THERE is a word in Greek—meraki, (pronounced may-rah-key) that translates to “essence of yourself.” There is no English equivalent, but it means doing something with soul, creativity, or love; to put something of yourself into your work.
THIS WEEKEND, P recreated the sandwich we used to get in Valencia, complete with the salsa verde. It was marvellous. He also made Fideuà on Sunday, so we had a rather Spanish weekend. It's actually the last long weekend of the summer here and despite two days of overcast skies and rain, it did clear up today and was perfect.
ON SATURDAY we stopped by the Farmers Market on Maple. It only happens once a month, and since we only moved here in the first week of May, we missed that one. It was charming and lively and there were dogs everywhere and stalls selling topiaries and Scotch eggs, craft beer and handmade soap, and oysters and Prosecco.
Product placement is over. It’s so lame. Why smuggle an item of merchandise into a movie, like contraband, and have people snicker at the subterfuge, when you can declare your product openly and lay it on the table? Why not make a film about the merch? That was the case with “Steve Jobs” (2015), which unfolded the creation myth of Apple; with “The Founder” (2016), which did the same for McDonald’s; with “Tetris,” now on Apple TV+; with the upcoming “BlackBerry,” which is not, alas, about the harvesting of soft fruits; and with “Joy” (2015), which gave us our first chance—pray God it not be our last—to watch Jennifer Lawrence trying her hardest to sell mops.
For months in the spring of 1921, a women’s-only private dorm at the University of California, Berkeley was rocked by a crime wave. College Hall, located on the northeastern corner of campus, where Hearst Avenue began to climb into the hills, was home to 90 young, mostly affluent women—18- and 19-year-olds, whose possessions kept disappearing.
WHEN PEOPLE think of Ibiza, most think of a party place of nightclubs and late, late nights. The island is definitely known for its nightlife, but there is also another side to Ibiza: charming quiet villages, sandy beaches, yoga retreats, boutique hotels, restaurants and shops, and even secluded coves along the coast.
WHEN I WAS little, I would tell anyone who would listen that the my favourite colours were pink and purple. My little sister (who was always by my side) would chime in that she liked blue and black. Being unabashedly girly, I never favoured those colours and wore a steady wardrobe of preppy pink for as long as I could. Fast forward to the future and black would be a firm wardrobe staple, but blue, well I never ever really took to it⏤that is perhaps until now?
BY PURE COINCIDENCE, I recently watched both It's Complicated, the 2009 film with Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, and Alec Baldwin; and Father of the Bride, the 1991 film with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton. Now everyone knows that when you watch Nancy Meyers films, the interiors nearly steal every scene (remember the charming cottage in The Holiday?), so when I came across the writer-director-producer's redecorated Los Angeles home, of course I had to have a peek, especially since she worked with LA-based interior designer Mark D. Sikes, whose work has been featured here many times.
THERE ARE TIMES when you want a small quiet place for dinner that only you know, but then there are other times when you want a busy, trendy place, perhaps for a late lunch or an early dinner, to see and be seen. CoCo restaurant falls into the second category.
BRIE AND PEARS at a picnic by the seaside at sunset; wicker lamps and wicker bags and sun umbrellas flapping in the breeze; Lisbon kitchens and wide-legged pants; summer sweaters with city shorts and trolleys full of lemons... These are the things of far-flung places but also of summertime, our very favourite time.
ISCHIA IS A volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, located at the northern end of the Golfo di Napoli (Gulf of Naples), part of the Campanian Archipelago, about 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the city of Naples. It is one of the most picturesque islands in the bay, with exotic scenery, flowering hills and rocky beaches. It's also known for mineral-rich thermal waters and natural springs ...
IT IS A BANK HOLIDAY weekend here, so today is essentially a holiday, but since we feel like we've been holiday-ing quite a bit already in these last summer weeks, it felt good to get back into routine with Weekend Links, workouts and other Monday essentials. This weekend, also finished the Sylvia Plath book I was reading and have started on David Hume's A Treatise of Human Nature, a much more difficult read, for certain, but an important one, I think. The weather has turned chilly with cloudy skies and showers, and soon it will be cable knit jumpers and tall leather boots in place of white denim and espadrilles ...
IF YOU HAVE been reading for a long time, you will know that it is a tradition, every year, around this time, for us to post one Lasting One Last Longing Look at Summertime. Last year, during lockdown, may have been missed ...
WE HAVE BEEN glued to the news detailing the events unfolding in Afghanistan with shock and horror, feeling so sad for the Afghan people desperately clinging to airplanes trying to escape a country that has descended into chaos once again. Sometimes this job is difficult because we know you come here to see the beauty in the world ...
WE HAPPENED UPON the beautiful home of Danish artist and interior stylist Simone Polk Dahl on Instagram and have fallen completely in love with the easy-going vibes of this space with its neutral palette of black, beige and brown tones ...