<![CDATA[sapphic and the city by grotto]]>https://austa.substack.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DZ-m!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F71693274-22e7-4e0d-9d9b-0edb326d4ea3_500x500.pngsapphic and the city by grottohttps://austa.substack.comSubstackTue, 01 Sep 2026 10:44:19 GMT<![CDATA[sapphic & the city by grotto]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-938https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-938Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:51:39 GMTAt our dinner last month with Messy, I had someone mention to me that they love grotto events, but prefer to come to the non-themed ones. I realized that for our one-off parties (versus longer term residencies we’ve done in the past) I do really love to pick a specific theme.

How do you feel about them? In my eyes, a theme makes dressing up for a party s…

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]]><![CDATA[sapphic & the city by grotto ]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-846https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-846Fri, 31 Jul 2026 17:14:36 GMTIt feels like every year companies put their holiday collections out earlier and earlier. Case in point, I walked into the Crate & Barrel flagship in Flatiron the other day in hopes of finding a pot for my new basil plant, and instead of finding any pots I was greeted by their fall collection. Pumpkins everywhere. I’m not saying it didn’t excite me. Fal…

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]]><![CDATA[sapphic & the city by grotto ]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-66fhttps://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-66fFri, 10 Jul 2026 19:01:59 GMTHappy Friday, sapphics!

I’m happy to report that I’m currently writing this issue from the lobby of the Standard High Line, surrounded by books.

Are you the kind of person who works better in a public space, like a cafe or a co-working location? Or at home, totally shut into your own zone?

Personally, I usually need to be surrounded by others (but usual…

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]]><![CDATA[A special invite for paid sapphic & the city subscribers ♡]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/a-special-invite-for-paid-sapphichttps://austa.substack.com/p/a-special-invite-for-paid-sapphicThu, 09 Jul 2026 18:13:17 GMTHi sapphics!

As many of you probably know, we hosted an arts & crafts picnic event with Sapph-Lit on the last day of Pride Month at the Standard High Line. We felt like books were weirdly short and realized, after the rush of the event, that around eleven of our boxes (300-ish books!) were accidentally misplaced, and were found by staff later that week …

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]]><![CDATA[sapphic & the city by grotto 💖]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-a78https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-a78Fri, 12 Jun 2026 19:41:11 GMTHappy Friday sapphics!

How I’m feeling this weekend watching the Knicks in the finals.

The energy in the city right now is truly electric. It’s always a great time to be in New York City, but we’re operating on a different vibe level: it’s Pride Month, the weather is stunning (if a little unbearably humid), Knicks mania is in high gear leading to game f…

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]]><![CDATA[sapphic & the city by grotto 🫧]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grottohttps://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grottoFri, 29 May 2026 16:01:07 GMTHappy Friday, sapphics, and happy almost-Pride month!

Yes, Monday marks the start of an absolute marathon of celebrations. It’s always an exciting time of the year, but also one that the community braces for, both in terms of our wallets and our morning-afters.

I’m excited to announce that our first Pride event this year seeks to create a cozy break in your typical party programming: a gay girls’ night in with Heyday Skincare. The event will take place on Saturday the 13th and feature everything from mini facials and wine charm making to functional shroom bevs from Little Saints (we’ll also have cocktails, obv), a polaroid station and so much more.

Like a social media scrolling checkpoint, I really want this event to feel like a warm queer hug of an evening during which we can wear pajamas and no makeup and just hang out together. Guests will also go home with a special goodie bag, including an exclusive grotto sleep mask, and a discount on their next treatment at Heyday :) It’s going to be a very intimate event and is only available to book (for now) for paid subscribers, as a thank you for your support!

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]]><![CDATA[grotto paid subscriber perk: $5 party tix]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/grotto-paid-subscriber-perk-5-partyhttps://austa.substack.com/p/grotto-paid-subscriber-perk-5-partySun, 17 May 2026 13:56:59 GMTHappy Sunday! As a thank you for supporting Sapphic & the City, I’d love to extend a special paid subscriber perk: $5 tickets for our party this afternoon from 2-6PM at Shy Shy.

We’ll have cute y2k themed singles’ stickers at the door, temporary tats, 00’s hip hop, pop and R&B jams, and performances by Ivy Fischer! As a reminder, the event is also raising funding for Trans Justice Funding Project, so if you do take advantage of this deal, feel free to also donate directly to them here. Not necessary, of course!

If you already purchased a ticket for today, feel free to instead use the code for a friend or lover to bring along :) The code will only work on today’s party and is non-transferrable to other events!

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]]><![CDATA[sapphic & the city by grotto: issue no. 34]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-b2ahttps://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-b2aFri, 15 May 2026 16:03:13 GMTHappy Friday, sapphics!

The sun is shining in NYC today and we’re somehow only two weeks away from Pride Month. In today’s newsletter: how to capture the essence of spring at home, a new queer-ish bar that I have mixed feelings about for personal reasons, and a sneak peak at what’s coming next month for grotto.

the spring art of enfleurage

When you’re peru…

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]]><![CDATA[sapphic & the city by grotto: issue no. 33]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-665https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-665Fri, 24 Apr 2026 18:23:10 GMTHappy Friday, sapphics! As you might have seen, we had to move the date of our next Sunday tea dance to May 17th, so if you can make the new date and haven’t grabbed a ticket yet, you can do so here!

Besides that, I’m super excited for our next party, celebrating the launch of Sapph-Lit’s first-ever book to be released under their new publishing imprint …

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]]><![CDATA[sapphic & the city by grotto: issue no. 32]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-edbhttps://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-edbFri, 10 Apr 2026 18:12:45 GMTHappy Friday sapphics!

The sun is shining today in New York City, so even despite everything in my building not currently working, I am happy.

This week we released tix for our next party: a Y2K-inspired hip hop tea dance at Shy Shy on April 26th. I’ve been feeling so weird about releasing party tix recently, as it feels a bit frivolous considering ever…

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]]><![CDATA[sapphic & the city by grotto: issue no. 31]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-c14https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-c14Tue, 17 Mar 2026 18:27:38 GMTAre you feeling the luck of the Irish today? It’s St. Patrick’s Day, which means its time to gather with friends to split the G. I’m just realizing that would be such a perfect grotto party theme—count on that for next year!

For now, I’m gearing up for our party next Thursday, which sees our return to the gorgeous indoor-outdoor space at the Standard, H…

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]]><![CDATA[grotto paid subscriber exclusive: early access to our spring garden party]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/grotto-paid-subscriber-exclusivehttps://austa.substack.com/p/grotto-paid-subscriber-exclusiveMon, 09 Mar 2026 16:45:41 GMTHi sapphics,

Can you believe it’s finally sunny and 65 degrees today? I’m sipping an iced latte, and my serotonin levels are on another level.

As a thank you for your continued support, I’m excited to send out this paid subscriber-exclusive newsletter, with the link for tickets to our next party! The first fifty guests to sign up for our spring party will also be taking home a little bouquet made by yours truly, so I hope you’ll be able to join us :)

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]]><![CDATA[sapphic & the city by grotto: issue no. 30]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-cb0https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-cb0Fri, 27 Feb 2026 16:46:15 GMTSirens in the background, jazz playing, snow coming down outside: it’s February in New York City. I’m currently sitting inside in snow socks and multiple layers so that we don’t have to turn on the heat (the bills are too damn high), and if you’re doing the same, I have a suggestion for you: an electric fireplace.

This entire winter, I’ve probably had to…

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]]><![CDATA[sapphic & the city by grotto: issue no. 29]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-584https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-584Wed, 28 Jan 2026 17:33:11 GMTI hope I’m not the only one who hit the snooze button this weekend following the official announcement of a snow-induced state of emergency. Alas, we were supposed to have our first grotto party of the year on Sunday, but the snow delays have now pushed it a month and a half down the road. Indeed, heed no mind now to the event URL which reads “wet-janua…

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]]><![CDATA[sapphic & the city by grotto: issue no. 28]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-46bhttps://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-46bFri, 09 Jan 2026 15:58:16 GMTHappy 2026, sapphics! We’re back like we never left, and I want to start this issue out by saying a big thank you for supporting this newsletter and for making grotto what it is with your presence!

I’ve been seeing so much content about how this is the year of the fire horse (and a great year for Sagittarians, yay). Supposedly, we can all prepare for a …

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]]><![CDATA[Sapphic & the City by grotto: issue no. 27]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-838https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-838Fri, 05 Dec 2025 19:03:13 GMTHappy Friday, sapphics! You’re probably already inundated with holiday parties this season, but alas, here I am to put one more on your calendar.

Last weekend I went to see The Nutcracker again and was reminded by how magical the classical ballet production is. The costumes! The over-the-top sets! The rats!

Stage performance is (obviously) so captivating,…

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]]><![CDATA[sapphic & the city by grotto special edition]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-special-e63https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-special-e63Fri, 21 Nov 2025 19:18:41 GMTHi sapphics!

As a special thank you to our paid subscribers, we’re releasing tickets early for our highly anticipated second annual holiday book party with Sapph-Lit! We’re so excited to announce that this year it will be at a gorgeous heated indoor-outdoor space at the Standard, High Line! For the first time we are also having a cute lil theme: a pretty sweater party, AKA come in your favorite-ever sweater that feels most like you.

Also, for transparency, we had some complaints at our last book party that some folks were coming early in the evening, grabbing up a TON of books and swag and dipping, which left less for those who came by later on. We have heard you! Thus, we’re changing things up by giving each guest a punch card (and a tote bag) for you to take home eight books, with each table divided by publisher :) That way everyone gets more than enough! We also want you to stick around longer and hang w us. This is also the first Sapph-Lit party for which we are offering BIPOC sliding scale pricing, as we want this to be as accessible as possible.

Read more about the party and grab your ticket here:

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]]><![CDATA[sapphic & the city by grotto: issue no. 26]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-9dahttps://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-9daFri, 14 Nov 2025 19:57:51 GMTHappy Friday, sapphics! Somehow the weather has dipped 20 degrees within the course of a couple weeks, and the only way to see the silver lining is to get into the holiday spirit.

For those of us who might not celebrate with our family anymore, for any number of reasons, or who aren’t at all religious (me), the holidays might feel like a semi-weird time…

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]]><![CDATA[sapphic & the city by grotto: issue no. 25]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-afbhttps://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-afbFri, 31 Oct 2025 14:02:07 GMT‘Twas the night of Gay Christmas and I found myself staying in. Words I never thought I would utter! Granted, I’m in a different country caring for a relative in the hospital, but there’s also absolutely nothing wrong with cocooning on an expected party night. In part because, just like the holidays, it now feels like Halloween is less a single evening …

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]]><![CDATA[sapphic & the city by grotto: issue no. 24]]>https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-b19https://austa.substack.com/p/sapphic-and-the-city-by-grotto-issue-b19Fri, 17 Oct 2025 16:59:45 GMTIt’s hard to believe that Halloween is almost at our doorstep, and I’m here to deliver the news that grotto will not be having a party this year! Instead, we have our medieval-themed supper in Connecticut next weekend, and candidly: I’m slightly concerned about it.

Not concerned about the experience (it will be amazing), but about the headcount, which i…

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