1(3) Things - Dispatch #008

13 things I've read, loved, watched, wish listed, consumed, etc etc etc

Oct 13, 2023

Happy Friday the 13th! Here are 13 things swirling my brain this week.

Starting off with something spooky,
Carson Ellis
is one of my favorite illustrators and general all-around-cool-person-on-the-internet that I enjoy following. I think about this illustration fairly often, specifically because it was a fairly common situation an ex of mine always found herself in and this was coincidentally always her response. If you’re looking for a delightfully frightful new addition to your holiday decor, I just realized you can buy a print from her online shop! A percentage of the proceeds benefit Trans Lifeline which is extra, extra rad.
Have you sobbed to Sufjan Stevens new album, Javelin, yet? I’ve only made it through one or two full listens, but it’s beautiful, heartbreaking, and flawless in a way only Sufjan can do. This, plus the fact his Christmas albums are some of my absolute favorite, means Sufjan will be on rotation in our home for the rest of the year.
Photo: Nikos Economopoulos / Magnum
Xochitl Gonzalez’s article, “What Happened to Empathy?” in The Atlantic this week. (There’s a paywall — I cheated and read on a new device.) A tough but insightful read as a worn-down empath who has struggled with the over connectedness of humanity and a world filled with heavy, awful news events. A reminder to reconnect in real life, disconnect from this often twisted digital world, and try to be a little less stoic/snarky/annoyed/eye roll-y at humankind. *memo to self*
I'm late to the party, but I finally watched Past Lives on an airplane last week after waiting for it to be rentable on streaming services for what felt like forever. I’ve been a Greta Lee fan for awhile now, but this movie made me low key fall in love with her. The emotions and heartache that builds throughout the film feels subtle yet commanding, something I haven’t seen in a film in a long time. I know there’s a lot of hype around A24 right now, but I’m happy to see non-superhero blockbuster movies see the spotlight once again.
The cinematography, lighting, and set design of Disney+’s Loki. I know, I know. I was literally just complaining about superhero movies, but this show seems to really stand out in the line-up of Marvel Universe specific stories due to the impeccable technicolor-meets-Brutalist vibes and can’t-quite-put-my-finger-on-it charm/handsomeness/spectacular acting of Tom Hiddleston. I got into a fairly deep internet rabbit hole about the production/design/influences of the show this morning and couldn’t agree more with the “Mad Men meets Bladerunner” vibes. My teenage dream was to be a cinematographer, so I was stoked to learn Autumn Durald Arkapaw was the Director of Photography for Season 1. I hope her vision will be echoed throughout this new season.
Saw this bat knocker while on my hunt for vintage Halloween finds, and while it isn’t truly vintage, it sure would be the perfect addition to an old, historic home. It’s been immediately bookmarked on my “dream home” moodboard.
“A Current Affair” is this weekend in New York City. If you’re local to NYC, I can’t recommend enough how much you should go to this! It is vintage heaven and the people watching/dressing inspiration is almost more exciting than the clothes. I’m so sad I didn’t make it out to one of their shows this year. You can shop a curated online collection here. I would also recommend checking out their Instagram where you can find specific vendors and check out their pages. There’s some seriously fucking cool vintage out there and shows like this are a great place to get inspired on how to wear it.
“I also really believe in ‘contagion magic’ which is the idea that objects are imbued with their own stories and their own magic.” Just one of the many standout quotes from Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad’s AD Tour of their uniquely awe-inspiring Brooklyn home. One of the best “celebrity” tours I’ve seen in a long time, which doesn’t surprise me given how incredibly talented and special they both are as humans. So many thrifted, secondhand, and upcycled items in their space that prove you don’t have to spend on the priciest piece to make a space vibrate with comfort and character! This tour was a reminder to create rooms where creation can happen through reading, art, napping, games and conversation — having phone and screen free rooms is definitely the goal in our next space.
not particularly thrilling pictures but that’s what happens when you’re busy enjoying the moment! (which is hard to remember in a social media driven world.)
Seeing Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service in Seattle on the actual 20th anniversary of the release of Transatlanticism in Ben Gibbard’s home(ish)town with my sister. It was perfect amazing wonderful and overwhelmingly healing to my sad inner teenager. I was impressed to be in a crowd of so many respectful millennials who were just looking to be immersed in the experience with minimal phones out. The perfect night was topped off with a midnight ferry ride where we were the first ones on the boat and got a pretty magical view of the Seattle skyline.
A “sweet tooth” candy dish. Someone! Buy! This! The little swirly font and the campiness of this is a must for your coffee table/bar cart/book shelf!
I’m trying to avoid making this all about TV, movies, and music but I’ve been consuming a lot of it lately. I had a low key creatively spiritual experience seeing “Stop Making Sense” in theaters a few weeks ago. I wish our theater had been a little more packed/into the getting up and dancing vibe, but I felt an surge of excitement to create and get imaginative as I watched this concert in its entirety for the first time ever. I. Love. The Talking Heads. Considering having this on a constant loop in our home lol….
Ghia’s newest sumac and chili flavor. I ordered a “friends and family” round of this before they had perfected the recipe and now that it’s out I will be stocking up on this delightfully spicy version. With the holidays coming up there’s always that extra pressure to drink at every function - I’m excited there are more non boozy alternatives coming out because hangovers blow.
It’s officially soup season which means making recipes like this white chili soup. It’s not earth shattering, but it’s warm and flavorful and perfect for a weeknight when time is limited. I like to add lots of *accessories* like spices, avocado, sour cream, lots of shredded cheese and fritos on fritos on fritos.