Hello from quarantine! Whew. It’s been a looong while since I’ve blogged and never could I have imagined this would be the state of the world next time I sat down to write a post. This whole thing is so sad and screwed up on every level – what is there to even say about it that hasn’t already been said? It’s all I/anyone reads or thinks about, so really I just felt like posting some things I’ve been enjoying lately that aren’t quarantine or corona-related. So here are some things that have been making me happy lately:

Ariel Okin x Society Social

Two of my very favorite designers, Ariel Okin (remember her incredible Holiday House room?) and Roxy from Society Social have joined forces to create a furniture collection, and the results truly couldn’t be lovelier. Each piece is more charming than the next. They created items that feel classic enough to stand the test of time and fit into anyone’s home, and yet they embody a fresh, updated style that perfectly reflects Ariel and Roxy’s traditional- with-a-twist design sensibility. It makes me wish I had a need for more furniture in my apartment! (I very much do not, sadly). Some of my favorites are the Benny Rattan Bookcase, the Bobbie Wicker Ottoman, and the Fenimore Grasscloth Cocktail Table. I love that they made the Scalloped Console Table (seen above) in both a standard and small size – tiny apartment dwellers rejoice!

A Fun New Design Podcast

I’ve long felt that there’s been a dearth of great interior design podcasts (one of the only ones I really enjoy is Ballard’s How to Decorate) – so I’m excited to share that one of my favorite designers, Paloma Contreras, just recently launched a new one called The Style Files. Paloma came straight out of the gate with a fantastic series of episodes featuring interviews with some of the most talented designers out there, including Jonathan Adler, Bunny Williams, Young Huh, and many more. I’m looking forward to listening to new episodes each week!

Reading

I’ve been trying to read as much as possible both to distract myself, and attempt to make a dent in my massive TBR pile(s). I’ve also been buying books like crazy so I feel like I need to keep up! Some recent standouts have been Severance, Writers and Lovers, My Dark Vanessa, and Small Fry. I also just finished Beach Read from my April Book of the Month box – it was light and cute! If you want to follow what I’m reading you can always follow along on Goodreads or my bookstagram account.

I also recommend Book of the Month – as my friend Meghan said it’s like a fun little gift to yourself every month (and who couldn’t use a little treat at this point in time!). It’s a book subscription box where you’ll receive a beautiful new hardcover book every month for only $14.99 (but you can skip any month, so there’s no obligation). Each month they curate a selection of new releases (and sometimes even books that haven’t been released yet) and you can pick one or two for your box. It’s a great way to find new books and also it’s just fun every month to see what they’ll pick. If you join with my referral code you’ll get your first month for just $5!

Film Photography

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about getting back into film photography – not that I was ever a big expert (at all), but I was doing some last year and I kind of fell off it because I got pretty busy with my family photography. I’ve loved film ever since learning more about it from my friend Kate (the most talented film photographer I know). I don’t really have much extra time due to quarantine since my work hours are still the same, but I do have more solid blocks of time since my schedule has changed and we can’t really go out – so it seems like a good time to work on learning something new. Kate kindly sent over two books about film and I’m looking forward to spending some time going through them. Above are two film shots from a roll I took last spring.

Walks

Aside from reading and baking, I’ve been trying to take walks to get a little exercise and fresh air, and catch a glimpse of the spring blooms around the Upper East Side (the photo above is from a past year). I’m trying my best to keep my head up and I’ve found that when I don’t go for walk I don’t feel very well…but at the same time I also feel a little sad when I’m walking around. I can’t help but think about the last time I saw certain areas of the Park blooming, and how different things were then…it’s a little tough to reconcile.

Anyway, it feels nice to be back to blogging and I hope to keep up with posting a little more regularly. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like to see here!