Villas, beach reads, and a staycation

What’s on the menu for July

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.

House I wish was mine: Villa Arniano, just outside of Montalcino in Tuscany. This traditional 18th century farmhouse sat abandoned and lacked even basic utilities until Jasper and Camilla Guinness (of the Guinnesses) swooped in to save it in the late ‘80s. The couple spent years renovating the property, primarily focusing on repairing and restoring the house’s original materials, while they lived there with their two young daughters.

The family eventually moved back to England and kept Villa Arniano as a vacation home, but after Jasper’s death in 2011 one of the daughters, Amber, returned to Tuscany to reconnect to her childhood. With her she brought her friend William Roper-Curzon, and together they founded The Arniano Painting School, a retreat for artists and art enthusiasts held at the villa. William teaches landscape painting classes while Amber (now a chef and food writer) prepares meals for all of their guests. It looks like an absolute dream.

Imagine a Pasta Girlfriend retreat here!!! Let’s collectively manifest it.

On my wish list: Silver snack bowls. I go through a jar of olives and an embarrassing amount of pistachios every few days thanks to my need for constant grazing, so there’s no limit to the number of vessels I could collect. These Lazy Jamie ones with little stems are cute (and engravable!), and so is this classic $7 option.

Via Lazy Jamie

Book on my nightstand: I’m waiting for a big stack of beach reads to come in the mail: Lucy Foley’s new book The Midnight Feast, Jo Piazza’s The Sicilian Inheritance, and Carley Fortune’s Meet Me At The Lake and This Summer Will Be Different are all on their way to my TBR pile.

Recently purchased: Honestly, nothing terribly exciting, just a replacement for my missing tube of Merit lipstick in Sunday (my current favorite). But something I (in full transparency) did not purchase but I was delightfully gifted: this little red mini tote from Minor History. I LOVE IT. It’s the *perfect* red and the cutest shape and you’ll absolutely be seeing it dangling from my arm for the rest of the summer.

Currently watching: Love Island US and Love Island UK. Both islands. A Love Archipelago, really. I’m going to hold off on sharing any opinions or thoughts because the UK is a week ahead of us and I’m working overtime to avoid spoilers, but I simply cannot get enough of this year’s villa antics. Casa Amor!!!

Random Etsy find: Months ago I was at Jeremiah Brent’s store Atrio here in LA and fell in love at first sight with a table lamp. It was perfect; it had a sage green ceramic base, unlacquered brass hardware, and an unstructured linen curtain shade. It was me! In a lamp! I made a beeline for it.

Sadly, this lamp is a heartbreaking $2,350. It’s designed by the ceramicist Ana Corrigan, whose work is stunning, so it’s more art than lamp! But still, I had to let it go.

Ana Corrigan for Atrio

Then, just the other day I was scrolling my Etsy favorites and was thinking about how many great vintage lamp bases there are out there that would look infinitely cooler with a simple lamp shade swap. A lot of them come from Denmark or Sweden, so they likely require a rewire, but they’re not $2,000 and still completely unique. Like this one! Or this! Or this (which I might buy if one of you guys don’t beat me to it.)

Maybe I’ll be over the curtain lamp shade as quickly as I was over the knife pleat lamp shade in its heyday (2019?), but in the meantime I think that they pair so well with a wooden base from the ‘70s or something kind of earthy and ceramic. In the right context, it could feel sort of folksy and relaxed (like it does at Gem Wine in NYC). But in the wrong context, it’s the cottagecore milkmaid dress of light fixtures, so I’d avoid a base that’s too glossy or colorful.

Gem Wine

If you’re crafty you could totally make one, but if you, like me, lack the ability to make things with your hands, you can grab one from here or here. (Personally, I like it best in white. I bet either seller would be down to make a custom one in any size you need.)

Something I’m looking forward to: Yesterday my sister called to ask if I wanted to go on a spontaneous staycation this weekend, so today we’ll be checking into [redacted local hotel] to sit by the pool and eat room service fries for the next 48 hours. See you on the other side!!!

x

Ali

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