Camp: Notes on Fashion at The Met
“Through more than 250 objects dating from the seventeenth century to the present, The Costume Institute’s spring 2019 exhibition explores the origins of camp’s exuberant aesthetic. Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay “Notes on ‘Camp’” provides the framework for the exhibition, which examines how the elements of irony, humor, parody, pastiche, artifice, theatricality, and exaggeration are expressed in fashion.”
At least once a year, I make my way over to The Met. Partially to see the new rooftop piece and partially to see the new fashion exhibit. And this year’s costume exhibit is vibrant as hell, maybe even better than the exhibit from a few years back Manus x Machina (that I really liked). Here are my favourite pieces:
Cristobal Balenciaga, Evening Dress, autumn/winter 1965-66, dress of pink ostrich feathers and pink silk-thread dots; sash of pink silk satin
Christian Dior, “Tourterelle” Evening Dress, autumn/winter 1948-49, dress of pink iridescent silk taffeta; sash of gray iridescent silk taffeta
Giambattista Valli, Evening Dress, autumn/winter 2017-18, dress of light pink synthetic tulle
Gareth Pugh, Ensemble, spring/summer 2016, top of black silk faille and black cotton-silk net embroidered with copper meal coins; shorts of black cotton twill embroidered with copper metal coins
Gucci, Accessory Set, pre-fall 2019, scarf of polychrome printed silk twill; glasses of black and yellow synthetic, clear crystals, and metal; necklace of pearl beads, clear crystals, and metal
Manish Arora, Ensemble, spring/summer 2009, top of pieced polychrome silk-synthetic plain weave; carousel skirt of pieced polychrome silk-synthetic plain weave and gold and silver silk-Lurex plain weave with orange crystals, polychrome palettes, seed beads, cotton-and-metal thread, and vinyl appliqué
It’s such a colorful collection and it’s really just fun fashion, not terribly pretentious or ridiculous. Definitely go see it if you’re in New York this summer. I aspire to have the style of that Gucci one above.
Even the rooftop piece this year is pretty good, here’s a glimpse.
Parapivot by Alicja Kwade
The Camp exhibit is on view until September 8th, while the rooftop one goes until October 27th.
Smash The Wellness Industry
So very into this piece on the wellness industry written by Jessica Knoll.
Our New Apartment!
I’ve been waiting to write this post for about… five years? So just a warning: it’ll be a meaty one. We finally moved into a great apartment! And look, I loved our old basement apartment as much as one could love a basement apartment (this song seriously helped a lot), but we needed more windows/light. And an oven. And a doorbell. And a bathtub. And a reason to get up in the morning. And somehow we managed to find this great place that we’re pretty over the moon about. Everything is finally set up and I’m honestly so happy with how it all looks. I got a bunch of little things that I've always wanted to have in my home, so if you have any interest in seeing the place, then this is the post for you, baby.
Here’s the kitchen!
1. Dining area
2. Hahahah, but also watch out
3. Windowsill that looks out onto the courtyard
5. Spices & countertop
KITCHEN DETAILS
Aprons should be hung in the kitchen because if you see it, you’ll use it - I’ve only recently learned this fact (I found this apron at an antique store years ago). The fruit bowl is from Anthropologie (it isn’t available anymore, but they do have other nice ones) as well as the recipe box beside it. I’ve only started to use the recipe box, and I only put recipes in there that I use constantly so I don’t have to have my laptop in the kitchen when cooking. I’m not in love with that table runner (from Marshalls) but it was the only summery one I found, so I got it. Yes, I like to have seasonal table runners, it’s a condition I have. And the huge clock hanging above is something I got online years ago because everyone should have at least one big clock. It always reminds me of Benjamin Button. Also, the rum cocktails dish towel was a gift from my parents from some island. I think I put it up in hopes to make those drinks some day.
Nathan got this sign in Texas and it makes us very happy. Self explanatory.
The watering can is the can that literally every woman in my life owns because she has good taste (from Ikea) and the plant is an orchid from Home Depot. The window ledges in this place might be my favorite part. On one side of the place, they all look out to the courtyard of our building which endlessly reminds me of Rear Window (which maybe doesn’t seem that impressive but I loved Alfred Hitchcock so much growing up, so this is big for me).
The utensil holder is from Crate & Barrel (only $10!) and I only own four cookbooks (two are Chrissy Teigen ones, one is the Bob’s Burgers one and the last one isn’t really a cookbook but a guide about what ingredients work well together called The Flavor Thesaurus), but doesn’t it make sense to keep them in the kitchen? I’m on the hunt for more really good cookbooks and warmly welcome any suggestions. I keep my garlic in that yellow butter dish (from Anthropologie, bought years ago) and the spice ledge is from Bed Bath & Beyond.
Not shown is a casserole dish from Amazon that I absolutely love and is the exact same one that my mom has. Also, we got this storage container to keep Baby Dog’s food in atop the fridge. As well as this pots and pans organizer rack for inside the cupboard. And lastly, these new sink strainers that have zero jagged edges.
Here’s the washroom!
1. The fluffiness of this bathmat makes my life complete
2. The best reference to Trinidad & Tobago I’ll ever own
WASHROOM DETAILS
The floor mats are from Bed Bath & Beyond. The Aqua Notes hanging on the wall inside the shower is from Amazon (it allows you to write notes/thoughts while you’re in there) and the curtain is from The Container Store. Pretty basic stuff here.
Again, I love this so much. Got it a few years ago from Springfield Stitches.
Onto the hallways & closets!
1. When I die, wrap me up in this carpet and then Bin Laden me
2. WHY HAVE I NEVER HAD THIS BIN BEFORE NOW?!
3. Hallway heaven
4. Closet storage
5. Baby Dog’s accessories
6. Towel organization
HALLWAY & CLOSET DETAILS
I love this hallway runner carpet so much, it blows my mind that I found it on Amazon. It’s so pretty, I want to die. The mirror was $20 from Ikea and I like it so much that I’ll eventually buy the larger version of it as well. Now… the shoe rack is something I don’t love, but Nathan likes it there so it was a compromise (it was originally hiding within the closet). The gorgeous shoe tray that I bought and loved is now in the closet for boots, etc. but really… I’m over it. Can you tell? His main reason for hating the shoe tray: “Are we serving the shoes??”
This bin from The Container Store is on a shelf in the front hallway closet and it’s been kind of a dream of mine to actually have. Never again will we have bags of clothes/other shit lounging around on the floors to get rid of now that we have this allocated bin! Honestly it’s small things like this that make me feel like I’d be a monster as a parent. Self-acceptance though, yeah?
The gold hooks are from Ikea. The mail/key rack that I love love love is from Bed Bath & Beyond. Can it hold incoming or outgoing mail? Up to you! (Not in my house, though. Only outgoing.)
This is the storage closet! Labels were made from my laminator machine that I’ve had since I was 15, duh. The dry cleaned winter coats stay in here when it’s not winter. We’re all following the policy of dry cleaning our winter coats come spring, AREN’T WE?
All of Baby Dog’s personal stuff is in that first bin (toothpaste/toothbrush/treats/bags/medicine/leash) and the second bin (that’s supposed to store shoes I think?) is from The Container Store and I use it to hold her new pee pads. Opening it each day to take out a new pee pad fulfills me in a way that I didn’t know I needed.
Shelf dividers (from Bed Bath & Beyond) because I come from privilege?
Other things not shown: a clear plastic box from The Container Store with the label of Cord City because every household has a comical amount of wires & cables that no one knows what to do with, but might come in handy some day. Another box from The Container Store that holds the tool box and any other loose tools and nails. I also bought these binder rings to hang/store individual purses in my closet.
Onto the bedroom!
1. Night stand!
2. Moon prints!
3. Overview
4. Above my desk!
5. Dresser!
6. Desk!
7. Fire escape!
8. Corner!
BEDROOM DETAILS
This night stand from Target is so lovely and comes fully assembled, which is madness. It reminds me only slightly of Mad Men, which I think is a good thing.
These prints came from Etsy (and they come in every size imaginable) and I’ve wanted moon prints for years and years. I think it has to do with having those glow in the dark stars & planets on my ceiling when I was a kid (which I think every kid should have, I feel like it makes you dream big… like you know, for laminating machines, etc.).
This is a pretty decent photo of what most of the room looks like. Might be my favourite room. I hung the hats on the wall like that with nails because I feel like seeing them all the time will encourage me to wear them more. The small print above them is from when Marla & I went to Costa Rica years ago, still love it. The hamper that you can barely see in the right corner is beauuuuuutiful (from Bed Bath & Beyond) and I want everyone to have it (and with coupons it was $10!).
The wire basket is supposed to be used to hold bathroom accessories, but it works amazingly as my Cards & Stationary holder that houses any upcoming cards I need as well as my address book. Above that hangs my letter from Queen Elizabeth as well as a print that Harmeet gave me years ago that I love dearly (it’s a page from a book about two rabbits who travel across Canada together, I think). And not to get too corny, but the roses alongside are the first flowers that Nathan gave me years ago.
Had this dresser for years (it came from a furniture store on Steinway) and here you can see that gorgeous hamper better. Who knew that a hamper could prompt such desire in a person? Not me! Well, maybe me. A beautiful photo of Ma hangs above it.
My desk! Got it years ago from somewhere on Steinway, too. The small photos on it are of Camden as a baby and Jasmine. There’s a beagle coaster. Baby Dog’s paw print stamp. Alarm clock from Ikea. The glass jar is filled with notes from over the years that have things I don’t want to forget written inside (funny stories, kind things that have happened, generally just things that have made me happy).
The view of the fire escape! I’ve wanted a New York fire escape for a trillion years and that dream has come true. I wanted to get a small bird house for the fire escape since my desk looks out onto it, but decided against it because I read a story about a woman who did that and the falling seeds from the bird house attracted rats on the ground. So that idea was quickly abandoned. I refuse to have any more rat issues in my lifetime.
This shelf is from Amazon and it’s pretty easy to put together, even without instructions. The daisies are from the Union Square Greenmarket. The iPod dock is from Best Buy (bought about 20 years ago so there’s no link) that I still use often (I think I’m the last person on earth who happily uses her iPod). The candlesticks are from Ikea that have been discontinued. And there’s a Vincent Van Gogh doll down there that has a detachable ear.
Not shown: 1. Me, excitedly sleeping. 2. Nathan’s closet because that would be weird of me to show you. I’m not a maniac.
And lastly, the living room!
1. Overview!
2. Windowsill #1
3. Windowsill #2
4. Basket of Baby Dog’s friends
5. Coffee table
6. Tickless clock
LIVING ROOM DETAILS
Nova Scotia flag. Nathan’s desk. Chair from Ikea. Simpsons painting from my mom. Moose from FAO Schwartz.
Sunflowers from Union Square Greenmarket.
Dahlias from Union Square Greenmarket. Both those plant pots are from Ikea.
This basket used to hold winter hats & gloves, now we use it to hold any of Baby Dog’s friends that she’s not playing with.
I love this coffee table from Target. It weighs a ton and was pretty easy to put together. The flowers are ageratums from the market as well.
This clock from Amazon doesn’t make any ticking sounds and it’s lovely. Just bought a second one in a different colour for the bedroom.
Not shown: Nathan’s whole desk area because of, ya know, privacy. (But basically all you’re missing is a Hulk Hogan statue, a rooster painting and various artifacts celebrating his many successes.)
And that’s the place! Too much information? Possibly. But here you are reading about it, so maybe this is partially your fault for silently encouraging me. If I didn’t think people cared about this kind of stuff, then I wouldn’t have wanted to write about it? Wait, that’s a lie. In any case, thanks for giving a shit!
Happy Birthday, Dad!
Happy 96th birthday to my Dad, the best of the best.
May Musings
I have officially done a year’s worth of these monthly roundup posts.
Is it clear how much I love to write them? I guess I’ll keep doing them until they become a bother. Here’s what went down in May!
I’m still screaming from the rooftops about how great Booksmart was, can’t get over it.
Losing my mind over how good these Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups are.
And look, I tried to try more of the collagen powder but Nathan finished it all (and his hair has been looking pretty good lately now that I think about it) and I’m waiting to get more. I promise to finally take this regularly next month.
One of the regulars in my snack rotation has been these zucchini pizza bites that are surprisingly delightful, especially if you’re adding sopressata and/or jalapeños as part of the toppings.
I saw Jason Mantzoukas walking in Soho and he was so handsome I was afraid to say anything. Like alarmingly handsome. I knew he was good looking, but in real life? Whoa.
I am in love with this font. Someone tell me if it has a name.
I attempted to start season two of Barry, but it’s been so long since I saw the first season that I forgot most of what has happened. Could I have just rewatched the finale of season one and then moved on to number two? Sure. Will I? Now that’s another question.
Someone was singing this on the subway and I’d never heard it before, but Jesus Christ. So lovely.
This was a pretty heavy podcast month for me (kill me for that sentence), I did three of them! The first one is with Nathan talking about the new apartment, the second one is with Irene talking advice and the third one is with Nathan again talking abortion.
I just bought a pair of these heavenly, high-waisted, button-fly Gap jeans and I think everyone should go buy them ($42 right now with the sale), they fit like a dream. I might go back and get another pair in a different colour. Actually, yeah. I’m definitely doing that.
Ate at La Contenta and it was absolutely nothing special. Everything was too salty, overpriced and crowded.
I’ve already made three batches of these banana walnut muffins, they’re so perfect for the morning or for a snack. Ignore that they’re paleo, I promise you they’re good. Definitely not a party muffin, but a good-for-you muffin.
So excited that people will finally stop talking about Game of Thrones. Usually I don’t mind when other people love something that I don’t care about, but with this show it’s just been overkill. We get it. It was a show. Let’s move on?
So excited to hear that there’s going to be a new Mindy Kaling book next summer!
Nobody told me about how smokey it gets when you attempt to make burgers in your kitchen at home? Or was everyone aware of this already but me?
I just bought pink sunglasses (at Nathan’s encouragement) and I just became cool. May 2019. That’s when it happened. (I’d post of photo of them but I’ll be wearing them until I’m cold and dead in the ground, so believe me, you’ll see them on me soon.)
I can’t believe how good this looks. I love it when fall movies just say fuck it and come out in late summer.
I can’t say that I 100% relate to everything in this piece, but some parts of it are so on the money: “Men Have No Friends and Women Bear The Burden.“
I tried the mozzarella sticks at Big Mozz in Chelsea Market and whoa. They’re pretty serious. The tomato sauce that comes with them is insanity, too.
My niece Tianna came to visit New York for the first time! Some highlights: I finally ate a cronut and they’re waaaaay too sweet, and coming from me that should mean something because I love all things dessert. Maybe it’s because we ate it so early in the morning? I don’t know. I really don’t understand the big deal about them, though. We also walked through Chinatown and down to the financial district to get lunch at Manhatta, which was lovely. I forced her to eat my favourite pad thai at Lovely Day in Soho. We shared a cheese plate at The Cellar at Beecher’s, walked around the west village to see the Friends building and the stoop from The Cosby Show, we had dinner at L’Artusi where she had her first steak tartare. We walked through Grand Central Terminal to get to the dog museum (which is cute as hell), we saw and went backstage at the musical Waitress, had dinner at Shake Shack, saw the 9/11 memorial, shopped at Century 21, walked the Brooklyn Bridge, got pizza at Juliana’s (which wasn’t as good as I remembered?), walked with Baby Dog in Central Park to see the Balto statue, perused Chelsea Market and walked along The High Line, went to the galleries on Thursday night where we met Luis Guzman (!), and ate gelato at Grom. This was all within four days. No idea how we did that much stuff, but I slept for 13 straight hours the day after she left, so maybe I’m not as young as I once was.
Tianna, backstage at Waitress!
Tianna, The Brooklyn Bridge
Tianna & Baby Dog, Central Park
I started watching the new version of The Twilight Zone with the assumption that I’d dislike it since the original is so great, however I’ve only seen one episode so far (the blue scorpion one) and I think I really like it. Obviously the classic series is untouchable, but this one is done really well.
I learned about the existence of Book Off in midtown, it’s a store “for the people who don’t want to waste.” They buy your old CDs, DVDs, books, action figures, electronics. It’s amazing.
Season three of Riverdale is over! This is the only show that I watch every week, so it was a big deal for me. And honestly, it was a fun season, despite everyone on earth’s opinions of it. Favourite tweet from the finale?
Strawberries are about to be in season, so I got a huge carton of them from a farmer’s market and made these strawberry oatmeal bars. Pretty good! They also work well crumbled up in greek yogurt.
Another good snack idea? These baked sweet potato fries.
I have made this chicken marsala so many times that I’m taking a break from them. But for the first few times I made it, it was so, so satisfying.
All right, look. I fully expected to love Wine Country on Netflix, but maaaaaan. It is not good. It isn’t funny or sweet or anything. I think I also hate it when Tina Fey tries to be a character actor, it’s always just the worst. Do not watch.
Here’s your semi-annual reminder that Bath & Body Works is having their huge twice-a-year sale starting on June 1st, I think. It’s never advertised in advance, but I’m almost positive that it’s the first week of June. Apologies that this sounds like an ad, I just really like their foaming hand soaps and I’m cheap as hell.
Made the roasted cauliflower, feta, orzo salad from Chrissy Teigen’s cookbook and yes it was really, really good. The only issue is that the portion size is way too big. We had leftovers for days and got pretty sick of eating it, so if you’re doing this for two people, definitely size it down. Also, I had no idea there were different types of feta. French feta is creamier than traditional Greek and maaaan is it good.
Loving this kale salad lemon dressing.
This shall be my June mantra.
And this is just great.
What am I looking forward to next month? I’m planning on seeing Mindy’s new movie Late Night, watching some more of the new Twilight Zone episodes, polishing off my spring list, preparing my summer list, thinking about if I’ll ignore or celebrate National Best Friend Day on June 8th, figuring out a Father’s Day gift for the 16th, I do want to see Toy story 4 but it feels weird to not see it with a niece/nephew, and I’ll definitely take photos of the new apartment and my favourite items that I bought for the apartment post I promised last month.
If you’ve enjoyed this post, here’s a years worth of other ones like it: April 2019, March 2019, February 2019, January 2019, December 2018, November 2018, October 2018, September 2018, August 2018, July 2018, June 2018 & May 2018.
I could promise you that I’ll stop doing podcasts soon or I could be real and tell you how much I love doing them.
Dear Nana Podcast
My friend Irene has a podcast and I was her guest this week! I promise I’ll stop doing podcasts. (UPDATE: I lied.)
Hahahah, love this so much.