The February Specials: Tassels, Lace, and Porcelain Plates

Plus, a popular novel I just did *not* like

Welcome to February’s Specials, a list of things I’ve been collecting all month to share with you.

A HOUSE I WISH WAS MINE

I’ve always loved the Craftsman-style homes Pasadena is known for, but after the Eaton Fire tore through so many of them just up the street in Altadena, I have a renewed appreciation for how special the architecture is in this corner of LA. A perfect example: this history 1913 home recently redesigned by Jamie Haller.

Images via Jenna Peffley.

You may know Jamie mostly as a shoe designer, but she’s also a talented interior designer, aptly dubbed “the Craftsman whisperer” by Architectural Digest. Jamie has a knack for maintaining the historic integrity of the houses she’s designing, opting to restore original millwork and fireplace tile over replacing, replacing, replacing. And she’s known to decorate with richly layered, mixed floral patterns, which feels true to the British Arts and Crafts movement from which the American Craftsman was born. Many have tried, but Jamie excels at baking all that warmth and history back into her clients’ homes

BOOK REPORT

Since our last check-in I’ve read four books:

1. I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue: The first bit of this book read like an episode of The Office, but one where none of the characters are likeable and there’s no plot. But slowly, this story about an uninspired 30-something working a boring admin job at a soulless company melted my cold, cold heart. Not all the way, but a little bit.

2. The Husbands by Holly Gramazio: Unfortunately, this wasn’t for me. The book’s description gave me high hopes: A woman comes home from a night out to find she suddenly has a husband, one she doesn’t remember marrying, and comes to learn that she has a magical attic that can exchange each husband for a new one whenever she wants. At its best it was very Runaway Bride meets The Midnight Library, but after maybe the 30th or 40th husband I started to lose interest.

3. Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors: After loving Blue Sisters so much I was antsy to read Coco Mellors’ first book, Cleopatra and Frankenstein. This story gave me so much anxiety, but in the same way My Year of Rest and Relaxation did, where you’re, like, watching reckless people make reckless decisions you know won’t end well for them. Cleo and Frank are exactly the type, and just as I was about to write off their chaotic love story, I found myself deeply invested in their lives and had to know where they’d end up. Definite sad girl vibes.

4. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney: I was ready to retire from Sally Rooney and her lack of quotation marks after her last book, which I remember nothing about, and honestly, I wish I had. Intermezzo was just not for me. The female characters lacked complexity, while the male characters were, dare I say, too complex. And on top of it, it was boring. Unless one of you convinces me otherwise, I will be skipping whatever Ms. Rooney comes up with next.

Next up: I’m midway through When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O’Neill—I just joined a book club and this is its inaugural pick. I’ll keep you posted.

A RECENT ACQUISITION

I just have to share this unreal birthday gift I got the other week from my sweet friends Victoria and Sofia—I literally teared up when I unwrapped the box. You all know how much I love Ginori 1735, an Italian porcelain brand that’s been around since 1896, so you can imagine how touched I was that the girls gave me these never-been-used, monogrammed Ginori dessert plates (that they found on Facebook Marketplace, of all places!) Obviously, I’ve rearranged my entire dining room shelf situation to proudly display them front and center because they are perfect.

Actually, looking at that photo above, I’m reminded of how special it is to feel known and loved by the people in my life. The entire stack on the left is composed of things my mom has given me over the years. My sister brought that salt and pepper mill back for me from Copenhagen the year before last, and that stunning little pewter salt cellar was a gift from my friend Sarah (with a big box of Maldon to go with it.) Not to get all Valentines-y about it, but gifts really are my love language, and I love being reminded of the people I care about via the objects they’ve collected for me.

ON THE WISH LIST

I have found yet another out-of-my-price-range item to fixate on: a gold tassel charm—specifically, one from Starling Jewelry and J. Hannah. I love a decorative tassel in my home, but the idea of wearing one around my neck (or hanging from my wrist, the way

Gabriella Gofis

wears hers) has taken over my daydreams.

Top: Starling Jewelry; bottom: J. Hannah.

A RANDOM ETSY FIND

I am so into these lace produce bags from Etsy!!! I already love grocery shopping but I’m pretty sure my produce consumption would go up 200% if these were weaving through the aisles of the farmers market with me.

THREE THINGS I THINK YOU SHOULD SEE

1. Eleanor Cording-Booth
   wrote an interesting article last month for House and Garden about designing homes to accommodate for neurodevelopmental disorders, like autism or ADHD. I hadn’t thought about it before, but it makes total sense that designers would be extending the idea of accessibility to include the sensory needs of their clients (and their children).

2. Legendary photographer Tim Walker recently joined Instagram and has been sharing peeks at the mood boards, storyboards, and polaroids that make up his creative process. I especially love the scrapbooks he’s been making since 1991 filled with references, notes, and ephemera he’s collected to stay inspired between shoots. He’s now on scrapbook number 25.

   timwalker

   

   A post shared by @timwalker

3. It seems that

   Rachel Karten
   and I both found our way onto JazzTok, a dark, cozy corner of TikTok owned and operated by the jazz house duo Bolden. JazzTok posts follow the same two-slide format each time: first, a piece of artwork with the caption “After scrolling for hours, you’ve entered JazzTok,” then a second image that invites you to “Get a drink and stay as long as you want.” I want to hang out in JazzTok forever. (I just wish they’d credit the artists whose work they’re using…)

SOMETHING I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO

In the spirit of sticking to our goal of making skiing “our thing,” my sister and I are going out to Mountain High next week to swoosh down the slopes for a day. She’s a natural and I am simply not, so I’ll be taking yet another lesson with fingers crossed that I don’t fall into a hole... again.

I’ll be wearing a Halfdays jacket I got on Black Friday and a new pair of ski pants, because I’m convinced I’ll feel more confident in my abilities if I look the part. To celebrate, Halfdays gave me a discount code to share with all of you—take 20% off sitewide with the code ALI20 at checkout. The code is valid until 11:59 PM MST on 2/27, one use per customer.

AND FINALLY, A MOOD ASSESSMENT

x

Ali

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