Just a few frivolities that have caught my eye and captivated my heart lately. Fashion! Music! Food! I feel like a teenager again! Maybe it’s the upcoming summer season, but I am in an expansive, fun, open mood these days.
Sjobeck
Sjobeck is a Malibu-based label. I first fell in love with those lovely printed silk pants. I struggle with the idea of printed, loose pants because they remind me of those mean older quasi-hippie ladies at Bay Area farmers’ markets with the carts and the food judginess and the arch voices, but these look so beautifully cut and chic. I did a little digging and fell kind of in love with their beautiful blend of California ease with Scandi-like arty prints and cuts.
Madewell’s Fall 2013 Lookbook
Sometimes I am more interested in retailers’ lookbooks vs. designer ones because retailers know they have to sell clothes and have an interest in making fashion actually wearable yet dynamic. I love Madewell‘s lookbook because this is how so many girls I know dress — it’s happy, cheerful but not obnoxious, kind of preppy but off-beat.
Those M&M Pretzel Candies
I wish I could be more fancy about food, but other than champagne and an enduring love of oysters and mussels, I’m kind of a proletariot when it comes to food. (Though last night at dinner I had fancier things like a peach nectar cocktail, scallops with mango-carrot reduction, a gourmet cheese plate and wild salmon with cucumber noodles and mint — all so delicious!) But generally, I’m really content with stuff like macaroni and cheese, guacamole and really yummy summer salads. And candy! I am usually not a sweets person, but these are my new favorites. They hit that crunchy-salty-sweet nexus so well. I really need to control myself around them, they are seriously addictive.
Records: Santigold, Beach House, The Walkmen
These are all my current late-spring jams! Nothing too leftfield, mostly stuff from established indie acts that I have long loved, and my usual quotient of sassy lady music. It’s funny, I’m usually the first person to be like, “Rawr! Noise! Aggression!” But lately I like a more easygoing, comfortable relationship with music. I usually get more adventurous in the fall, but for now I’ll stick with my well-beloved favorites.
Santigold, The Riot's GoneIt took me awhile to get into this record, but I’m glad I stuck it out. It’s a bit more subtle than her debut, but there’s more emotional depth. This is one of my favorite tracks, elegiac and anthemic all at once — it makes me want to do something epic with my existence.
Beach House, LazuliI got early on the Beach House train, and have always loved their dreamy, lovely sound. This record feels a lot more clear and strong to me, but there’s no sacrifice of mystique — it’s still the sound of ocean air at night, chandeliers sparkling like champagne, the scent of perfume still lingering in bedsheets at dusk.
The Walkmen, HeavenI feel like the Walkmen and I are odd compatriots, mostly because we’re of the same age and same NYC generation. I still have memories of seeing Jonathan Fire Eater, their earlier carnation, way back in the day. I was semi-annoyed with the Walkmen at the beginning of their career, but as they’ve gone further along, I like their records more and more. I love that they have evolved into these sort of elegant gentlemen of indie rock, sharp suits slightly rumpled but still well-worn.
Tags: Beach House, candy, food, Madewell, NYC, Santigold, Sjobeck, sparks, the Walkmen
Like what you've read? Let's keep in touch.
I am a writer, secret hippie and subversive romantic. I write 
