The First Print Issue of À La Carte is here!!!

What’s on the menu for November

I kick each month off with a little life update by way of a Sample Platter: What I’m reading, something I recently bought, something I’m looking forward to... An amuse bouche to set the tone for the next few weeks.

But first, I have some news: I made a magazine! The first ever print issue of À La Carte is here and I’m so, so excited to share it with you.

This mini magazine is filled with enough holiday cheer to get you to 2025 and beyond. It’s got it all: tips for party dressing from stylist

Jalil Johnson

, the ultimate holiday dinner party menu by Big Night’s

Katherine Lewin

, an-easy-but-doesn’t-look-easy wreath making tutorial from Copine de Fleur’s

Calia Booth

, festive beauty tips from the iconic

Bobbi Brown

, (yes, the Bobbi Brown,) and more. I even assembled a party planning committee (including but not limited to

Rachel Karten

,

Joanna Goddard

, and Dan Pelosi) to help us get through all things holiday hosting.

And oh yes, GIFT GUIDES. This might be my magnum opus: I curated a giant selection of gifts I’d be excited to receive myself that you can shop right from the pages of the magazine. (You may remember last year’s gift guide; it’s like that, but even better.) And ShopMy co-founder Tiffany Lopinsky made an edit of gifts under $100 for the trickiest people to shop for. The gift guides are just as likely to give you ideas of what to put on your own wish list as they are to help you find a gift for someone else.

I still have plentyyy of holiday content planned for this newsletter (next week is decor week!) but consider this the centerpiece to my buffet table of seasonal delights.

Thank you for always being so supportive of and excited about the things I get excited about too. Grab a copy of À La Carte in print here, available for a limited time only.

Now! This month’s Sample Platter, for real this time.

House I wish was mine: Australian actress Melissa George’s 17th century French manor in Provence. Designed by Peruvian-born, Paris-based interior architect Diego Delgado-Elias, this five-story home is like something out of a fairy tale. If I were a Disney princess, this would be my castle. I love it for its playful use of color and romantic design details, but I especially love that Delgado-Elias was able to create a space that feels like it doesn’t take itself too seriously—a careful blend of reverence for history and a whimsical, feminine sensibility.

Images via Gautier Billotte.

“This is a woman’s home,” George says to T Magazine. “If a man walks in, I want him to feel like a guest.”

It’s been *checks calendar* 56 days since I’ve mentioned wood paneling in this newsletter, so I’d be remiss not to point out George’s oak-paneled bathroom, which was saved from demolition on the Côte d’Azur. (Delgado-Elias had the room dismantled, shipped to the house, and reassembled within it.)

Recently purchased: Continuing on with UPS Girl Fall, I’ve added two more chocolate morsels to my wardrobe: Alex Mill’s corduroy Camden Pant and a pair of Nike Field General sneakers. The sneakers aren’t here yet so TBD on whether they’re keepers or not, but the pants already have a primetime spot in the lineup this season. I plan to wear them with a chunky fisherman sweater in an effort to transport myself to that one J. Crew catalog from 1998 that featured the cast of Dawson’s Creek.

On my wish list: I was in New York for just a blip last week and managed to make it to Quarters, the showroom/shop/wine bar helmed by design studio In Common With. The space itself is spectacular—there’s just no other word to describe how beautiful it is. I fell head over heels for a pair of Adriano Piazzesi armchairs; they were the perfect shade of rusty brown mohair and kept calling to me from across the room. I left them behind—they’re $19,000, so about $18,500 out of budget—but I got myself a conciliatory glass of Lambrusco at the bar (also stunning) and toasted to their existence.

Book on my nightstand: Have you heard about À La Carte’s first ever print issue? I hear it’s pretty fun. (Just kidding, I’m not reading anything at the moment.)

Random Etsy find: I stumbled into the wide world of vintage artist palettes on a recent Etsy excursion. This might be to artists what prop books are to readers, but I think they’re actually really beautiful and would make for an interesting addition to a picture ledge gallery or a bookshelf in need of some art. Some favorites:

Palette 1, palette 2, palette 3

Something I’m looking forward to: A vacation far, far away from here shortly after the election. I’ve been in a 2016 Carole Radziwill-level state of anxiety all week (month/year/decade) and I just can’t wait to get out of here. In the meantime, I’m begging you to get your vote for Harris/Walz in by Tuesday. I’m with Bernie on this one.

An artist to know: Loney Abrams and Johnny Stanish, aka Wretched Flowers. You may have heard that chainmail is trending in interiors (which makes sense, because it had its moment in fashion a couple of years ago,) and this duo is behind a lot of the pieces that have been making their way around the internet over the last few weeks. I love their light fixtures with long, hanging chainmail shades, and I especially love their tapestries, which sort of look like wall jewelry.

Follow Wretched Flowers on Instagram here and take a peek at their portfolio here.

On the bulletin board: I was featured on The Memo last week, a new editorial site exploring fashion, home, and interiors by editor Molly Duncan. It’s a beautiful site and I’m flattered to be included. Read the interview here and feel free to make fun of me for the tricks I use to remember my Italian vocabulary words.

Next week’s Side Order is an edit of holiday decor items for paid subscribers that I’ve been collecting for, no joke, years. Wrapping paper, tabletop items, ornaments, a candle that smells like a cabin in the woods… It’s got it all. I’ll see you then.

x

Ali

---

In case you missed it: