WEEKEND RECAP + HOT LITERATI GIFT GUIDE
Good morning. I'm always really intrigued by my own mood in the morning. I do a lot of work on Hot Literati in the AMs. I've been a fan of a slow, quiet morning ever since I was a child. But on the weekends, I'm more generous with my time and attention and willingness to run around.
Run around I did:
FRIDAY
FOSSETTA
On Friday, Sarah Sturm and I got dinner in celebration of her birthday. We shared antipasti and oysters. She wore a little skirt with some fleece tights and I wore a French Connection sweater dress with some red fleece tights and Prada Loafers.
Then, we got some bread and brought it to a friend of mine who poured us red wine and introduced us to some friends of his. A couple — both artists, who told us “You have to know what you don’t want” and that that’s how you call in love.
Eventually my friend told us “Get out!” And I continued onto a housewarming that rolled into a jaunt around Bowery, until we ended up at Sweet and vicious. A bar that until that night, I’d only passed on my way to get a slice of pizza or right after getting catcalled outside of supreme (or sometimes both).
SATURDAY
ST AMBREOUS
I clomped across Park ave for a meeting. I love business. I wore a little white sweater dress and some knee high Chloe boots, that as I write this now, I’m cursing myself for wearing in the rain.
I greeted him with a handshake, taking off these little white leather gloves from Saks. Vintage.
MOTEL MORRIS
After the meeting, I went alone to Motel Morris for a Bloody Mary and to do some work. I’d only been on a Friday night, but the brunch was so lively with so many couples who looked like they went to Ivy League schools. I started to take out my laptop, but it felt intrusive at the bar, so I put it away. Sometimes you just need to put a laptop away. All of the work on it feels made up sometimes anyway.
The bartender was very nice. When I ordered a Bloody Mary, she asked for my ID, and then also told me about some off menu turkey pot pie. I ordered it and it was the perfect hungover meal. Hearty, but not heavy.
CAFE LOUIS VUITTON
I barely had time to change before meeting Sean Forde to go back to Cafe Louis Vuitton. But being carded confirmed that it was time to give the white sweater dress away.
I threw on a long black Valentino skirt and one of my old Bloch leotards from when I did ballet. And the Prada loafers (big mistake) and an updo, thrown up while waiting for the train (bigger mistake). I was left waddling like a penguin. But we made it in time for our reservation, even if I had to waddle.
This time we ordered:
CRISP MONOGRAM WAFFLE ♡ Greek yogurt, lemon mint, cucumber
LA CAESAR 57TH ♡ crisp baby gem lettuce, aged parmesan
LE CLUB ‘PONT- NEUF’ ♡ smoked turkey, sucrine, sliced eggs, bacon, avocado
GRAND CITRUS HIGHBALL ♡ Le Moné Aperitif, Roku Gin, gentian, Lime & Yuzu Tonic
L’ ESPRESSO MARAIS ♡ Vodka, Licor 43, Averna Amaro, espresso, orange bitters
If you look at the other louis v cafe posts on the blog, you'll see there are some things we keep ordering bc we LOVE.
I picked a book from the dining room this time. Something on Jeff Koons. Koons is interesting to me as one of the artists who has cracked the “artists are broke” stereotype.
I think this time, we were all pretty astonished with the waffle. So good, incredible balance of flavors, down to the cucumber. I want to go back and have it with caviar, even though caviar is a bit overplayed, so I'm curious to see how they approach it.
MIU MIU BOOTS
From here, I went home and changed my shoes to miu miu knee high boots before I went grocery shopping. And I let my hair down. Since I finally cracked the code of the outfit, I couldn’t just go home.
I went to one of my favorite restaurants for dessert and wine and they started giving me a lesson in amaros, until a guy I went out to dinner with a few months ago came in. I didn’t know how to end that one. He was/is so nice, so I said “Hello, so good to see you,” and fled to:
GOSPEL
One of the bouncers and I bonded over Kansas, and I went inside alone, eventually chatting with the bartender. You could throw me in any room anywhere in the world, and I would find the artists.
Then, I went downstairs as the music started. It was so good. SO good. The litmus test for whether or not a venue has great music is if you can happily go alone.
Eventually, I left (not wanting to!!!) because I had an appointment with Taina (stylist) and a shoot with Hailey Cognetti the next day.
SUNDAY
Sundays are private.
OTHER THINGS I'M THINKING ABOUT
PIERRE HUYGHE'S CASTING
I love performance art. I've leaned into it more lately myself, with an immersive exhibit titled Muse 141 inspired by a short story of I wrote by the same name. We staged the piece at Spring Place Halloween night. I'm thinking of doing another version of this in a gallery somewhere.
LUIGI MANGIONE
Having a lot of thoughts about this, particularly with the meme-ification of this, particularly on a platform like Substack where social capital is given based on "coolness" whatever that may mean to you, along with badges given to those with over 100 paid subscribers.
(Scene informs scene, a brilliant friend of mine once said. In my head, especially in the digital media world, I keep hearing "attention informs attention")
There are the obvious takeaways that the internet has pointed out.
He's conventionally good looking,
which believe me, as someone who loves hot people, we know this,
I get it.
The manifesto against corporate America.
This is where I find the digital engagement with this really interesting. By having discourse around this on massive tech platforms, we're essentially putting more logs in the fire. What if we took this as a sign to stop ordering from companies whose CEO's could easily buy your parents out of their mortgage and support struggling local businesses instead.
There are so many ways to make the world a better place and push back against corporate America's erasure of humanness, empathy, and individual identity. (more on this next week)
It's ability to break through the noise of countering trend cycles.
This is a half-formed thought, so I'd love if any of you have further thoughts on it, but in a mass media-driven culture where less and less breaks through to be mainstream,
unless it's particularly drastic or has millions of advertising money behind it, this seems to be one of the first current events besides the obvious ones (like the election), where everyone is looking the same way. I'm intrigued.
WICKED
Speaking of millions of dollars in ads, I still have not seen it. I remind you, I'm quite literally from Kansas. I cannot hand my ID to a bouncer without them asking me to click my heels.
And I take this moment to remind you that I am one woman. I designed the website, I run all of the socials with the occasional help of an (amazing, mind you) intern. Hot Literati is not paying what the CEO of Vox is making, as some would assume based on a vague, slightly threatening text I got from a former classmate who I was really nice to in school.
I'm picky about brand deals because A) I don't like being told what to write or say and B) I'm picky about what I recommend to you all because I really care and I want the stuff we put out to be good for you, your mind, and your way of moving throughout the world.
But, I'm tired, and I also enjoy being compensated for my time. I'll write forever, but if you want me to sit through a two hour movie and write about it, I will when hit 200 paid subscribers.
Speaking of spending money, I tapped the contributors to see what was on their Christmas List this year, and now I bring you,
HOT LITERATI GIFT GUIDE:
HAILO
Family heirloom engagement ring from a man
who loves me,
leaves me alone enough to write,
and tells me I could quit worked (but doesn’t expect me to (this happened last week).
"She's looking for love" my neighborhood elders tell everyone when I walk by. I don't need Hinge or Raya, because I have sweet old men in my life who will tell any nearby elligible bachelor "Look at her," like I'm a little doll
For you to donate to Story Time Village a non-profit based in my hometown that provides free books and literary resources to children
MAR
VIC
35 mm film
ANANYA
ANANYA CONT’D
Tech-pilled gift guide additions
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