Attention! Michael Roemer’s Vengeance is Mine is currently streaming on on Le Cinema Club - this is a great late summer mood movie, as a chill sets in the air. I love it for the 80s Rhode Island setting, the white cotton dresses, complicated maternal relationships and the stunning close ups of Brooke Adams’ face. 10/10. I previously wrote about it here. Everyone should watch it before it leaves next Friday.

I spent as much time as possible this August being in or by water (be it bathtub or lake). On a recent Monday, a friend and I drove to Long Point, a sandy beach with optimal wading on Lake Erie. Part of its appeal is that it feels like you’ve been transported to a different country (namely America - a beach town in a balmy southern state). To get there you drive through sunflower fields, tobacco fields, fields of asparagus ferns (do you know what these look like? I hadn’t until I helped my floral genius friend Jaime with her installation a few years ago) and then through a marsh to get to a little beach town which basically consists of houses set directly upon the sand on stilts and a chip truck. We packed a ham and cheese sandwich to share (classic kettle chips to be inserted upon arrival), tomato salads in cups (to drink the juices), fennel and arugula salad, kohlrabi and cucumbers dressed in black vinegar, sunflower oil and shiso leaves. We stopped by a peanut farm on the way home and its neighbouring ‘barn of antiques’ where I found a copy of Norman Kolpa’s Breakfast and Brunch Book, a book I love to leaf through while I’m at my childhood home. The cover photo essentially looks exactly like my mother’s front porch. Obviously I had to get it, it felt like kismet. On the way home we hit a dairy bar for a hot fudge sundae made by teens. Overtop of my bathing suit I wore an oversized navy and white striped t-shirt and a pair of egg ‘baggy shorts’, white with the faintest of pink stripes that I bought during their summer sale in 2023. These have proven to be a good purchase, getting more and more wear with each passing summer. This song is a good soundtrack for the month.

Now, here is my monthly diet of things that have occupied my thoughts, moved me in some way or just feel special enough to share here with you in the form of food, clothes, movies, books etc. for paid subscribers. I’m sending it out a little early in case you need some late summer fodder for the remaining days. I’ve also removed the paywall from last August’s Diet to give an example of what these monthly roundups consist of (including my recipe for rosemary granola to go with all those peaches).

Reading

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Below you’ll find: an itinerary for a day trip to Buffalo, a film recommendation, books to ‘read around in’ and an inventory of my white shoes + links to similar (including jazz shoes, strappy sandals, wedding pumps etc.)

Itinerary for a Summer’s Day in Buffalo

If driving from Toronto, make a detour to RPM Bakehouse in Jordan, Ontario for their ham and cheese on a baguette and whatever else looks appealing from their dessert case (which is everything - we went with their sable cookie, an unbelievably thick short bread filled with the best apricot jam I’ve ever had).

Once over the border head straight to the charming Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum, which is technically in North Tonawanda, New York. Especially impressive was the music room - the machines used to produce the many music scrolls were so beautiful. I was also impressed by the gift shop, which is not always the case. Lots of old timey toys (we left with a wind-up tin frog and a souvenir mug). There was a children’s birthday party going on in the room with the kiddie carousel (love this idea if you live nearby). Though Lucy was initially skeptical of riding either the kiddie or regular carousel we managed to take a spin. My husband’s review: They don’t make things like they used to…

Our next stop was O’Connell’s which is quite possibly the greatest menswear store of all time (and where I bought the four oversized dress shirts that were critical for my pregnancy wardrobe). Inside the store feels straight out of time. There are literally piles of madras pants, rainbows of Bermuda shorts, stacks and stacks of socks lining the aisles. The sales associates are dressed as if from a Nancy Lemann novel (suspenders, bow ties, seer sucker). I bought a pink oxford shirt that I’d been planning to get this visit, my husband a pair of pleated trousers. They also had a small but darling selection of children’s clothes! Lucy loved tearing around the aisles and trying on hats.

While deliberating any purchases at O’Connell’s, pop over to neighbouring Parkside Candy for a classic sundae (be sure to sit in the curved booth).

If we’d had more time that day I would have liked to visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin Martin House, at least to relax in the garden. And if we’d gone without a toddler, Coo Coou, a very eclectic antique store, would warrant a visit.

We beelined to the AKG Museum where I was eager to show Lucy a favourite painting, Giacomo Balla's 'Dinamismo di un cane al guinzaglio (Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash)’ which was thankfully on view, after having talked it up so much to her, ha. The AKG has such an impressive permanent collection (which includes Helen Frankenthaler’s painting ‘Tutti-fruitti’, which covers the NYBR edition of Speedboat amongst others). The second we entered the gallery with Balla’s painting, Lucy shouted and pointed “DOG!!!” More here.

For dinner we headed to Southern Junction, a James Beard-award-winning barbecue place that came recommended to me by Francesca Bond, the Food & Drink reporter for Buffalo News when I was being interviewed about my butter lamb visit last year. Since it was Saturday there was a bit of a wait, but it was all very tasty and there was ample outdoor seating.

Books to ‘Read Around In’

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Last July’s included: my favourite place to get gelato in Toronto, a sundae workshop, July eating notes, a ‘summer wardrobes’ blog within a blog and how it inspired what I’d been wearing, a summer neo-noir recommendation, a sunglasses report, great fisherman sandals, hair accessories inspired by Female Perversions, what miniature chocolate bars Jane Birkin kept next to her clawfoot tub etc.

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The other day I was at a two-year-old’s birthday and the cake was beyond beautiful, made by my friend Jiva. It was a sheet cake, covered in silver leaf, framed with sunflower petals lightly dusted in edible glitter, with a big sunflower smack dab in the middle. It tasted like a fresh donut and was so delicious I had a second piece. Carrying our squares over to the splash pad I was reminded of my visit to Maharaja Sweets in Jackson Heights and the sparkling cases of silver sweets. Later, Jiva texted me that this type of sweet had inspired her cake - what a good idea! A children’s birthday gift suggestion, which I’ve brought to two recently, including this one, is the Pustefix Bubble Bear (which promises no mess!).

I quite literally ran to an 11am showing of The Odyssey last Friday with my husband (the first time we’ve been back to the movies together since Lucy was born, it was great). Though I didn’t wear it to the screening, I’ve been wearing this Vejas ensemble all month (my outfit of choice when it’s too hot for clothes). After the viewing I realized it was very on theme and I’d been accidentally dressing for The Odyssey all along:

On a recent beach trip, instead of pre-slicing, I grabbed the half watermelon that was in our fridge and three spoons and threw that in the cooler alongside infinite berries. So fun, especially for a toddler. She used the empty watermelon as a cup and drank the remaining juice. Earlier this month I bought Watermelon Pool by Bonsoir Lune to read to my daughter, which I learned about through Spiral Books. It’s a hot summer’s day and a giant watermelon splits open and becomes a refreshing pool for all to enjoy. Next I want to find a copy of The Giant Jam Sandwich. I love children’s books about oversized food.

On a weird orange day where Toronto had air quality warnings and the sun was covered with smoke, I stayed inside and rewatched Female Perversions, which was bizarre enough for the day’s mood and remains a favourite for wardrobe inspiration.

As a bonus for paid subscribers, here are the summer accessories (other than ice cream cones) and beauty products that I’ve been loving lately: a makeup primer, a glow stick, sunglasses shopping, a hat that folds into any bag or pocket, summer bags, etc.

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My favourite ice cream on screen is found in Claude Goretta’s 1977 film The Lacemaker, starring an impossibly beautiful Isabelle Huppert, in what was to be her breakout role. Huppert plays Pomme, a young woman, kind and reserved, who lives with her mother in Paris and works at a hairdressing salon. She enjoys the simple pleasures of life: eating ice cream and taking walks.

There’s a scene near the beginning of the film where Pomme is running while holding no less than five chocolate and vanilla ice cream cones, wearing her salon uniform of a belted white tunic and pants (which looks suspiciously like my own summer uniform). I love the sound of her shoes hitting the pavement as she’s running and licking to keep the drips at bay. The perfect summer sport.

Here are more favourite ice cream appearances in films 🍦🍦🍦:

Wanda (1977) directed by Barbara Loden

Roman Holiday (1953) directed by William Wyler

A Tale of Summer (1996) directed by Eric Rohmer

Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (1953) directed by Jacques Tati

Jazz on a Summer's Day (1959) directed by Bert Stern

Honourable mentions to Juliette Binoche’s usual order of coffee and ice cream in Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colours: Blue and Glenn Close with a sundae and a cigarette, pearls and sunglasses (worn indoors) in Barbet Schroeder’s Reversal of Fortune.

Related:

And another instance where Isabelle Huppert is my summer muse in all white - this time eating strawberries with a knife:

Thank you for reading!

Here is monthly “diet” of things that have either occupied my thoughts, moved me in some way or just felt special enough to share; what I was reading, watching, eating, wearing, shopping for, and visual research that shaped my month for paid subscribers (thank you!)

To start, I’ve been listening to Horace Andy’s cover of Love Hangover on repeat. I want to try making Martha Stewart’s spectacular watermelon bombe. Perfume-wise I’ve been rolling on Universal Flowering’s Holy Hell, a favourite summer scent (the note of beach ball accord is really coming through this year).

Next, as part of our Toronto playground tour, we visited one of the city’s best works of art: the very seasonally appropriate Asparagus Climber:

Another seasonal highlight: I love when peonies resemble big scoops of strawberry ice cream, as was the case with a bouquet I picked up at the market the other morning:

And another seasonal highlight: lots of Ice Cream - from Bruno Munari’s ABC:

Watching

To both get inspired for future holiday destinations and travel through film I watched four of Eric Rohmer’s summer films. A travel guide of sorts. An escape from time and place. First through Cherbourg, The Alps, Biarritz, and Saint-Jean-de-Luz in The Green Ray (1986); next to Normandy in Pauline at the Beach (1983); then alongside Lake Annecy in Claire’s Knee (1970); and finally to Saint Tropez in La Collectionneuse (1967). Something I love about Rohmer is the seasonality of his films. You know you’ll be able to feel the heat through the screen, the salt on your skin, the cool breeze coming off the lake, the bite of a peach when viewing. You know you’ll be getting the perfect summer’s tale if you pop on, say, The Green Ray (my current, and possibly all-time, favourite of the four). I’m partial to Rohmer’s Comedies and Proverbs series over his Moral Tales so will just focus on the two from that series here:

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Here is a great example of reading the right thing at the right time. I had been feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of planning a summer holiday with our baby-now-toddler. Though I’d been fantasizing about a family vacation in, say, the South of France, with Lucy building sand castles, the prospect of getting on a transatlantic flight and all of the logistics and unknowns involved felt more and more insurmountable in my current state of general exhaustion. Time is slipping away, now it’s summer, and it seems like we’ll be staying put (unless I get a burst of energy). It was in this state that I came across the intro to a couscous recipe written by Rachel Roddy:

“Lick your arm, then bite.” I remember being taught this by a Greek friend when I was about 10: to lick a salt-streaked forearm, then to take a bite of watermelon, enjoying how salty and sweet got on, before flinging ourselves in the sea, using the melon skin as a sort of float.

Years later, I watched my tiny son alternate between his arm and an ice-cream lolly with a chocolate veneer (called a cremino), untroubled by any sand that got between them. Then, last week, while I moaned about spending more time in too small a space, that we wouldn’t get to Sicily or to Dorset this summer, my son was busy swirling salt into his bath, tightening his snorkelling mask and checking the freezer for cremino.

So, taking a lesson from my now eight-year-old, I have been salting my bath water and enjoying the crack as the veneer of chocolate on a cremino shatters. I have also been cooking some dishes as a form of travel, and not tripping myself up with the sabotaging: “But it doesn’t taste the same if you don’t have five kilos of just-picked tomatoes or a pint of Dorset cream.” Of course it doesn’t, and so we adjust; we swirl salt in the bath.”

Just perfect. I’ve had the tab opened all week to read as a reminder.

Now, here’s a list of other things, both frivolous and necessary, that have been on my mind for the beginning of summer:

• Babies love bubbles. This is the champagne of bubble solutions (according to me), non toxic and pearlescent. You can buy a larger refill bottle here. We have the bubble pipe which is cute - but how about this bubble trumpet?!

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The still in question:

Next, a suggestion for what to wear on the first day of your period. The day was warm and breezy and I was headed out on a hunt for red props to photograph for a job and wanted something on that felt like nothing.

I wore the above outfit two days in a row (a common occurrence) and now here we are for period day three. I’m in another pair of bloomers and bravely wearing all white, which I love to do. In fact, when I was interviewed last year by Erin for Blackbird Spyplane’s ‘Cool Mom Style’ guide she asked me about this and how I approach wearing white with a baby. I answered that I try to embrace it, wash my clothes a lot and put on an apron at mealtimes because I want to wear what feels good. I also have this ‘soil removing stick’ from Maison Empereur that works really well. On this day I was headed to pick up a lemon meringue cake and some baby t-shirts.

A tip for baby basics in Toronto: as with nighties I love to go to M&F Linen Bazaar to get little Italian cotton under shirts for Lucy. Not precious, comfy and they go with everything. Strawberry stains come right out of them. Speaking of, when I shared the below photo on instagram, Cassandra Dawn (half of Country Mouse) wrote to me with a tip for getting out berry stains - before washing, pour boiling water over the stain and it vanishes! That being said, I don’t mind a strawberry stain:

In the afternoon I went to catch Béatrice Côté’s show at Zalucky Contemporary before it closed. This was a good idea as the paintings were truly beautiful. Before the show, my friend Amy and I popped into Mrs. Huizenga where we were practically shrieking with joy at the ample amount of treasures to be rifled through. I left with overalls and two adorable hats for my baby.

I was so excited in Mrs. Huizenga (shopping with friend! beautiful sunny day! generous space and the prices are RIGHT) that I bought the below overalls. The owner of the shop used to work for Ralph Lauren and has excellent taste. I’d been thinking about overalls lately (influenced by my daughter’s collection?). The last pair I wore were French workwear that I bought at Paul Bert Serpette in 2019 but haven’t felt right for now. These are both baggier and softer and I like how they look folded down and they became my outfit for the next day:

I wore this to try the new Brasserie Côte (which I’ve now lunched at three times since it opened, and twice this week no less). I appreciate that they are open all day, walk in only and don’t rush the service. The order on this day was a beautiful ‘salad’ of ham, white asparagus and crispy capers, frites and oeufs mimosa that came with such big anchovies on top that taking a bite felt like taking a swim. Two mini bottles of Perrier to complete the meal.

Here’s what to wear when it feels like 34 degrees outside and you’ve been up since about 3am: dress like a peony, put on pink ballet flats and pink lipstick. When all else fails hide under a hat and go get a gelato.

Last but not least, an outfit in a gelato-esque palette of apricot, chocolate and vanilla. I wore this to another lunch date, back again for the ham salad.

Thank you for reading <3

P.S. A truly outrageous summer refreshment is this ‘Banana Cream’ soda by Olipop. It tastes of a melted banana popsicle, banana medicine etc. and not suitable for drinking a whole can - but half a can over ice? I’d have it again.

I’m sitting at the kitchen table and the green puffs outside on the branches have turned into a canopy of full blown leaves, which I love. I’m listening to this playlist that my husband made for late spring. On the table in a creamy yellow pitcher (Nicola Fasano) are a bunch of yellow tulips. I’m wearing one of Giovanna Flores’ creations, a collage of a button down shirt - the bottom layer a creamy yellow that matches the aforementioned pitcher, the middle layer is blue printed leaves, and the top, classic blue stripes with a collar that loves to be turned up. It came packaged so exquisitely in a clear plastic box and tucked beside it was a tiny baby t shirt! Sunflower yellow with soft little flaps in fuzzy blues and lavender sprout from the collar. My friend and I joked that Giovanna dresses both Chloe Sevigny (and at time of sending Ayo Edibiri and Greta Lee!) and now Lucy:

Another yellow item that caught my eye recently was Iko Iko’s Mulberry Silk ‘Napping Pillow’ in either sunflower or lemon yellow. I generally hate to nap but perhaps with something like this I could give it a try. The website copy is so poetic! “Inspired by my grandmother’s silk pillow she used for afternoon power naps. A small pillow that is a day’s accent. Soft to the cheek, easy for dreams.” In case you missed it, designer of Iko Iko, Kristin Dickson-Okuda, shared what was on her nightstand in last September’s letter.

My current idea of a power nap: on the first hot day, a double espresso and a gelato (lemon sour cream and hazelnut) from Soma.

Eating:

First, something to make with all of the spring onions at the farmer’s market is this recipe from Rachel Roddy, which my husband made for dinner the other night and it was so delicious.

I have also been LOVING this new cookbook and have been using it almost daily. It turned me on to my new favourite flavour combination for a breakfast drizzle, tahini whisked with a bit of maple syrup, cinnamon and sea salt (sorry, Love Toast):

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Now, some spring style notes:

True Blue Jeans

At the beginning of April we (my husband, my baby and I) ventured out to attend a quilt show, followed by a rare dinner out. This was largely unsuccessful because on the drive to the show Lucy threw up in the car, was promptly changed, refused to get back in her car seat and she and I walked the rest of the way, her strapped to me, at which point she peed and her diaper leaked all over me. We were very late to the show and stayed all of five minutes and then raced to the restaurant where Lucy ate a fistful of Ritz crackers and then wanted to walk back and forth up the block for the remainder of the meal. HOWEVER, during the brief time I was at the show and despite being covered in bodily fluids, I zeroed in on a pair of jeans that my friend Jacqueline Lachance, designer of SpaBoy, was wearing, thinking they must be vintage - they reminded me of a pair I have from the sixties, they were the most beautiful shade of indigo, like dipped Easter eggs, with what looked like perfectly pressed creases down the front and back. I texted her about them the next day and was informed that they were not vintage and in fact were her new design and would be available for purchase in the next few weeks! I was floored and once production was finished I went straight to her studio to try on and buy a pair. I’ve been wearing SpaBoy jeans since I met Jacqueline in 2018 but felt that these new ones were a MUST have. The ‘True Blue Jeans’ are up online now I’ve been wearing them almost daily ever since.

Using indigo, Jacqueline dyes each pair of jeans in her Toronto studio and hand paints the creases (front and back - see here for it in action!) to fool the eye into looking like pressed pants. The jeans relax really nicely with a few wears (and something to consider if you want a tighter fit). I asked her to tell me a bit more about the process of making them:

I wanted to make a blue jean for this season, something classic. The process for the True Blue Jeans starts with white cotton denim twill jeans. Each pair is then dyed in an indigo vat we built in the studio. With indigo you can build up a depth of color by dipping the fabric multiple times. It's incredibly satisfying and surprisingly quick once you get going. The next step after the indigo is set was to create subtle crease lines (all done by hand) down the front and back. I use a non corrosive color extraction to remove the indigo, and we are left with whatever shape is painted on. In this case i press the jeans to create a crease before painting to make them precise without feeling machine made. Something to bring it into the spaboy world.

Children’s Corner

If you’re like me and have been wondering where to find a straw hat for your child like this one, I have news for you.

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Below you will find a list of gift suggestions in honour of Mother’s Day for mothers, friends, children, etc. These are all things that I use and love, that my baby enjoys, plus a few wish list items. As always I don’t use affiliate links so a paid subscription is much appreciated. Thank you for reading <3

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Binu Binu ‘The Big Block’ Soap - I love this big block of soap! I use it as our kitchen soap (on a matching soap dish) but I think it would be also ideal to have in the bathroom for little hands to glide over easily. For another soap/soap dish combo I have and love this and this from Bienaimé.

Breakfast, Lunch, Tea with Children: Rose Bakery by Rose Carrarini - I’ve been using the original Breakfast, Lunch, Tea regularly for over fifteen years (and is home of my preferred scone recipe) so I was thrilled when this came out last year. Lots of great meal inspiration for cooking with/for little ones. Just last week I made the Lentil Shepherd’s Pie and was raving about it to anyone who would listen.

Heller Dinnerware - Cheerful for meals, great transitional dishes for toddlers.

A Flores Paper Spiral Pad - makes a beautiful gift! Pink and Ecru feels right for the occasion. Read my interview with Giovanna Flores here.

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Here is my monthly diet of things that have occupied my thoughts, moved me in some way or just feel special enough to share with you here in the form of food, clothes, movies, books etc. for paying subscribers.

I’m sitting at my kitchen table looking out at the puffs of green decorating the trees, eager for more. My best buy of the month was a bundle of apricot branches at the farmer’s market (‘guaranteed to blossom’ the sign promised) for five dollars - the fruit stand had been pruning its trees. And blossom they did, unfurling like popcorn - a precursor to the blossoms outside, which have also started to unfurl. In April I start dousing myself in Universal Flowering’s Lilac No. 4 perfume, another precursor to spring.

Earlier this month I took advantage of this wonderful letter on spring baking to make Audrey Falk’s Muscovado Almond Coconut Cake (two little chicks on top and a chocolate egg border turned it into an Easter dessert). I am obsessed with the food and vibe Audrey shares on her instagram (described by Clare as “ethereal cooking and atmosphere management”) and was so excited to have a recipe of hers to try. It was unsurprisingly delicious and delightfully out of the ordinary. I’m already looking forward to making it again. We served it with with rhubarb jam and vanilla ice cream and the next day just rhubarb jam and cups of tea.

Back to blossoms. It was April 22 (Earth Day, appropriately) that I saw my first flowering tree of the year, on the tail end of a run. I stopped to snap the photo below as a record and asked myself, à la Diana Vreeland: Why Don’t You… dress to match the blossoms? After my shower I did just that, slipping on my palest pink silk and taffeta, with a white boatneck and black ballet flats. I put on this album to walk around and search for more flowering trees. At the stroke of 4pm, like Cinderella, I slipped on jeans and my old barn jacket to go do daycare pick up and play in the park.

I’ve been listening to the above album, by Sally Oldfield, all month as a soundtrack to spring. It came to my attention, as most good new-to-me music does, via a text from my friend Anni. I had written to her after watching The Drama earlier this month (which I loved by the way, so much fun to see in theatres, even with a Tuesday-early-matinee-crowd. I went in without having seen so much as a trailer and was completely agog once things got going!). Anyway, the album - she sent over this song, mentioning it was the one that Zendaya’s character was listening to at the cafe near the start of the film and that it was good for spring. I love it and the whole album. The song I clocked while watching the film was Alicia Keys’ ‘Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart’ which I was thrilled to be reminded of - it immediately went straight on my running playlist.

More Wearing, More Watching

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I was flipping through Marguerite Duras’ Practicalities the other day when I turned to her list of “all the things that ought to always be in the house” in a piece called House and Home:

I’d been wanting to make a post about my own version of this for awhile and seeing Duras’ list was the reminder I needed. Like nightstands and beauty routines, it’s fun to see what others use for inspiration and I love learning about others keep inside their fridges, their pantries. Here is my list of home essentials, hopefully you’ll find some inspiration for yours:

Salt

I always have the big tub of Maldon which I decant as needed for the table and finishing. For cooking I use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt and I always feel better when there’s a back up box of this in the cupboard. I also have a small, slowly diminishing canister of hand harvested salt from the Oregon Coast (thank you Gaia) that is exclusively reserved as an ice cream topping.

Black Pepper

I’m not picky about peppercorns, but I love looking at and using this Alessi grinder.

Coffee

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Haley Mlotek

Though he’s more often known for his Christmas movies, I always think of Richard Curtis’s romantic comedies as belonging to springtime. The genre itself is so defined by the passing of seasons as a way of making sure every sweet feeling is tested and tried before our lovers commit, but spring itself is the season that most obviously mirrors the plot of the best ones: early days, soft lighting, all shades of pinks that can be found in nature at their cutest, and no matter how predictably the season or the plots recur the best ones are still so delightful. Notting Hill (1999) is an obvious favorite, which starts and ends on what looks like the most perfect day of temperate weather, with Julia Roberts playing herself or close enough. I’ve always loved her weekend wear of a starched white t-shirt and leather blazer with her narrow sunglasses. I’m especially charmed by the oddly chosen but somehow perfect Vans skate shoes she wears as sneakers. She has a commes des garçons affect in all her outfits, like the silky button down and tie she wears for a day of press interviews, and she also borrows some of Hugh Grant’s button downs in pivotal scenes, which all seem to be from a closet of only the most impeccable palette of pastels — Easter egg blues and pinks.

But I also love Kirstin Scott Thomas in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), with her severe brunette bob and gold bangles up and down her arms. She’s so cynical on top of being so sweetly heartbroken, sarcasm as another chic thing about the way she presents herself at weddings. While everyone else is back to looking like they got dressed with the Easter Bunny as inspiration, or, as her character Fiona says about one bride, “like a meringue”, she’s wearing smooth black satin halter necks or sharp black buttoned-up blazers. Her version of springtime is brooding and dark, but her lipsticks are always a perfect flushed rose pink.

Haley Mlotek is a writer, editor and organizer living in Montreal. You can order her fabulous book, No Fault: A Memoir of Romance and Divorce here.

Jenn Park

I Am Love, 2009

My look is: bored Milanese housewife who’s about to blow up her life. Pops of color, big accessories and vaguely 60s. Standout outfit inspiration is the duster and long Tahitian pearls with perfect hair and late-2000s sunglasses—a modern twist to the Hitchcock blonde. That and all of Marisa Berenson’s jewelry to complete the mood.

Jenn Park is a designer, researcher and consultant living in New York. Follow along with her truly exceptional eye here and here.

Joe Silveira

My two picks are Georgy Girl (1966) and Alan Alda’s The Four Seasons (1981).

Some might think the character Georgy, played by Lynn Redgrave, is an odd choice as a style icon. Especially in comparison to the sophisticated, Mary Quant-fitted, Meredith (played by the real-life style icon Charlotte Rampling). It’s not just Georgy’s oversized jumpers and leather trench coat that I love but it’s the ease in which she walks, skips and runs around London. She could care less what anyone thinks. That’s the mood I’m going for this Spring but, like Georgy, with my black leather jacket on.

The Four Seasons is filled with great looks. Lots of Lacoste polos, Red Wing boots and rugby shirts. But it’s the timeless sweatshirt-over-button-down-shirt combo that does it for me. I feel most myself when I’m wearing a black sweatshirt with my destroyed Brooks Brothers’ Oxford cloth shirt. This combo looks good on everyone, as proven by Carol Burnett and Alan Alda’s characters. In the Spring, I like to throw my leather jacket on top. Honestly, you can bury me in this look.

Joe Silveira is an art director and researcher. Follow along his with his archival scans that you won’t see anywhere else here.

Arianna Airaldi

I think one of the best movies for me for spring outfits is French Kiss (1995) with Meg Ryan.

Arianna Airaldi lives in London and is behind the iconic menswear account Maison Homme. Her alternate account Ariannai_ is also a treasure trove of spring wardrobe inspiration.

Colleen Kelsey

Maurice Pialat’s Loulou (1982) is one of my favorite films, and in one of my favorite genres: French Woman Blows Up Her Life Over Sexual Affair! (Here it’s a very young Isabelle Huppert.) In the opening shot, a girl walks alone under an overpass in wet, gray Paris, wrapped in an oxblood washed silk trench coat. It’s a look and feeling so specific to the gloomy, but bracingly fresh in-between days before spring fully arrives, which is the weather we’ve been having in New York lately. The ease of wearing a mid-calf-length jacket cut in sensuous fabric with bare legs, hits of décolletage, and heels—even with a bit of a chill—always feels like a release after winter, and I love this transitional time of dressing every year. (I’m not a summer person.)

I’ve yet to find something in the exact fabric and Bordeaux shade of the Loulou coat, but while I continue searching I’ll be wearing some of my other pieces that evoke the feeling of that scene for me. One is a long beige silk trench (vintage, no label), slightly padded in the shoulder, that can be tied to be blousy and voluminous and looks the good kind of lived-in when wrinkled. Another is a gray Vivienne Westwood riff on her Pirate jacket that cuts to the sternum; the subtle Edwardian shape isn’t too “vintage” or costume-y. Styling is bare: no jewelry, a sleek bag, and an elongated square-toed pump. Slightly “undone” but still together for running around the city. My bag here is chocolate patent from Maryam Nassir Zadeh and shoes are late ’90s Prada.

Colleen Kelsey is a writer living in New York. Subscribe to her newsletter Status Report, here. I also recommend subscribing to her food-focused newsletter Cooking for occasional dispatches that never cease to delight me.

Paige Hanserd

Living in New York we rarely get a proper spring season, if we’re lucky we get a nice two weeks of spring bliss. During this bliss it’s a bit of a weather forecast musical chairs— some days are 70 degrees and the next could be 40, so you’ve gotta layer up. The layers are different than the layers of fall and the recent winter, they’re light and smart. Unexpected, clever and an exciting way to start coming out of the darkness. The first movie that comes to mind for me is Husbands and Wives (1992).

It’s a dark movie in nature but has that dark-but-bright feeling of transition that comes with winter to spring. Particularly where we are now in the seasons, lol. That lull of depression is wearing off and maybe a relationship or other obligations need to end too. I love Judy Davis in this, she’s just perfect, but the surprise standouts are Liam Neeson and Juliette Lewis, wow. Stellar.

For bonus points I’d also point you in the direction of Broken English (2007), a fabulous Zoe Cassavetes (daughter of John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands) film starring Parker Posey. Gena Rowlands plays her mom and it’s just a really great rom-com 00s time capsule with a lot of spring style inspo, xo.

Paige Hanserd is a creative director in the beauty world living in New York whose positive energy and style radiate through the screen. Follow her here and see her work here.

Thank you for reading, happy viewing!

Past Easter-related letters: read about my visit to Butter Lamb HQ here and about a trio of Easter delights (rose in a brioche, a medieval tart and my favourite BUNNY books) here.

It’s still pretty bare and grey in Toronto so I did some travelling through my camera roll to find green:

Watching

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I always love the ritual of pulling out my spring clothes in March and trying on outfits to see what my spring look could or will be. Last year with a new baby at home I was in no place for this, so instead I looked back at past spring outfit documentation to get in the mood, which I compiled in a letter here. However, this year, with my daughter newly in daycare, I have a bit of free time - which perfectly coincides with this spring ritual.

I also recently answered a questionnaire for Habiter about my personal style and what clothes I’ve been living in, which you can read here. Given the time of year I was lamenting about the winter uniform and looking forward to wearing outfits again once I spotted the first yellow forsythia in bloom amidst the grey (which happened this week, thank GOD). Thinking about and answering Christina’s questions got me in the mood for getting dressed.

So, it’s time for spring outfits. I’ve mentioned again and again on this blog how much I loved reading Helen Garner’s collected diaries, How To End A Story. It took me almost a year to finish, picking it up, putting it down, but I did so earlier last month and then immediately revisited some of my favourite passages. One that I especially love and connected to is the passage below, where Garner records a description of a stranger’s way of dressing that she admires. I wanted to include it here as a directive for getting dressed this spring:

Keeping these words in mind - practical, comfortable, colourful - here are some winning combos from my closet as well as some thoughts on spring coats, including two colourful ones that I just bought from eBay (and some alternatives).

As well as using Helen Garner’s key words as a guide, I’m also basically always trying to dress like a character in an 80s Rohmer film. The above outfit, which I think could easily slip into, say, Full Moon in Paris, is one that I’m excited about wearing as soon as the weather improves. This Brooke Callahan skirt is perfect for spring in a shade she aptly calls ‘Bud’ (and it also happens to be the exact colour of the bright green pea soup that I start eating around this time of year). I wanted to try it over leggings and with this perfectly simple silk jacket from Hai. (Speaking of both of these designers, did you see their recent collaboration? The cherry popsicle pink silk skirt…)

This formula is classic me: a sweatshirt, bloomers, ballet slippers (plus agnès b. diaper bag by the door, ready to go). Purple, navy and red. I bought the sweatshirt (the brand is Non-fiction) last August at Mama Loves You Vintage in Toronto (I usually visit this store 2-3 times a year and beeline right to their sweatshirts - I’ve had good luck). The bloomers are Chelsea Mak’s ‘Rain Joggers’ from her core collection. These are a navy wool pinstripe, but I also love her new cotton print for summer in Pink Leaves, which remind me of Laura Ashley. I could see wearing them with black ballet flats and a black boatneck top on a midsummer’s eve.

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I’ve been a long time fan of Giovanna’s fashion label and her refreshing point of view, so was thrilled that she agreed to be interviewed for this letter. We emailed back and forth about paper, colour, her clothing line and her garden (which was especially nice to read about on the cusp of spring!). Read our conversation below.

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Katie: I have been trying to put my finger on why I was so excited about seeing the Flores Paper notepads for the first time, and I think it had to do with a beautiful combination of the unexpected and the very ordinary. (“Notepads? In 2026? And how did they make this corkscrew shape?”) They also appeared at a time when it feels like everyone wants to put their phones down. How did Flores Paper begin?

Giovanna: My dad Javier Flores opened a print shop in the 80s in Los Angeles, with his brother and sister. My sisters and I grew up at the shop. I was always obsessed with collecting paper. I remember joining my dad when he went to paper supplier appointments and I would get to take home a sheet of samples. It was the best.

A couple years ago, my sister Janelle started helping my dad at the shop a couple days a week. When my sister started working at the shop it opened the possibilities of us starting to make things with paper. I’ve always had ideas for paper but being in New York and too busy with client work and my own brand it always seemed like an idea for the future. When Janelle started spending time at the shop, we started talking about ideas and experimenting making things in December of 2024.

Katie: These are objects that elevate the simple act of writing a note or a list. They look like little tabletop sculptures and are really fun to look at. How did you arrive at these shapes?

Giovanna: My dad started making these for his clients in the early 2000s. He would make them over the holidays in green and red and gave them out like a promotional gift. I remember looking at them a few years ago and thinking about how they would look beautiful much taller and all white and thats how it started!

Katie: Can you tell us about your approach to colour?

Giovanna: We try to work solely with deadstock, recycled, and remnant paper, so in this way colour gets chosen for us depending on what we find. Then we get to play and test out colour combinations with what we find. My dad and sister mix the ink colours together. So it all feels like a bit of testing and seeing what happens. It’s funny how excited we all get when we find a new colour of deadstock. It’s been surprisingly hard to find paper in this way.

Katie: For the colours - I was curious if you paint the sides of the pads? (Just wondering about the ink usage.)

Giovanna: I am happy you brought this up! They aren’t painted they’re printed! All of the printed pads are printed in-house with offset lithography printers. The quality is really great. When they’re printed full-bleed and cut to the edge, the sides look almost hand painted.

Also on colours, Janelle and I usually work on it together - she picks Pantones and my dad helps us mix the ink for the printer. I think the form of the pads have a romance or softness that kind of reminds me of ancient columns and I think it’s fun to have a sharp contrast with bright and electric-feeling colors.

Katie: How do you and Janelle go about choosing the colour names?

Giovanna: Our home is such a big part of the project. I have been looking at Los Angeles street names for colour name inspiration.

Katie: Where are you writing from? Can you describe the room/space and any objects around you?

Giovanna: My home office! My desk is right up against a window in a very narrow room, lots of light. I have a rack to my right with my new collection. And my laptop sits on our new desk calendars surrounded honestly… by multiple stacks of paper, notebooks and books, a printer, a plant, packing materials (more paper), measuring tape, fabric swatches, water, coffee.

I have a lot of things. My spaces are always very full, the opposite of minimalist, but always aspiring to get rid of things

Katie: And what are some of the ways you use the pads?

Giovanna: I have always been someone who writes things out - I don’t journal but I use paper for notes, letters, any list. I’m not a phone or laptop note person. I keep a couple agendas, I carry one with me everywhere I go.

There’s something about writing lists and crossing things off by hand. So I use them a lot for that, sometimes also for notes in books or agendas - like a bookmark with notes.

Katie: I love that idea of a bookmark with notes. I’m also curious about the relationship between your clothing line and Flores Paper - what would you say links the two?

Giovanna: The sourcing of materials is similar. My clothes are all made of deadstock fabric and I am always on the hunt for material. There’s a thrill of not knowing what I’ll find and then the excitement of finding new materials.

And then there’s a similarity in experimenting. I always say that my collections feel like a collection of sketches. I try to work freely - I don’t make protos and rarely use patterns - usually just straight into cutting and sewing the final fabric while constantly trying it on. With the paper it’s similar - we test printing, cutting, and assembling different ways just to see how it looks and go from there. And because they are handmade, they have this rough quality about them making each piece slightly different.

Katie: I am always asking people what they are reading - what books are you currently excited about?

Giovanna: Seed catalogs! Very excited for the coming growing season.

I also recently reopened a book that was gifted to me by my boyfriend a couple years ago, Onward and Upward in the Garden [by Katharine S. White].

Katie: Do you have a garden at home? Have you been doing that for a long time? What are you looking forward to planting this year?

Giovanna: I have been growing things for as long as I can remember in whatever spaces I could - fire escapes and windowsills in Brooklyn, whatever I had access to. I have always been interested in propagating and collecting seeds. I am spoiled now I am part of a community garden in Brooklyn where I have a plot. My boyfriend and I also have a house upstate a couple hours out of the city where I have more space than I can plant!

I like to just try things - sprinkle seeds, and do my best. It’s so much work but I get better and learn so much every year.

I’m so grateful for my time in the garden. Gardening (and sometimes sewing when I have a lot of momentum) really feels like the only time I am fully present.

The house garden has a lot of things that come back every year- blueberries, blackberries, and rhubarb. I have gotten very into collecting seeds, drying them, and planting them the following season. It feels like a crazy miracle! Last year I saved 3 different varieties of sunflower seeds, a big range of pumpkin/squash, zinnia seeds, dahlia tubers and garlic. I would have to say that I am always most excited to get the seeds that I saved back into the ground because something about it feels more like my own and the full cycle of it is incredible to me.

I love the garden being very wild. Not only because that’s what I can manage but it’s also so beautiful and inspiring. I name all of the seeds I collect, it’s really fun and I can send them to friends and family. True Love Red Zinnia was one of the first that I started collecting. Sometimes the flowers cross breed and make new colours.

You can follow Flores Paper here and order the beautiful pads here.

Thank you for reading <3

For Valentine’s Day, wanting to do SOMETHING, we drove to Niagara Falls, the honeymoon capital of the world, to see the (partially, but still spectacularly) frozen falls and eat at the Flying Saucer Restaurant (this ended up being closed for renovations - one drawback of going in the off-season, but worth returning for). We also stopped at RPM Bakehouse on our way in, which we always do. It’s worth checking out their sundries while there, lots of honeys, jams, hazelnut granola etc. I bought a Peach & Peach Leaf Jam to bring home, as well as a loaf of their sourdough which went, a few days later, into a stunning batch of Ribollita. I’m very curious to try their walnut croissant, a current collaboration they are currently running with Fogo Island Inn.

Around the house:

On the last day of 2025 I bought three bunches of mimosa to create one mega bunch (I got excited and greedy at seeing the sunny puffs even though they stay that way all about a day). It was a worthwhile investment because it’s now the end of February and I’m still enjoying them dried as my table’s centrepiece. This is making me feel very much like the figure in this Bonnard painting that I saw at the Met while on my ‘babymoon’ to NYC:

I’ve been snacking on sliced Cara Cara oranges and medjool dates (best winter morning snack when you need something bright and also a bit indulgent) and enjoying similarly coloured tulips.

I snapped the below photo to text to my friend Joe, a ‘bundling up’ update if you will. This is what I put on most days to leave the house (here to go buy blueberries for my baby, blood oranges, more tulips, an expensive smoothie). I have perfected my winter headwear combo with only a month (fingers crossed) left to go:

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Bears (1948) by Ruth Krauss, illustrated by Phyllis Rowand

After my baby was born I read somewhere that you should try to stare into each other’s eyes as much as possible in order to share brainwaves. Amongst the absolute onslaught of information you learn when pregnant and as a new parent, this has really stayed with me (that and babies ride on overripe strawberry waves). Fast forward fifteen months and one of the best endorphin rushes I know is saying “Brainwaves” and having Lucy immediately put her forehead to mine and we stare intently into each others eyes for however long she’ll do it (I’d never look away first!). This brings me to Ruth Krauss’s wonderfully simple book Bears (look for the edition illustrated by Phyllis Rowand - here’s a lot of 8 of them! I’d be tempted to buy it for gifts), which has the correct ratio of words to pictures for the attention span of a baby. The bears in this book do all sorts of things - they go ‘under chairs’, are ‘stepping in squares’, are ‘millionaires’ etc. Crucially, there is a spread where the bears are ‘giving stares’ and now when we get to this page Lucy will initiate ‘brainwaves’ with me on her own.

It’s worth looking up what other books Phyllis Rowand has illustrated, as I find her curlycue drawings are what really make this book so special.

A Pair of Crocodile Books:

Lucy recently went through a phase where everything on the ground went into her mouth and if you tried to retrieve it, you’d risk losing a finger to her twelve (!) teeth, causing us to refer to her as ‘the baby crocodile’ for a time (thankfully this phase seems to have ended). As a result, I have developed a soft spot for crocodiles. Here are two current favourites:

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The attention to detail is exquisite - the dishes, florals, silverware and all the spreads - the plating of the oysters, the serving of the fish. On this viewing my eye zeroed in on the silver cups of medjool dates and silver almonds that were part of a larger table of sweets. A combination to think about for a future dessert table.

The Age of Innocence pairs nicely with this passage I had saved from from The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon, of things that make your heart beat fast:

Anyway, Valentine’s Day! I’ve always loved Valentine’s Day (so much so that we almost named our daughter Valentine - it became her middle name instead). A couple of years ago I wrote a Valentine’s letter about spaghetti, pasta in films and two books concerning food as aphrodisiacs, in case you missed it and are curious about the recipe for ‘strict pasta.’

Here are a few more things that are coming to mind to get in the mood:

When I was little my mother used to host a luncheon for me and my friends with vases filled with tulips and baby’s breath, heart-shaped sandwiches, heart-shaped jello, strawberries, etc. Now on Valentine’s Day I try to get the tulips/baby’s breath combo, especially if the florist has the pink kissy tulips like below:

I also remember the grocery store near my house used to sell pink bread nearing February 14th. My father would use a heart-shaped cookie cutter and make sandwiches for my school lunches. The hearts in the middle of mortadella always become more noticeable to me around this time of year. One year recently, for Valentine’s lunch, I made a pink sandwich with shavings of mortadella and the pink radicchio that may as well be roses:

You’re probably already following the wonderful IG account of the NYPL Picture Collection, but do you remember the potato-shaped invitation shared a few years ago for a high school luncheon in 1914? I remember it as being for a Valentine’s Lunch though now that I check again, it was not specifically for the holiday. No matter as it reads as a perfect Valentine to me and could serve as delightful inspiration for developing a menu for the day. A Symphony in Pink! An Apple Poem!

Speaking of “A Symphony in Pink” there’s also Sophie Calle’s 1997 series The Chromatic Diet for menu ideas and inspiration:

For dessert:

One year, on a sunny and cold Valentine’s Day, a few friends and I met in the park to eat cassis cream puffs on a picnic table in the snow. I recommend doing this.

I also love to receive a classic box of chocolates truffles, specifically from SOMA, to be eaten in bed:

If you’re feeling particularly ambitious you could consult Jane Asher’s Calendar of Cakes and make a cake that looks like a heart-shaped box of chocolates:

Although I’m currently thinking about the tiny agnes b. hearts cardigan I bought on eBay last spring that finally fits my baby, if I was in a slightly different season of life I might think about new lingerie instead. Or maybe I should be thinking about it - it’s the depths of winter and it would feel good to put on some lace underneath all the wool sweaters! Some lingerie I own and love that may be of interest to you:

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