Five Things I Love Right Now
Wherein I Submit to the Decidedly Comfortable Format of Posting Lists
I’ve been checking out other Substacks lately and really enjoy the concept of posting lists. I’m gonna try out my own version of local, regional and national people, places, and things out on you this week. Let me know what you think!
Five Favorites, Right Now
1. Bloomsbury Farm’s Summer CSA program. I’ve been getting a share every other week and it’s been a joy to have tomatoes, eggplant, squash, sprouts, potatoes, and okra among other gorgeous, leafy delights on hand. You can sign up for fall delivery here.
2. My new mug from Pomelo Casa. The kind folks there sent it to me recently and I’m thinking about getting a set. I love the shape and hand-painted details. It’s going to be my designated green tea drinking vessel, as soon as I get my nerve up to make a partial switch to green tea that I know I need to make. This style of mug and a whole table setting’s worth of Pomelo ceramics come in a rainbow of bright colors, too.
3. The Mexican restaurant Maiz de la Vida. My friends Caroline Allison and Nick Dryden are responsible for my newly constant craving for Chef Julio Hernandez’s birria de res tacos, incredibly clean-tasting red salsa, and cauliflower tacos. You can get all three and a whole menu’s more at Maiz’s tortilla shop on Clarksville Highway in Bordeaux and their East Nashville food cart, which is permanently parked on Stratton Street in front of my friend Andy Mumma’s rad bar, Chopper. There’s good reason Hernandez is a James Beard Award semifinalist. Highly recommend.
4. The new issue of The Bitter Southerner — featuring the divine Jason Isbell on the cover. I just got it in the mail today and can’t wait to dig in to find out what stories await me, as well as what Jason, an epic thinker, performer, and activist, has to say about the experience of being a progressive Southerner in the decidedly degressive state of Tennessee. I’m a huge fan of the way Jason thinks and can’t wait until he takes time off from doing what he does to win all those Grammy awards to write his novel. (Note that I have no evidence that he has plans to do this; I’m just willing it to happen.) In terms of the TBS — well, it’s simply one of the best publications about being a curious, empathetic resident of the modern South being published today. Support their award-winning independent journalism by subscribing here.
5. The growing podcast empire of Yasi Salek. Speaking of Jason, he was recently on a very amusing episode of 24 Question Party People, the podcast that accompanies Yasi’s epic everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-your-favorite-cult-band-and-much-much-much-more show, Bandsplain. I met Yasi four or five years ago here in Nashville, via the wonderful filmmaker Elise Tyler. At the time, Elise and Yasi were both working for Spotify (I think?), as we were meeting to discuss some podcast ideas I had. I honestly don’t remember what ideas I pitched, but I do recall that I loved getting to hang out with Elise, who is the shit, and being very happy to meet Yasi, who charmed me by being very cool, smart and quirkily funny, and for liking a lot of the same music as me. Full-on girl-crush situation (with props to another LC girl crush, Alex Marshall, who was maybe the first person to report on the GC phenom in the NY Observer, way back when print journalism was still a big thing). I found out Yasi had launched her podcast last year, accidentally, when I was down a Teenage Fanclub rabbit hole (they are one of my v favorite bands) and came across her five-hour conversation with fellow super-fan Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) on Bandsplain. I quickly became obsessed. Because, really: Is there a more relaxing way to while away three-to-six hours a random Saturday afternoon than by listening to Yasi and the legendary music critic (and Nashvillian!) Ann Powers, provide minutia to the life story and career of PJ Harvey (another fave of yours truly)? That’d be a no.
Yasi – you are the shit and I love your work. Keep it up, babe.
THE BEST COSTUME FOR THE DAY
If you made a Venn diagram of the personal styles of my good friend Vadis Turner and me, the overlap would be substantial. When it comes to clothes, we both love unusual color combinations, out-there prints and motifs, and pretty much anything that falls into the rarified territory of so-weird-it’s-amazing. If it’s vintage, all the better.
So, it’s not unusual for us to send each other photos from our separate shopping journeys of pieces that we think the other would like. This was the case a few years ago when Vadie texted me an eBay listing for a sexy white, stretchy Anna Molinari slip dress with “I Love You!” printed in red, on repeat, all over it (for context, it’s from this Spring 2000 collection). “You need this,” she texted. “I have the shirt!”
Of course, I bought it on the spot. The dress fits perfectly, and it’s really fun to wear: it makes people smile. Sometimes, folks will scream “I love you, too!” at me from moving cars, which is never a bad thing to hear.
When I hit the “buy” button, I did so with visions of adorable twinning: of me in my dress, Vadie in her shirt, and both of us covered in love (literally). That hasn’t happened yet — and not because one of us wouldn’t be down for it: we’re both here for this kind of thing. But I’m holding out hope.
I often wear my Love dress by itself. But on the day I took this pic, I was in and out of cold buildings and needed to cover up. The vintage madras shirt was an estate sale find, gifted from my Aunt Jane (I love you, AJ!). For some reason, I’ve never worn it tucked in, only knotted. The red suede Gucci fanny pack was an impulse buy from The Real Real on a day when I was feeling flush. And the shoes are the cutest Tevas I’ve ever seen. The colors are perfect, as they make them a little less sportif. But man, they sure are comfortable. I understand the hype now.
I like this format of covering a variety of topics