Happy Friday!
This weekend, I’m planning on honing some recipes for a Food Whore cookbook (yes, you heard that right… a special addendum that might be five or so recipes). I’m also writing a piece based on this article in the New York Times that'll be published elsewhere not here. (I have experience in this realm because I was the Community Director of HowAboutWe.com for awhile.) D and I are also going to Aruba in a couple weeks... so I maaaaay need some new summer dresses.
Anyways, onward to links and things!
Setting up for the YaleWomen event
This past Monday, I had a w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l time chatting with about twenty-five YaleWomen about writing and finding an agent. I was joined by my agent, Stefanie Lieberman, who also happens to be a Yalie. (The next question people ask -- did the Yale connection help? Well, I didn’t seek her out because she was a Yalie, and I don't think I got a leg-up because I was a Yalie. But I think it did contribute to why I signed with her over the other offering agents. A different kind of assortive mating, I guess?)
I met lots of great people, across the board: a lawyer, actor, magazine writer, economist, academic, recruiter, a woman who worked at the Algonquin circa the famed Algonquin Table. Not everyone was a writer, but everyone was curious about the rather curious publishing process. Definitely a night to remember and cherish.
When you’re not “actively” doing something, do you listen to music? Or podcasts? Or do you let yourself sit with your thoughts? I’m more of a former and latter, but I want to get into podcasts more. Selected Shorts is one of my favs and I liked these two food-themed ones: Cannolis and Carroll (not, as I previously thought, about cannolis in Carroll Gardens, but a story about cannolis and another by Lewis Carroll) and Food Fantasies: Peas, Pancakes and Pretensions, with stories by Lydia Davis, Nora Ephron… and Gustave Flaubert.
My second book is set at a culinary school, and I was struck by this article by Eater: Three Charts that Prove Why Culinary School is Not Worth It. The numbers are quite compelling, but of course there are other things at play: perhaps you want to be a private chef, not a restaurant chef, in which case you’ll earn more. Or perhaps you’re forty-years-old and want to learn the basics quickly and efficiently (as opposed to, say, working at a restaurant where you’ll only learn their cuisine).
My friend Alice just launched this amazing clothing line called UNIFORME. Here’s part of her mission statement, which I love:
I aim to make simple, beautiful garments that are seasonless and easy to wear; impeccably tailored, luxurious clothing at a price within reach. I worked with patternmaker Nicolas Caito to develop seven interpretations of the classic white button up, accompanied by a simple tee shirt and three styles of bottoms. The pieces were inspired by the uniform dressing and consumption more typical to menswear, to buy less and buy better. That is, to make well-considered purchases based on the design, materials, construction and longevity of a garment.
Get 20% off during this pre-sale time with the code FRIENDSANDFAMILY. I’m craving this piece. (And, fun fact: the lookbook is shot in Pleasantville, my hometown!)
And, last, the couture shows. I'm obsessed with the Elie Saab collection. Especially this lacy illusion netting jumpsuit avec cape. What did you think?