Portuguese tile, French pottery, and a pasta club

What’s on the menu for June

I kick each month off with a little life update by way of a sample platter: What I’m reading, something I recently bought, what I’m working on, an artist I love... An amuse bouche to set the tone for the next few weeks.

House I wish was mine: Christian Louboutin’s home in Melides, Portugal. And by “home”, I mean a 350-acre compound that includes eight separate structures separately housing the kitchen, living room, bedroom, and more. Additionally, there are two buildings so special they have their own names: La Folie, which is a sort of meditation-room-meets-party-space, and La Salvada, a 2,800-square-foot guest house.

The living room cottage.

La Folie, a 28-foot tall concrete tower designed by architect Tarek Shamma, is a one-room building with a sunken circular sofa in the center intended to be used as a place for contemplation. By night, La Folie transforms into a party space thanks to color-shifting LEDs designed by lighting engineer Erick Helaine.

La Salvada, on the other hand, is meant to be lived in. The two-bedroom guest house, also designed by Shamma, is full of antique furniture, artwork, handmade tiles, and collected textiles. Christian, if you’re reading this, I’ll do just about anything for an invite.

Book on my nightstand: I snagged a copy of Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me from my local Little Free Library the other day. I can always count on a Reese’s Book Club pick to drag me out of a reading slump, so hopefully this does the job.

Random Etsy find: On March 11, 2020, just days before we’d all be confined to our homes for an unknown amount of time, Architectural Digest published Dakota Johnson’s home tour and the world shifted. We gained so much from this one little video: An era of green kitchens, “I love limes”, and an appreciation for wood paneling. But what maybe made the biggest impact on me personally was Dakota’s collection of dishes.

I don’t think I even want to own them myself, but for the last 4 years now I’ve been “collecting” (aka saving to my Etsy favorites) variations of Dakota’s china. It’s sort of like a forever scavenger hunt, except the entire hunt is just me searching “Vallauris pottery” and scrolling through. (This style pottery comes from Vallauris, a seaside town in southeastern France.) Some pieces from my collection, all with that sort of pink-ish hue, still available for purchase:

Clockwise, from top left: vase (set of 2), charger, pitcher (comes with 6 mugs and a stand), coffee set, vase with handles

Recently purchased: Necessaire’s new body wash, Olibanum. Of all of the beauty brands out there, Necessaire is the one that delivers the most consistently. (I also use their shampoo and conditioner, scalp serum, neck serum, body retinol, and hand cream, and I genuinely love them all.) Olibanum is one of their new scents and is of the spicy vanilla-y variety, and as a longtime fan of their now-discontinued sandalwood scent, it’s my new go-to.

On my wish list: Like I wrote in my last Side Order, don’t sleep on Marni Market. At around $200 a bag it’s not cheap, per se, but it certainly beats regular Marni prices. I have my eye on the ivory Mini Criss-Cross bag, which I will be taking to Portugal with me once I receive my invitation to La Salvada.

An artist to know: I just stumbled on French-Japanese artist Tiffany Bouelle’s work and I think it’s lovely. A painter and a performer, her work often combines mediums and incorporates movement, music, and clothing.

Be sure to take a peek at her reels—they’re pretty fun to watch.

tiffanybouelle

A post shared by @tiffanybouelle

What I’m eating: I was recently introduced to the Charlie Bird farro salad, which I’m sure is no secret, but it was big news to me. I’ve made it three times in two weeks and there’s no end to this fixation in sight.

Something I’m looking forward to: In case you missed it on Instagram, I (well, Pasta Girlfriend) collaborated with my pals at Bucatini on our new project: Pasta Club! This first iteration of Pasta Club is sort-of-but-not-quite a subscription box: each month for three months, club members will receive a box of imported Italian pastas, a recipe card, and some fun surprises! It’s a one-time charge, not a recurring one, but we may offer a more ongoing subscription model down the road. I’m especially looking forward to cooking the recipes together each month — it will be like we’re all having dinner together! We’re closing sign-ups on June 16th, so click here to learn more and join the club.

Happy Friday,

x

Ali

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