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Idyll Hour
I acquired the moons a few years ago because I wanted to wear a necklace that would convey some kind of talismanic feeling. One thing I like about a crescent is that it’s a symbol that consists of only part of the whole. It’s almost as if there were another version of a heart that was only part of the heart. Turkish people are really into moons, so this is something I’ve heard all my life. People will always point out when there’s a crescent moon in the sky. Turkish has a special word for “the reflection of the moon on the water.”
The idea of the two crescents comes from the two moons in Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84. I love his novels so much. 1Q84 isn’t my favorite one, but it does have this cool detail. The sign that you’ve entered the alternate reality—the one that’s 1Q84 and not 1984—is that there are two moons in the sky. There’s this incredible moment when the narrator looks at a playground and sees two moons and knows OK: I’m in the other world. The double world is there in a lot of Murakami’s novels, and the two moons is an image that sums it up for me.
As a small child, I was always writing in a notebook. Adults would say, “My, are you writing a novel? Are you going to write novels someday?” And I’d be like, “Yeah.” I thought that whatever I was writing—my observations about life, or whatever—would automatically segue into novels someday, or that a novel would materialize without my noticing it. It took many years to iron out this misunderstanding.
I grew up visiting Turkey every summer with my parents. I was the first person in my family to be born in the U.S., so I felt like I existed between Turkey and America in a different way.
The title of my new book, Either/Or, partly refers to Selin, the narrator, having to choose between her parents in a custody suit, which actually happened to me when I was a kid. I was an only child. From age ten, I was constantly shuttling between my parents, and I would hear a lot about each one from the other. I believed I was the only objective person in our family who could understand both sides.
I first read Anna Karenina in Ankara, at my grandmother’s apartment, the summer after my second year of high school. I had run out of English books so I was looking for one that would last a long time. I found my mom’s Penguin Anna Karenina, from when she was in high school—she went to an English-language school.
From that first sentence of Anna Karenina—“all unhappy families are unhappy after their own fashion”—I was like, “there’s a book about this?” Tolstoy shows that everybody is right from their own point of view, but also how structurally unfair things were for the women.
Tolstoy also showed me a possible way to turn all of these contradictions, which could actually be quite scary or threatening, into a beautiful document that’s funny and sad, at the same time. It was also a way to control the narrative. Instead of feeling like a football getting thrown from here to there, I realized, I could turn it into a story—one where I got to be generous and humane and understanding.
I think a lot of people with immigrant parents are conscious of the dreams their parents didn’t necessarily get to live. In Turkey, an exam determines what university you go to: medical school, business, whatever. Liberal arts education isn’t really a thing. My mom scored really well on the exam, so she went straight to med school at 17. She loves literature, but she didn’t really get to choose.
When I found out that there was such a thing as novels, and writing them was a job you could have, and that people took it seriously, I was like: “OK, I have to do that.” Nobody in my family told me not to, which I think is unusual.
By the time I went to college, I had filled several volumes of notebooks and I don’t know how many endless Word Perfect files. I was kind of a graphomaniac. But I got demoralized because I wasn’t good at “creative writing.” I took a creative writing class and I just didn’t get why I had to create some quirky character on top of my observations and give them an arc of desire. Creative writing at that time was very much about projecting yourself into other people’s point of view. What I really wanted was to understand my own life. It was a real relief to me when “autofiction” became a thing. Nobody used that word in the ‘90s.
When I was younger, I wore an evil eye charm most of the time, on either a necklace or a bracelet. In Turkish culture, good fortune always sort of comes with bad fortune, because other people’s envy will invite the evil eye. Whenever I had any bad luck, my mother would say, “Oh, it was the evil eye,” meaning it was because someone else was jealous over some earlier piece of good luck.
In the evil eye culture, you’re always trying to ward off other people’s envy, which changes your mode of relating to other people, your mode of talking about yourself, and your mode of relating to good fortune.
At one point in Either/Or, Selin’s friend Svetlana says, “you know what the difference between us is? You’re trying to live an aesthetic life, and I’m trying to live an ethical life.”
In the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard’s Either/Or (my novel’s namesake), “the aesthetic life” is based on living your life as if it’s a work of art. Selin wants to be a writer, so she’s really attracted to the idea of living her life as if she is a character in a novel. That way, she can just write it down and have a novel.
Meanwhile, her friend Svetlana is living “an ethical life,” meaning a life based on being “a good person.” In the Kierkegaard book, it means getting married and having a boring family, instead of having a bunch of exciting affairs. None of it totally makes sense: how is it even possible, let alone necessary, for a “beautiful” life to be one that hurts other people? How is getting married synonymous with being a good person?
I think what Selin and Svetlana are attracted to isn’t the model itself, but just the fact that Kierkegaard, a famous philosopher, actually thought concretely about two different ways to live your life, and created a whole unresolvable debate over which was right. If there are two different ways, that means it’s a way for Selin and Svetlana to be free from envy and rivalry.
By deciding that each has a different way of living, they’re able to tell themselves they’re not actually competing with each other.
When I was 34, I wrote a pitch for a novel called The Two Lives. It was about a writer for a New Yorker-like publication who starts to feel as though she’s living two lives, and writing, or thinking, two stories: one gets published in The New Yorker, and the other doesn’t get published and doesn’t even totally get written, because it doesn’t fit into journalistic norms. The narrator—a version of myself at the time—was trying to write her way out of that situation. I found it very challenging to write about my own life as it was happening.
While attempting to write a flashback, I unearthed the draft of a book I had written in my mid-twenties, while taking a break from my PhD program. It was a fictionalized version of my own freshman year of college, and it was concerned with the same questions as The Two Lives. Since 20 years had passed since I’d lived it, I could finally see it as a book and not just unmediated reality. That document became The Idiot, which was published in 2017.
When I was trying to write The Two Lives, I thought I was describing a new problem I had encountered only in my 30s. But when I revisited The Idiot, I found this sentence: “I began to feel like I was living two lives.” That’s what made me realize I had to go back and write that book first.
I think what I love about novels is, the novel is the closest way we have of writing at the same time about both lives: the inner life, and the life that’s outside, in the world. My favorite philosophy book now is The Ethics of Ambiguity, by Simone de Beauvoir, where she basically corrects Either/Or—she says the aesthetic life and the ethical life are actually the same thing, the same life, the free life. Because the only way to become free yourself, is to simultaneously always be striving to make other people free. Of course it’s really hard to do both at the same time, you have to always be thinking about it, always choosing. You can’t just make one decision once and then follow that policy your whole life. I think that’s such an incredible program: “I free myself and others.” That’s how I’m trying to think about novels now.
A Very Catbird Crossword Puzzle
A few months back, some of the Catbird crew met the wonderful poet, writer and crossword expert Adrienne Raphel at an event for The Paris Review (not to brag but a little to brag). After being introduced we quickly hatched a plan to make A Very Catbird Crossword puzzle together — and here it is. (We think it’s about comparable in difficulty to a Tuesday NYT puzzle.)
Hope you enjoy it!
rony
Download a PDF of the crossword here!
Photo Journal: A. Rose
Meet A. Rose, a creator and self-portraitist from Pennsylvania! We are long-time fans of her work.
A. Rose's self portraits transport you into her dreamy, sultry world.
She has an eye for composition and color- and stacking, as it turns out! We are so excited to see Catbird through her eyes.
Tell us about yourself and how you came to be an artist
I began this journey into self-portraiture when I started working as an art model years ago. I felt a new sense of appreciation and curiosity for my body seeing how artists captured me. As I worked on building my self-esteem, self-portraiture became a form of therapy for me. I could express myself through stories I would dream up through the lens.
Describe your work in three words
It always happens that I end up seducing the camera, seducing myself through the mirror. There are always elements of sensuality and self-awareness in my work that excite me to keep creating (so I would say sensuality, self-awareness, and muse (I'm my own muse!)
Where do you look for inspiration?
I love finding clothing and props that evoke nostalgia and romance. I like to put on a vintage silk wedding gown and imagine who could have worn it and what they were feeling.
What does jewelry mean to you?
Wearing jewelry is a form of self-love. Adorning your body with something beautiful is a way to honor and admire yourself, and that’s why I was thrilled to have fun and wear pieces from Catbird for this project.
Who are your style icons?
I often think of classic muses as my style icons, like Jane Morris wearing delicate silk with her cascading curls in a Rossetti painting.
Favorite IG follows?
My favorite artists on Instagram are often those who seem to effortlessly create moments of sensuality and beauty, like @staceykassandra and @levicoralynn.
Shop A. Rose's Edit
Photo Journal: Aimee France
We have been followers (and fans!) of Aimee's for a long time! You might follow her too -- known as @yungkombucha420 on instagram, Aimee's account is a sweets enthusiast's dream! Full of the fantastical cakes she creates, as well as a sneak peek at her daily life as a baker.
Aimee currently bakes out of her Brooklyn kitchen, and sources all ingredients locally -- whether it's foraging some flowers and strawberries from a local community garden, or shopping at the Union Square farmer's market. We love not only Aimee's eye for design, but her commitment to sustainability and using what she has.
Aimee invited us over to spend an afternoon baking a cake with her. What kind of cake you ask? Well an olive oil rose cake with ricotta and fresh strawberries, and brown butter cardamom prosecco buttercream of course! OH - and a little chocolate ganache too. It was as delicious as it was beautiful. Scroll through to enjoy with us!Tell us about yourself and how you came to be a baker
My name is Aimee France and I am 23. I went to college and graduated with a degree in communications but deep down always knew I wanted to do something entrepreneurial. I was interested in food/cooking and wanted a good vegan dessert. I became interested in food science and decided to teach myself how to mimic traditional baking techniques to create a vegan version. I then started posting photos on social media and grew a following. After that I decided to sell my products and here I am now, I guess I got lucky!
Describe your work in three words
Seasonal, spontaneous, ethereal.
First baking memory?
Watching my mom bake my birthday cakes every year and the chocolate cake she would always make. My mom made some pretty cool and intricate cakes for me. I also have a vivid memory of having a bake sale at the bottom of my driveway with my childhood best friend. I think we sold Ghirardelli chocolate chip brownies and Whoopie pies (I think my mom made the whoopie pies lol).
What are your favorite flavors and ingredients?
In the summer I love chocolate cake, cardamom, mascarpone or chantilly cream with fresh berries and lemon thyme. Sprinkling maldon on top is necessary. I also love tiramisu or anything coffee.
And cake / frosting combination?
Chocolate cake with a big scoop of chantilly cream and fresh herbs. For buttercream I love the prosecco buttercream I make. Chantilly cream and any type of buttercream needs to be a bit salty in my opinion.
Describe a perfect day in NYC!
Having breakfast on my roof, going to the farmers market, walking around with friends, exploring a new area, trying a new restaurant for dinner or going to one that I love. After dinner I like to walk around and sit in a park during dusk, maybe go out after if I’m not too tired.
Favorite non-cake dessert?
Tiramisu or affogato!
How can one order a cake from you?
Send an email to [email protected] ! (Please do not DM me about cake inquiries). I make anything from birthday cakes to extravagant cakes for events and weddings. I also sell mini cakes on my instagram story weekly on a first come first serve basis!
Shop Aimee's Edit!
Dreaming with Dru - the art of stacking
Dru is a New York based artist who lives in a technicolor dream! A self-described unicorn (and oh does that ring true!) Dru’s art takes form in their fashion, their beauty, their movements.
Read on to observe Dru's bright light and infectious spirit!
On becoming an artist..
I think I came to be an artist at a young age and the way I express my art has always been through my everyday style. Getting dressed up has always been a daily ritual and something that came natural to me.
I like to think I live my life as a muse from a Tim Walker editorial who likes to bring a fantasy into a drab and dreary world and make it very gay of course.First fashion memory..
I feel like it was my mother and the women in my family who influenced me the most with my fashion. Growing up my mom would always be dressed to the nines for any occasion. I loved watching the way she would embellish herself with jewelry, lipstick, and perfume at her boudoir early in the morning. It was quite fabulous and those memories I'll always cherish forever.
Your style in three words..
Magic, Kindness, and Freedom.
The best gift you have ever received?
I'm very grateful for all the gifts I've received over the years so it's hard to narrow that down. I'd say when my dad asked me what I wanted for my 21st birthday I asked him if he would get me a dress. I was so nervous to ask but with no hesitation my dad said, "sure I'll get you a dress." That was one of the best gifts I've ever received and I'm never getting rid of that dress.
Something in fashion you're drawn to right now..
The last collection I loved was my friend, Jackson Wiederhoeft, 'Fashion Show' collection. It was playful as always but had a beautiful aggression to it from his previous shows. He's always working hard and presenting the most magical collections and he is also a finalist in this year's CFDA.
Any words of wisdom for people experimenting with their style right now?
Personal style at the end of the day should always be about pure freedom, freedom to be yourself is the best style advice I have to offer. Just go for it! Feed your inner child and trust your intuition always when experimenting with your look. If something catches your attention and makes your heart skip a beat or inspires you then wear it!
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Photo Journal: Evelynn Escobar
We were so happy to connect with Evelynn ahead of our visit to LA - we have long admired her work in founding Hike Clerb, an intersectional women's hiking group and nonprofit centering BIPOC. Joining any of Evelynn’s gatherings, the amount of joy and community Hike Clerb has created over the past five years is soon understood. Catbird organized a golden hour hike in partnership with Hike Clerb last week, read on to see views from our trail and learn more about Evelynn’s mission.
On Hike Clerb..
I created Hike Clerb as a solution to the blindspots I was seeing in the outdoors. Being a Black and indigenous woman out there and feeling isolated in how homogeneously white it was, I wanted to take action to ensure that Black, Indigenous, women of color felt that they had a space out there for them to heal and explore in whatever way they felt necessary. The community that has been built as a result has been incredible. From the tens of thousands that are involved digitally, to those who I get the honor of seeing the transformation take place in real-time of being a part of the clerb, the work in short is working! We have created the future we want to live in and it's been incredible to witness an idea that was seemingly planted in my mind take shape in this way.
What are your hiking essentials?
I always bring a fanny pack, water, my inhaler, sunglasses, comfortable bottoms (shorts or pants), and of course, trusty hiking boots or sneakers. The specifics change from hike to hike.
Who is your dream hiking companion?
Who wouldn't love to hike with Beyonce? It would be peak virgo of us.
What are your future plans for Hike Clerb?
Expansion to cities across the country is our biggest focus in the short term. There is so much to come in the long term from products to bigger activations and new adventures.
Describe a perfect day in LA..
My perfect day in LA ranges from going to the spa and indulging in much-needed self-care to enjoying time outside -- whether that's on the trail, at the beach, etc. with the people I love the most.
What is your jewelry uniform?
My jewelry uniform is a set of gold hoops, a pair of gold necklaces and bracelets, and my gold nose hoop that has become a permanent fixture at this point! In short, all gold everything!
Describe your style in three words.
Effortless. Gender fluid. Cozy.
We love sweet Isla! Has she changed how you think about adventure?
Being a mom to Isla hasn't necessarily shifted the way I think about adventure per se but it has made me way more thoughtful about the preparation that comes with it through trial and error. It's also so empowering to lead by example in the sense that babies can and should come along for the ride! Your life and the adventures you were accustomed to can and absolutely should continue with the baby in tow!
What are you most looking forward to this summer?
I'm most looking forward to all the traveling we'll be doing as a family this summer after two years of being in LA during the height of the pandemic. It feels like we're getting back into our flow!
Our Golden Hour Hike with Hike Clerb
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CAR LIGHT
We fleet-feeted New Yorkers transport ourselves by moving gracefully, swiftly (alright, slowly for some of us) along the sidewalks, dashing here and there, jay-walking with aplomb. But when given the chance to drive, it might take even longer to arrive at one's destination (traffic aside) because car light is just so dappled, all at once strobing and soft and so one just might have to pull over to take some photographs of beloved new rings on the drive to the office.
xo LeighA Trip to Coney Island with Kristen & Karen
Kristen Bateman and Karen Resta are the embodiment of fashion freethinkers — their voluminous layers, labyrinthine love of patterns, and pastel and neon palette is both a shared love and distinct to each.
When we were planning this shoot, we asked them for a list of places around the city they love to go together, and at the top of the list was without hesitation Coney Island. And so a warm spring day was spent together, walking the boardwalk, savoring hotdogs and sweets, and people watching until the fog rolled in.
Read on for a dream day in Coney Island, and a conversation around tradition, individuality, motherhood, and love.
Karen: The first time we went to Coney Island together was when Kristen went to college at Parsons. I’d grown up in NYC but we had lived in other places, so I came to visit in her first year of college and we took the subway to Coney Island - and after that she shared it with her new friends who hadn’t been there yet, who loved it!
K & K's Coney Island Itinerary..
First we look at the souvenir stores before even leaving the subway station and usually decide not to buy anything, then we cross the street to Nathan’s and take some photos! It’s so iconic, I don’t think we’ve ever walked by it without taking a photo. Then we go into the park and look at the Art Walls to see what food trucks are there that day, maybe get a drink and go to the boardwalk.
On summer weekends there’s usually a freeform dance party happening on the boardwalk - sometimes it’s music from a big boombox, other times there’s a live band or a DJ. Anybody and everybody can join in, there are toddlers dancing and people in their 80’s - all New Yorkers and all loving it! It’s fun to watch or to join in!
Then it’s time for the rides: Deno’s Wonder Wheel and Luna Park. We usually do a few rides and have fun listening to people screaming and laughing on the fast rides then take more photos. The people, the rides, the food, everything is just asking to be photographed!
We might have a bite to eat at Nathan’s on the boardwalk (hot dogs, fries, clams) after that, or some ice cream from Coney’s Cones next door. Then it’s time to take off our shoes and go onto the beach! We’ll stroll along the water “getting our feet wet” and finding shells and rocks to take home. It’s fascinating to see NYC’s famous diversity at the beach - there are people wearing tiny bikinis and there are people covered literally from head to toe in their prescribed religious garments right next to each other swimming in the water.
The boardwalk and beach extend into Brighton Beach, so we might walk along it and into Brighton Beach to go shopping at a fabulous Russian grocery store where you can buy freshly made crepes to fill with caviar and sour cream - or we might stop for borscht and pelmeni at one of the neighborhood restaurants (where there’s a tradition of putting an entire bottle of vodka on the table to share! But I don’t think we’ve done that yet!)
That’s it - we’ll get in the subway there, unless we walk back along the boardwalk and stop to get a haul of candy at the big “It’s Sugar” store, along with cotton candy and candy apples at Williams’ Candy. Then it’s back on the subway and home.
What is your favorite thing about Coney Island?
Kristen: I love the fact that it transports you to a place that feels a little bit surreal. I especially love all the colors, the signage and the food. It’s one of my favorite places to go with my mom! It’s also amazing to go there during the off-season, it’s far less crowded and the scenery is even more surreal. We always take tons of photos there every time we go.
Karen: I love that it’s one of the few places in the city that has not changed over many years. It’s “old-school” in a good way. All New Yorkers are equal at Coney Island, and it’s one of the few places in the city that have that kind of mood. There generally aren’t a lot of tourists and there generally *are* a lot of colorful people there. It’s a place of joy, music, junk food, sun, sand, water, seagulls and New Yorkers in all their glory!
What other traditions do you have together?
Karen: We often color each other’s hair. Kristen’s color at the moment is peach, mine is bright yellow.
Kristen: We also get dressed up to make TikToks together. We love to go to Fashion weeks together - especially in Paris. Plus, we love trying new restaurants, traveling, shopping together and helping each other plan outfits.
Can you make a Coney Island Playlist for us?
Sure! Kristen will pick five songs and I'll pick five - and they'll probably be really different choices!
What do you most admire about one another?
Kristen: My mom is the strongest person I know. She’s fearless and has always encouraged me to do what I want and to express myself. She inspires me endlessly. I admire her determination and her ability to always be positive no matter what the situation is. Plus, I could listen to her talk about her life stories, from living in New York in the ‘70s to moving to Paris on a whim, forever.
Karen: Kristen is her own person - and she also *owns* that she’s her own person. As her mom, I’ve seen her grow from a very quiet, shy little girl into a woman who stands her own and makes her way in a world that’s not always friendly to women or to artists. She constantly surprises me as an artist, a writer, and a businesswoman, and the fearless way she expresses her personal style is so much fun to watch!
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Catbird Spotlight: By Liv Handmade
Meet Liv!
Leigh, Catbird's creative director, discovered her store a little over a year ago on a ritual stop for sweets at Fortunatos Bakery, which is right next door. By Liv Handmade is a tiny storefront on Manhattan Ave in Williamsburg, with tin walls and a tin ceiling - a tiny treasure trove filled with vintage dresses, lace collars, hand-knit balaclavas, hand-dyed silk pillow cases, and sooo much more (including kids clothes!).
Liv's shop dog Lexi will be the first to greet you, and trust us when we say - you will come for the clothes, and will stay much longer than intended because of Lexi.
Tell us about yourself and how you came to be a fashion designer
I actually have a pretty unconventional beginning story to how I ended up where I am as I never went to fashion school, or even took one single sewing lesson. Pre-pandemic I was an Early Childhood Educator, and had a very hard time finding clothing comfortable enough to teach in but still stylish enough to wear outside the classroom. I got a sewing machine on a whim and after much trial and error began making very simple “smock dresses” from recycled bedsheets, they were on trend, comfortable, and very low cost to make. My teacher friends and students parents encouraged me to pursue this in my free time, but I never really had the time to develop a whole collection or work on a real “brand” and was happy just making dresses for me. Once the pandemic hit and I was teaching remotely, I was suddenly able to nurture my sewing and by golly I was unstoppable! At a point I was making multiple dresses per day, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them but sewing gave me a purpose at such a confusing time in life and most importantly, it made me happy. I used to describe the feeling of finishing a dress as the same feeling I got when one of my students had the “ahha moment” where what I was teaching them finally clicked. I started stocking my creations at a few shops, made myself a website, and voi la! By Liv was born. She was a pandemic baby that blossomed into my dream career, though I do miss teaching every day, this is the path that I’m supposed to be on for now and I couldn’t be happier.
We love the idea of giving materials a second life – all of our brilliant cut diamonds and most of our gold is completely recycled! Can you tell us how you upcycle the fabrics you work with and where you source them from?
Everything I create is made from recycled material mostly consisting of table cloths, table runners, doilies, curtains, upholstery scraps etc. The pieces I use are almost always deemed unusable due to small imperfections such as stains and holes. My process consists of cutting around or repairing these imperfections, and giving these sage textiles new life by turning them into wearable art!
I source a lot of my material from antique stores and estate sales upstate, as well as prop houses for film and tv. A lot of the time, the textiles will kind of “create themselves” based off of the placement of the imperfections, which means that I never use patterns, my creative process is very “improv” since I have to work these repairs into the garment. I feel this process makes each piece so much more unique, and much like Catbird’s recycling process, leaves an entire “past life” in a brand new creation. This is something very special that you don’t get with most garments and jewels, you’re adding to an already existing story.
What was your first vintage purchase?
Coming from a family of creatives with a knack for thrifting, I was basically born in vintage clothing, but I do remember the first vintage purchase I made independently. It was a long white Victorian Lawn Dress, I had to hand sew it so it would fit me properly, a skill that my mother taught me as soon as my fine motor skills developed. I wore it for so many years, taking a few stitches out each time I grew. I actually still have the dress, it has been hand repaired so many times through the years, I wore it to death! Now it hangs on the wall in my bedroom, too fragile to wear but very pretty to look at.
Describe your style in three words.
Seasonless, Delicate, Layered
Who are your style icons?
My style icons have always and will always be Little New Yorkers. I used to get my best design feedback from my 5 year old students, and still take notes when I see stylish little ones out and about. I singlehandedly owe my layering skills to my 4 year old self, and thank her each and every time I get dressed.
Please tell us a little bit about Lexi, your faithful assistant. We can’t get enough of her!
I cant get enough of her either! We are literally glued at the hip, I bring her everywhere with me and she is the best shop dog a gal could ask for. She has even trained herself to sit on my excess fabric as I cut, acting as a fabric weight, she’s brilliant.
Lexi and I met in May of 2021, I was sitting at my sewing machine in my shop making a dress for myself to wear for the night of festivities planned ahead. I was actually in the midst of chatting with a customer when I glanced out the window and saw Lexi walking with her foster brother Porky, and her foster mother. She caught my eye and I caught hers as she jumped up on my window display, it was in that moment that I saw her bright yellow adopt me leash and it was game over. I politely pardoned myself from my conversation and rushed outside, literally wearing half of a dress over my existing outfit. (I try pieces on multiple times as I make them)
I basically ambushed the three of them, but Lexi and I hit it off instantly. I walked away from the interaction thinking that her foster mother must have thought I was a complete nut, but that was far from the case as we brought our little lady home the following week. Her adoption anniversary actually falls on my partner and I’s anniversary as well! This year we will be celebrating 5 years together and 1 year with our little lady Lexi.
What are your favorite places around Williamsburg?
My ideal Williamsburg day starts with a simple deli coffee, then I jet off to Stella Dallas, my go-to “treat yourself” shopping spot. My wardrobe still consists of mostly Victorian Lawn Dresses and they have racks and racks full! Then I make my way over to Catbird to ogle at all of the beautiful jewels and pick up a tin of Louis Sherry Chocolates, not only are they the best chocolates in the world, but the tins are a staple in every aspect of my life. I must have well over 15 of them at this point, they are perfect for storing little sewing notions like buttons and pins and zippers and things. Then I stroll over to Nitehawk Cinema to watch whatever my filmmaker friends tell me to see while scarfing down a burger and a spiked root beer float. Once the film is over I hop on the L and head back to Bushwick to snuggle with Lexi and eat a log of goat cheese on my couch.
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Three Looks: Viv
Meet Viv! We asked Viv to send us some styling inspiration for spring with lots of color and LOTS of glowing, golden layers, and oh did she deliver.
Scroll through to see Viv's Three Looks!
Look One
I'm very into silk taffeta pieces right now. This set I found secondhand and love how it reflects the golden hour light. It's perfect with a string of pearls and heart locket, to play into the vintage feel.
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Look Two
This is an outfit I'd wear to host a "puzzle and guzzle" night - think natural wine, bacon wrapped dates, visually captivating puzzles and of course good company.
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Look Three
Sunbathing with my poodle Maggi. The green of this skirt reminds me of summer honeydew melon.
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