royal blue cords, instagram earrings, a vintage denim duster
Hello friends old and new,
I’m happy you’re here!
I’m wrapping up this letter from a Starbucks in Park City between Sundance screenings. After a couple anxious weeks of jockeying publicists for tickets, I’ve built myself a pretty sweet schedule. Yesterday’s highlight was Zola — The Florida Project meets Spring Breakers meets Hustlers, though it’s also something beautiful and difficult and hilarious and dark all its own — and I was really moved listening to director Janicza Bravo talk about how wild it is that, years ago, this project was just a tiny little seed of a dream, and now here she was, premiering it to hundreds of people losing their minds in the audience. Movies!!! They’re great!!!
I’ve found myself going through a period I find myself in every few months, where I want to learn how to create different sorts of things and put more loveliness out into the world. Last year I dabbled in jewelry-making and painting and scriptwriting, none of which really had staying power, though I fantasize about returning to all of them. This year I’m considering taking a sewing class, or getting back into photography, which was big for me in high school/college (and led to one of my latest purchases).
Sometimes I think that if I just had enough physical space — a room where I could store all my various art-making tools, so I could just wander in and start messing around, rather than having to dig stuff out of the back of my closet and spend an hour getting set up in a cramped corner of the living room — then I would actually finish all the projects I start. Of course that’s mostly just an excuse; artists make things in the most harrowing of conditions. If I really, really wanted to, I would.
But I’m also trying to go a little easier on myself. I have a full-time job that consumes a lot of my time and emotional energy; I’m working on a book proposal; I’m attempting to be a good friend and niece and sister and girlfriend. Maybe it’s okay if I don’t follow through with all my various whims — even just being inspired, however briefly, to spend time away from my phone and computer, attempting to make something beautiful, is something to be grateful for.
And now, to the purchases.
What I Bought
Clothing/Shoes/Accessories
Room Shop Vintage was having a sale on their cloud scrunchies, so I picked up a neon mini in pink ($10). I love Room Shop, which curates vintage pieces and also sells some original items made from deadstock material in super feminine colors/shapes/fabrics. I own the cloud jacket in nylon organza and a couple of their giant satin scrunchies, which I’m obsessed with; they somehow make me feel like I’m in a renaissance painting.
Instagram ads are far too powerful. I recently clicked through to MAM, a Barcelona-based brand that sells sustainability-minded and handmade watches and jewelry. I love their bold, futuristic-looking accessories, so much so that I purchased a bracelet even though I never wear bracelets ($51) as well as ring ($44) and this crazy ear cuff ($56) which I’m hoping will make me look like a villainous space princess.
I’m thrilled that I’ve gotten a few people at work into Lucy & Yak, this really delightful independent British brand that sells handmade jumpsuits (or dungarees, in British) in bright colors and patterns. I own a couple of them, as well as their high-waisted jeans in organic black cotton, which are nearly-to-my-boobs high-rise, just the way I like ’em. They can get a little linty but they’re probably my favorite pants I own right now: super comfy and flattering and a little different looking. I end up checking the site pretty often for new patterns and releases, especially since they sell out fast. This time I scooped up a limited edition tee by Nina Sweeney which brings me joy ($30). I was also excited to see a batch of new cords and decided to try a pair in royal blue ($61). (Even though they’re UK-based returns/exchanges are super easy, and the owners are SO friendly.)
An Etsy earring shop I like was having a sale for return customers, which meant more earrings for someone who can never have enough earrings. I got these white squigglies ($20) and a funky tropical pair to get me in the mood for spring ($24).
I should have stopped myself at this point, but after revisiting a few items in my Garmentory cart that have been in there for awhile, I decided to pull the trigger on a vintage denim duster ($38), which I’m particularly excited about, as well as a vintage camel blazer ($30) and vintage brown button up ($30). They’re all from Preservation, in Des Moines, which has great prices and (even better!) multiple options in L and XL, which can be tricky to find with vintage. I’ve been getting into browns/beiges lately, which are a nice change from all the black/gray neutrals in my closet, and suit the 60s/70s vibe I (and everybody else) really like right now. Someone in a size small should get this berry red cord blazer!
My splurge was an ARE studio knot belt in dust (on sale for $69 plus $10 to ship) after falling in love with the way Preservation styled it with a few of their pieces. I love loose, flowy clothing and boxy shapes, but sometimes I want to emphasize the fact that I actually do have a waist, and I’m hoping this thing does the trick.
Clothes total: $473
Skincare/Makeup
Nothing! Thank God.
Before buying anything new in this category, I’ve challenged myself to experiment with different combinations of things I already have (what a concept)! I suspect that I do, indeed, have everything I need, but that I’ve thrown too much new stuff at my face too fast.
For the past couple of weeks I’ve stopped using any cleansers and now just use micellar water instead, or even just a splash of cold water. Hard to tell how much difference this makes compared to other things I’ve added/removed from my routine (one of the reasons why I’ve committed to sticking with this one for awhile, to get a sense of what’s really working/not working), but so far so good.
A few weeks ago I started using a travel-sized bottle of the cult favorite biologique recherche 1970 (the one with phenol — hope you were right not to ban it, America) but stopped after a couple annoying breakouts. I tried just doing nighttime applications, then every other night, but my skin was still unhappy. I’m impatient and can’t deal with purging, but of course you’ve gotta stick it out or there’s no hope these expensive potions will actually do anything. So as of my last writing I decided to go all in and push through with BR every night and morning, as recommended, and I think I’ve finally seen the other side. The little bumps on my forehead are fewer and farther between, and redness (my number one problem) seem to be lessening, too. In combination with my beloved face hero, my Corsx picks from last time (the snail mucin and, just for nighttime, the hyralaunic acid moisturizer) plus supergoop sunscreen, my routine feels super simple, quick, soothing, and overall relatively inexpensive.
Makeup/Skincare total: $0 :)
Books
Finally picked up a copy of Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge, since the new one just came out; I’m halfway through and totally charmed.
I’ve been meaning to read The Body Keeps The Score forever, so that’s up next.
Books total: $23
Miscellaneous
My friend Rachel recently got one a Muji oil diffuser, which made me want a Muji diffuser. I settled for a dupe, from URPOWER (lol), for $22, and a kit of different essential oils ($16). I love it! You can set this dude to a few different colors; I like either the blue or letting it slowly cycle through all of them. My little room feels so much cozier and breezier now that it smells like lemon and lavender.
In the spirit of ~getting back into photography~, I got a lil Holga! For $42 and $40 for film, I’m hoping to reawaken the part of my brain that cares about visual arts.
My aunt recommended this Hotpop microwave popper, and it’s the best 16 bucks I’ve ever spent. It’s not the kind of kitchen tool you need to have unless you really like popcorn, but as someone who could easily eat popcorn every day of my life/sometimes substitute it for meals, this thing freakin rules. Even though sometimes when I’m feeling particularly lazy (read: tired/stoned), I can resort to a bag of microwave popcorn, I hate all the chemicals and know that I can make much more delicious & healthy popcorn myself on the stove. What’s great about the hotpot, though, is you can make stove-quality popcorn in much less time and with less dishes, since you could feasibly use the popper as a bowl, too. Plus: it folds up! And it’s dishwasher safe!! I recently talked about this miracle tool with my friend Caroline on her new podcast, Gee Thanks Just Bought It, and she told me she didn’t even like popcorn but was practically sold on it. Keep a lookout for my episode if you want to hear even more about how much I love popcorn, and how much both Caroline and I love hamburgers.
Miscellaneous total: $136
GRAND TOTAL: $632
So: progress!!! About half of what I spent last time. But still not… great, by any means.
What I have to keep in mind with this project is that obviously this doesn’t reflect all of my spending; I’ve also recently booked a couple long-weekend winter trips with friends, which has been another few hundo. I’m very much of the mindset, though, that experiences net you the most bang for your buck, so if I can cut down on stuff to save for trips, as well as for savings/giving/helping out my family, then I’ll be doing my best. Which is the most I can ask of myself.
Til next time,
S