I’ve been a hair accessory girly for as long as I can remember. Alexandre makes the most beautiful accessories out there. They are very expensive, but I still have clips I bought in high school when they had a little boutique on the Upper East Side.
members of my collection, some of whom are more than 15 years old Twin Snakes - For a long time, it was about the cola bottles for me. Then I got into the cherries. But these are the best Haribo gummies. You need that little bit of sourness. Are these widely known and loved? I feel like they’re a counter-culture Haribo choice but maybe everyone reading this is like, yeah, Eleonore, we know about Twin Snakes…
Saying “No” to Drop Sleeves - At some point around 2010-2011 every single brand decided that the only way to make women’s tees or sweaters was with a drop sleeve. These look so bad on me, and I am constantly hunting for tops with normal or raglan sleeves–they just have a more classic, put together look. My latest acquisition is this sweater from Sønderhaus. It’s still a relaxed, cozy sweater, but my shoulders don’t slope towards hell.
Teayan ‘Inspiration Bouquet’ - A really lovely, soft, rosy-vanilla tea. I like it around 4:30 on a cold day with a splash of almond milk in it. My sister also liked their linden blossom tea if you want something a little earthier.
Virgin Espresso Martini - Coca-Cola (Regular or Diet), one tablespoon of vanilla ice cream, one tablespoon of coffee or espresso, ice. It’s important that you only use a tablespoon of ice cream because this isn’t a float. I concocted this the other night while I was getting ready to go to a party. I drink, but I don’t need to pregame anymore–you know? This is so good and got me HYPER!!!! Like you KNOW my ass was giddy in the uber.
Muji Jeans - Bought a great pair of jeans from Muji years ago. They’re a perfect dark blue wash and comfortable enough that I’ve worn them on a plane. They do run extremely big: for reference I am consistently a size 28 or 29 in most brands, and I wear a 25 in these. If you buy them in person they do alterations! NB: I just went to link the ones I’ve had and they don’t make them anymore. They were the Relaxed Wide. THAT BEING SAID: My friend Kaley recently got a different pair and loves them, so I think Muji Jeans are something you should still look into.
Bernie Kaminski - Kaminski is an artist who makes magnificent papier-mâché sculptures of entire medicine cabinets and stacks of Vintage Books. I love his work. One of my favorite parts of his Instagram are his Phone Book posts where he goes through old New York phone books and photographs famous people’s names and numbers. They’re terrific glimpses into old New York. I love scrolling through and waiting until my eyes find the person that made the page worth posting.
Kuhn Rikon Can Opener - I don’t know how many words I should devote to a can opener but this is the best can opener in the world. It feels like magic. I loooooovveeee using the little pinchers to lift the lid at the end.
Marcella Hazan Zucchini Salad - We’re not quite in zucchini season but I want to put this into your mind, so when see them pop up at the market you’ll know what to do. This is so simple, but effective, and a great dish for a dinner party, picnic, or just a nice little accompaniment for your lunch. I’ve used her technique to drain the squash and I’ve skipped it, and it’s good regardless. I like to use zucchini no bigger than an iPhone 14.
Crown Affair Finishing Gel - I’ve been terrified of slicking back my hair for years. The fear was rooted in the necessity of gel. I was scared that if I slicked back, applied the gel, etc and then I changed my mind I’d be stuck with whacko looking gelled hair. This gel slicks hair so easily, and then if you change your mind, it just brushes away. Love that so much.
Two Person Book Club - The best and only form of a book club I believe in. Juliana and I had an incredible one throughout the pandemic where we read classics that we’d both missed during school. You never have to lie about doing the reading because if you do that’s insane. You facetime once a week or whatever works and gossip about the book you’re reading, it’s glorious.
texts we sent about East of Eden and Middlemarch Saie Blush in Spicy - My sister just informed me that “all the influencers love this” so I don’t know if it’s interesting for me to bring it up, but it is such a nice color. I use a couple dots on my cheeks, nose, eyelids, and chin and it just makes me look a little gorgeous. Easy to blend, hard to make mistakes. The color is the same as the bricks of an old schoolhouse.
Izimini Baby Chair - I played right into instagram marketing with this but damn my baby looks cute in this thang. She’s posted UP in her lawn chair in Central Park. If you have a baby or know a baby, get them a lawn chair.
Oatmeal Colored Socks - God! I love socks!!! My sock drawer requires two hands to shut. After many years of collecting and using socks to accentuate my outfit, I’ve come to the conclusion that the chicest, most useful sock to have is an oatmeal-colored one. White socks are too ‘Annie are you okay’ and black socks are too ‘I can’t, it’s tech week’. Colorful or patterned socks are amazing–obviously–but they demand to be seen. Oatmeal looks beautiful with a neutral shoe or highlights a colorful one. These are a few of my favorite pairs.
Donna Karan ‘Cashmere Mist’ Deodorant - You’ve all seen this in the aisle on the way to checkout of Sephora and I’m here to tell you, I’ve used it for years. It smells so good and lasts forever. It does have aluminum and other bad stuff in it but my pits need it.
Biblioasis’ Ghost Stories for Christmas - I love anything I can read on one train ride or with one hand in the bath. Right now, I’m almost done with Edith Wharton’s Afterward which is about a couple who moves to an English estate that houses a ghost you only know you’ve seen until afterward. I think these little volumes are a perfect gift. I’m trying to collect them all before I start giving them away.
Cambridge Imprint Birthday Banner - I ordered this for Theodora’s birthday and although the letters did not arrive strung up, I found the finished product so charming. I removed the ribbon and stashed it away for the next celebration. I also want to buy the version that says “Hurray Hurray.”
this is the best picture I could find of the sign, but I think you can still tell that it’s cute!!! Having a Great Seamstress - I think this is a vital part of adulthood. I see my seamstress more than I see my general physician. If you live in New York City I can privately tell you about the goddess who alters my clothes, but I don’t want to put her info on here for all to see, in case that’s not her thing.
This American Life’s “No Coincidence, No Story!” - Ever since this aired in 2013 I’ve thought about it, and recommended it to people with long drives ahead of them. I’ve listened to it many times. There’s just something completely magical about a good coincidence. One of my personal favorite coincidences is that Aaron and I each kept our museum entrance ticket from our very first date so now we have both of them. Not to be like, “leave me a comment” but if you have an amazing coincidence, leave me a comment!!!!
Slow Roasting a Lamb - It must be my Armenian roots, but I love lamb so much. In general I think meat should be saved for special occasions, and I feel like lamb really welcomes that spirit. I love to slow roast a lamb shoulder, like the video I linked here, but crispy little chops or kofta are beautiful.
Being Theodora’s Mom - I could write and write and write about my baby, but I’ll just say that I love being her mom so much. It feels healthy to me, the same way sitting in the sun and catching your breath after swimming against the waves in the ocean feels healthy to me.
I love you all,
Eleonore
came for the recs (so good!), stayed for "saying no to drop-sleeves." i've been thinking this since 2010 and it's such a relief to find someone who agrees!
It’s healthy to ugly cry at the last sentence, yeh?