Mother's Day 2023

My mom was approved for a senior living apartment last month and I could have passed out from relief. The only furnishing she has in the living room is an antique chair shrouded in a sheet. Today we took out her collection of brooches acquired from thrift stores, antique stores, garage sales, etc, and decorated the chair before putting them all back in the jewelry box.

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She's 28

Carven top, vintage Valentino scarf, Catbird dewdrop earrings

Yay! I'm 28 today, and this is my birthday hairdo complete with vintage silk scarf.

These are challenging times, but I'm grateful to have health and the opportunity to celebrate.

Probably going to order a nice dinner and and a movie on our projector.

If you have a moment, please consider donating to the folks at RAINN. For survivors of sexual abuse, living under quarantine is terrifying. Now more than ever, folks need resources to combat abuse that happens inside the home.

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My Living Room Wall By Jordan Tiberio

Before life as we knew it changed, Jordan came over and explored my found photo wall.

I was thrilled to catch up, I was thrilled to see a familiar face. These faces are also familiar friends now, pinned over the table I spend most of my time around- working, eating, face-timing, arranging space for my cats to sleep.

It's home, we're all here.

Jordan Tiberio is a photographer living in Brooklyn, and we have been dear friends since we met on a shoot for Toy Syndrome about ~7 years ago? (gosh). Her inventive, nostalgic and magical touch is irresistable, and her photos manage to transport to another world, time and time again. Like stepping into a watercolor garden or an arms-length memory, her work is worth resting your eyes on for sure!

I feel lucky we got the chance to work together and freeze this place and time of home for an afternoon.

'Till we meet again.

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My Antique Vanity Tour

My parents were fiendish antiques collectors, so I know where I get it from. Interior design is a new adventure for me. I'm living in my first "adult" apartment, which is a 600 sq-foot 1-bedroom that I share with my boyfriend and our two cats. Even after a year, we're still figuring out what we like and don't like when it comes to surrounding ourselves with things. That being said, I love our dresser, and I love the spooky fun stuff I have come to start my day looking at.

The Hands

It all started with one novelty porcelain ash tray in the shape of a cupped hand. I think I got it at a flea market when I was in high school. One ash tray turned into three, and now here I am with over fifteen! I love these things, and they have become a humorous staple of my bedroom decor, keeping everything from jewelry (obviously), to bits and bobs like old dice and devil figurines. Honestly, if I have learned anything, it's that ash trays make for excellent catch-all dishes; they come with personality and humor to say the least.

The Sardine Box

Another moment of crockery-as-vanity-staple is my porcelain sardine box, which is where I keep my hair ties and loose buttons. Why a sardine dish? Well, the trompe l'oeil factor is fabulous enough, but I find the shape and placement of the sardine as a sort of handle as too good. These were popular at Victorian tables and ensured that the salty cured fish would be kept moist. I just love anything that elevates something as humble as a sardine.

The Candles

You'll probably notice quite a few empty glasses that once held Diptyque scented candles. I have only really had the pleasure of burning about ~5 in my life. In fact, almost all of the glasses marked 'Santal' were found in a discarded box on the side of the road in Boerum Hill! I know one of these things can go for $30 on eBay, which makes that a score to say the least! My favorite candles and incense, which I replenish every year (if I can) are as follows:

• Le Labo Cade 26 - You can only get this in NYC Le Labo locations, and you have to ask for it. It's the official fragrance of the Gramercy Park Hotel, which is one of my favorite places in the city, and where I associate the beginning of my "blogging career". That's for another post.

• Catbird Ghost Rose - I actually have the full size of Neighbor's Fig Tree too, but this truly slaps at any point in the day.

• Diptyque Lys and/or Chêne -  Chêne aka Oak Tree, is by far my favorite. I think it smells more like fire wood than Feu de Bois does, tbh

• Aritzia's Cendres Wilfred Candle - Well, looks like I can't get this one anymore! Aritzia used to produce genuinely great candles, each were atmospheric and made in France.  I can't tell you how disappointed I was that they no longer make them- for the price and the quality they were unbeatable.

• St. Rita Parlor Incense cones - My boyfriend bought these on one of his outings and we burn them on special occasions. Spicy and moody, they remind me of him.

Cloches

Speaking of candles, and I don't have many on my dresser in these photos, but I have become a big, big fan of cloches as an accessory to preserve and keep fragrances fresh. Plus, they look like something out of a classic french apothecary or oddities museum.

"book" Box

The paper box in the shape of a book with Venetian decorative paper edges, was my stepmom's. I inherited it after she passed away. I always loved how she used it as a jewelry box, so it's where I keep my delicate and special pieces.

Dried Magnolia Tree Seed Pod

This came from Edward Gorey's tree. I love him and I love his house, which is in Cape Cod. My aunt lives about 20 minutes from there, so whenever I visit her, I make a pilgrimage to Gorey's house and do the Gashlycrumb Tinies scavenger hunt.

Necklace Holder (which I use for sunglasses)

My porcelain hands hold all the jewelry I want to have...erm...on hand. So instead of using a necklace holder for its intended purpose, I use the T-bar shape to hold 3-12 pairs of sunglasses, which I pile on with abandon when I'm feeling careless. Some opticians might suggest keeping your sunglasses in a case, you know, like an adult, but I opt for having them visible at all times. Plus, I like the idea of plucking sunglasses like fruit from a tree.

Toiletries Tray

One of these days I'll get around to waxing poetic about my favorite perfumes. In any case, I keep most of my collection available on my dresser, organized on top of a wooden tray to keep them all tidy, per Organized Home's suggestion. I also keep vials of sample perfumes in a delicate glass goblet, procured from a going-out-of-business sale in the Village three years ago.

My Pentax Auto 110 Camera

My ittiest, bittiest film SLR camera. You can read about these incredible and charming cameras here. They have a wonderful history, and this one was given to me by my dad for my 23rd birthday. I also have a small kit of lenses for it and a manual 12-second timer.

Added in my windowsill friends, Sanjay the bunny and some plant clippings I got from my aunt, as a bonus.

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A Visit With Catbird (I Have a Permanent Bracelet Now)

So here's something I wasn't expecting to do this year: I got the chance to visit the Catbird HQ 

You know Catbird - purveyors and designers of the daintiest, slightly magical, poetic jewelry offerings, and re-imaginers of wearables, responsible for the ring stack. 

I first heard about Catbird back in 2009, when I took part in the Weardrobe bloggers' conference (De Lune was 'Faboo' before I could learn about "personal branding"). Kelly Framel, in her most elegant glory, was donning probably 3 or so golden threadbare rings on her fingers, and I had never knew jewelry could be like that. I was so accustomed to fine jewelry being these formidable heirlooms or treasures your mom would suggest you look at while perusing the mall.

Instead what sparkled back at me from across the table, clutching the stem of a wine glass at dinner , were these rings the thickness of several strands of hair. Something clicked - the whisper thin gold was so casually worn and yet so incredibly delicate. It was so captivating for me as a teenager, and it's a story I repeated to the kind and creative ladies who took me on a tour of the offices- now 10 years later from when I first saw the rings

The team at Catbird assembled a group of us blogger-types, and led us on a tour of the office-slash-studio-slash-workshop. there were neatly organized drawers at every turn, full of bits 'n bobs and fully-assembled orders alike. Décor reminded me of what you'd expect a working girl in nyc media would decorate her first apartment with: a mix of eclectic antiques and photos of loved ones; each jewelers' workstation equipped with impressive soldering machines, trays of sparkly stones and wisps of chain. Everywhere I turned there was a reflective surface: from the pools of light from mirrors on walls and tables alike, to the glass cloches protecting pearls and a disco ball hanging in a corner or two; light was everywhere, and in every turn there was something to catch it. 

♡

soon after the tour of the battlestations, I got my permabracelet! I cannot for the life of me settle on a tattoo design, but offer me the chance to wear a sparkly thing forever and I will show you my wrist.

Fun fact about the chain Catbird uses for this: it's a twisted rope chain that stretches comfortably over time while offering a nice sparkle.

I have had my bracelet for ~3 months now and I love it! It was a little snug at first, which the technician consulted with me about- I can attest it stretches to your wrist and the feeling of it is relatively unnoticeable.

 

Wearing two Tomboy rings, a sweet nothing ring, twisted stacker and a 14k Forever Sweet Nothing Bracelet that I can now only remove with scissors.

The Greco Lariat, which I wear on the reg

Thank you to the sweets at Catbird for opening your doors for a visit! It's certainly one for the books, and the 17 year old inside me who was dazzled by a thin wisp of gold doubly thanks the team for consistently creating the stuff of dreamy dreams.

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My Favorite Thrift Store Sections Are The Overlooked Ones

If you take the time to go thrifting, whether it's weekly, bi-weekly, of, if you're a 65 year-old retired schoolteacher or engineer and love *~ThE ThriLl~* of hoarding things you'll eventually restore but never get around to and thus fill your garage (that's not to say people don't do these incredible restorations where they take $10 man cave trash with coffee mug ring stains and return it to its midcentury hardwood glory) you probably have your favorite thrift store locations because you always find something there.

We usually chalk it up to that particular location receiving incredible donations from retired(dead) eccentric heiresses or former thrift store and antique-hoarder hobbyists, and this might just be the case- however, I would like to posit that most of us just know where to look when we go thrifting. We'll hit up the sections of the store that always have something, and honestly that's all style aaaaaaaaand well, life! is really all about: knowing what you want.

So what do I usually want when I go thrifting? What is my intent?

I think on this and I hear myself saying: "usually it's just to find something *interesting*, I guess" but what does that even mean?

I suppose *interesting* just refers to those mundane, everyday objects of yore that are in fact well-conceived pieces of design that were likely taken for granted when they were first shoved onto store shelves and then touched by be-manicured housewives in polyester satin headscarves, who, in my mind, were smoking while shopping for canned green beans for some reason.

Okay, so that means household items and accessories from the 50s-70s. This is all a fantasy, but I think you get the idea?

Where I tend to find the kinda stuff I crave from a good thrift shift

1. Kitchenware!

My gOd, do I love a good enamelware bowl! I have a small collection of enamel bowls in different sizes for various kitchen vessel-ing needs. I also have a beautiful marbled robin's egg blue enamel pot. Enamelware is smooth, colorful and easy to separate and mix ingredients with. Sort of a "you can't beat the classics" kind of situation- these things are a delightful, abundant, useful and cheap thing to have a mis-matched collection of.

As for glass stuff, I tend to look for Pyrex or lab-grade glassware for keeping various things in.

Now, if you do happen to find a lab vial or two, please for the love of jeebus do not eat or drink from it unless you're a dumbass like me and occasionally keep your Tylenol in one after vigorously washing it. 

2. Hosiery!

There's always a weird bin or basket of hosiery in thrift stores, tucked alongside sewing pattern envelopes with illustrations of bridget doll lookalikes on 'em. This (as I have shared in my Instagram stories) is not a bin you should overlook, my friends.

I have found Mary Quant m'fkin tights (pictured here) for 25¢. I have found weird patterns and funky colors and puzzling decorations galore- and usually for suuuuuper cheap.

Now, you need to be careful of stale nylons and elastics getting worn out, and make sure to look at the size guide on packages before you throw them in your basket.

3. Bags and Luggage!

I love finding rattan baskets and beaded purses in thrift stores- I think that's a well documented move nowadays with folks filling their Depop shops with dainty little vintage purses made from natural materials from beads to grass weaving and even woven paper (as it was popular in the 90s).
I tend to seek out the 60s beaded bag or the top handle suitcases or rattan picnic baskets. Even as decor, a stack of old picnic baskets look really cool in an unoccupied corner in our apartment

4. Winterwear and Tulle underskirts

I'm not gonna talk about clothes at length, but I will say that knits and coats are the more surefire racks to find something really cool if you're into finding clothes that are designed to be valuable. Why? Think about it: when folks donate things to their local charity shops or thrift joints, they're getting rid of things they can't make money off quickly through resale and just need to make space. Coats and sweaters are, more likely than not, something folks will splurge on for their needs over a t-shirt or rayon dress, and so what they have will probably be relatively nice. Granted, the 90s Express Tricot dresses and Looney Tunes tees are valuable now, and they are thrift go-tos, but you already knew that.


Hell, you probably knew everything I'm bringing up here, but you know what? I could go on, so I did.

Now, go find something yourself something nice <3

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NYC Blizzard = Snow Day

It snowed over a foot here in NYC, so on Thursday and Friday, my boyfriend and I worked from home. 

Finding things to keep yourself entertained in a small apartment while the playground of a city you live in gets pummeled by snow is something I've learned to embrace. It involved:

• I mean, of course, taking photos like an idiot around the apartment.

• Multiple outfit changes into varying degrees of dress, just to keep the day broken up. Pants or no pants, robes, extravagant evening-wear with hoodies, you name it.

 I have been collecting Marieyat underwear for this very reason- I love the brand's playful, supremely comfortable and surprisingly sexy designs. The rib jersey pieces feel familiar. Since the G-tang underwear with stirrups in pink was on sale over at ssense over the holidays, I bought two pairs ✌✌

• Masks on Masks! Sheet masks, hair masks and clay masks - 'cause radiators zap the moisture out of the air and being stuck inside means more time for spa'ing.

• Lots of cooking foods you love. Nothing makes an apartment more alive than the smell of food being cooked. Some of my favorites:

Jiffy corn muffins! // So cheap and easy (79¢ a box!), plus you can make the mix into amazing pancakes

Mushrooms cooked in sherry on toast // I have cooking sherry at home at all times. I usually replace the creme fraiche with greek yogurt.

Cast iron chicken thighs // chicken thighs are also pretty cheap, and this cooking method makes the skin super crispy and delicious. Only seasoning needed is salt, pepper, and some lemon.

Hot sake // not a 'recipe', but there's something about listening to gently falling snow outside your window, and smelling a steaming cup of sake that feels super special when you're home with friends and loved ones. We buy little glass jars of this lovely sake and warm them in a hot water bath. 

• ......Okay, and some eBay perusing.

Like, lots of eBay perusing.

.... and TheRealReal.

.........and Amazon.

• And of course, reorganizing the whole damn apartment.

We figured: new year, new living organization. So far it's involved purging some stuff, but also moving containers for things and finally putting up shelves for my record player. I've come to prefer organizing my records by album color, only because our collection is pretty small, and flipping through a jumbled library lets us re-discover certain albums that have fallen out of rotation.

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