monthly fluf: august 2019
to inspire your month ahead:
everything we did last month
Maggie Mayes
~Some film moments~
Chichi Offor
July was the hottest month thus far. The heat was at times cruel and so surely felt. However, amongst endless streams of sweat, life was lived.
WATCHING:
TV—Big Little Lies, Euphoria, Veronica Mars, Are You the One, Taco Chronicles, Pen 15, Stranger Things.
Movies—I’ve been watching throwback movies with Sarah because she missed out on many Disney movies growing up. This month we checked out Stuck in the Suburbs and Ice Princess! I also watched Charlie's Angels for the first time and it was very cute!
LISTENING TO: Cautious Clay, Miss Mojo, The Hamilton Mixtape. I went to a free Cautious Clay show in Williamsburg this month. That's one thing I really love about NYC. There are so many free or really cheap shows happening all the time. Also, towards the end of the month I’ve become obsessed with personal finance. I listened to Money Diaries Podcast and the So Money Podcast on Spotify!
EATING: There were lots of good eats this month! Oysters during happy hour at Lot 45 and a killer Crawfish Mac and Cheese at Heavy Woods were some of the highlights.
READING: Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed. My favorite podcast Dear Sugars ended a year ago, and this book is sort of like an extension of that. Cheryl Strayed (Sugar) is the ultimate advice giver. She does not pretend to know it all, but approaches every situation from a place of radical empathy! The letters and their answers are amazing lessons in human understanding and just life itself. I highly recommend.
WEARING: One of my all time favorite bathing suits. It was the first suit I got after many years of not feeling like the type of person who is supposed to wear one. She’s sassy, classy, and a little bad assy!
HEANA PARK
july -- let's just say summer is in full swing with sunburnt shoulders, lots of watermelon, and wearing clothes that barely touch my body.
i have been in full on nesting mode trying to make my bushwick apartment into a desert oasis with all the natural wood, wicker, and ceramic decor~
my summer uniform has consisted of a various IK tanks, jeans that are three sizes too big, and raffia slides from etsy.
we can hitch a ride to rockaway beach ;)
wearing: nu swim and watermelon
Brittany Booker
Summer dresses are my current obsession! And hey, there’s always time to pose for a photo or two.
Tavis Gray
READING: Finished Virginia Woolf's The Voyage Out. Returned to nonfiction for a spell with Bill Bryson's expansive At Home: a short history of private life, which meanders through each room of the author's restored English rectory digs and magnifies the contents therein for historical fact. I know quite a bit about Victorian table manners now. Also, Stein.
WATCHING: Fred and Ginger on Criterion.
LISTENING TO: Taffy Brodesser-Akner's Longform episode (brought on by reading her piece in Real Simple on stresssssss). Alabama Shakes. A/C unit whirs.
THINKING ABOUT: New ZZ plant, cold takeout, slathering my legs in olive oil.
Marco Martinez
TRAVELING TO: A few weeks ago I spent 5 days in Montreal with my close college friends. Having lived on the West Coast for just over 4 years following my graduation, I'm reminded of how different of a cultural melting pot cities like Montreal are. Despite it's distinct French flair, the city is cosmopolitan but incredibly laid-back, especially in the Summer when the city comes alive from its Winter hibernation. I ate my fill of poutin but nothing hit the spot more than going to a nearby Jewish deli for morning breakfast and bagels.
WATCHING:
Midsommar dir. by Ari Aster
Fallen Angels dir. by Wong Kar Wai
Easy Rider dir. by Dennis Hopper
The Farewell dir. by Lulu Wang
LISTENING TO:
Dark & Handsome by Blood Orange (feat. Toro Y Moi)
Skin Game by DIIV
Only You by The Flying Pickets
Tenderness by Jay Som
KATIE LIPSINER
Nerding out in an art museum - hot girl summer continues!
Grace Ferzely
Cancer szn, birthday month, tried to give more of my time to others but still definitely indulged. Said goodbye (for now) to a dear friend. Floated down river with family and friends who are family. Coordinated the neighborly driver’s pool. Didn't cry on my birthday, because I leveled up and scheduled my therapy appointment for the day after my bday this year. Ate cake by Isabel. Bought a dresser off FB thanks to Megan’s help. Bopped around with many pals. Held Allison’s baby Seb. Stayed in touch with far away special friends. Drove to the Georgia Guidestones. Memories, words, and a collage to commemorate 25. <3 <3 <3
Sarah Crawford
DOING: Taking a social media detox! It has been so lovely to not feel the need to constantly check in, mindlessly scroll, and frantically create content. I think there is great power in social media tools and that they are just that—tools that we can choose to use for good, evil, or anything in between. But sometimes it’s important to reevaluate the amount of time you spend using any tool in your life, and whether the way you’re using it is truly beneficial to you. I can’t wait to get back on for very limited periods of time in a couple weeks when I feel more ready. For now, I have been soaking up the sweaty sun, lots of books, and the feeling of being a little more off-grid.
WEARING: Anything lightweight—cotton or linen only, please and thanks! Mom’s handmade dress + still loving my Man Repeller Unibrow.
LISTENING TO: Sticking with lots of musical summer nostalgia, old and new… Springsteen, Eagles, Beatles, Lana, Lorde, HAIM.
READING: Normal People — I read this so quickly and I can’t stop thinking about it. I am wholeheartedly jumping on the overcrowded bandwagon of young millennials claiming that Irish author Sally Rooney is the voice of our generation. This book hit home with me in so many ways and I can’t wait to read Conversations with Friends! I recommend her essay in The Dublin Review as well.
I also read this heartbreaking account of the murder of the Irish journalist Lyra McKee at the hands of the “New IRA.” I became obsessed with Lyra’s work (especially her essay on the Suicide of the Ceasefire Babies) and am planning to read her book when it releases soon.
Lastly, I got the chance to catch the tail end of Emily Nussbaum’s in-person interview at Books Are Magic, promoting her new book of essays I Like to Watch. Tavis and my brother both introduced me to her genius and it was so cool to mentally connect her real face and voice to her illustrated New Yorker author photo and delightful Twitter witticisms.
