The November Specials
A recap of the month’s purchases, inspirations, and general musings
In case you missed it, I opened a department store!
Well, sort of, but the À La Carte Holiday Shop is as close as I will get to the multi-level holiday shopping wonderland of my dreams! You can read all about the Shop here, where I go into detail about its gift guides, the various departments you can explore, and more. I’m so proud of it, and I’m glad you are all enjoying it too—I’ve found my people.
Each Friday I’ll update the Shop with new arrivals and get rid of things that are sold out. Here in the newsletter I’ll be focused on my usual stories, interviews, and inspiration deep dives, but I’ll end each one with a featured À La Carte Gift of the Day and a recap of what’s new in store so you don’t miss a thing.
Setting this thing up took up the better part of my life for the last few weeks, but I’m not complaining—I will take any excuse to online shop while watching old seasons of Real Housewives for hours on end. Here’s what I’ve been up to in between it all:
WHAT I BOUGHT
COS continues to lure me in with its un-basic basics, this time in the form of an espresso brown long-sleeved striped tee. I see it being a heavy hitter in my closet for the next few months, both as a shirt and as an extra layer over my shoulders *for texture*.
My most treasured purchase of the month is going to be the least exciting to you: a perfectly fitting pair of vintage Levi’s. I have never in my life found a pair of jeans that I haven’t had to alter to high hell, and I’m just so excited that I’ve finally found THE ONES. If you’re in LA, I highly recommend a trip over to RLT—the whole staff is so helpful and patient and will make it their personal mission to find a pair that’s right for you.
In an effort to add some spice to my typical white tee/neutral pant combo, I ordered the silver Watchband Chain Belt from J.Crew on a whim. As it turns out, it instantly makes every outfit 25% more interesting.
My pal Skye is moving and needed to part with her set of pewter dessert and dinner plates, so I gladly took them off her hands. Look at that set! I’m ready to host a Knights of the Round Table-themed Friendsgiving. (I think they’re going to look really cute with the plates I made with Valsa Home!)
WHAT I GOT INSPIRED BY
This is one of those “I wish I thought of that” things: embossed tin place cards. My FYP knows me well and served up this TikTok, then this one, which shows you how they’re made—all credit to Olive Juice Design Co. for this genius idea.
As we all know, I love silk moire—I used moire swatches as the backgrounds for my gift guides!—so imagine the gasp I gasped when I saw that CC Moulton launched a collection of boxes and cases made from luxurious silks in all the best colors. I especially love the Etui, which is sized to carry a lipstick.
A few weeks ago I attended a dinner at Tappan where I knew almost no one, but as luck would have it I was seated next to interior designer and creator Luis Arturo Sanchez. We bonded instantly over our shared love of Wake and Late breakfast burritos and LA’s historical architecture, and he told me about a new 10-episode Youtube series he was about to launch on Youtube. In each episode, Luis visits an architecturally significant rental house, spends the night, and gives us a cinematic tour of the space, showing us what it looks and feels like across a span of 24 hours. His most recent episode is about a Brutalist cabin just outside of Mexico City that you can rent, too—watching this was good for my nervous system.
For Ghia’s hotel suite-themed holiday campaign, the brand tasked artist Jasmine Archie-Boyd of Dorque with papier-macheing a miniature Hotel Ghia and it’s simply magical. Well done,
and team.
WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON OVER HERE
Like many of you, I read Lily King’s new novel Heart the Lover last week and lost an entire day to the range of feelings I experienced throughout its 256 pages. If you read and liked Writers and Lovers, you’ll LOVE this book, and even if you didn’t, you’ll still love it—but I recommend you read that one first. If you’re a softie like me, prepare your tissues.
A branding project I’ve been working on for almost TWO years launched last month! Meet Café Matcha, an all-matcha diner in Studio City with matcha milkshakes, matcha waffles, and matcha everything else you could imagine. I loved working on this—we built the concept from the ground up, and it’s so cool to see how my initial creative direction was interpreted into a real-life café. A massive thank you to Kristmar Muldrow, my fabulous designer on the project, and Diana Oviedo, the genius behind the site! If anyone wants to meet me there for a matcha latte one of these days…
My dear friend Jessie hosted a birthday dinner party at Botanica last week and, to my surprise and initial-but-temporary horror, seated each guest near someone they didn’t already know!!! After about 30 seconds of sheer panic, I settled into a great conversation with a group of women I’m so glad to have met. It got me thinking about friend matchmaking and dinner parties—Jessie’s an expert at pairing people up from different parts of her life that she knows would like each other, and I think there’s something fun about intentionally curating a guest list and seating chart with that goal in mind. Over dinner, obviously—good food is a nonnegotiable.
WHAT I SAVED
A satisfying color combo in this book by Celia Andres for Thinking MU—I like the three little binder rings in the center!
An autumnal Wynkoop House in Stone Ridge, New York, built in 1767.
Irina Kro Eicke and her mother-in-law in some really good coats at Milan Fashion Week.
The invite to the Prada Fall Winter 2024 show via Jenny Walton, because I really love the use of that appliqué.
Black sesame and chestnut tiramisu, which would make a great holiday dessert, if you ask me. (This whole account is great, by the way.)
Perfect laser-cut lace notecards from L’Ecritoire, a 50-year-old stationery shop in Paris. I bought similar ones from Choosing Keeping in London last year and they are some of my most prized possessions.
John Derian’s house, ft. a giant pumpkin.
A gift bag from Balmoral Castle, I guess? Probably Tumblr junk but I liked the blackletter.
This close-up from Alex Mill’s holiday campaign last year, because I just obtained a red sweater almost exactly like this one, and I will be wearing it with a taffeta skirt all holiday season.
I’m reporting to you live from my sofa, in front of which lives a coffee table, on top of which sits a box, inside of which contains the best thing that’s ever happened to my nails: The Full Set from Celisse. You’ve definitely seen it glide across your phone screen at some point in the last few weeks—Celisse only just launched, but it’s already every lazy girl’s nail kit of choice, including yours truly. I cannot be bothered to do my nails (or worse, have them done), but in ten minutes or less, I’ve got a salon-passable manicure thanks to Celisse’s quick-drying nail polishes and handy cuticle serum.
I’m making it my inaugural À La Carte Gift of the Day for two reasons: 1) The box is stunning—the packaging is so fancy and it’d obviously make a great gift for someone who appreciates *the finer things*, and 2) If you too have a million holiday events coming up and don’t want to waste even one second at the nail salon in preparation, the streamlined Essential Set (or the even simpler Bare Set) makes a great self-gift.
A set of silly-but-beautiful buffet table labels that would make a fun host gift
A recipe for vegetarian matzo ball soup I’ll be trying out this winter
Socks that come in reeeeeally, really, really good colors
& more!
Have a great weekend!
x
Ali
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obsessed with those silk moire boxes!!
Love everything