The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I listened to this book last year but never got around to sharing it for some reason. Recently I have seen it in a few tops and I started thinking about it again. I don’t like to read the synopsis of a book in advance, as more often than not I am left feeling like there isn’t much left to discover. So when I selected this title, I thought it was going to be something slightly different – the life of a diva that could never settle with one man, her fabulous adventures and perhaps a twist. I was ready to discover her exquisite quirks and covetable particularities, the type one often reads about in celebrity biographies, only made better through the lens of fiction.
While it wasn’t much like that, it was a deeper story about a woman going through seven marriages while really wanting to spend her life with another woman. There is a bit of everything in this book – love, hope, marriage, family, affairs, secrets, disappointments, death – above all, life, in all its complexities, with days spent basking in the bright sun and days spent hiding in the shadow.
It’s rare that I remember as much as I found myself remembering the plot of this book, many months after listening to it, and I think that is testament that this is a story well-worth your time.
Enjoy!
Bill Cunningham New York (2010)
These past few weeks, I’ve been craving fashion inspiration, bright colourful clothes, unique outfits, anything but my own mostly black and grey clothes and the same type of outfit I wear every day. While I am seeding some real change, I was able to quench my thirst this weekend by finally watching And Just Like That… (I had only seen the first two episodes) and Bill Cunningham New York (2010).
The latter has been on my list for years, I can’t believe it’s been over a decade since it was released and over five years since he passed away. The documentary is a brilliant ode to his never-ending love for clothes and Fashion with capital F. Not the sort you see walking down the runway or in store windows, but the sort people create every day and wear on the streets. He is, of course, the original street style photographer and has left such a distinctive legacy.
Source – The New York Times Archive
One gets to learn a little bit about him as a person, just enough to make you even more curious, rather than feel revelatory in any way… But one thing was certain – he absolutely loved what he did, every minute of it. He was fully committed to his work and couldn’t imagine any other life. He seemed more contented and excited about his life at eighty than most people I know at any age.
I recommend this feel-good inspiration-packed documentary!
101 Ways to Slightly Improve Your Life
I am a sucker for lists of quick and snappy tips and advice. I quite like to read these without dwelling too much on any of the entries and to see which ones stick in the end, which are the ones I still think about a while after reading the article. I like to think those are the ones I resonate most with or the ones I need most.
This time, I found myself quite randomly thinking of no 3 – Tip: the quickest supermarket queue is always behind the fullest trolley (greeting, paying and packing take longer than you think); No 19 – Take a photo of the tag you are given when leaving your coat in a cloakroom; and No 36 – Stretch in the morning. And maybe in the evening. Do I even know how to stretch properly?!
There are many on the list that I relate to and do on a regular basis, and equally a few I am not keen on trying. There’s something in there for everyone, for sure.
Be My Eyes App
This is simply a genius idea that perfectly marries technology with humanity – lend your eyes to a blind person. You install the app and sign up as a volunteer. When someone needs you, you get a video call and get to help them, for example, read a label or an expiry date, choose clothes or a gift for someone in their life, cross the street or navigate other daily life situations. I have read of some incredible stories, one even including choosing an engagement ring!
There is also a podcast by the creator of the app, himself legally blind, which I haven’t had the chance to listen to yet, but I am quite keen to do so soon. There are over 370K blind people registered and almost fifteen times more volunteers (5.6 million). If you know of a blind or visually impaired person who could use this, tell them about the Be My Eyes app.
The Draped Shelf
It’s rare, I think, that a piece of basic furniture, in this case, the common shelf, gets such a design makeover that you can barely recognise it and instantly covet it. But the people at the Heroldian Journal did it with the draped shelf.
I think it’s just so clever and elegant, that it can’t be anything but an instant hit. It reminds me of my white metal side tables from Ikea, looking like draped white tablecloths on legs. I love illusions like these!
The draped shelf could work so well as a table too, in a hallway or passageway, but I can also see one as an over the sink shelf space in a bathroom or a full row of these on a long wall, filled with assorted brick-a-brack – pictures, books, flowers, catch-all trays &co.
How would you use it?
Couture Flowers
I haven’t shared any flowery exquisite finds in a few weeks, so this week I bring you an abundance straight from the SS 2018 Moschino collection. The images of Gigi Hadid and Kaia Gerber in those René Gruau inspired dresses are iconic and have made the rounds going viral more than a handful of times. But there are some other absolutely exquisite pieces in that collection that I hadn’t seen before.
The gif at the top got me digging through the Vogue archive and bring you this flower delivery in time for the weekend. Enjoy watching the runway of the full collection and go to 7:00 for the genius He loves me, he loves me not moment.
Quotes About Beauty
This week I have not one, but two quotes and they are both about beauty. One comes from the above-mentioned documentary and it’s the very essence of Bill Cunnigham, in his own words – He who seeks beauty will find it. It’s also very similar to a mantra I have gotten into the habit of repeating to myself – Seek beauty, seek art, seek culture.
The second quote is actually a fragment from the poem Endymion, by John Keats, published in 1818, and I spotted it, of all places, in an installation at the London Transport Museum over the weekend, while visiting with my son for the umpteen time, so he can ‘drive’ the busses. It goes like this:
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
I leave you with the memorable words of these remarkable men, to inspire your weekend endeavours!
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Merci!
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