It really feels like spring! The sun is out, and jackets have been an evening afterthought. I feel so free—more so than I have in months, and I really do believe it’s the return of brighter days. It makes me dream of a future where I can fly away to someplace warm for the Parisian winters. This week, Catsby and I have been testing out craft beers and researching how to explain their characteristics en français for a new gig on Friday nights at Société Parisien de Biére in Batignolles! Give me a couple weeks to get the hang of it, but I’d love to see some friendly faces pop by for a planche and a demi-pint. Here’s what I’ve been consuming this week to compliment my beer homework:
Bay Area Bliss
Free People’s blog can be a bit too airy-fairy for me at times, but I enjoyed this feature on a local’s look at the hip corners of California’s Bay Area. I don’t know NorCal as well, but I love San Francisco, which makes up the bulk of their recommendations! From coffee shops to record stores, the Conservatory of Flowers, and murals in The Mission, I know where I’m headed next time I’m in the Golden State of mind.
La La Land
Okay, I know La La Land came out ages ago, and everyone else has moved on…but I still have days when blasting “Someone in the Crowd” on repeat is the sole reason I make it out of the house. I recently reread Emma Gannon’s analysis of the movie, which I’d like to share with you. She cried, I cried, you cried(?). Maybe it’s because it’s about the place where I grew up, and the struggles I find myself facing as a creative, but this film really resonated with me. I enjoyed Emma’s thoughts on the ending…is The Dream worth it if everyone’s so pained?
“I will not be the first one to speak. And if he never calls me again, I’ll always think of him fondly, as an asshole.”
Cup of Jo‘s post on handling run-ins with exes was ridiculously relatable. Running into the person who obliterated your heart (on repeat) is never what you think it’s going to be. No matter how many times you picture that moment, you’ll never be fully prepared. There’s no script. There’s no way to avoid the rush of stomach-flipping panic of coming face to face with that person in the wild. You might not know what to do with the intimate information left behind when a relationship bites the dust, but at least you know you’re not the only one out there wishing they could melt into the floor when so-and-so turns down your aisle at the supermarket.
Paris Blossom Report
If you’ve been following any Parisians on Instagram, you’ll have undoubtedly noticed that our fair city is looking pretty in pink! Cherry blossom season hits Paris in late March/early April and makes daily life ever so dreamy. Emily Jackson of The Glittering Unknown wrote this fantastic field guide to catching cherry blossom season in Paris if you’re on the hunt!
LA Woman
I don’t know about you, but recently I’ve been obsessing over Eve Babitz. It’s so interesting to see the difference between Eve and Joan Didion’s take on LA in the ’60s & ’70s. Curbed LA compiled this ode to Eve’s Hollywood, complete with quotes from the Queen of Los Angeles herself. While a bunch of these places are long gone (The Garden of Allah, plowed down in 1959, is now a strip mall parking lot for a Chase Bank and a McDonalds), it’s still interesting to see her old stomping grounds and imagine a different LA.
The Remains of My Self Esteem
According to The Guardian, Kazuo Ishiguro wrote The Remains of the Day in four weeks. That is all.
Up to anything fun this weekend? I don’t know about you, but I think I should start Ishiguro’s writing routine…
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