Hello, and welcome to my 37 new subscribers! I am so happy to have you here.
A smattering of good things below — ‘chal we jump in?
I have been on the hunt for new salt and pepper shakers for months. Yes, it takes me literal months to make a decision like this. Under consideration are a pair from De Jong & Co — all their styles are beautiful, but I’m envisioning one Column and one Butler. Also love these vintage Christofle shakers as well as a set by Homer Laughlin, both of which my interior designer BFF Elise has. I think the substance of these copper ones from Greek manufacturer Atlas is appealing, and dig the subtle splash of color that these bring. Last but not least, I love the organic material of this set from East Fork.
Late night pandemic Pinteresting reliably leads me to some strange and great places. My most recent rabbit hole: celebs’ stationary. Specifically, getting serious design inspo care of the letterhead of Whitney Houston, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Shirley Temple.
More inspo, this time of the winter variety.
I am a long time fan of the Nécessaire body wash and exfoliator. The eucalyptus scent transports me to all the spas I’m not going to.
Here’s a vintage hippo painting. I’d get it reframed and put it in a nursery or kids room (not that I have either).
A chic, Italian laundry room. And another on Nantucket.
Great idea for all those airline miles you’re not using: donate them to refugees and asylum-seekers.
Life tip: decant your pantry essentials before loading them onto shelves (buy in bulk when possible). It only takes a moment and makes a big difference. You’ll gain space, order, and a much prettier overall picture. My favorite are Weck jars for dry goods, which you can find at lots of places online, but use what you have — any airtight container (glass! no plastic!) will do, like Kilner or Mason. They also double as a great way to store leftovers. For the ones that live on top of my counters, I use wooden lids.
I don’t do a ton of baking, but when I do, I turn to Claire Saffitz’s recipes. I recommend her book Dessert Person. Next up: this Cranberry-Pomegranate Mousse Pie. Love a refreshing dessert.
Here’s some bling to go with that baking.
Speaking of cookbooks, I recently discovered Eat Your Books, which lets you enter all of your cookbooks to create a massive virtual index of recipes. Great for those of us whose bookshelves are bigger than our stomachs.
It feels worth mentioning that I finally jumped onto the Alison Roman bandwagon and made her Spiced Chickpea Stew (the one that went viral last year). I loved it.
Okay, enough cooking-related content. Onto: knitwear!
This tribute to Princess Di’s sweaters is great. And reminds me, I am still awaiting my Rowing Blazer’s Sheep Sweater on backorder.
Sew one of these tiny tags printed with short-form poetry inside the sleeve or pocket of a loved one’s sweater (or your own!). A very Blair Waldorf vibe. xoxo Gossip Girl
My friend Ruthie — Queen Bee of Knits and known to effortlessly pull off this look — introduced me to the lush cardigans of Hope Macaulay, whose pastel hues remind me of sherbert. I also continue to be tempted by the cashmere crewnecks from Leret Leret that keep popping up on my Instagram feed. Ugh.
Now, before totally exhausting the topic of knitwear (impossible!)… this piece on how Meg Ryan's "When Harry Met Sally" sweater is back in style begs the question: were fisherman sweaters ever not in style?? I think not.
Did you know the Guggenheim was almost pink?
I enjoyed reading these articles about the millennial aesthetic, surveillance capitalism, the case for optimism about the future of cities, and the lab-leak hypothesis.
And finally, I submit an Oscar-worthy short film for your consideration. (It’s three minutes; I’ve watched it so many times and continue to tear up.)
You’ve made it to the end!
As always, you can leave comments in the comments section about (almost) anything your heart desires, or send me an email at marichal.gupta@gmail.com if you have feedback/ideas for future newsletters.
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Love,
Marichal
Wonderful. I like thinking about a pink Guggenheim.
Lvvvv reading it 🤗🤗🤗👍❤️