favorites of the year

listening to this record while lying on the bed at ross’s parents’ house in santa fe. santa fe — you’re too sunny by 1000, but i love you 4 rill.

REAL QUESTION: WHY IS THERE NO RAIN/RAINY DAYS IN THE SOUTHWEST? IT IS A TRUE BUMMER NO DISRESPECT

in other news, i weirdly love gift guides and realized i should have written one this year, but i thought of it way too late, but in case you want to get a headstart on 2018, here are a few juicy ideas:

1. ayurvedic bath soaks
   the packaging is very A+, i ordered for my mom, though i was confused about what i was actually ordering and haven’t seen them in person yet
2. these baggu nylon bags
   i ordered this for my mom, and full disclosure, one for myself!!!!! approve!!!!!
3. clarins body tonic
   it LEGITIMATELY makes you smell like a spa
4. i was very intrigued by this shower cap, but very narrow gift audience
5. plants!
6. this farmhouse pitcher is pretty, but prob only good for pitcher heads
7. this cuff is the bomb, if you want to spend mad dough
8. OBVIOUSLY SOCKS

ETC ETC ETC
SEE ME FOR A 1000 MORE CONSUMER RECOMMENDATIONS

ok now to my highlights of the year. it was a strange, wonderful, fulfilling year. like a molting. in no particular order:

• getting married
• buying a g-d house, WHOA
• bachelorette party
• best pals around the country
• best family around the country
• best pals making that amazing “smooth” lip sync video for ross and me
• taking the gre and getting perfect score on verbal — STRAIGHT UP BRAG, but i’m so old and i worked so hard and also do not ask me about my math score
• getting in to all three grad schools i applied to — even more brag!!!!!! but see above and straight truth, none were ivy league big daddies, so whatever
• GOING FOR A DREAM! like, just working hard and seeing it through even though it is scary and daunting and maybe a fool’s errand and will libraries even exist and i guess we’ll see how it goes
• LINEN SHEETS
• that awesome hotel in charleston on our honeymoon — the rain, the champagne, the sleep machine, all the dimmers, what a great spot
• hanging out in new orleans on our honeymoon
• the andy warhol museum in pittsburgh
• pittsburgh in general
• those mansions in newport, rhode island! holy wow!
• seeing the total eclipse with dan chambo
• my peach ulla johnson jumpsuit
• getting to try la mer for my wedding (!!!!) (worth the hype? no idea, but fun to be so radically indulgent)
• my brother having a baby! she doesn’t love me yet, but she just might one day
• levi and eero cashiola, what joy to be around littles on the regular
• yoga with adriene’s total body yoga/deep stretch and yoga for zombies, both A+++++ yoga vidz with long lasting bennys (at least i have convinced myself of this)
• teaching art to littles at the elementary school, it was so hard but so cool (also a good reminder to remember people’s intentions, always)
• lady bird
• seeing lady bird alone at alamo drafthouse and just making it in time
• stranger things, not perfect but so so enjoyable
• brooklyn 99
• benicio del toro in latest star wars
• this whole hilarious post about phantom of the opera by regarding, a 1000 laughing emojis
• starting my daily gratitude journal again
• learning that the breeziest strategy with inlaws is just to do whatever they want!!!!!
• reminiscing about portland times and how wild and fun and truly great they were

KINDA SAD THINGS

• my two train track wrinkles getting deeper every day
• realizing i have complicated relationships with people in marfa — no besties, plus i seem to disappoint folks here, which is a bummer. is it because i’m old and tired and have two train track wrinkles on my forehead and sometimes my lips feel like they’re dry melting off my face? (literally sometimes i’m like, do i even HAVE lips anymore?) or is it because i’m less open? or just tired of bullshit? i had a dumb thing happen right before christmas, where i think this friend is disowning me, and it made me sad, but also not that sad, but also sad, cuz am i an old closed freak who is a lame friend to young people?!!?!?
• all of the dumb sound effects and jokey intros and frippery frap on radiolab’s more perfect podcast, which are sort of ruining the really good supreme court constitutional content

good drink name

from commander’s palace

the second look is a bit fire

#cushnieetochs #pf #styledbyme

A post shared by Kate Young (@kateyoung) on Dec 14, 2017 at 10:18am PST

too true

from vulture’s review of the last jedi:

The third strand features Finn (John Boyega) and the small but huge-spirited rebel Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran), who rocket (or whatever the appropriate verb is) off to disable the source some sort of First Order something something. (It doesn’t matter what it is — it’s a MacGuffin.) To pass the time, they need to find a space-age safecracker, who happily turns out to be the sleepy-eyed, pervy-vibed Benicio del Toro, who only has to gaze on a female character to lift a film into the realm of a borderline R rating.

creepy statues at santa fe children’s museum

things going on

Seiji Matsumoto, courtesy of the NY Times

• enjoying illustrations by Seiji Matsumoto, originally seen here
• watching A LOT of brooklyn 99
• wondering if i might be addicted to brooklyn 99
• falling in love with andre braugher
• bought first quart of egg nog
• love going to PO at this time of year: deliveries, christmas cards, cool ass mail
• feeling like my christmas presents this year were a bit lackluster, but what can ewe dew
• considering doing some form of this, i don’t shop all that often, but i DO creep around on blogs, websites, and newsletters, bookmarking all this cool ass stuff stuff stuff to buy (eventually), and it just feels a little distracting and consumer cluttery and not all that mindful. though maybe it is mindful because i don’t buy it? anyway maybe i just start with the no buying rule and see how that goes

most depressing

from this morning’s ny times:

President Trump has threatened to end American aid to any country that votes today in favor of a U.N. resolution denouncing his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

“Let them vote against us; we’ll save a lot,” Mr. Trump said. “We don’t care.”

a really sockeroo contract

draft post from 2014 (!) about mary higgins clark living her best life, reminded of it by this npr interview with clark:

mary higgins clark, courtesy of Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

Ms. Clark’s own tenure on Central Park South began when, like Alvirah, she hit the jackpot. There she was, a widowed mother of five living in suburban New Jersey, sitting at the kitchen table and writing the novel, “Where Are the Children?” which was published in 1975. Its success led to a “really sockeroo contract” for the next book, “And I thought: ‘What do I want?’ because I realized I could afford a luxury,” recalled Ms. Clark, whose new novel, “The Cinderella Murder,” a collaboration with Alafair Burke, will be out in November. “And a voice from the cloud said, ‘Mary, every Irish Catholic girl from the Bronx has wanted an apartment on Central Park South.’ ”

strange friday night

a bit of a strange friday night — alone at home, listening to anne carson’s translation of antigone, antigonick, on kcrw. hard to concentrate but in theory up my alley. i love all those greek plays, plus anne carson is so intense / compelling / strange / wonderful.

also i forgot that antigone is the daughter of jocasta and oedipus, HEAVY FAMILY TREE.

in non-greek play news, these shoes just are speaking some kind of language to me; ditto with this emilia wickfield dress (originally seen on leandra medine).

contacting the north pole by shortwave radio

a dream come true