Five Things (9.4.26)

1. My first byline in Coveteur was published a few weeks ago, a milestone I’m still in minor disbelief about. I know manifesting and scripting are en vogue (and can work), but I’ve always been sheepish in acknowledging pipe dreams for fear of being avaricious. I already have everything I could ask for—in life, love, my career—so to ask for even more seemed too greedy. Up until recently, I barely allowed myself to fantasize about writing for the greats in modern-day publishing, even in secret.

To have my name on a site I’d admired since its inception is surreal.

And no matter how much we claim to crave authenticity, there’s no denying that earnestness still isn’t “cool”—but I don’t know any other way to be except excited and grateful. Had it not been for my long-time editor, Jordan Rossman—who along with Danielle Naer, gave me utmost freedom and trust over the years at Editorialist—this opportunity would have never existed. Curating a perfume guide for Coveteur was both an immense privilege and truejoy.

2. I also have a story on my favorite candles! Nepo Latrop Terra-Limón and Loewe Pistachio—the former for mornings, the latter in the evenings—have been olfactive respites throughout the L.A. heatwave.

3. Criticism is essential to change, but I can’t help but mourn the fact that women are unable to exist without a single fault—even when their legacy was profoundly, and inexplicably, devoted to progress. I caught myself including a disclaimer as I wrote this, but ultimately decided against the concession. It all feels inadequate, anyhow: No amount of analysis or acknowledgement of mine could capture Gloria Steinem’s legacy and affect, positive and otherwise, on the feminist movement at large. I can only state how empty I felt when I first saw news of her passing. Steinem was pivotal to my introduction to feminism, particularly during my most formative years. How I wish she’d been able to leave seeing humanity at its best. It was the very least we could do for her, and ourselves.

4. Few things are better than late breakfast at a small-town diner. I want the menus to be sticky with time, and mugs to be mismatched. All that, plus a veggie omelette (no cheese, no butter—I’ve hung my laurels as a vegan), breakfast potatoes, and unlimited black coffee are pure Americana delight. My best reading and writing have been done in a corner booth, over a hot plate.

5. Been living in this Are You Am I tank top all month. It’s easy, sexy, flattering—as good with a pair of baggy jeans during the day as it is with a little tailored capri or leather skirt for dinner. I simply change up my earrings and bag du jour to feel like I’m wearing something new; it’s the only way I’ve been able to survive both East and West Coast torridity.

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xx