Gooood morning from my couch in NYC! I want to say I’m soaking up the last of the summer, but less than 2 weeks out from our wedding, I am fueled by adrenaline and busier than ever before.

If August was a color and a day of the week, it would be orange, and it would be a Sunday. July felt like there was a lifetime of summer ahead, like nobody was out to snatch my white dresses and 12+ hours of daylight. August, meanwhile, feels like a scramble to maximize each moment.

I’m coming off a few weeks of rest. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment this summer when I realized I needed to slow down, but I looked around and realized I’ve been balancing my 9–5, wedding planning, a side project I’ve been building in the background, my grandmother’s death, my fiance’s sudden health issue and of course, launching this Substack back in February and normal things like trying to see my friends and go to the gym. Winter and spring were highly ambitious seasons for me, and I really didn’t want to lose the momentum despite feeling drained. But I channeled the spirit of the season and let myself flow into a new summer routine, where I read fiction books by the pool instead of trend articles, I watched Love Island inside even if it was perfectly summery outside and I took long podcast walks before my 9-5 instead of booking Classpasses or writing my Substacks (Sorry).

This week, I felt myself get back to my goals, with new ideas and inspiration once again pouring out of me. I’ve enjoyed having an end of summer wedding, it gives summer a clean and tidy place to end.

I’ve been following summer travel trends closely for work, trying to pinpoint how exactly different segments are defining “summer vacation” these days and more specifically, how we can use that info to inform hotels and destinations the programming and experiences that travelers want to see.

Using travel as a tool for self discovery is not a novel concept, but an interesting offshoot has been how the industry is catering to the modern issue of the adult friendship gap, as more and more adults seemingly use travel to meet new friends, connections or romantic interests.

I found it especially interesting last Friday morning when my Instagram feed was taken over with posts from Camp Social, a new-ish all-women’s adult sleepaway camp started by content creator Liv Schrieber for women to show up and make friends.

Priced at $880 a ticket, the retreats this year apparently sold out in 24 hours. Women are bused from New York City to Camp Equinunk in the Poconos, carrying duffel bags and lunch boxes sponsored by Carrot Express (with contents like chicken Caesar wraps and cold-pressed juice - yum). Upon arrival at camp, campers are bunked by age group, and can enjoy giant charcuterie spreads and rotate through activities like archery, aqua yoga, sound baths, and paint and sip. I’ve been following along and am genuinely so happy for this program’s success. I love that Liv’s Camp Social plays on the idea of the magic and simplicity of an old fashioned 90’s summer, and is one of the first successful programs that was blatantly created for friend-making. It’s offered at a more attainable price point and feels very easy to join.

There are so many interest-based travel programs and groups created for solo travelers to arrive, pursue a skill and (hopefully) connect with likeminded travelers - cooking classes at Ballymaloe or tomato retreats at Casa Lawa, maybe a writer’s retreats in a French chateau. A good friend is even headed to Burning Man this week with some newer friends she’s made this year; joining one of the micro communities known as camps, which are intended to connect people through shared contributions and self discovery.

Whether your idea of camp connections are a weekend in the Poconos making crafts and kayaking, sharing a kitchen with other creatives at Casa Lawa or collecting dust in the Playa, it sounds like the hospitality industry has a real opportunity to play friendship matchmaker.

What I’m Doing

A few recent highlights:

• I toured Hotel Chelsea this month with work. Despite living in the neighborhood and frequenting the Lobby Bar and Cafe Chelsea, I had never seen their rooms and was SO excited to hear more about the history. The tour did not disappoint and I came home with a ton of client and design inspo

  

  

  

• More, more more Bellport weekends, which meant more town cocktail parties. This time a Pride celebration hosted by the historical society and the annual Bellport Village Program Fund to benefit town facilities.

  

• Our absolute favorite restaurants/bar to visit in the summer is Docker’s in Westhampton. Dune Road is one of my all time favorite drives - it’s lined by beachy tall grass and gorgeous waterfront houses on either side. We usually grab drinks to enjoy sunset on the bay, make our way to dinner, and then catch Friday evening live music.

• Back in the city, my fiancé took me to his boss’s set at the newly reopened Pacha New York in the former space of the Brooklyn Mirage, an open-air complex where in a quest of 20’s self discovery, I spent many late nights within large crowds, going home at sunrise and in various states of mind. This year, the Ibiza-born nightlife brand took over full operations, giving the venue a whole new hospitality experience. Now in my 30’s, I was able to enjoy the music more comfortably (okay fine I was in VIP), with a much clearer sense of self (I’ve learned I do not actually enjoy large crowds and going to sleep at 9am).

• I paid for it dearly the next morning with a crippling hangover (old habits die hard), but pushed through to catch the 5pm Sunday ferry to Rockaway, where Thee Sinseers played a set at The Rockaway Hotel. The hotel itself only opened in 2020 and launched its now-beloved Rockaway Music Live series a year later. I used to frequent Rockaway in Covid times and nearly forgotten how refreshing this route is. Exploring the somewhat foreign waterways of Queens was one of the more therapeutic hours I’ve had all summer.

• Wedding dispatch: T Minus 2 weeks! It was up to Newport for our final round of wedding prep. We met our florist to see our mockups and had a sunset dinner at Lobster Bar, which will host our welcome party. I also sat for my hair & makeup trial, which made everything feel so real! We drove from Bellport out to Orient, ferried to New London, and continued up to our hotel. We stayed at The Pell in Middletown, and I am still kicking myself for not booking our room block there for guests! The building opened as a Ramada in the 80’s, but a recent multimillion-dollar renovation stripped it down to a breezy, nautical-toned boutique hotel now under the JdV by Hyatt banner that is well under Newport summer rates (and only 15,000 Chase points). We stopped at the Newport Creamery, where my fiancé frequented back when his family used to spend summers in Newport and little Nathaniel would ruin his appetite on an Awful Awful milkshake before his actual meal. We split a burger done “The Creamery Way” (grilled white bread, butter, sweet relish) and a coffee milk, the state’s official beverage. It was so indulgent that we walked the entire Cliff Walk afterward in loafers and sandals, purely out of guilt. Along the way, we stopped to say hello to our wedding venue, which was mid-setup for someone else’s wedding, our rental company stacking chairs along the lawn. It should have felt strange to watch a stranger’s version of our day being built but my heart absolutely melted.

  

What I’m Eating

This lobster roll from Lobster Bar

Poolside Caviar

Non-Poolside Caviar

… at Coqadaq! The Bucket List meal ($52 per person) was incredible and so much more food than we were expected. I loved the spicy rice cakes (the soft, chewy texture was an amazing complement to the crispy fried chicken), and the various sauces - CQDQ Verde, Honey Mustard, Pepper Parm, and Gochujang BBQ. Round out your meal with the 24 Karat - Tsar Imperial Daurenki caviar on chicken nuggets.

This incredible beach sandwich from the new artisanal meat & cheese shop in town.

Where I’m Going (Spiritually)

Whether meeting 300 new women is your speed, or you prefer to enjoy a camp-like setting more privately, my hotel pick is an ode to my inner child who so badly wanted to go to summer camp. Cedar Lakes Estate, a 500-acre property in Port Jervis, New York, was established in 1929 as a children’s summer camp and later became Team USA Sports Camp, hosting Olympic athletes for over a decade. It most recently transitioned to a popular wedding and events venue and is open for limited transient bookings in the winter,

In summer, guests can enjoy canoes, craft workshops, rope courses, daily bonfires and tennis. In winter, there is ice skating and snowshoeing, and of course special five-course igloo dinners. Guests can have their pick of 36 cottages, ranging from studio to four bedrooms, that are individually designed with details like antler chandeliers and alpine décor, with amenities like spa rain showers and heated floors throughout.

In terms of food, Cedar Lakes Estate serves upscale, farm-to-table cuisine highlighting seasonal Hudson Valley ingredients, harvested directly from the on-site chef’s garden alongside meats, crops, and goods sourced from small local farmers. Expect gourmet takes on camp favorites like fried chicken with heirloom garden vegetables, completed with regional craft beers of course.

Cedar Lakes, call me if you ever open your doors to standalone bookings in the summer and fall seasons! Til then, I’ll be crossing my fingers one of my friends books this as a wedding venue.

What I’m Buying

Whether you’re going to Camp Social, Cedar Lakes or like me, you just needed a break in your backyard, here’s what I’m buying to channel the mood:

For outdoor movie nights, a Portable mini projector for streaming The Parent Trap outdoors under the stars, complete with a A gourmet s’mores kit and a wool, washable Camp Blanket

Perhaps you’re sipping lemonade in a mess hall, or you’re making chic cocktails in your backyard, the entire Ralph Lauren Home x Cabana collection, including these woven needlepoint-print napkins and poufs. Pour your favorite lemonade (or cocktails) from these pitchers.

No summer camp is complete without arts and crafts, like this bracelet beading kit, or letters home, where I’d recommend this personalized stationary, affectionately gifted by my mother-in-law.

For nights in the screened-in porch, some Classic card games, this classic The Patagonia Synchilla Snap-T Fleece, essential for the temperature drop and a this designer bug repellant perfume, it’s a fragrance that also repels bugs.

THE classic camp shoe. I’ve loved all of their recent collabs, but the upcoming collab with Etro is my favorite by far.

A campfire or woodsmoke candle for when you get home and want the smell of the firepit to last a little longer - this one’s on the wintry side, with notes of balsam fir, eucalyptus, cypress, and grapefruit

That’s all from me this week - going to be taking a few weeks off to soak up the wedding - see you on the other side!

I've been having the same conversation a lot recently across the hotels and travel brands I work with and at dinner tables with friends. Everybody seems burnt out on consuming for the sake of it, and focused on understanding provenance (prov·e·nance, noun: "origin, source, or the history of ownership/custody") as a way of refining taste. In the travel industry this comes through in ways like studying ikebana, the art of Japanese floral arranging in Kyoto, understanding how a Provençal rosé gets its blush (from hours of skin contact with the grape! Not additives!), or working leather by hand in a Spanish tannery to learn how it develops a patina that mass production simply cannot replicate.

But it’s bigger than travel. It’s showing up in food, in fashion, in the return to “slow living” as consumers fight a collective fatigue of algorithms and Amazon and polyester and so on and so forth. The luxury market seems more keen than ever before to educate on why something is good, and why you’ll enjoy it more because you possess the knowledge. It’s a more private and more personal experience, and best of all: it’s impossible to dupe.

It’s exactly the kind of richer experience Lena Kristy has spent years building into a jar of jam.

New York Magazine recently wrote about the Hamptons world of luxury baked goods, cheekily referencing an $80 pie from the brand Jamagansett, the small-batch jam brand that opened its shop in Amagansett this spring. What the story didn’t quite capture is everything that goes into the jam before it hits the jar - in sourcing and in the education and care it takes to make something properly rather than quickly.

Founded by Lena Kristy, the jams’ flavors are a love letter to the East End, expressed through salty blueberry finished with Amagansett sea salt, smoky tomato born from a nonprofit farm’s sun gold harvest, a cardamom rose made in collaboration with content creator and beauty founder Ella Rose McFadin.

I caught up with Lena to discuss seasonal sourcing and what it takes to make small batches of the best of the best product. She actually traveled to a jam maker in Suffolk, England to learn the craft of jam. We had a fun conversation about the soil of Long Island’s east end for farming, European jam vs. American jam and her recipe for Strawberry Lime margaritas.

Let’s get right into it! Tell me all about your start. How did you see an opportunity to build a luxury brand in an everyday product?

I grew up in Marin County, CA, where going to farms, meeting the growers, understanding the whole food chain was part of the norm. Then went to culinary school after undergrad and started working full time for a meal delivery startup and eventually landed in business school in New York. Throughout all of this, I was still missing that element of making things with my hands.

I thought of jam as a creative medium since the flavor variables are endless. I realized the category has this untapped potential since jam’s been around forever, but nobody was really celebrating American preserves the same way the French and the British do. For example, Bon Maman is the gold standard here, but in France it’s just an everyday product. I wanted to build something that can celebrate what American preserves can actually be. So I started Jamagansett in my kitchen, just figuring out how to take the classics and elevate them.

Describe Amagansett to someone who’s never been. Why did you choose this town to root the brand in?

Amagansett has the same energy I grew up with in Marin County. It’s coastal but also very countryside. When you drive around, you see farm stands with hand-painted signs, farmers’ markets and open fields. Out of all the Hamptons towns, I find Amagansett to be the most effortlessly cool and unfussy. It’s also a big creative community - a lot of people don’t realize there are a lot of female business owners!

Our brand emphasizes a real relationship with where your food comes from and a community-oriented feeling, so I source our fruit from the farms on the East End. Share the Harvest, for example, is a nonprofit farm in East Hampton and about 90% of what they grow goes to food pantries in the area. The Hamptons has a real need for food, which surprises people who only picture the area as a certain way. Their sun gold tomatoes were the entire inspiration for our smoky tomato jam. So our brand is tied into that community in a real way, not just aesthetically.

There’s a bigger conversation happening right now about slow food: getting back to traditional techniques, clean ingredients, making things by hand. Where does Jamagansett fit into that shift?

I think there was a moment in food where everyone was trying to replace things with alternatives, substitutes, innovations for the sake of it. And now the shift feels like… how do we get back to what’s been around forever and actually celebrate the original product? Things made by hand, in small batches, with real people sourcing the ingredients from the place where we are actually selling it. We’re definitely not trying to reinvent jam for the sake of it. More so making the best possible version of it.

I love that. And I know New York Magazine recently put your Salty Blueberry pie in a lineup of Hamptons hostess gifts next to Briermere, Carissa’s, Round Swamp. The story centered around the $80 price tag for the pie, but that story fails to recognize that natural ingredients and craftsmanship means higher price tags than mass production…

Yes! Outside of doing business on the East End, which tends to be more expensive, we’re not cooking massive quantities of fruit at high heat with a ton of sugar and turning it into something unrecognizable. That’s how you make something shelf-stable and mass-producible and completely unrecognizable as the fruit it started out as. You can taste the difference and I’m really focused on celebrating the fruit in the jar. Then we’ll elevate it with Amagansett sea salt, vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks.

We make small batches so the texture stays alive. The texture really matters to me! I didn’t want over-jellified jams. All of our jams use organic cane sugar, but the absolute minimum needed for flavor, texture, and preservation. If you turn one of our jars over, everything should come out, which is closer to European-style. American jams tend to be so heavy and packed because they’re relying on pectin and sugar to make bigger batches more cheaply. Ours is mostly just fruit, which is why it costs more, and why I think it’s worth it.

The sourcing piece is laborious too. It’s mostly been me driving around, going to farms, loading up the car covered in dirt. It’s not a glamorous process! You have to show up to understand what’s growing and where, but that knowledge is part of the technique.

Speaking of sourcing, walk me through how that happens, because I think it’s something a lot of consumers are becoming interested in. Learning about seasonality, hand-picking your produce and thinking of how the soil, geography affects the harvest. The wine world has a word for this: terroir. How do you apply that to jam?

There are so many similarities to the wine world! The East End has two very different geographic personalities depending on which fork you’re on. The South Fork (where the store is) actually has sandier soil, which makes it better for vegetables. The North Fork has much more fruit. So for our fruit jams, we’re almost always working across the island. Wickham Farm on the North Fork grows so much fruit that they actually supply a lot of it back to the South Fork. That geographic relationship is just part of how this place works, and it shapes what ends up in the jar. Seasonality is the other piece. If a rhubarb season is short, for example, the rhubarb rose is gone when it’s gone, which is how seasonal products are supposed to work.

Did you travel often to compare the East End terroir to the produce in different regions? Any fun inspiration trips? And how did these trips inspire your flavors?

Yes actually! My stepdad is British, so when I visited his family, I took a solo trip to Suffolk. I stayed on a farm with a woman whose closets were full of jams floor to ceiling and had been making jam from recipes passed down through generations. We made marmalades, tomato chutneys, classic strawberry jams, using everything from her farm. The traditional recipes are half sugar, half fruit, which we’ve pulled back from. But watching her work was inspiring. A neighbor had asked her to make 200 orange marmalades for an event, and she’d done it straight from her kitchen. These jams were just how she took care of her community. I came home with a lot of flavor inspiration from this trip.

It’s a trend I’m seeing a lot of in travel! Travelers ditching traditional itineraries to take trips like these. More curiosity around small-batch making and trying out this idea of slow living beyond the mood board of linen dresses and picnic baskets. What’s your philosophy on slow living, because I feel like that’s a big aspect of the brand?

Yes exactly! On slow living, it’s quite simple. Just making a decision, repeatedly, to not rush the thing in front of you. Which sounds simple and is actually really hard when every system around you is designed for speed and convenience. Celebrate the objects and rituals that reward slowing down. A jar of really good jam forces you to taste it and notice it in a way that a squeeze bottle of jam doesn’t. It makes you more attuned to the ingredients. That little bit of presence and attention forces you to actually taste your breakfast and think about what you’re eating.

For us it means letting the beautiful thing be beautiful without dressing it up. You’ll notice our branding is very minimalist. We chose deep greens and plum as colors that signal quality without being flashy. Our store in Amagansett uses natural materials like wood to bring in a slight beachy element. Not being showy and just sticking to the basics.

Yes and I love that the brand has a focus on the morning, which for me is the time of day that embodies the idea of slow living. What is a morning like according to the world of Jamagansett?

A Jamagansett morning is definitely slow! It’s a really good piece of sourdough, toasted properly and tasting your jam. It’s taking the five extra minutes to make a proper coffee instead of grabbing something on the run. You know, we have a raspberry chocolate jam, and if you mix that into an iced coffee, you get a raspberry mocha? It’s fun and delicious. It’s the difference between starting the day in a rush and starting it in a way that sets the tone for you. You don’t need to be in the Hamptons to have a morning that feels like this. It’s more of a practice than a circumstance.

Omg Raspberry mocha? What are some other creative ways to use your Jam that may not immediately come to mind?

Cocktails! Our strawberry lime jam with orange blossom water and fresh lime zest. Shake that into a margarita, and it is so good. The rhubarb rose, which we made with Wickham Farm and gave a more luscious, almost puree-like texture, works beautifully on yogurt, on ice cream. People put it on toast first but there are so many ideas to use it!

Wow I love the idea of the margarita. It’s so hot today I could go for one. Your ideal summer brunch — what’s on the table?

One sweet, one savory always. For savory: a frittata with our smoky tomato jam, micro greens, goat cheese, spinach, whatever’s fresh that week. It’s easy to slice and share. For sweet: a big plate of sourdough French toast, really generous with the jam and whipped cream. Then a coffee bar where people can stir in the raspberry chocolate into iced coffee and some mimosas.

Location is the beach on a beautiful day. Big picnic blanket, everything easy to eat, nothing too fussy to transport. Beautiful, lux scenery but completely unfussy. Really nice items in a really nice place. It doesn’t have to be too fancy at all!

By the way, I loved your collaboration with Ella Rose. She’s one of my favorite creators to follow, it felt very natural! How did that come together?

We met as early-stage founders and just started talking. What I love about Ella is that she built her whole brand around the same instinct I have around less intervention, and letting the real thing show through. For her that’s skin and for me that’s fruit.

I brought a few different recipe directions to our first meeting very much based on her actual tastes, what she loves in a jam and we built the Cardamom Rose flavor from there. Even the shoot was fun: she was spreading jam on her face, they cut this massive slice of toast.

For opening weekend she came into the store, talked about her products, we talked about the jams together. She sells some of her products in our space. Then we took the jam to the Elk in West Village and they made a matcha with it. One thing just kept leading to the next. Those are honestly my favorite kinds of collaborations, when we can both walk away with something that actually makes sense for the brand.

I’m a hotels girl so let’s talk hotels. Which hotel is your dream setting for a brand collaboration and what would that look like?

In Amagansett, the Round Tree comes to mind immediately. Their backyard is so beautiful. I picture taking it over completely with hanging lights to create this warm effortless evening. We can serve cocktails with the jams incorporated and invite a really great group of people who appreciate good food with good ingredients.

Beyond that, I keep returning to our earlier conversation between Jamagansett and the wine world. Vineyards are taking beautiful produce and distilling it into a high-end shareable product, which is exactly what we’re doing. So somewhere like Carneros in Napa feels like a very natural next step. A hotel connected to a winery, a dinner where the jam is the throughline.

Eventually, South of France also speaks to this idea of slow food. Or going back to Suffolk and finding a beautiful hotel there for something that brings the whole origin story full circle. I think about that one a lot.

Last question — I always ask: where are you going spiritually. Aka, what matches your mood this week, and what is the hotel matches it?

Right now I’m in the unknown. The store just opened and there’s a lot of real momentum around the brand, but there’s also a lot still to figure out. It’s a time of a lot of uncertainty and unknowns at the same time.

Hotel Corazón in Deià, in Majorca comes to mind. I went a while ago and it just stuck with me. It’s incredibly creative and artistic and the island has all this hiking and really beautiful water. You don’t really know where the next turn will take you. I remember being on a hike and all these wild goats just appeared out of nowhere.

That’s very much where I am right now. Deià feels right for that. Effortless and full of surprises, forward-moving, with a lot still to discover.

Happy Sunday morning from Bellport, where I’m once again mentally preparing to battle the rest of the Montauk line for a seat home on the LIRR to the city. And Happy belated 4th of July! As you likely know by now, I work in the PR/media world, so a brief dispatch about the America’s 250th media coverage this year, because I so enjoyed reading all of the stories major media covered around the topic. I’ll be honest, I braced myself, expecting the usual stories about the same 6 New England towns (love the Kennedys in Hyannis Port aesthetic, but it’s time to go deeper!). Instead, the strongest stories went looking for the parts of the country that don't often get asked to represent it.

Vogue sent Tyler Mitchell to Texas for a trip built around escaramuza riders and HBCU marching bands. Bon Appétit's print issue put hoagies in Philly next to turkey legs and fried chicken from Oklahoma's Black rodeo circuit - a scene that's been running for decades, largely uncovered. And Town & Country's "What America Does Right" list still made room for the postcard version of Americana, listing Big Sur drives, Costco and lobster rolls. In a stretch of divisive politics and weird things like Meta glasses, it takes some genuinely discerning eyes to find different versions of an America worth celebrating, and I was glad these journalists did just that. It was nice to be reminded that the country is big, sometimes strange, and textured, and that the idea of Americana, and this ongoing experiment we call democracy, is something we can all still fall in love with.

Which brings me to my own contribution to the archive. After all that thoughtful, wide-lens coverage, I turned around and threw together probs the most predictable BBQ in the American canon: hot dogs and burgers. I thought about incorporating a dish that gestured at my own immigrant ancestors and their version of the American dream, BUT hot dogs and burgers are that story, too. If you think about it, this fare is some of the most democratic food this country has ever produced. It’s accessible enough palette-wise and price-wise to be served at every backyard in America this weekend from a bazillionaire compound in the Hamptons to a humble house in the country down South. I took a trip to Deer Run Farmstand in Brookhaven, NY and packed the car full committed to the kitsch; paper plates, potato buns and all.

Thank you, Bon Appetit, for the hot dog hack of the summer: Score them spiral-style before they touch the grill. Every ridge catches the heat differently and you get way more char and caramelized edges. It also holds toppings much better in my opinion. If you have longer dogs, we doubled them up. I topped mine with sweet relish, ketchup and yellow mustard.

Cheeseburgers, smashburger style. Fill with proper ratios of 80/20 beef and shredded onions. Work them into the patties, not just on top. I absolutely love the scraggly and crispy edges of a smashburger vs. just a thin cheeseburger. Slices of American cheese (yes, the ultra processed kind), on a potato bun. My fiance stuffed 3 patties to a bun, but I personally think 2 would’ve been just fine. For buns, you absolutely need a Thomas potato bun.

The caprese was the wildcard. I was at the farmstand doing anxious laps, unable to commit to a single vegetable, when I overheard an older couple talking about caprese. So I grabbed a ball of fresh mozzarella (slice it thick), two early-season tomatoes and some fresh basil off the stem. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and some good extra virgin olive oil, fresh cracked black pepper, flaky sea salt and a tiny pinch of oregano.

I was out on my morning walk when I spotted these hand-painted, stars-and-stripes margarita glasses at a church thrift shop sale for $5! I couldn’t not buy them. For the weekend’s cocktail I wanted something that actually held up in the heat, so I made basil vodka lemonades: simple syrup infused with a fistful of fresh basil leftover from my caprese moment, then cut with fresh lemon juice and a good pour of vodka. There you have it!

We also inflated the most adorable Pucci float, which was not an easy feat in 98 degree weather.

And finally, for our evening plans. Our summer town throws a beach potluck every year at Ho-Hum, and I’ve only gone the past few years, but it’s magical. We walked down the boardwalk at golden hour, shoes in hand and were greeted with a long table on the beach filled with foil trays of potato salad, homemade banana bread and buckets of KFC fried chicken (doesn’t get more American than that!). Bartenders were pouring wine into plastic cups and there were giant coolers of beer. We brought a few bottles of our favorite Jumbo Time chilled reds. I wore a white La Ligne maxi dress I’d originally bought from The Real Real for my bachelorette but felt perfect for a sunset beach party.

Where I’m Going (Spiritually)

New Orleans is a quintessential American city, and for this week’s hotel pick, I wanted to pick something steeped in history and have therefore been reading about Hotel Peter & Paul.

The neighborhood itself carries a piece of complicated American history. Built on land that had once been a plantation, the Marigny became, over the 19th century, home to refugees who fled the Haitian Revolution in 1809, and waves of German and Irish immigrant. It was a mix of communities (some of whom arrived under very different circumstances), who built the Creole cottages and shotgun houses that still define these blocks today. French was also spoken here well into the 20th century and as we know there is still a TON of French influence in New Orleans to this day.

The hotel property itself is actually 4 separate 19th-century buildings stitched into one: a Catholic church, rectory, convent, and schoolhouse, all built for New Orleans’s Irish Catholic community. The school closed in 1993, the church was deconsecrated in 2000, and the whole block sat empty until developer Nathalie Jordi (who was a former Bon Appétit and Travel + Leisure writer!) spent six years turning it into 71 rooms split across the buildings.

You check in through the old schoolhouse, where each floor keeps its own color story pulled from centuries-old religious paintings, with tons of gold, emerald, sapphire, and ruby tones. Convent rooms still have crosses standing at each corner of the bed and rectory rooms feel more like a papal apartment, with canopied queens and marble baths. I absolutely love that the original cypress moulding, stained glass, and wainscoting all stayed put.

Downstairs, the very chic Elysian Bar serves cocktails and small plates under a bold yellow, half-arched terracotta ceiling, and just a few blocks over sits Frenchmen Street, which is still the best place in the city to hear live jazz, with the same French and Creole musical lineage that runs through the neighborhood’s history.

Enjoy your leftover burgers, good luck getting a seat on the LIRR and talk next week!

xx

Linds

Hellooo and Happy Sunday. It’s been a rollercoaster few weeks with some high highs and low lows.

I'm writing this from New York, which was not the plan. The plan was Big Sky, where we were supposed to attend our good friend’s wedding in Montana, then a road trip down to Jackson Hole for the fourth with my girlfriends, riding horses and fly fishing and going to the rodeo and wearing an adorable Zimmermann set I bought for the occasion. I was supposed to be exhausted-in-a-good-way and a tastefully hungover, hot off of a 30th birthday weekend in Martha’s Vineyard, clambaking and drinking mudslides.

Instead I am in NYC, exhausted for other reasons. My fiancé is dealing with some health issues that I won’t get into, because it's still unresolved, but really because there is no eloquent way to summarize something that is, at its core, a lot of waiting. So life right now is running on two tracks: the first filled with anxiety. The second, stemming from us being our normal selves, ambitious in our 9-5’s and enjoying our free time as our normal, happy selves, who are 10 weeks out from our wedding and really should be relishing in that instead. We’ve been switching between these two moods constantly but are overall committed to the second one, so this newsletter will be from that version.

What I’m Doing

Last Saturday I was supposed to be in Martha’s, but made the pivot to join Nathaniel and his friend Chris, visiting from Orange County, out in Bellport. More context on our idyllic Long Island summer town here. We took our trusty LIRR pilgrimage, armed with Chop’t Mexican Caesar salads and a bottle of Jumbo Time Wine rose. One of my favorite feelings is leaving Penn Station on a Friday afternoon train, feeling like the weekend has officially begun. We dropped our bags (and the Jeep off to the shop to be inspected) and the guys had a sunset tee time. I do love golf, but am often exhausted by the thought of 18 (or 9), so I just tagged along to enjoy the late sunset, drive the golf cart around and read my Kindle. If nobody has told you this yet: golf courses (if the course and opportunity allows) are among the most underrated reading environments that exist. The course is well-manicured and relatively quiet and the pace of the game creates long opportunities between moments of activity.

The course at Bellport Country Club is gorg. There’s a hole right on the water! I hit a few balls for fun, but mostly sat in my cart devouring London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe and drinking Bellport Pilsner beers. If you’re someone who has historically found nonfiction too slow, too dense, or too much like homework, London Falling is a fab entry point. Patrick Radden Keefe is the same writer behind Empire of Pain, and he writes almost like a fictional crime thriller. The setup of London Falling is: A 19-year-old falls to his death from a luxury apartment building on the banks of the Thames. His parents begin investigating (because police curiously, didn’t seem to be!), they discovered that their son had been living a completely fabricated life as the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, using the alias to move through the rarefied world of London private members clubs and posh flats. Keefe uses this story as an entry point into his bigger storyline of London’s old money/dark money underworld. I read about 40 pages in the golf cart while admiring the sunset.

The next day, we made our weekly pilgrimage to Brookhaven’s H.O.G. Farm to pick up some baked goods. This weekend’s haul was a raspberry cream cocoa pie, a pesto bialy and a cinnamon roll. We made breakfast and had a few hours of pool time, then dried off for the weekend’s main event: the annual Beach Ball benefit for Bellport’s Boys & Girls club chapter. This year’s fete was hosted on a gorgeous waterfront property overlooking the Great South Bay. The party itself was great as always, I’m a sucker for a sailcloth tent. We drank some rose, ate some lobster rolls, enjoyed a sunset and went home to a post game in the pool house with dino nuggets and the World Cup.

Since I hadn’t planned on attending this year, I needed to dig through my closet last-minute for a dress. I found this Lilly Pulitzer dress from 2017 that I haven’t worn since a Belmont Stakes race that year and have been meaning to dust off but haven’t found the right occasion.

Lilly Pulitzer is on the brink of a comeback. Heritage prep never really goes out of style but is having a major moment now. Between Palm Royale on Apple TV+ and the re-creation of the iconic Slim Aarons photoshoot for Town & Country, the brand has been reapparing on our television screens, and searches for Lilly Pulitzer designs (both new and vintage) have been steadily climbing according to Google. The brand just held its first runway show in nearly twenty years to celebrate its 65th anniversary, and re-launched its menswear line for the first time in fifteen. Chief Creative Officer has been mining the archives, re-releasing original prints in both heritage and modern silhouettes. I can’t find the dress online, but you can rent it from my Pickle shop HERE. Here are the pieces I’d buy:

From left to right:

White ribbon-sleeve romper, Pink set, Green and white set that gives Zimmerman, One piece, Lobster sweater, Juice stand shift dress, Corn set, White dress

We returned back to the city and had a week filled with office days and doctor’s appointments. Fast forward to this weekend, on Friday we needed to get out of the house and Joji, one of the artists Nathaniel used to work with, was actually playing in Barclay’s Center that evening. Joji is an incredible Japanese-American artist who spent the early part of his career as a Youtuber before pivoting to melancholic R&B and pop. I wore one of Nathaniel’s old Joji tshirts, these fun pants and sparkly bag I bought from Depop for my bachelorette.

What I’m Eating

As I mentioned, Saturday mornings are hands down my favorite time of the week. Yesterday, I woke up early NEEDING a pick-me-up. I wanted something practical, but something still felt like a treat. I headed over to the Union Square Greenmarket, not to browse, but to seriously grocery shop. When I was single and living on Bleecker Street, the Greenmarket was a staple. I’d go alone, usually with bad coffee from Panera, and take my time going stall to stall, buying things I didn’t entirely have a plan for and figuring it out later. It got expensive and when I moved to West Chelsea, I convinced myself it was too far, but this week certainly calls for farm fresh produce. There’s a few things I’m excited to make with my haul this week:

• Korean-inspired bulgogi beef bowls with bok choy and kimchi from Lani’s Farm

• Roasted beet salad with herbed goat cheese salad from Lynnehaven cheese

• Strawberry basil jam

• Pistachio pesto from my friend Emmy Eats cookbook

I’m incredibly excited about the jam. For breakfasts this week, I’ve been toasting English muffin with European butter applied while it’s still hot. I’ll add a spoonful of the mixed berry chia seed jam I made two weekends ago, and flaky sea salt on top. It sounds like nothing but it’s genuinely the most satisfying breakfast.

What I’m Buying

In periods of uncertainty and stress, I shop for future me. It’s not retail therapy exactly. I think of it more like future-casting. I’m buying for the version of myself three weeks from now, in happy situations like, a sunset walk downtown to dinner in this new shirt, or, I’m going to put this expensive face mask post shower on the couch, watching Love Island after a Tuesday night workout and productive day at the office. Aren’t the emotions and psychology behind shopping are fascinating? I haven’t really shopped since my bachelorette this past April, so I had a bit of a sprint this week. Here’s my haul:

Basics Under $75 (from left to right)

White Tshirt under $50, Cinched waist Tshirt, Another cinched waist Tshirt, Collared button-up tank, Amanda Uprichard jacquard under $75

Staud Sale:

I had a gift card I’ve been meaning to use, and the Staud sale had some GOOD finds. From left to right,

Houndstooth oversized tee (over -50% off), Dark blue silk pants (over -$100 off), One piece

Skincare:

The best brightening cream, Retinol sleep serum, Exfoliating pads, Body wash that feels like it should come from Le Labo. Leaves skin so soft. I’ve been using the body wash but bought the entire scent line , Lip liner, Juicy plumping gloss

Last but not least: these red barrel pants. I have been watching the easy pants discourse (J. Crew Luna pant this, Donni taffeta pant that) unfold on my Substack feed for months now. Sometimes I buy into trends, sometimes I resist, but I’ve seen versions of the easy pants outfits on the streets of New York, and it’s relatively timeless. So I’ll pair with one of my new white tees and a statement shoe. Easy. Done.

What I’m Watching:

I’m on episode 12 of this Love Island season, desperately trying to catch up to Casa Amor as I fear I’m holding back my Love Island group chat. Nathaniel and I are also watching Mad Men, which is extremely fun and transports me to a time of dressing up for the office and martinis at lunch. It’s his first rewatch and my first run through and I love Joan.

Where I’m Going (Spiritually)

The mental and emotional exhaustion this week feels like a good time be taken care of, mentally and physically. I need someone to make decisions for me, feed me something healthy, and bring me to an idealized version of myself that seems inaccessible when facing unknowns and going through a hard time. This week, I’m spiritually checking into The Ranch in Hudson Valley, less than an hour from NYC.

The program runs 3-4 nights and maxes out at 25 guests. Each day is built around guided hikes, an afternoon fitness class, daily yoga or meditation, and a 55 min massage. You are woken at 5:30am by Tibetan chimes. Your schedule is handed to you at an orientation and your (healthy!) meals are decided for you through an entirely plant-based menu by Chef Michael Narciso. Food is served communally in a glass-enclosed orangery-inspired sunroom (I LOVE an orangery) with views across the lawn, the lake, and the surrounding mountains. Lunch might be beet and bean sliders on lentil buns with kale chips. Dinner could be acorn squash stuffed with quinoa. Breakfast is their signature house-made granola with almond milk they make themselves. The recipes get emailed to you when you leave, which I love for future Union Square Greenmarket trips.

I also love the history behind the property. The 1902 lakefront mansion was built by J.P. Morgan as a wedding gift for his daughter (who was marrying Alexander Hamilton’s great-grandson no less!). It later spent decades as a Catholic school run by Ukrainian nuns before The Ranch acquired it in 2023. The interiors were reimagined by New York-based designer Steven Gambrel, who kept the soaring ceilings and converted the ballroom into a fitness studio. How chic!

That’s all from me this week. I owe a recap from my press trip to a recently renovated Irish countryside Manor House hotel AND a fun interview with one of the Hamptons’ most talked about brands. In the meantime, please send any and all good vibes and prayers our way as we continue to wait on health updates. Hopefully good news soon,

Linds

I’m writing this from a shady rocking chair on the front porch of my in-laws’ house in Bellport, Long Island and you must know that this is my favorite writing and reading spot of all time. Bellport sits 90 minutes outside Manhattan on the South Shore of Long Island. It’s just west of Westhampton, if you need a reference point, though part of the charm is that most people do. The village is predominantly artists, designers, writers, and magazine editors who made a deliberate choice not to be a part of the Hamptons scene. Its main street is filled with small, artisanal businesses like an antique auction house, a meat and cheese specialty store that just opened last week, Bellport General, the design-led general store conceived by a creative director and filled with fashion essentials, independent brands and rare pantry items; Isabella Rossellini’s Mama Farm shop, an extension of the 28-acre biodiversity sanctuary she founded in 2013 down the road, Copper Beech, the home furnishings and prepared food store that celebrated interior designer Thomas O’Brien opened with his husband in a restored 1918 building that was once a Vaudeville theater (they kept the original ceilings!).

Villagers bike to cocktail parties on the water. There’s a ferry to a private beach on Fire Island, beautifully designed homes and a genuine commitment to slow living. I usually spend my mornings walking or running to the water and listen to my favorite podcasts (recently: Cherry Bombe, Business of Home or Grand Tourist). There’s an ongoing debate amongst villagers of whether to keep Bellport a secret or amp up the tourism. As a travel publicist, you can probably predict which side of the debate I’m on.

It’s our fifth summer coming out here. Our usual summer routine is city Monday-Thursday, then take an after-work Thursday LIRR to Bellport, WFH in the tiny office room on the second floor of the house, and then stay out here until Sunday, where we fight for seats on the LIRR with the the tan and hungover crowds from the Hamptons and Sayville.

What I’m Eating:

In the city this week:

Outfit 1: White tee. Pants. Fringe bag. Outfit 2: Top. Pants. Lunchbox lol.

I hit Emmett’s on Grove to celebrate a friend’s birthday. It was 3 couples and it’s one of the best restaurants for a group. Crowdpleasing food, on the scenic Grove Street, amazing cocktails and food and a good-looking crowd. They make one of my favorite caesar salads in the city. Order the hot papi pizza and order extra paprika ranch on the side.

Georgie’s in Chelsea - Just opened. I was genuinely impressed by the food (the chicken miso bowl was so fresh and NOT slop!) and the cocktail menu. I had a clarified porn star martini and a pepperoncini martini.

Three months out from the wedding, I've done absolutely zero of the things 25-year-old me would have been doing — no diets, no trending face cream audits, no fitness spiral. Since maturing into my 30’s, I continue to take good care of myself but refuse to deprive myself of the pleasures, creativity and culture that come with food. That said, I want to feel my best when thousands of photos are inevitably taken of me on my wedding weekend, so I've been building a meal prep rotation to stay out of the Banza frozen pizza and solo charcuterie plate trap on weeknights.

Current lineup: mixed berry chia seed jam, caramelized onion and gruyère egg cups packed with cottage cheese for extra protein, edamame and tofu soba noodle bowls, ground beef and wild rice bowls with pepperoncini and pickled jalapeños. Let me know if you want any of these recipes — happy to include them in a future edition!

In Bellport this week:

The Saturday Morning farmstand circuit out here draws a mix of people: all-year-rounders in wellie boots and bandanas, weekenders in sundresses who arrived on the Thursday LIRR still buzzing, families with rattan totes already half-full by 9am. Everyone is excited about the weekend ahead and eager to pick through the refrigerators stocked with wedges of cheese and specialty sauces made from whatever produce is leftover. Our first stop was Hog Farm, a local farm open to the public for produce and dairy. They have all kinds of events and a rotating cast of chefs come to set up shop. This week, the farm had pizzas like caesar salad pizzas, ricotta and hot honey pepperoni on toasted sourdough crusts. I made the mistake of letting my sugar-addicted fiancé select our breakfast while I browsed the produce, having stated that I would "just pick at whatever he got." He came back with a dessert pizza, a rhubarb turnover, and one of the most genuinely excellent almond horns I've encountered. I have been picking at all of it all weekend. Nathaniel keeps life interesting.

Then we headed to Early Girl Farm, where some friends who’d left for the weekend generously passed along their CSA share. A note on CSAs, since I've been thinking about signing up: a Community Supported Agriculture share means paying a farm upfront at the start of the season in exchange for a weekly box of whatever is fresh and ready. The question is whether I'm actually disciplined enough to cook through a full share every week. Reader, I may not be. But I am strongly considering it.

What I’m Reading:

Strangers! And the scorching New Yorker article, which, in my professional opinion, was totally planted by her ex’s team. This is the rare book that travels across age groups and contexts without losing anything. I've talked about it with my mother-in-law, colleagues, friends from completely different worlds. It sits at the intersection of marriage and money — a conversation women SHOULD be having more openly and rarely do.

For those who have read both the memoir and the New Yorker article, my take is that I don’t believe author Belle Burden lied or maliciously omitted information about her financial means. She spent an entire page discussing her family history (descendent from a Vanderbilt? Hello?) so I would assume there is are additional assets somewhere, though likely not immediately liquid.

The relationship stuff didin’t necessarily shock or trigger me. It’s sadly a tale as old as time and men do need to be held to a higher standard. I was most freaked out by her reflections on bearing the load of parenting, and her husband just leaving her to continue taking on that load by herself. Belle’s mother Amanda is actually a Bellporter so I’m attending Belle’s talk later this summer hosted by our local Bellport Brookhaven Historical society, so I can’t wait to share more. Yesteryear is up next - more to come!

What I’m Doing:

Bellport socializes around community events and fundraisers rather than relying on Resy-backed Mediocre and Expensive restaurant pop ups you can’t get a table at. It's one of the things I love most about being here. Last weekend was a house tour also hosted by the historical society. Five very creative and stylish individuals allowed us into their homes, ending at a reception hosted by Francisco Costa, the Brazilian-born designer who spent 13 years as creative director of Calvin Klein womenswear and has made Bellport his weekend home for years. Francisco is kind, warm and has impeccable taste. He greeted me from the rainy morning with a cheerful “Come! You need a drink!” and ushered me into a screen porch for a glass of rose.

This weekend: The Salting, the cult clothing brand from Michael Ward and Manel Garcia Espejo, hosted a casual cocktail event at its design studio and store in Bellport. It was hosted with chef and former fashion designer Peter Som, who released a cookbook, Family Style last year and was signing copies. I picked up a book and chatted with Peter about his time in Bellport and how his Chinese heritage inspires a lot of his cooking. We have radicchio from this week’s farmstand haul so I’ll be making his blood orange radicchio salad with miso-maple dressing this week.

After, we attended an outdoor gala where I had far too many glasses of rose and woke up with several new phone numbers. Success!

What I’m Buying:

I’m on a shopping break. I’ve been busy and haven’t had time to hunt, and am pretty content with some of my new summer pieces. In fact, I recently put some of my favorite pieces on a Pickle closet available to rent.

This week I did buy this mini ice cream maker from Target - I have big plans for frozen greek yogurts with fun flavors and mix ins.

I do have my eye on those damn Donni taffeta pants everyone is talking about. I might also pull trigger on the Adidas ballet flat sneakers. It’s the best time of year to walk everywhere and I like taking full advantage of that while not showing up to social events in sneakers.

Go rent some of my stuff on Pickle so I can buy both :)

Where I’m Going (Actually)

As soon as I had any small amount of disposable income when I graduated college, I was saving every bit to travel. There isn’t much saving that happens on an entry level PR salary, so the first few years meant Greyhound buses to visit friends in Philly, DC or Boston, ready and willing to cut on groceries and shopping if it meant the freedom to explore. I eventually upgraded to airplane trips! International trips! Europe trips! and took full advantage of the WFH era (miss it every single day). This is the first year I’ve truly slowed down and enjoyed more days at home and really soften into my NYC routine. June will be move fast with back to back travel, then plans to be in Bellport the rest of the summer. Here’s what’s up ahead:

• Ireland - Work trip to the newly refurbished Mount Juliet Estate. I’ll be hosting a lovely group of media to see all of the new work done.

• Martha’s Vineyard - To celebrate my friend Amanda’s 30th birthday!

• Annual Trip Out West - To celebrate our friends’ wedding in Big Sky, then my girl friends are meeting up with me to spend a week out there. We’ll be in Idaho and Jackson Hole. Taking any and all recommendations!

Hello and Happy week-after Memorial Day. Summer 2026 has officially kicked off, even if New York introduced it with gray skies and wet sidewalks. I’ve been thinking about what I want this season to feel like. If I had to assign myself a “____ Girl Summer” title, I’d say I’m due a more attentive summer. My goal is simple: open myself up to inspiration EVERYWHERE and in every situation I’m in. It feels like we are most of the time, half somewhere else - watching sunsets through screens, thinking of what we’re going to say next instead of listening. I’m making this the season of focusing on absorbing my inputs to create better outputs.

This week, I’m recapping a few events in NYC that have really proved to me the quality of my experience is determined by the quality of my attention. Read more about an “Offline” brand dinner with Rare Beauty at Hotel Chelsea, some art fair notes from Frieze and this week’s hotel pick in the South of France. Let’s get into it!!

What I’m Doing

Last month, I was invited to a brand dinner with Rare Beauty, Selena Gomez’s beauty brand to celebrate the launch of a new tinted brow gel. The product drops today, and we were asked not to post about our experience until it officially launches. Fun fact, apparently Selena was personally passionate about developing this product. The invite said: arrive at Hotel Chelsea at 6:30 for an “Offline” dinner. Don’t post or tell anyone. Your phone will be stickered at the door.

Cryptic! Annoying! Intriguing!

I’ve been on the planning side many times for this type of event. The gist is that creators and media gain access and brands gain their reach. So an offline dinner felt like either a very clever PR move or something genuinely different. I walked in ready to be a bit skeptical. I wore this strapless black suiting top (very flattering), black fringe pants (sold out but here is a version from H&M that is under $50, and my silver slingback heels).

I arrived to the dimly lit private dining room at Cafe Chelsea, gorgeously decorated with tapered candles and droopy florals. There was a mocktail menu courtesy of Recess canned adaptogen cocktails (I will be drinking these all summer), and crayons on the table to provide entertainment sans phones. A Rare Beauty team member met me at the door and, true to the invite, stickered my phone and reminded me I wasn’t to reveal the details until late May.

The group, compromised of about 20 creators and marketing professionals from places like Poshmark and Spring Fertility, slowly settled in. We opened gift boxes to reveal the new tinted brow gel (genuinely great product by the way - buildable and natural). We passed mirrors around the table, swatched, compared. Then, with nothing to film and nowhere to post, we just…talked. Over some amazing dishes like herby roast chicken with sauce vin blanc and lemon spaghetti. It may sound odd to those who aren’t in the business of visibility but to me, it was a good reminder that the feeling of aliveness and inspiration I’m chasing truly come from absorbing what's already in the room.

For dessert (the best caramel gelato sundae I've had in recent memory, btw), the Rare Beauty team asked us to pair off and answer one question: how is your month actually going? Now I’ll stop and say that this could easily get cringe and corporate trust fall-y But I leaned in and was glad I did. I told one of the content creators I’d just met that the "family trip home" I'd mentioned earlier when talking about weekend plans was actually my grandmother's funeral. That I'd been in grief while also launching new projects outside my 9-5 (more very soon!!) and have been in a weird spiral of comparison I couldn’t escape and that I knew I needed to extend myself some grace but was having trouble finding it.

It was unexpectedly tender to tell all of this to a stranger, who can sometimes receive these things more cleanly than someone already assigned a role in your life. I was happy someone was truly present to listen and give me the grace I so desperately needed to give myself.

Rare Beauty was built around rejecting the “beauty myth” - the idea that makeup is corrective and should be applied to close the gap between yourself and impossible beauty standards. Rare’s argument is to use makeup as expression and celebrate what makes you unique. The brand takes it a step further with its Rare Impact Fund, a charitable initiative that launched in 2020 and donates one percent of all sales to expanding mental health services for young people. It’s a good brand position now as the beauty industry is deep in this strange second layer where women now PERFORM the act of getting ready: filming the preparation, optimizing the lighting and narrating the routine. While I do love my TikTok account, the Offline dinner was much more my speed.

Well done, Rare Beauty, and thank you for having me.

What I’m Watching

I live in Chelsea, which means during New York Art Week my neighborhood transforms with cool events and parties filled with people who carry canvas tote and wear incredible statement jackets. It was impossible not to want to get involved!

I’ll start by saying this: I do not yet have an art-world vocabulary yet. I don't always know the references and can't always place the details. This usually makes me shy away, but in the age of AI and social media, I’m actually learning that a beginner’s eye is the most valuable thing we have. Not having the right words has made me operate on pure instinct, without a filter of what I’m supposed to like. I want to lean into that more in the spirit of attentive summer, but in the meantime, some art highlights:

At Silverlens, I saw work by Kawayan de Guia, a Filipino artist exploring the intersection of tourism fantasy and colonialism. So much of tourism depends on selling paradise as if it simply appeared that way, untouched and waiting. The exhibition asked what gets edited out of that fantasy, who gets to consume it, and who has to live inside its consequences.

At NADA, I was most drawn to portrayed interiors. Some highlights include: BA Thomas’s Haute Couture at Brigitte Mulholland drapery and furniture, Bárbara Alegre’s Not Alone at Dohing Art felt safe among the overstimulation of the fair. Niniko Morbedadze’s Transformation Room presented by CH64 Gallery had gorgeous floral wallpaper (among the winged creatures).

I was a bit more overwhelmed at Frieze, but really loved Malgorzata Mirga-Tas fabric collage Pasio Pani Bialka (horses!!).

I came home curious about the evening auctions - the big league sales from houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s, which to my delight, actually stream some of these auctions on Youtube. One of Andy Warhol’s original Brigitte Bardot’s went for over $24 million and a pink and green Rothko that ended in a 10 minute bidding war. I threw them on as background noise while I cleaned the apartment.

Jerry Saltz recently wrote in New York about the absurdity of the art market, especially when price starts to become part of the artwork’s identity. A Pollock becomes known as “the $181 million Pollock.” A Rothko becomes less a painting than an asset. It was about the spectacle of auctions, where billionaires, advisers, and auction houses turn art into status and proof of proximity to power. His point, as I read it, is that the market can distort the way we look. It turns art into asset class and a social signal before it has a chance to be the experience it was intended for. I’m sure this is partly why art can feel intimidating to those of us still learning how to look. But Saltz’s piece felt reassuring because beneath all the auction house theatrics, his standard is still simple: does the art survive the noise? Does it keep pulling you back?

In place for a traditional wedding registry, my fiance and I agreed we’d have an art fund to purchase our first piece of art. We already have plates, knives and an air fryer, so we’re looking for something with a little more permanence that we can choose together. If anybody knows of any art advisors for first-time buyers, please put me in touch!

Where I’m Going (Spiritually)

Summer travel szn is in full swing. Fueled by the creative energy of Art Week, I’m interested in a trip where I come home with new references, not just new photos. I want the hotel with a story, not the one everyone has saved down on TikTok.

For this week’s hotel pick, we’re traveling to La Colombe d’Or in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, the medieval hilltop village about 25 minutes from Nice and roughly 20 minutes from the beaches of the French Riviera.

I actually traveled to Provence last year, to Saint-Rémy and Cassis. I love a glamorous European hotel, but it feels less exciting to plan an itinerary where every meal, beach chair, and linen dress is repeated by every group of Americans. I loved exploring smaller towns, driving to dinner past stone walls and cypress trees, hearing more French than English at the next table. I really liked feeling like the trip was immersing me into the community rather than a scene.

Enter: La Colombe d’Or, which began in 1920 as Chez Robinson, a café-bar with an open-air terrace, before Paul Roux, a and his wife, Baptistine “Titine,” turned it into a small three-room inn. Here's the backstory: Over time, broke, brilliant artists passing through the Riviera began trading their work for meals and stays. BIG NAMES like Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Chagall, Calder, Miró all stopped by. So their works are actually still incorporated into the hotel to this day. A Calder mobile hangs above the swimming pool and a Fernand Léger mosaic sits near the terrace. Works by Picasso and Matisse have lived beside lunch service, corridors, guest rooms, and the regular chaos of a hotel. The property itself is still intimate: 13 rooms and 12 apartments, with a restaurant, bar, garden, terrace, heated outdoor pool and sauna, room service, and private parking.

And if you want to venture outside, Fondation Maeght and Fondation CAB are walkable from the hotel; Matisse’s Rosary Chapel in Vence is a short drive; Nice has both the Chagall and Matisse museums; Antibes has the Picasso Museum.

And with that, my note to self for an attentive summer is simple: choose experiences that leave you with better instincts.

Happy Sunday from my couch. I’m properly tan from my first West Side Highway day of the season and finally recovered from the emotional whiplash of returning to my real life after a weekend in my blissful tropical bachelorette bubble in Casa de Campo last month.

It was one of the happiest weekends and I’m so excited to recap, but I do need to start by saying that I spent the months leading up to it a bit nervous. You see, girls trips are my favorite thing in adult life. In places like Mallorca, Costa Rica, Mexico City, Palm Springs, and Big Sky, I’ve swapped relationship theories, habits, product recs, and life advice with some of the best women I know, always coming home inspired and recalibrated. A place gives those conversations their atmosphere and becomes inseparable from the memory of the trip, so when it came to choosing a location for a weekend hosted in my honor, it felt like a high-stakes decision. One of the strange side effects working in travel is that the more I learn about beautiful hotels and destinations, the more paralyzed I’ve become when it’s time to commit my own budget and PTO to one place. Pair that with the natural anxiety of being The Bride (sometimes the attention can be overwhelming) and merging different sets of friends, and it felt like a lot to tackle at once.

I had been toying with the idea of an Aspen or Mont Tremblant winter bachelorette. I loved the idea of dramatic white outerwear and red wine night caps by hotel lobby fireplaces. The timing was a bit too tight to pull that one off.

One of my best friends, Meghan, was the first to suggest Casa de Campo. I had known the name for years because one of my former private aviation clients had a partnership with the resort. But Meghan knows me well enough to see the trip I wanted before I could put a decision into words. She went above and beyond planning the best trip I could’ve asked for. Here’s where we stayed, what we did and what I wore.

Where We Stayed

Casa de Campo is a 7,000 acre luxury golf resort in La Romana, Dominican Republic with a hotel and over 2,000 privately-owned villas. In the 1970s, it was founded as a private retreat for the leadership of Gulf+Western Industries, the conglomerate that owned everything from Madison Square Garden to Simon & Schuster to Paramount Pictures. The company’s chairman, Charles Bluhdorn, who was deep in the world of Hollywood sets, envisioned creating a Caribbean playground for his friends. Oscar de la Renta, a native Dominican who had built his fashion empire here in NYC, was brought on to design the original hotel interiors, including the linens and even the original staff uniforms. He also built his own home on the property.

Today, Casa de Campo feels like a small, private municipality. There are 8 restaurants, a 370-slip marina and yacht club, an equestrian center that hosts world-class polo tournaments, 13 tennis courts, a 245-acre shooting center, and Minitas Beach Club with an adults-only infinity pool overlooking the Caribbean. Each room and villa comes with a complimentary golf cart, which was a huge selling point so we didn’t have to do the whole “time to call the Uber” charade. I loved moving through the property at our own pace, passing palm trees, horses, golfers and some of the most gorgeous vacation homes I’ve seen. I tend to be lukewarm on resorts that make me feel trapped in an American poolside bubble without any hints of the country I’m visiting. Casa de Campo maintained that sense of discovery while still feeling very contained.

Private villas range from 3-12 bedrooms, and are available at a wide range of price points. It is definitely possible to do this trip at the same or lesser price point as a Nashville/Scottsdale/Austin/Miami bachelorette. Most listings I saw come with a dedicated butler, cook and housekeeper, which is a huge perk. To save on budget, I would recommend doing your own grocery shopping (there’s a supermarket on property!) vs. having the house handle. There are options to choose villas set directly on one of the 63 golf course holes, waterfront, or by the marina. I chose a 6-bedroom villa, El Polo 32, and fell in love with the wood and concrete spiral staircase and checkered pool. It is set directly on Casa de Campo’s polo field, so you can enjoy your morning coffee while watching polo practice.

In terms of the look and feel for the trip, the reference photos I was most drawn to captured the lushness of the Dominican Republic; tropical greens and saturated fruits and flowers. I also kept circling the idea of the glam of vintage Caribbean travel ads and postcards given the Hollywood history of Casa de Campo. I found an old luggage-label from a 20th-century hotel in Mombasa and transformed it into a stamp logo for postcards I had designed to write a note to each of my friends. My friend Sarah has an amazing eye for design and surprised us with these beachy, striped cover up shirts. La Novia (the bride) and Las Chicas (the girls!)

What We Did & What I Wore

Our first night was dinner at Altos de Chavón, a replica 16th-century Mediterranean stone village within the resort that sits on a cliff above the Chavon river. It was designed by Dominican architect José Antonio Caro and Italian master designer and cinematographer Roberto Coppa. There is a 5,000-person amphitheater, which was inaugurated in 1982 by Frank Sinatra in a concert televised worldwide. When I first read about the idea of an old, stone village on-property, I was worried it would look Disney-esque, but it was surprisingly very cohesive. We went to a Mexican restaurant, Chilango Taquería for margaritas.

My friend Tiffany has an amazing eye for not only collecting pieces, but for styling so while I was curling my hair, I asked for her help putting together an outfit from the 49-pound suitcase I packed. I wore this white cotton eyelet mini dress (under $200!) with self-tie shoulders and a gorgeous scalloped hem. I love how fragile the dress is, and the semi-sheer quality made it feel more resortwear than tradwife. The bag was a beaded clutch gifted by my future Mother in Law from a special collab with The Colony hotel. I had originally bought the calla lily heels for our engagement party, and was so happy to repurpose them for this outfit too.

The next morning, a few of us took a golf cart to the spa to pick up some green juices. Our house manager, Gabriel and his team prepared a partial take on Mangú con los Tres Golpes, a delicious Dominican-style breakfast with onions, eggs and mashed plantains. I had an idea to schedule a sound bath or reiki session for our group themed around life’s transitions, something applicable to all of the girls vs. strictly bridal. It was a bit challenging to source a reiki practitioner, but we eventually landed on a sculpt class and an emotional meditation (tears were shed!).

From there, we headed to Minitas Beach Club, where we had a cabana reserved for our group and my fiance surprised us with a few bottles (thank you, Nathaniel!)

Our Big Night Out did not disappoint. Gabriel’s team put together an Island Time happy hour, with ceviche, shrimp cocktail, avocado salad and passionfruit martinis. We headed to SBG, a vibey marina-side restaurant. It’s that specific kind of vacation restaurant where the music starts getting louder throughout the meal and everyone is out of their seats, waving napkins and properly sloppy by the end of dinner. We were invited by our fellow diners to Casa de Campo’s club Genesis right after, which, as one of my friends put it, was reminiscent of a cruise teen club. We had a blast. I reverted back to early 20’s Linds darting from table to table helping myself to tequila shots and not going to bed until 4am. God I miss her sometimes.

I wore this sheer, paisley appliqué set that has gorgeous beadwork you can see up close. It felt like an heirloom piece but was from H&M - can you believe?! It’s sadly sold out now, but found some similar options HERE. I sourced a feather bag from a maker in Barcelona and you can order all kinds of colors. After anxiously watching it crawl through customs at a snail’s pace, it arrived the day before the trip so leave yourself a month if you order. I paired it with one of my favorite pairs of purple heels I found at a Miista sample sale a few years ago and found a few similar pairs HERE.

The next morning, we woke up in pain but had no time to waste as we had a 10:30am golf lesson. Every resort needs an anchor, and Casa de Campo’s is golf - three courses set across some of the most dramatic terrain in the region. The legendary designer Pete Dye built Teeth of the Dog, now the number one golf course in the Caribbean (with a $700 tee time to match!). Two more Pete Dye courses followed: Dye Fore, with seven cliff-side holes dropping 300 feet to the Chavón River below, and The Links.

We took a long, scenic drive through the courses (aka had no idea where we were going) to the private, indoor/outdoor training facility. Our pro, Athol, walked us through the fundamentals of the swing and ended with a meditative sermon on the dangers of getting too in your head — with both a golf swing and in life. This is true: I’ve taken golf lessons on and off since I was a child and have collected bad habits along the way, namely bending my left elbow. Despite a delirious 3 hours of sleep, I went in determined to fix this 20-year habit in just one hour, which naturally led to me missing most of my shots. Afterwards, I drowned my disappointment with frozen passionfruit drinks at the clubhouse with a view of one of the prettiest oceanview holes on the course. The golfers were smoking cigars and we cheered their good shots.

On our last night, Gabriel prepared a golden-hour Dominican dinner party at the house to celebrate our last night. Slim Aarons Palm Springs kept coming up as another reference for my trip and inspired this outfit: A crisp and collared dress with gold medallion buttons and a clean, resort silhouette. I paired with one of these colorful Pucci sarongs that work as a sarong or something to throw over your shoulders when it becomes a little breezy. I found this bag on Depop, but linked a few alternatives.

I know there’s a lot of “how much is too much” discourse about bachelorette parties right now, and I do think it’s all legitimate and fair. But if you are able to, I highly recommend planning a trip of your own in a setting that is true to you. There is nothing that can replace the feeling of taking a few days off your regular life with the women who have known different versions of you and will eventually be meeting new versions of you together. To Amanda, Christine, Haley, Hillz, Kiera, Meghan, Nora, Olivia, Sarah and Tiff - love you guys forever.

Good morning from New York. I am back after a whirlwind week of events and my bachelorette weekend (!!!), so I’m craving water, sleep and homecooked meals.

Before leaving town last week, I stopped by B’Artusi, the aperitivo offshoot of West Village favorite L’Artusi, for my friend’s cookbook launch party. I met Emily Berntsen a little over a year ago, when Emmy Eats, Emily’s elevated sauce brand, was in the thick of pre-launch. Since then, I’ve watched these sauces pop up around New York City, from Tribeca’s Laughing Man Cafe to Greenwich Village’s Pop-Up Grocer. Last week, Emily launched her first cookbook, which has everything from tips to navigating a farmer’s market to sauce and marinade recipes to easily elevate weeknight dinners.

I’ve noticed home cooking has become overwrought lately. Social media has encouraged dinner parties to be styled and photographed like editorial shoots, while food creators operate with an air of pretentiousness and always seem to use at least one niche, imported ingredient from places many people cannot even pronounce.

Don’t get me wrong - styling is a fun creative outlet (I love a tapered candle), but it feels like we’ve lost a sense of the basics along the way. Emmy Eats sells a more refreshing domestic aspiration: an easier version of weeknight dinner. It’s a practical counterpoint to the food brands I see that are trying to sell some version of trad-wife fantasy or hostess maximalism. In Emmy’s world, you can just dress up your chicken breast with her fresh pistachio feta whip simply because you are tired after a long day of work but still deserve a good meal.

You left finance to become New York’s Sauce Girl! When did you realize you wanted a different kind of working life, and what lessons from finance have stayed with you?

It was a spur-of-the-moment realization, probably caused by a very bad case of the Sunday scaries. I was on a plane back from two weeks in Africa, thinking about being back in the office at 6 a.m. I turned to my mom and said, “I’m going to quit my job in finance and write a cookbook.” Like any sane parent, she looked at me and said, “Excuse me?” A really horrific breakup also played a huge role. I had made that relationship my life, and when it ended, I realized I needed to build something for myself.

I went to business school hoping it would help me figure out what I wanted to do, and in a very roundabout way, it did! Before business school, I loved my finance job. I was content because I didn’t know any different. But when I went back to finance afterward, I realized I wasn’t passionate about markets, I was bored and coasting. The cookbook idea came first, then the CPG sauce brand. I’ve always been known for my sauces, so it seemed fitting. The whole “I didn’t have time to cook as an analyst so I came up with easy ways to elevate my everyday meals” thing WAS true. It feels like it had been subconsciously building for so long, and then it just became obvious! It made quitting so much easier and I’ve never regretted it or looked back.

So many lessons from finance have stuck with me – I’m a finance girl at heart, and I was raised (career-wise) on a trading floor, so working under pressure, moving quickly, multitasking, selling, and getting things done are all ingrained in me. Building a food brand sounds creative, but so much of it is operations. Finance prepared me more than people might think.

That’s what I think people miss about a starting a company. It’s romanticized, but 90% operations and admin. What has been less glamorous than people imagine?

Oh God, don’t get me started. Yesterday I was on set all day for my cookbook and fielded over 10 calls about a basil delivery gone wrong, yogurt arriving to my kitchen that wasn’t fresh enough, emergency parsley — the list goes on. There is so much operational stuff on a daily basis that I did not expect. I joke that I’m the COO, not the CEO of this company. It’s constantly figuring out solutions in an industry I knew nothing about: kitchen and food handling requirements, dealing with the Department of Agriculture, sourcing wholesale products, figuring out how to seal containers when they leak, and on and on. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love the chaos and the challenge!

Emmy Eats is technically a sauce brand, but I like that it’s actually a better version of weeknight life. A lot of food brands try to sell a domestic fantasy, but yours is actually practical. What kind of world are you trying to build beyond the product itself?

Exactly! My whole thing is how to elevate your boring weeknight dinners and transform your meal into something you’re actually excited to eat. The ideal target customer I imagined for Emmy Eats is a busy, working New Yorker who wants to cook, be healthy, save money, but doesn’t necessarily have the time to do so. They are in a similar boat that I was once in – getting home late from the office, not wanting takeout, not having time to cook an elaborate dinner but wanting something delicious and healthy. Sure, you can cook a quick plain chicken breast, but who wants to eat that?! It’s so bland and boring. So my sauces are an easy way to add that much needed flavor to that chicken breast, and get you excited about your dinner! This customer is health conscious, cares about where their products are sourced and produced, and can cook but like the average everyday person, basic things. I’m trying to build a world for my customers where weeknight cooking and eating can be effortless, healthy, and exciting!

What environments shaped your taste before you ever started your company?

Ooof, so many. Definitely my childhood and the way my mom cooked for our family. She cooked solid, healthy dishes every single night that she learned from her mom. We always had a protein, starch, and vegetable on our dinner plate, which still dictates the way I think about dinners and meal planning. We never had sauces like mine, though!

My high school boarding school, Middlesex, also shaped my taste — mostly because the food was horrible, like basically inedible (otherwise, loved the school!). Same with college. I went to Duke, another place not exactly known for fine dining. After college, during my analyst years, my friends and I would do cooking nights at my apartment and that’s where the sauces started to come in. If I wasn’t out enjoying New York’s amazing restaurants, I was home working on my cooking. In business school I started hosting weekly Wednesday dinner parties. Every week there was a different sauce to pair with our meat. When my friends started begging me for the sauce recipes, I knew I was onto something.

So the sauces began almost as the signature people remember from your table. What flavors became your foundation?

There are ingredients I come back to again and again: parsley, pistachios, feta, lemons, sun-dried tomatoes — things I always have on hand and naturally build around. A lot of my recipes start less from formal inspiration and more from throwing together flavors I already love and seeing where they take me. The Romesco, for example, came from wanting to make a version that felt chunkier and more textured than the classic, with sun-dried tomatoes folded in for that concentrated, savory sweetness. Pistachio Pesto and Feta Whip were more instinctive because those are ingredients I already love so much. And then there are dishes like Chicken Marbella, Emmy’s Version. My next cookbook leans even more into that kind of cooking — recipes my mom made when I was growing up, reworked over time until they became something that feels like my own.

I think that’s why sauce is an incredible medium. When you’re thinking about a plate, what makes something feel finished?

Rather than reinventing dinner, it’s a final layer that changes the mood of the whole plate. Sauces add the acidity, creaminess, freshness, richness, or brightness that makes the whole plate come together. You can have a protein, a vegetable, and a starch, right? Suddenly with the right sauce it feels like a real meal instead of just separate things on a plate. That’s the whole idea behind Emmy Eats: you don’t need to cook something complicated to make dinner feel complete. A meal can be simple, but it should never feel boring.

Because Emmy Eats really grew out of cooking for people, I have to ask about hosting. What do you think a good host is doing beyond feeding people?

Hosting properly requires so much beyond just feeding people, on and off the plate. I’m of course always focused on the “on the plate” part of hosting, aka the food. A good host is strategic about the menu and pairing dishes that go well together. I always think about a menu in categories: a simple green salad, a cooked vegetable, a grain or starch, a protein, a sauce for dipping, and dessert. Then I build from there, making sure everything feels balanced and complementary. A good host never forgets dessert (even if he/she doesn’t eat it!) or proper wine. A good host preps in advance (no one wants to walk into a dinner party where the host is in full TOP CHEF mode). Off the plate, a good host considers the guests coming and invites other guests accordingly and sets the right mood and aesthetic via tablescaping, music, candles, etc.

What is one thing people consistently overcomplicate when they host, and one thing they do not pay enough attention to?

Well, this one is easy. I think people overcomplicate the aesthetic part of the meal – the table-scaping – and never pay enough attention to the food - the most important part! Don’t get me wrong, table-scaping is important, but it should never be something to stress out about or spend hours and hours doing.

What is one thing you will always splurge on that other people think is unreasonable?

I go crazy at the farmers market, and yes I am that person who will pay $15 for a bunch of asparagus. But I swear that farmers market asparagus will taste 10x better than the one you’ll buy in store! This past winter I’ve gotten hooked on sauteed leafy greens, roasted carrots, and parsnip puree, but I really can’t wait for asparagus and pea season this spring.

I spend all my personal money on food and working out – never shopping or skincare like most of my friends. I will always splurge on dinners out at one of my favorite restaurants or even trying new spots, and am known as the classic over-orderer. I’ll never stop loving L’Artusi, Rafs, Misi, I Sodi and Marc Forgione. Lastly – Olive’s in Tribeca. If I’m having coffee outside of my apartment, it’s there. They make all of their own milks and am obsessed with their pistachio milk. I get it with iced or hot lattes. And for an afternoon pick-me-up, their Lemonesso! It’s unreal.

Incredible picks. You know I’m a hotels girl so lets talk hotels. Which hotel would you choose as a dream setting for a brand collaboration and why?

Babylonstoren. A farm/vineyard/hotel that I am obsessed with in the winelands in South Africa, outside of Cape Town. This place just exudes everything I believe in with regards to food. Everything you eat is grown directly on their farm, and they only serve things in season. Everything is fresh, organic, and as local as it gets. Their breakfast spread is my favorite of any hotel in the world, which says a lot because I’m not even really a breakfast person. And dinner there is the truest version of farm-to-fork: simple, beautiful ingredients treated really well. I would love to do a dinner with them where the produce, breads, meats, and vegetables are served with my sauces almost like the finishing layer. The only issue is that it’s a little far, but honestly, worth it.

And because I always like to end with a hotel mood: where are you spiritually checking into this week? What place best matches your current state of mind?

FORESTIS. I went this past summer. It’s located in the Dolomites, in Italy, and let me tell you, that place is magical. It is all things health and wellness. The food is top notch, local, fresh, and healthy. Their breakfast spread takes the #2 ranking behind Babylonstoren for me worldwide. Their views and setting are unrivaled. The entire aesthetic IMO is what we aspire for in a hotel. I would easily go back there any time of the year an spend weeks (plural!) there!

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Good morning from rainy New York City. This week, a leather envelope arrived at our apartment with prints from our engagement photos we shot last month. We had not planned on a formal engagement shoot, but one evening I found myself on TikTok chatting with a cheery blonde photographer named Reagan, who was looking for a couple to shoot during her trip to New York. I loved that Reagan’s photos felt natural, yet editorial and loved the idea of being captured in that same register, so we set a time and location for a few weeks following.

The day before our engagement shoot, I spent the afternoon with my mom on the Upper East Side and we stopped into the Frick Collection on a whim to see Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture, a new exhibition examining how Thomas Gainsborough used clothing, pose, and setting to shape how his subjects were seen in 18th-century British society. A Gainsborough portrait could elevate a subject socially, smooth over an awkward marriage match, or announce a land acquisition with grace. One of the clearest examples is Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, one of Gainsborough’s best-known paintings (below). The Frick describes it as a “triple portrait” of husband, wife and property to show their marriage match, their land, and social class all at once.

The next day, with Gainsborough’s work fresh in my mind, I was getting ready for our own engagement shoot, kicking myself for not taking prep more seriously. Suddenly self conscious that I didn’t put more thought into my outfit, that the curls and blazer combo looked too Kristi Noem and that our first location in the West Village is overdone, the PR girl in me was horrified that I had so epically failed to prepare for a portrait opportunity of our own.

No, I am not comparing our shoot to 18th-century society portraiture, nor did I actually believe that our photos were going to say something deep and definitive about who we are as a couple or our “marriage match”. But spending an hour in the world of Gainsborough did make our upcoming low-stakes little shoot feel slightly more loaded. A formal oil portrait still asks the same question as any milestone photoshoot asks: how would you like this moment of your life to be preserved?

I’m not sure what it must have felt like to sit for a Gainsborough portrait, but the best surprise was that our engagement shoot did not feel like a forced bridal performance. Reagan did not feel like someone we had to play a role for. She was easy, warm, and genuinely curious. We walked through the West Village talking about our jobs, her golden retrievers and upstate vs. city life, and she’d pop in and out of conversation to give us direction without ever making us feel stiff. It ended up being one of our wedding-related tasks so far, where we had a chance to be fully creative vs. rushing to get through administrative.

Whether it hangs in a museum or simply ends up on a wedding website, a portrait is still a record of our fleeting selves. I wouldn’t say that our outfits, setting, and poses tell our entire story as a couple. But they did capture us coatless on that first 60-degree day, having fun in a neighborhood special to us both. They capture the bridal-ish suit idea I had to abandon after ordering pants that were way too big, and my go-to Reformation satin pants I reached for instead. They capture us at Chinese Tuxedo, where we experienced some of the best restaurant hospitality as the staff directed us to their best corners for photos and handed us shots of Ming River baijiu to celebrate our engagement. Our photos capture something very real about this exciting, fleeting in-between period before we are officially married. And for that I cannot be more thankful we said yes.

What I’m Wearing:

THIS white blazer, THESE silk pants and THESE silver slingback heels.

Where I’m Traveling (Spiritually)

In honor of Gainsborough, I’m checking into The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa in Bath, United Kingdom for this week’s hotel pick. Bath is the English spa city where Gainsborough’s career took off after he moved there in 1759. At the time, Bath was one of Britain’s most fashionable destinations where people went to improve their health and their social prospects in the same trip. It was a lot of spa baths, promenading, dressing for dinner and Georgian-era aristocracy. Perfect for portraiture if I do say so myself.

Architecturally, Bath is known for its terraces: long, uniform rows of Georgian townhouses that make the city feel very orderly and elegant. The Royal Crescent hotel sits on the most famous terrace of them all, a sweeping half-moon of honey and gray colored houses with a stretch of lawn in front and an acre of private gardens behind.

45 rooms and suites are divided between the main crescent and the buildings behind it, offering views of both the gardens or the park. What I love most about this hotel is that The Royal Crescent’s design keeps the romance of the address intact without making you feel trapped inside a period piece. There are antiques, oil paintings, original architectural details, restored armoires, four-poster beds and marble baths, but enough contemporary lighting and texture to make the rooms feel warm and not museum-like. I’m obsessed with the Garden Villa, a private residence for 8, with a walled garden and courtyard firepit.

And because this is Bath, wellness here does not feel bolted on in the way it often does at grand old hotels trying to satisfy the modern spa requirement. Bath has been associated with bathing, restoration, and bodily repair for centuries, so the spa feels like a continuation of the city’s original purpose. There is exposed stone, rustic wood, arched windows overlooking the gardens, a 12-metre heated relaxation pool, vitality pool, sauna, steam room, gym, and treatment rooms.

The property’s restaurant, Montagu’s Mews is named after Elizabeth Montagu, the 18th-century writer, salon hostess and advocate for women’s education. The restaurant sits in the old carriage houses of her former home. Here, Chef Martin Blake oversees seasonal British cooking rooted in the South West, with ingredients like Somerset lamb. The mood is intentionally more relaxed than the address might suggest: there is no formal dress code and both à la carte and six-course tasting menus.

It’s the first week of April, which means a few things: I’m finally storing my winter coats, I’m eating a lot of carrot cake, my bachelorette party is in 2 weeks (!!!) and The Masters golf tournament is on TV.

This week I’m talking about The Masters as one of my favorite indicators of the spring season. I say this as someone who does not play serious golf. So if you’re looking for my reporting on the leaderboards, you may be in the wrong place. The casual viewer set, like me, tends to throw on The Masters while folding laundry and answering emails to enjoy the sounds and visuals of some of the most atmospheric background television you’ve ever seen.

I work in luxury hotels where a big part of the job is understanding how brands build atmosphere, aspiration and a sense of place. So while I do appreciate the actual sporting event, I’m most interested in The Masters through the art of its world-building.

What I’m Taking Notes On

In this world, a man in a green jacket hands you a $1.50 pimento cheese sandwich and you eat it next to someone who flew in on a Gulfstream and you are both, inexplicably, having the exact same experience. Luxury brands spend millions trying to package elite worlds for a wider audience and usually end up with a launch dinner, a step-and-repeat and some vague copy about “craftsmanship”.

Part of what makes it work is that all of its rules translate beautifully on screen. There’s a reason why a Master’s Nap has become a tradition in and of itself. Pantone 342, known as “Masters Green,” is the exact shade used for Augusta’s famous Green Jacket. For us TV viewers, that color seems to spill outward from the jacket to the fairways themselves, giving the entire golf course the feeling of being art-directed down to every blade of grass. It’s rumored that the groundskeepers control the azalea blooms so they’re perfectly peaked for tournament week. The caddies are in bright white jumpsuits. The scoreboards are still hand-operated. Phones are banned on the grounds and running is considered uncouth. The tournament has been broadcast by CBS since 1956, and has its own set of rules so viewers can only hear the announcers, birdsong and polite applause. There are also language rules to follow. There are only “patrons,” (never fans), there is no “rough” only a “second cut,” no “sand traps” only “bunkers.” Prize money is never, ever mentioned on air. The horror!

There is so much noise right now about “quiet luxury” and what it means to signal taste without appearing to try and so on. Augusta National is and always will be rarefied. Private aviation company NetJets announced last week that they are building a new terminal in August. But viewers are not shut out of the fantasy if they don’t understand or participate in golf club politics or old-boy networks. The Masters renders its world into much softer symbols like a simple cheese sandwich on white bread, some really nice grass and good manners, so even ordinary people watching from a couch in NYC while folding laundry can feel included in the mood too.

What’s On My Champions Dinner Menu

The Champions Dinner is held every Tuesday evening before the tournament begins and gathers all past Masters winners together (green jackets required!) for a dinner chosen and paid for by the defending champion, a tradition started in 1952. My parents love to discuss the menu each year and how a winner chooses to represent himself and his heritage.

Hideki Matsuyama served sushi, sashimi, nigiri, yakitori, and wagyu. Angel Cabrera served an authentic Argentinian asado (barbecue) for his 2010 dinner, featuring traditional chorizo, blood sausage, beef filets, short ribs, and mollejas (sweetbreads). Scottie Scheffler’s menus have been deeply Texas with cheeseburger sliders, firecracker shrimp, tortilla soup and a warm chocolate chip skillet cookie. This year, Rory McIlroy’s menu had a nod to Georgia peaches, Irish comfort foods (sticky toffee pudding!) and tuna carpaccio inspired by his favorite dish from Le Bernardin.

On my menu? Mine would split the difference between a clubhouse boy dinner and immigrant-family fantasy to honor my Filipino, Italian and Polish heritage. I’d start with lumpia shanghai and maybe a longganisa bite. For the main, filet, obviously (this is still the Masters, of course) but with brown butter pierogi as a side. Dessert I’d have some fun with. An olive oil cake or affogato situation with ube ice cream, something nostalgic but polished enough for a room full of green jackets.

Where I’m Staying

I usually end my newsletters with a hotel pick that suits the mood of the week. But there are no luxury hotels at Augusta National. There is no Rosewood, no Four Seasons, no Aman. Augusta simply does not do that. The accommodation story is actually far more interesting as its own private housing economy. Every April, many residents of Augusta simply leave. They pack up (supposedly, the nearby school district schedules around Masters week) and hand their homes over as rentals. The rental market has existed in some capacity since the mid-1970s, when Augusta National and the Chamber of Commerce got together to figure out how to house the volume of people who wanted to come. According to Front Office Sports, more than 16,400 nights were booked for Masters week in 2025, representing roughly $8.5 million in short-term rental revenue.

The good stuff is generally managed by private rental companies, but there are plenty of listings on AirBnB and VRBO to browse. I personally like this 4-bedroom, this charming 3-bedroom, and I’d be happy with this studio guesthouse as well. A modest home near the course starts around $10,000 for the week. The renovated properties closer to Augusta National go for considerably more.

My favorite detail of it all: thanks to a section of the tax code known as the Augusta Rule, homeowners who rent for fewer than 14 days a year don’t have to report that income to the IRS at all. You can read more about that here. The Masters brand is so strong that the U.S. government wrote a tax exemption around it. Interpret that one as you’d like.

A work trip recently took me to Sandusky, Ohio, for the 25th anniversary of one of our indoor water park hotel clients. When I travel for my PR agency job, I’m usually hosting journalists or immersing myself in a hotel to uncover angles for storytelling. If you read my Substack, you know I tend to do the storytelling exercise in my personal life too. Wherever I am, at home or away, I’m always looking for the details, history or mood that help connect me to a place or experience.

Enter the ranch milkshake. Kidding. We’ll get there. What interested me most on this personal level, though, was the Ohio lakes region’s rich history of domestic travel. Some of the earliest concepts of the American resort can be found here, which led me into a surprisingly rich history of American leisure.

When I think of The Great American Family Vacation, I think of a car packed to capacity, cooler in the backseat and the first glimpse of water after hours on the highway. In Sandusky, Americans have been making some version of this pilgrimage for over 150 years. Founded in 1818 and set on Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo, Sandusky first grew as a port and transportation hub. But like many waterfront towns, it eventually discovered a second life in leisure. Lake Erie offered not just commerce, but fresh air, bathing beaches and boat rides that helped define an early American version of vacation.

Cedar Point, one of the country’s most iconic amusement parks, first opened in 1870 and began as a simple bathing beach and picnic grounds, accessible only by steamboat. Eventually, under the resort-minded leadership of businessman George Boeckling, Cedar Point added promenades, a massive hotel, lagoons and the entertainment attractions that would make it nationally known to this day. Railroads began offering low-cost tickets from towns across Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. By 1907, a local paper declared it the largest and most popular summer resort in the world. By the 1940’s the region in Ohio became known as “Vacationland” (not to be confused with Maine). Fast forward and Ohio’s first indoor waterpark opened in Sandusky in 2001, completing something Boeckling never quite cracked: a resort concept totally immune to Midwestern winters. Cedar Point’s magic was always seasonal and dependent on clear skies. But the newer indoor waterpark model made the formula weatherproof and year-round.

There’s plenty of discourse comparing the “managed delight” of American family entertainment to say, a more stereotypical European philosophy of allowing children to just exist alongside adults. Both arguments have a time and place. But Sandusky’s history and Boeckling’s work are both quite impressive when thinking about why the American vacation-entertainment model is so successful.

My four days on property transported me to my more analog 1990’s childhood where I didn’t see a single iPad in sight. The environment is stimulating enough — visually, physically, socially — that screens weren’t necessary. The self contained kid-centric universe removed a lot of the parental labor that goes into family vacation. Children can test out a little more independence as they lead the decisions of where they want to go within the property (Pool! Arcade! Activities! Pizza!) and parents are spared the work of inventing a day from scratch.

Staff are well equipped to make the experience magical for the children by hosting daily dance parties and instilling bravery in the children who are nervous to go down the slides (but deep down really want to!!!). My wristband became both my room key and wallet, so I didn’t even need to think if I “had everything” before leaving the room. This model is, in the most sincere sense, an updated version of the place Boeckling was always trying to build: a place where the only thing you need to do is enjoy yourself.

This week, the great American family vacation is alive and well with novelty milkshakes, jelly flip flops and all.

What I’m Eating

No dispatch from the frontier of American leisure would be complete without addressing the culinary elephant in the room: A viral, limited edition ranch milkshake sold at the waterpark. It was the final day of my trip, and with early mornings and packed schedules, I had been putting off the taste test that was requested by friends and colleagues alike. My fiancé was adamant he wouldn’t let me come home without a full report. So I made my way out of the comfort of my suite and headed down to the waterpark, dodging large puddles and small children to place my order.

I approached the counter with a mix of professional curiosity and genuine trepidation. The ranch milkshake debuted in March as a spring special and instantly went viral. It’s a vanilla bean base of ice cream and yogurt, with yes, ranch folded in. It’s crowned with a popcorn chicken skewer and a vegetable crudité garnish. Not exactly sure if it’s what George Boeckling had in mind.

The Verdict:

Not bad. Genuinely. I’d found it to be more of a vanilla milkshake with some added savory herbs. The tang of the yogurt with the herbs and sweetness was oddly pleasant and dunking popcorn chicken into the shake felt similar to fries in a Frosty. Obviously the mental image of ranch dressing swirling into milk that immediately comes to mind has a shock factor, but it wasn’t that flavor profile you’d expect. I have a feeling if this is served in a chilled coupe at a Williamsburg wine bar and branded as a “crème fraîche custard with spring herbs,” it would be sold out every night.

What I’m Buying

I usually end these newsletters with Where I’m Traveling (Spiritually), my weekly hotel pick based on the mood of my week, but since this week is travel-heavy, I’m skipping it.

Spending four days at an indoor water park in Princetown loafers made me realize my pool footwear needs a bit of work. My bachelorette is only a few weeks away (!!!), the weather in New York is finally warming up, and I have been looking for the right pair of jellies. Below, a few favorites and other pool-adjacent things now on my mind thanks to all of this week’s waterpark and lake research. Enjoy and talk soon.

$15 purple Old Navy flip flops. Red fisherman sandals. Jelly flat. Green flip flops.

Sunglasses I actually bought. A cool vintage-style cooler with a bench seat on top. Cutie striped towel on sale.

Happy Tuesday, friends! This week is all about fantasy. I attended a literary-themed NYC gala, read a whole lot of ACOTAR and am exploring a castle hotel fit for royalty.

I’m learning that a well-lived life requires, from time to time, a willingness to play pretend. Style, hospitality and culture all understand this concept well but it doesn’t always translate into practical day-to-day life. Creativity in adulthood can feel so loaded among errands, a 9-5 and Real Adult Goals. It feels like every project must eventually become a side hustle or a career move in order to justify itself. My past few months have been a journey trying to fit more creativity into my adult life. Can’t we all just have some fun?

I love the luxury industry because it actually understands the business of fantasy. A room, a meal, an outfit, or a setting can briefly pull you into another world, and even the most cynical and buttoned up adults love that moment of being transported. Dress codes are an act of imagination and travel can shift your perspective by placing you in new settings and different cultures.

Substack and TikTok have been my creative outlets of choice, where I like to curate the things that feel richer and more atmospheric to me that week. Hotels, clothes, interiors, books, and beautifully conceived experiences. I’m interested in the way those elements create a place, a mood or even an entirely imagined life.

I may not have the budget right now to fully inhabit every fantasy (the $296,000 Hermès pool table will sadly have to wait) but thinking about these worlds and putting them into words has become my way of making life feel a little more interesting.

The week’s mood is make believe.

Where I Went

This week, I found myself on the steps of the New York Public Library dressed as a fairy.

St. Luke’s School in the West Village was celebrating its 80th anniversary with a “One for the Books” spring benefit at the Celeste Bartos Forum in the New York Public Library. The evening was part of the school’s broader 80th-year celebration, and the fundraiser helped support a glow up of its own Grace Sawyer Library.

It was a bit of a last minute plan. We had originally planned to go to the Frick Collection’s Young Fellows Ball, and I had spent weeks planning a gown around the Frick’s theme (Travel Through Time, with a nod to the museum’s new Gainsborough exhibit on portraiture). My goal was to find something that did not look like a costume, but was still part of the fantasy of the night. The midnight blue gown I ordered for the Frick finally arrived just in time for my fiancé to realize he had, in fact, not bought the tickets. I hope someone gives it the evening it deserves.

With the night suddenly open, we pivoted to the literary-themed St. Luke’s benefit. Because I no longer had the luxury of rebuilding an entire themed look from scratch, I landed on a pastel storybook silk Rebecca Taylor dress from her Spring 2020 collection that I already had in my closet. With only a few hours to go, I had a few options for which character I was going to channel:

• Thumbelina: Suggested by my friend Olivia. She is delicate and dainty, but upon further research her storyline is about escaping horrible marriage prospects. For someone getting married this September, it did not feel like the right narrative to borrow.

• Daisy Buchanan (The Great Gatsby): Eh - there’s always a Daisy at these kinds of things.

• Titania (Midsummer Night’s Dream): Shakespeare’s queen of the fairies. She is gloriously self-possessed and besides a brief romantic mix-up, is generally in charge of her own enchanted world.

So I landed on Titania.

What I’m Reading

I’ve been deep in A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas, thanks to my friend Haley. I look forward to getting into bed early and entering the world of Feyre, Nesta and dark fireplaces, fighting leathers, hooded cloaks and gowns. With only 13% left of the book to go (Kindle), I’m savoring every page. The world is an expansive fully built universe, one with its own rules and hierarchies and characters and quirks. I’m team Nesta and Cassian but my favorite “character” in the book might actually be the House of Wind. It’s a magical luxury residence high above the city with its own emotional intelligence to notice what Nesta needs and make it appear. Books when she wants to escape, food when she needs comfort and small gestures that make her feel understood rather than managed. Even the most cynical fantasy-resistant readers could get on board. Here’s what I would ask the House for right now:

• A very cold extra dirty martini in this delicate Ralph Lauren martini glass

• A roaring fireplace in my 1-bedroom apartment

• A rack of perfectly tailored white outfits for my bachelorette next month, including this Retrofete minidress, this Alexis fringe dress and these crochet Prada slingbacks

• Some really fancy hotel bedding (like this really fluffy Frette duvet cover)

• A powder blue cashmere wrap

Where I’m Going (Spiritually)

This week’s mood calls for something storybook, so mentally I’m transporting myself to Ashford Castle: an 800-year-old castle with medieval origins turned hotel. Located on a 350-acre lake estate in western Ireland, the castle has 83 rooms and suites. It has the best estate activities like falconry, horse riding, fishing, archery and even a 32-seat cinema tucked inside the castle. The rooms are not minimalist or modernized within an inch of their lives; they are layered and decorative, with chandeliers, silk-lined walls and antiques. And then there’s the food. The George V Dining Room is all rich paneled walls and Waterford crystal chandeliers. The property offers afternoon tea in the Connaught Room with finger sandwiches and fresh-baked scones. For a more relaxed meal, Cullen’s at the Cottage is set in a thatched cottage with seafood, local dishes, and a rotisserie oven, which sounds like exactly where I’d want to end up after a day of falconry and horseback riding.

Two weeks ago, I saw The Testament of Ann Lee and two weeks later, I’m still thinking about it.

Founded in 18th-century England and later established in Revolutionary America, the “shaking Quakers” preached and prayed through ecstatic movements. Shakers organized their community around a surprisingly modern thesis of equality between men and women, alongside a much harsher take that spirituality required total celibacy. Their theory was that heaven could be built on earth through devotion and hard work (aka growing one’s own food, tools and furniture). It is a worldview that feels almost impossible by today’s standards, and part of why the movement eventually dwindled to just three members at the one remaining active Shaker village as of 2025. The celibacy of it all!

Amanda Seyfried was incredible as Ann Lee, but what pulled me into this film most was the Shakers’ calm and functional visual world portrayed across Manchester and upstate New York.

The movie begins in a grimier, more crowded 18th-century atmosphere of dark rooms and rough textures, but slowly as the Shaker world shapes up, it opens into something brighter, airy and more sparse. I’m usually drawn to period dramas for their lush costumes and overfurnished worlds, but Ann Lee worked on me in an opposite way. The structured bodices and clean, wooden furniture brought the whole minimalism = less stress to life.

It was especially interesting as we are currently in another cultural loop of appreciating the idea of “simple living”. Tradwife content, “be a villager” Tiktoks and community as a buzzword. So much of that still feels performative, so whether or not we’ll make it there is a discussion for another time.

Anyway, this week is about borrowing from Ann Lee’s visual atmosphere rather than its theology. This week, I’m captivated by structured silhouettes, wooden furniture, and a quiet hotel upstate that matches the mood.

What I’m Eyeing

Ann Lee as a style icon (cinematically speaking). The actual Shaker wardrobe was built for labor, modesty, and communal life. No, I am not suggesting anyone commit to dressing like a celibate sect leader. But the film’s costuming, with traditional pieces like wool cloaks and bonnets is a huge part of what made its world so persuasive to me. This week’s favorites pull from that onscreen aesthetic, all inspired by the incredible costume design for the film. I wonder what Ann Lee would think of Toteme.

White Cotton Poplin Bow Tie Shirt

This is from a British brand that I fell in love with on a recent trip to London. I had an amazing experience at their at their Notting Hill shop. High quality, 100% cotton shirts that are very versatile.

Cotton Skirt

A cotton skirt from a very flowy and airy brand.

Riding Boots

The Shakers promoted hard work and especially outdoors, so a sturdy shoe would do well here.

Corset

Having fun with a little corset moment.

What I’m Admiring

The Shakers operated on a simple rule: if an object didn’t serve a purpose, it didn’t belong in the room. That philosophy produced some of the most enduring blueprints in American design: ladder-back chairs, wide plank tables, clean joinery and no ornamental details. Without embellishment to distract the eye, Shakers worked with forms that had to stand on proportion, material, and craftsmanship alone. As a result, the makers produced popular furniture designs that still look modern two centuries later.

You can trace its influence through Bauhaus, the early 20th-century German design movement everyday objects should be simple, practical, and beautiful. You can see it in midcentury modern furniture, popular at everyday shops like West Elm, which people love for its clean wood lines. There are even echoes of it in more recent design worlds, including Virgil Abloh’s Alaska Chair, a 2018 bronze sculptural piece that takes the familiar Shaker chair silhouette but puts a more modern spin on it, appearing as though the chair is slowly sinking into the ground.

The Commerce Inn in New York City’s West Village, borrows not just the look behind Shaker design but the philosophy behind it. The restaurant uses peg rails, spindle-back seating, chalkboards, and Shaker-style cabinetry, but what I found most interesting is how explicitly it references Shaker values. On its website, The Commerce Inn says it celebrates “craftsmanship, community and heirloom recipes,” and describes the interiors in terms of “utility” and “material honesty,” which is basically the Shaker worldview translated into restaurant design. Ann Lee would’ve loved their pancakes.

Where I’m Going (Spiritually)

Scribner’s Catskills Lodge

One of the Shakers’ earliest and most important communities was established just outside of Albany in upstate New York after Ann Lee arrived in America in 1774 - which makes an upstate hotel pick feel especially on-theme. Coincidentally, my mood for this week’s hotel pick calls for a trip where I’d just pack the car, head upstate and move through my days very slowly. I’m craving a natural red by a fire, something fresh for dinner, my Kindle, and a specific Catskills genre of weekend people-watching now that half of Brooklyn appears to decamp there.

Enter Scribner’s. Scribner’s has been around for awhile and if you live in New York City especially you’ve probably heard of it. In 2024, the hotel debuted The Rounds at Scribner’s, a collection of 11 design-forward cabins set higher up the mountain behind the main lodge. Inspired by European hut systems, each one is designed with a central oculus for stargazing, a fireplace, and a Japanese soaking tub. Guests staying in The Rounds also gain access to the Apex Lounge, a communal space with a fireplace, coffee and tea, and its own separate sense of remove from the main hotel.

Call it Shaker-adjacent. Scribner’s may not be preaching spiritual discipline, but it does deliver on my fantasy of a quieter, stripped-back weekend.

I’ve just returned from my doctor’s office, where I was pleasantly surprised to see red paper lanterns and a Year of the Horse decal on display in the waiting room. Lunar New Year is celebrated by over a billion people worldwide and marks the start of the ceremonial calendar observed in many East and Southeast Asian cultures. I grew up around many of these traditions (I’m half Filipino), so while I don’t claim scholarly authority, I do have a lifelong affection for them.

This week, we entered the Year of the Fire Horse, which symbolizes boldness, self-possession and forward motion. In case you aren’t already familiar, this zodiac system traces back to early Chinese dynasties, when scholars organized time into repeating twelve-year cycles, each represented by an animal with different personality archetypes. Its modern interpretation isn’t fortune-telling per se, but more a way of thinking about the tone and tempo of the year ahead.

Working in travel, I pay attention to how different cultures circulate, especially what resonates and what is misunderstood. Lunar New Year customs like wearing red, avoiding certain chores, or gifting red envelopes have taken different forms over centuries, but they’ve generally revolved around inviting luck and keeping misfortune at bay. This year especially I’ve noticed more curiosity around the holiday than ever before, with friends asking when exactly they need to wash their hair or take out the trash hoping to get in on a little good fortune. Who wouldn’t want to learn a tradition that promises a little bit of luck? I think there’s something deeply human about that.

The Fire Horse occurs once every 60 years and combines traits of the Horse (associated with motion, independence and resilience) with Fire (passion, brilliance and refusal to linger). It seems to speak to something most of us are hoping for this year: moving confidently and decisively, sometimes at the terrifying speed of saying yes before we feel ready and trusting we’ll figure it out mid-stride (a horse doesn’t hesitate! It runs!) Moving forward boldly with clear intention rather than over-polishing an idea or waiting for perfect timing. It’s struck a chord with me and seemingly many of my peers.

As for my Lunar New Year celebration personally? I briefly considered booking a reservation at Steam on 6th Avenue, but after an office day, ended up with a lazy bowl of Momofuku tingly chili noodles and arguing with my non-Asian fiance if his accidental booking of our cleaning service on Lunar New Year “counts” as sweeping away our bad luck (let’s hope not.. We are getting married this year). Told you I don’t claim authority.

In the spirit of Lunar New Year, I picked three luxury resorts in China that I believe do an impressive job offering modern interpretations of long-standing traditions. I also have some shopping picks like a gorgeous (slightly out of budget) silk red Rodarte gown and golden tassel necklace because if the horse is correct, fortune favors those who don’t play it small.

What I’m Eyeing

I first came across Hennessy’s Lunar New Year collection at Harrod’s on a trip to London this past November. It was a massive display in the Harrod’s liquor department (IYKYK) and the sales associate explained Hennessey has a long-standing relationship with China that dates to 1859. Each year, Hennessy releases a limited-edition bottle illustrated by a Chinese artist to reflect that year’s zodiac animal. Every February when the luxury industry goes into a scarlet fever with a mostly performative Lunar New Year collection, this one felt more earnest (or maybe the salesman needs a raise).

1.Alice+Olivia Tied Ruffle 2. Bustier Lace Floral 3. VERA WANG UNDER $250!! 4. Velvet & Satin Silk Lace-Trimmed Gown

Red for good luck! I need 3 gowns for events over the next 4 months, so evening wear has been on my mind. These 4 are on sale and are very good. Red Zara shoes: Oh and here is an under $60 find I just ordered this week while hunting for outfits to take engagement photos. They’re scheduled to arrive today so I’ll keep you posted.

1. Brass & silk seashell tassel necklace 2. Hand-crocheted gold net & tassel pendant 3. $24 at Nordstrom Rack

Tassels have a long decorative history across Asia, and tassel necklaces are having a major moment right now.

One of my favorite brands, Longchamp was built on equine and riding culture, so the horse motif isn’t just a cheesy seasonal decoration. This leather charm feels like a fun, low stakes purchase to remind you of your year of forward motion. I’m also obsessed with the idea of a mesh, beach bag. And if you’re in a spending mood and need a chic work bag, please grab this leather epure.

Where I’m Going (Spiritually)

This week, I’m mentally in China’s misty mountains, reading about a handful of the country’s most luxurious resorts. The scenery and architecture are incredible, but I’m most interested in how deliberately these properties fold centuries-old Chinese rituals and history into the experience. I’m dreaming of afternoon tea on river floats, calligraphy classes and temple visits. I couldn’t just choose one, so here are three places I’m mentally traveling to this week:

LUX* Chongzuo — Guangxi Province

LUX* Chongzuo is set right near the Vietnam border along the Ming Shi River near the Detian Waterfalls, one of Asia’s most dramatic waterfalls spanning both China and Vietnam. The resort has just 53 suites and villas built from local limestone and ironwood, with minimalist interiors and stone soaking tubs that keep the focus on the scenery outside. Guests are welcomed by women of the Zhuang community, the region’s largest Indigenous group, with freshly prepared oil tea known as da youcha, a longstanding local hospitality custom traditionally offered to visitors and believed to boost immunity against the unpredictable weather of Guangxi. I’d come here and maximize these scenic views in any way possible: yoga on the terrace, and definitely the special afternoon tea with pastries and champagne on a traditional bamboo raft down the Mingshi River.

Amanfayun

The entire premise of Amanfayun is its setting. Hidden in a wooded valley outside Hangzhou, the property sits within a landscape of tea fields, bamboo groves, and a pilgrimage circuit of ancient temples, including Lingyin Temple, founded in 326 AD. Rather than building a hotel, Aman restored an entire village. The resort consists of stone courtyard houses, some more than a century old, connected by winding pathways and shaded courtyards that follow the layout of a traditional settlement. Instead of typical resort activities, the hotel builds its programming around the surrounding culture: you can join a monk-led temple visit and blessing ceremony, hike through bamboo forests and tea terraces to Longjing Village to watch locals harvest and roast tea, or attend talks on Buddhism and traditional medicine inside Fayun Place, a restored 19th-century cultural house that serves as the village’s social center.

Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain — Sichuan

This Six Senses property is built around a lantern-lit courtyard and set on the Qingcheng Mountain, which has been associated with Taoism for nearly two millennia. Historically, scholars and monks retreated here to study and practice. I’m so impressed by how this hotel builds directly on that legacy: tai chi sessions at Buddhist temples, tea crafting herbal therapies, and a giant panda volunteer experience. I would 100% join the property’s calligraphy classes taught with brush, ink, and rice paper. The culinary program leans hyper-local, pulling vegetables, herbs, and peppers from nearby farms and villages. Dishes center on regional Sichuan flavors: delicate broths, mountain greens, handmade noodles, and fragrant oils layered with spice and citrus. To Western travelers it might read as a wellness resort but I read it more as traditional values of balance, longevity, and preventative care.

I love a themed holiday. It’s an excuse for a collective mood, a signature color palette and something we can all loosely bond over. Sure, Valentine’s Day is cheesy and commercial, but I’ve always had a soft spot for the holiday and celebrated in just about every form: girls’ brunches, candy from coworkers, handwritten cards from grandmothers, and now dinner dates with my fiancé.

I got engaged this past August, and will be married this upcoming September so this is my first and (hopefully, only) Valentine’s Day engaged. What surprises me is how sentimental I’ve gotten about this season, considering I went into it all of the bridal pomp & circumstance cautiously and careful not to allow the Wedding Industrial Complex to dim the actual milestone itself.

Weddings carry the same cultural cynicism as Valentine’s Day. It’s fair given the price tags and sometimes performative nature of these events. My change of heart happened gradually: we signed a contract for a gorgeous, historic venue, a dress appeared (with an absurd rush fee despite the wedding being in 9 months?), I reviewed a stunning floral mockup that now feels essential. Now, I’m finding myself touched and sentimental over everything bridal.

Leaning into this season has given me special moments of pure love I did not expect to feel so deeply: planning my bachelorette party with one best friend, dress shopping with another, talking father/daughter dance songs with my dad and venue touring with my mom. And of course, the COUNTLESS hours working on this silly little group project with my fiancé, learning about each other’s professional styles through late night photoshop sessions, email chains and calls with vendors.

Valentine’s Day can feel hollow when it is reduced to a money grab. Weddings can feel the same when they are viewed as pure production. I’ve stopped trying to outsmart the spectacle and just let myself lean in and enjoy it all. Love shows up in all kinds of ways: in partners, in friends, in neighbors in families. When you have something joyous in your life, don’t ever feel foolish for leaning in and celebrating it.

So in that spirit, this week I’m watching, wearing and mentally traveling in the spirit of Valentine’s Day: a rom-com I revisit every February, a fabulous dinner date night outfit and a couple’s vacation that has been on my bucket list for quite some time now.

What I’m Watching

Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite romcoms. This movie’s portrayal of Los Angeles is exactly how I’d fantasized life would be once I started making Real Adult Money. I’m also a sucker for the 2000’s romcom formula of star-studded lineups and intersecting storylines. I’m not a movie or show re-watcher (how do you guys do it?), but this is one I look forward to watching every single year.

I was obsessed with this one still from the movie and remember proudly posting it to my Tumblr back in the day. I’ll post it again with the same amount of conviction:

What I’m Wearing

This is an unintentionally fancy outfit from this weekend that I anchored around two investment pieces (need to get that ROI) and one really good pair of pants under $100.

We had dinner at Come Prima on Madison Avenue on the coldest night of the year for excellent Italian food and even better Upper East Side people-watching. The conversation I overheard at the bar was: something something West Palm something something investments. While that was happening, I enjoyed the orecchiette and a martini.

Ivory Shearling/Sheepskin Reversible Jacket

This reversible coat has been a standout this winter. This brand launched in the 70’s and is inspired by the American West. It was introduced to me by my very stylish mother-in-law, who got me into a few of their shearling bags. This reversible coat has a plush shearling side and a smooth Merino sheepskin side (so technically it’s only half price.. Right? right?) It’s an investment but is a timeless piece that will definitely get a lot of runway. I went with the Ivory colorway, but I see Graphite in my future next season.

Tailored Pants Under $100

One of my favorite tailored pants. I also have a great pair in linen that I had tailored but I left these alone for a baggy fit. They do pill a bit, but nothing too noticeable and you can’t beat the price.

Extremely Versatile Top

Not pictured, but I wear this in all seasons and in many different contexts. Highly recommend.

Leopard Haircalf Bag

Another investment piece that can be worn three ways (over the shoulder, carried by its top handles, or across the body messenger bag style) and holds most laptops, though I haven’t been bold enough to use this as a work bag yet. I have one in brown and one in leopard haircalf (pictured) and have been getting a lot of good use out of both this winter. The good news is the leopard haircalf version is avail for a third of the retail price on Poshmark HERE

Upper East Side Mom at The Bar Accessory

In the spirit of mixing aspirational with affordable this week, this hat needed an honorable mention. I don’t own it - one of the moms at the bar wore in the beige tone. It was stunning and I haven’t stopped thinking about it this week.

Where I’m Going (Spiritually)

Physically, I’m in Manhattan this weekend, attending a friend’s winter wedding on the Upper East Side (twice in one week!). But my weekly hotel picks are less about my literal plans and more about the week’s mood. In the spirit of leaning into Valentine’s Day, here’s an couple’s stay that has been on my bucket list for years. It is ultra luxe, so I’m sure the mom at the bar with the Prada hat has been too.

One&Only Mandarina

Last year, we spent the Valentine’s Day/President’s Day mashup weekend at the gorgeous Conrad de Punta Mita and I fell in love with the Riviera Nayarit’s Pacific Coast. The Conrad property is stunning and I’d happily return, but a bit north of Puerto Vallarta sits Mandarina, a master-planned luxury resort and residential destination set between jungle-covered mountains and the Pacific. It’s home to some ultra-luxury properties, including a Rosewood and a One&Only.

This is mildly embarrassing to admit, but One&Only Mandarina first landed on my radar from none other than Dave Portnoy a few years ago. My feelings on Dave are neutral (I’m honestly not sure how I came to follow him on Instagram in the first place), but I stopped dead in my tracks when I was flipping through Instagram stories one day and noticed the sunset view he posted from one of the property’s Treehouses.

The One&Only Mandarina opened in 2020 with just over 100 rooms across 70 acres of rainforest. The resort is designed less like a traditional hotel and more like a series of private stand-alone treetop and clifftop villas, so guests feel hidden within the rainforest rather than built on top of it. Many include outdoor soaking tubs, plunge pools and outdoor decks, creating a treehouse-like feeling of floating above the landscape.

This week, I’m in the mood to learn so I’d book one of their guided rainforest hikes and sign up for a nature walk with one of the resort’s resident biologists. I’d also book the traditional temazcal ceremony, an ancestral healing tradition that involves guided meditation and herbal steam. Out evenings would end at Carao, the resort’s headline restaurant by chef Enrique Olvera (whose Manta and Cosme I loved), where coastal Mexican dishes are served overlooking the Pacific.

Thank you, Dave, for putting this one on my radar. Credit where credit is due.

I delayed launching this because I thought it needed to be impressive. It doesn’t. Online creativity does not feel as light as it did for me during the Tumblr days. There is too much pressure to create to serve a purpose, to monetize with a fantasy of quitting a 9-5 and “doing social media full time”, or to put a stake in the ground and establish A Personal Brand (ugh).

I work in PR, so it’s natural for me to take these things seriously. But this space is not serious and will not be any of those things. This is going to be for fun. My only rule is no ChatGPT. There will be typos, it will be clunky and the content likely won’t be groundbreaking, but if it gets me writing every week, I’ll be excited about every word.

And for what it’s worth, if you do create for those reasons I just mentioned, I don’t blame you either. I’m just glad you’re creating too.

Anyway, my format will be simple: Weekly (ish?) snapshots of what’s caught my attention: places, moods, details, and passing fixations. Sometimes reflections, sometimes recommendations, but you can always expect a hotel at the end that matches the mood of the moment.

What I’m Eating

On Friday, I had dinner at L’Artusi, followed by drinks at San Vicente.

L’Artusi isn’t a new recommendation per se. It opened in 2008 in the West Village and is named after 19th-century Italian gastronome Pellegrino Artusi, an Italian writer often credited with shaping modern Italian home cooking.

I hadn’t been in awhile due to the reservation gymnastics that often come with West Village Italian restaurants but the food is excellent and the olive oil cake alone is reason to go. It’s my favorite dessert in Manhattan, which is not a statement I make lightly.

While not personally a member of any, I have visited a few of Manhattan’s members clubs, but had never been to San Vicente. This became obvious when I was noticeably confused when the front desk staff placed stickers over my phone cameras. I’ve found members clubs usually trade on mystique more than atmosphere but this one actually has both. I loved their Drawing Room space: cozy fireplaces, Hudson River views, a candy bar and an oversized floral centerpiece. I sadly don’t have photos due to said stickers so here is a photo from Architectural Digest:

Elsewhere throughout my week, a client was visiting from Stockholm to discuss her hotel’s incredible renovation and as such, we took a series of meetings around Manhattan together to tell the hotel’s story right here in the US. Our schedule included 5pm Campari spritzes at Hotel Chelsea, early breakfasts at the newly renovated W Union Square (fabulous renovation by the way), and turkey clubs at Corner Bar at Nine Orchard.

What I’m Eyeing

On Wednesday morning, I bought a second wedding gown online before 8:30AM. Crazy behavior. What might cause one to act like this? The culprit is TheRealReal, which has become the most dangerous app on my phone. Here are some of my favorite TRR items I saved this week (all under $450).

I’ll be attending a Valentine’s Day wedding next weekend on the Upper East Side, and this would be a perfect look for it. Unfortunately, this probably wouldn’t be my size even if I did back-to-back Prolon cleanses leading up the event. I hope someone buys this, and I certainly hope you don’t have to touch Prolon to wear it.

Pucci Gown

Robert Cavalli Skirt ($328)

Miu Miu Top

Maison Margiela Sweater

I’ve been waiting for the rosette trend to pass, but I think it’s very well done here

Dolce & Gabanna Top

Where I’m Going (Spiritually)

I really buy into the whole “sense of place” thing. My media consumption always needs to match my mood vs. fighting with the headspace I’m in. If I’m in Bellport on a ferry to Ho-Hum Beach, I need to be reading one of Elin Hilderbrand’s east coast summery worlds. If I’m at work writing about a hotel in Madrid, I need to be listening to Spanish guitar.

Like most of the world tuning into the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, I may technically be on my couch watching the Men’s Free Ski Qualifying round, but mentally, I’m on a snowy European mountain:

Chetzeron, Crans Montana, Switzerland

This week’s hotel pick is a ski-in, ski-out resort in a fabulous European mountain town. I’m not in Milan, rather on the slopes of the Crans-Montana ski area. Housed in a beautiful Brutalist building made of concrete and stone, Chetzeron is a former cable car station converted to a restaurant in 2009 and then a luxury boutique hotel in 2014. Après unfolds at a slower pace through a thoughtful wellness circuit, including an outdoor heated pool, hammam, sauna, and steam room. Rates start at $412/night