THE LITERARY SET

From Austen and Highsmith to Steinbeck and Ishiguro.

EAST OF EDEN

Florence Pugh stars in Zoe Kazan’s seven-part adaptation of John Steinbeck’s epic novel, spanning generations of the Trask and Hamilton families in California’s Salinas Valley. I love that Kazan wrote the adaptation seventy years after her grandfather, Elia Kazan, directed the 1955 film. And Pugh creates playlists for every character she plays. She made two for Cathy, “one of the most intriguing and complex women I’ve ever played.” Netflix, October 1.

KLARA AND THE SUN

Taika Waititi’s new film adapts Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel about a near future where children can buy Artificial Friends, solar-powered AI companions designed to keep them from being lonely. Jenna Ortega plays Klara, who is chosen by a seriously ill teenage girl named Josie. Because Klara gets her own energy from sunlight, she comes to believe the Sun might be able to heal Josie, too. I find it interesting that Ishiguro’s book was published in 2021, before ChatGPT and the AI boom. I discovered that he had already spent years researching AI and talking with scientists about where it was headed, including whether technology might someday learn enough about us to replicate a human personality. Five years later, his near future doesn’t seem quite so far away. In theaters October 23.

SENSE & SENSIBILITY

It has been more than 30 years since Emma Thompson gave us her wonderful Sense and Sensibility, so I’m ready for another trip to Barton Cottage. This version, directed by Georgia Oakley, stays in the period, but puts the relationship between Elinor and Marianne at its center. Daisy Edgar-Jones has said the sisters feel like women who could exist today. Maybe that’s reason enough for another Jane Austen adaptation? I signed up to see the premiere with the 831 Stories folks next week, but I’m on the waitlist. Fingers crossed. In theaters October 16.

A TALENT FOR MURDER

Helen Mirren as Patricia Highsmith, living alone in Switzerland when a young literary agent arrives hoping to persuade her to write one final Ripley novel. Sold. The story isn’t true, but I love the idea of turning Highsmith herself into a character in the kind of psychologically slippery story she might have written. It’s adapted from Joanna Murray-Smith’s play Switzerland, with Anton Corbijn directing. This is the one I’m looking forward to the most. In theaters October 23.

BRITISH BEHAVIOR

Thieves, murderers, spies, divorce lawyers. The British are busy this fall.

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Have you seen Paris, je t’aime? The 2006 anthology is made up of 18 short films, each set in a different Paris arrondissement and directed by the Coen brothers, Gus Van Sant, Alfonso Cuarón, Wes Craven, Alexander Payne and more. There are lots of good ones, but I recently rewatched Payne’s 14e arrondissement and had forgotten just how wonderful it is. Margo Martindale plays Carol, a mail carrier from Denver who has saved up for her first trip to Paris and is traveling alone. She narrates her adventures in the wonderfully imperfect French she learned for the trip as she visits the sights, eats by herself, and misses her dogs. It’s funny at first, and then, over the course of just seven minutes, it becomes incredibly moving. I don’t want to tell you what happens when Carol eventually sits down on a bench in a Paris park. Just watch it. It is so, so good.

THE PILLOW BOOK

I recently learned about The Pillow Book, written more than 1,000 years ago by Sei Shōnagon, a lady-in-waiting at the Japanese imperial court. Drawn from her life at court, it isn’t a novel or quite a diary, but a collection of observations, gossip, anecdotes and, best of all, lists. Things That Make One’s Heart Beat Faster. Infuriating Things. Rare Things. Things That Make You Feel Nostalgic. Things That Give You Confidence. And the lists are surprisingly relatable. Things that make her heart beat faster include putting on beautifully scented clothes even when no one will see her and waiting at night for someone to arrive. Looking through old papers on a rainy day and finding letters from a former lover makes her nostalgic. She also has plenty to say about bad manners, unattractive clothing, and people who annoy her. Meredith McKinney’s complete translation for Penguin Classics is the one I’ll be seeking out. A woman with strong opinions and a fondness for lists? Yes, please!

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A LOOK I’m working on a special WatchLyst of all the amazing film + TV offerings on the horizon. In the meantime, I wanted to remind you that Season 2 of the excellent series The Gentlemen arrives on September 3. It’s so good that Netflix announced Season 3 before Season 2 even released • A LISTEN The Lonely Palette takes on art history one artwork at a time. Host Tamar Avishai starts by asking unsuspecting museum-goers what they see, then dives into the stories, context, and history behind the work. It’s like having a very smart art historian standing beside you at the museum • A TASTE A visit to LA Homefarm for bread introduced me to their lovely variety of farm boxes, including Healthy Gut, Immunity Boosting and my favorite, the Anti-Inflammatory Farm Box.

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A READ No doubt this new book, a portrait of Cecil Beaton as an artist and a testament to love and acceptance, will be both beautiful and moving.

A THINK A friend of mine created Provenance, a daily game for design obsessives. You're shown one piece of furniture and have to place it in the world and in time. It's a very satisfying test of your design eye.

Full Lyst on Thursday!

Can you imagine a bookstore that sells just one book? Morioka Shoten, tucked down a quiet street in Tokyo's Ginza district, devotes its entire shop to a single title for six days before starting over with another. Owner Yoshiyuki Morioka came up with the idea after noticing that the liveliest days at his previous bookstore were launches, when readers, editors, and authors gathered around a single book. Now each selection becomes its own little world, with an exhibition inspired by the book and often the author or editor there to meet visitors. One week the room might be filled with tree branches; for another book, all 176 pages were individually printed onto tote bags and hung throughout the shop. I consider Japanese bookstores (and paper stores!) a great reason to plan a trip to Tokyo, and this one is definitely on my list.

CROWS ARE WHITE

Filmmaker Ahsen Nadeem traveled to Mount Hiei in Japan hoping to make a documentary about a secretive Buddhist sect whose monks pursue enlightenment through extraordinary feats of endurance, including a practice that can involve walking thousands of miles through the mountains over 1,000 days. The monks weren't particularly interested in being filmed, but Nadeem eventually befriended Ryushin, an unconventional monk who preferred Slayer and ice cream to meditation. Their friendship sent the film in an entirely different direction, as Nadeem began confronting a secret of his own that he'd kept from his deeply religious Muslim family for nearly a decade. The title comes from something Nadeem was told at the monastery: if your master tells you a crow is white, then the crow is white. Filmed over five years and three continents, Crows Are White opens August 26 at New York's IFC Center and September 4 at Laemmle in Los Angeles, with more cities to follow. This is high on my list to see!

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A LOOK Fancy a big screen all to yourself? Empty Screenings helps you find movies where no one else has bought a ticket yet • A LISTEN The real-life Sal from Blueberries for Sal, now 82, recently read aloud the story her father wrote about her when she was three. You can listen here • A TASTE How fun is this? Plan your next meal using a “color recipe,” with ingredients organized into palettes rather than traditional recipes

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A READ I suddenly realized I only have a handful of months to read Anne Rice’s Cry To Heaven before Tom Ford’s first film in a decade arrives. Colin Firth! Adele making her acting debut! I cannot wait.

A LISTEN I loved this interview with Wolfgang Puck. loved this interview with Wolfgang Puck. I needed reminding that he's so much more than the airport salad. What a remarkable career he's had! I'm long overdue for a return to Spago.

Full Lyst on Thursday!

From Jobi:

I want to begin this list the way I try to begin most days—in conversation. Not with anyone in particular, but with something larger: a dialogue with the divine running underneath ordinary life, if I’m paying attention.

I’ve just returned from three weeks in Greece, where I go each year to be near something old enough to reorganize my sense of time. Being there reminds me that the past isn’t finished. A stone, a ritual, a fragment of myth can still shape the way we move through the present if we’re willing to meet it.

This list arrives just after the summer solstice, and everything on it has been touched by that season. I’ve been thinking about what I call hot light—my own shorthand for Eros, for the life force that runs beneath heat, fertility, beauty, and creation. These five offerings surfaced while I was paying attention to that current. I hope they become invitations into your own conversation with it.

OFFERING ONE: THE GODDESS TOTEMS, DAVID GEFFEN GALLERIES, LACMA, LOS ANGELES
Wonder in artful expression of powerful myth and feminine form

My first offering is a pilgrimage close to home. Inside LACMA's newly opened David Geffen Galleries, seek out Dora De Larios' Goddess Totems. De Larios spent six decades creating sculptures that drew from ancient mythologies while forging a path as a Mexican American artist in a field largely defined by men. Earth, Air, Ocean, and Water Goddess feel elemental, unapologetic, and deeply alive. I love that they now have a permanent home honoring Latin American women artists. Go spend a few quiet minutes with them. They have a way of reminding us that the feminine has always belonged to the oldest stories.

OFFERING TWO: THUS WAVES COME IN PAIRS, BARBARA CASAVECCHIA
Wonder in contemplation with water and enriched memory

This book has traveled with me for two summers now, including my recent weeks in Greece. Barbara Casavecchia gathered artists, writers, scientists, and activists into an ongoing conversation about the Mediterranean and all that it contains. The thread I return to begins with Etel Adnan and Simone Fattal. Adnan speaks of the many Mediterraneans—the geographical one, the historical one, the personal one, the sea we swim in and the one we carry inside us. The title comes from her poem Sea and Fog, and the entire book moves with that same rhythm. I return to it every summer like a tuning fork. It reminds me to think with water, not simply about it.

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I remember being about 11 or 12 years old and hearing about the Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibition that toured the U.S., desperately wanting to go. Around the same time, I loved watching Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra. Treasures of the Pharaohs opens this month at San Francisco's de Young Museum, bringing together 130 objects spanning 3,000 years, from monumental granite sculptures and exquisite gold jewelry to cosmetics, furniture, and everyday objects found in tombs. What I'm especially excited to see are the artifacts from the recently rediscovered Golden City near Luxor, a preserved settlement that offers a rare glimpse into the daily lives of the people who built and served the royal court. The exhibition runs through January, and I don't intend to miss these treasures twice.

RECIPES FROM LEAKED EMAILS

One of the more unusual cookbooks I've come across started with a simple question: what recipes were hiding inside some of the world's most infamous leaked email archives? Researcher Demetria Glace spent years combing through everything from Enron and Sony Pictures to Hillary Clinton's emails, uncovering hundreds of recipes exchanged between colleagues, friends, and family. Leaked Recipes, The Cookbook gathers fifty of them, from Persian Love Cake and Nana's Sweet Potato Casserole to Lemon Squares, each paired with the story of how that once-private recipe found its way into the public record. I find it fascinating (and even funny) that, even in the middle of history's biggest scandals, someone was asking for the potato casserole recipe.

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A LOOK I've decided it's time to start taking art history classes. My first Afternoon Salon, Braque and Picasso: Defining Cubism, takes place at the Norton Simon Museum on Sunday • A LISTEN Next up on my Listen Lyst is Lady Killers from British historian and delightfully quirky curator Lucy Worsley, where she tells the stories of eight 19th-century “murderesses” • A TASTE I have a soft spot for the pairing of coffee and commerce. This guide rounds up some of the best Los Angeles stores with cafés, all worthy of a longer linger.

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I’m learning to play Scopa. Scopa, which means “broom,” is the Italian card game where the objective is to sweep the cards from the table. So far, I’ve been playing online, which has proven to be quite the mental arithmetic workout. I’m guessing it will be much more fun—and considerably more humbling—when I start playing with the enthusiasts at my local Italian American club, which I’m honored to have recently joined. If you’d like to give it a try yourself, and happen to be in Los Angeles this Saturday, the Garibaldina is hosting Bar Bene, a lively evening open to everyone. Expect a DJ, Amanda Lanza’s wonderful food, wines from Little Land, dancing, dessert, and plenty of authentic Italian spirit. Admission is a suggested $10 donation to help preserve the club’s remarkable historic building. If you come, perhaps we’ll end up playing a hand of Scopa together.

FLOWER SPELLS

I went to an event last year for House of Hackney and The Library of Esoterica, and the flower arrangements were incredible. I learned they were the work of a brand-new L.A. company called Lucky Stars, whose creations are inspired by the Victorian language of flowers. The studio has begun taking commissions for personal "Flower Spells" to mark everything from birthdays and housewarmings to breakups and new beginnings. Each arrangement arrives with a typed spell inspired by the symbolism and folklore of flowers, inviting you to place a delphinium beside your bed and ask it a question before you fall asleep. After the blooms have faded, you'll still have a keepsake photograph to remember the spell.

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A LOOK I’ve mentioned this documentary about Mary Oliver before, but it is finally available to stream! • A LISTEN Ever wonder what it would sound like to walk through a woodland in Germany or a tropical rainforest in Madagascar? This website lets you tune into forests around the world • A TASTE I’m intrigued by this place, a new French bistro with a southern flair within an 1887 historic Monrovia house. I’m getting the girls together and will be having the Front Porch Tea, Deviled Eggs, and Heritage Wedge Salad.

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If you walk into The Clock at 2:17 p.m., that’s exactly what’s happening on screen. Christian Marclay’s remarkable video installation is assembled from thousands of film and television clips depicting clocks, watches, and references to time, each edited together so the work unfolds in perfect sync with the actual time of day. Whether you stay for twenty minutes or two hours, you’re always watching at the “right” moment. Returning to Los Angeles for the first time since 2015, The Clock will be on view at LACMA from July 26 through August 23. If you really want the full experience, LACMA is also hosting two rare 24-hour screenings on July 25–26 and August 22–23, allowing visitors to come and go throughout an entire day and night. Space is extremely limited.

VISIBLE MENDING

I’ve spent two lovely late afternoons at the Norton Simon Museum in my hometown of Pasadena. The revamped sculpture garden is truly heavenly, and I’ll never tire of wandering its spacious gallery halls. They also have a lovely garden bar with happy hour, and I plan to be right there next Thursday for their summer Golden Hours. I always make time for the gift shop, where I came home with something I never expected to buy: a mending kit. Approved Textiles creates visible mending transfers inspired by artists including Agnes Martin, Eva Hesse, and Louise Bourgeois. The kits are rooted in the tradition of visible mending, where signs of wear become part of an object’s story rather than something to hide. I’ve already given one as a gift, and another is waiting for an old pair of jeans.

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A LOOK August starts beautifully with the exhibition of a numbered edition of twenty cast bronze bowls by artist Jonathan Cross at L.A.’s The Haus Plant (Aug. 1, 11:00-3:00) • A LISTEN Enjoying this episode of the inspirational podcast Travel Secrets to get inspired for a future trip (and this is next in the queue) • A TASTE I read that this 50-year-old restaurant at an L.A. car dealership has Max & Helen’s beat, without the 3-hour wait. I’d like to find out if that’s true.

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A THINK I miss having four distinct seasons. Japan, meanwhile, has 72 microseasons. I love the idea of paying that much attention to the passing of a year.

A LISTEN CNN international correspondent Clarissa Ward recommended this podcast, and I listened to the whole thing in two days. It's the fascinating story of Syria's former First Lady, Asma al-Assad, who was once known simply as Emma, a middle-class girl from west London.

Full Lyst on Thursday!

I watched The Comfort of Strangers (1990) last week, drawn in by this incredible lineup: director Paul Schrader, screenplay by Harold Pinter, story by Ian McEwan, score by Angelo Badalamenti, and a cast that includes Christopher Walken, Helen Mirren, Rupert Everett, and Natasha Richardson. I loved it.

What I really want to talk about, though, are the costumes. Schrader, who famously helped launch Giorgio Armani’s Hollywood career with American Gigolo, brought him back to design the entire wardrobe for The Comfort of Strangers. The clothes are so integral to the mood of the film. Between them and Venice itself, every frame is impossibly seductive.

It was Natasha Richardson’s sisal market tote that sent me to Mercari. You know the one: woven straw, long leather straps, something many of us carried in the ‘90s with flowy skirts and oversized jackets. I went searching and found one on Mercari for $17! I’ve carried it nearly every day since, feeling delightfully out of step with the current moment, like I had been reunited with an old version of myself. Then, as if the universe was rewarding my persistence, I saw Tory Burch send nearly the same bag down her Fall 2026 runway, inspired by the “deadhead” totes she carried to Grateful Dead shows. Great minds, Tory...

Watch the film. Stay for the costumes. You may find yourself rummaging through your closet—or hunting for a sisal tote of your own.

A HOUSE CALENDAR

Loro Piana’s latest Icons collection is photographed at Lille Strandkær, the summer house of Danish writer, naturalist, and philanthropist Ellen Dahl, sister of Out of Africa author Karen Blixen. Buried in the story behind the collection was one detail that eclipsed the clothes for me. Each year, Dahl created a handwritten calendar for the house, pairing every month with a poem and botanical drawings inspired by the landscape surrounding her home. I’d never come across the idea of a house calendar before. Not one of appointments, but of seasons. The first jacaranda bloom. Tomatoes finally ready. Hummingbirds returning to the garden. The annual peach galette. A poem for October. I’m tempted to begin one this year.

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A LOOK Jessica Fletcher needs your help. Solve-Along-A Murder, She Wrote arrives at L.A.’s Montalbán Theatre this month, turning an episode of the beloved series into an interactive whodunit where the audience competes to solve the crime before Jessica does • A LISTEN I would not have discovered this excellent record that encompasses “sensual art-folk, leftfield disco, and experimental synth-pop” if it had not been for my in-the-know son • A TASTE I don't know why more bakeries aren't open at night. Beginning July 31, Proof Bakery is testing the idea with Pie Nights, serving pie, cookies, and non-espresso drinks for those of us who think dessert deserves its own outing.

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When I was little, one of my favorite outings was to the Sterling Shop in Wilmington, North Carolina, where I was allowed to pick out a pop-up book. I adored them then, and I still do. They’re works of art disguised as books, where the paper engineering is every bit as magical as the story itself. That's why I'm so excited about Luceros y Penumbras, opening July 11 at the Richard J. Riordan Central Library. Created by artist Daniel González and paper engineer Matthew Reinhart, it's an attempt to build the world's largest pop-up book as part of the library's centennial celebration. The exhibition also includes rarely seen treasures from the library's extraordinary collection of more than 2,000 pop-up and movable books. Admission is free.

A FAMILY COOKBOOK

I know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but this is one of those rare exceptions. Carter Were’s self-published cookbooks are beautifully assembled, with photographs by her twin sister Harry and artwork by her sister-in-law Chloe. The sisters even built a tiny freestanding kitchen and studio so Harry could photograph the recipes in natural light. The recipes are simple, seasonal, and designed to bring children into the kitchen without becoming children’s cookbooks. It’s family cooking in the best sense of the phrase: meals adults will happily make, older kids can confidently tackle on their own, and younger ones can help prepare alongside. Between them, Carter and Harry are raising five children, and that experience shows up on every page. Even better, all three editions are now available to order together and finally ship internationally.

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A LOOK Before photographers, illustrators were in charge of covering Fashion Week. Frances Lo Iacono has revived the art of sketching fashion runway shows. His dreamy watercolors are so lovely! He teaches his method in this book if you want to try your hand • A LISTEN French fragrance brand and research house Arpa created seven soundscapes to accompany their fragrances for a transportive synesthetic experience • A TASTE Eat Pretty. I’ve been starting my morning with this, and I feel like I can take on the world (and I swear it is giving me glowy skin): 2 parts coconut water, 1 part carrot juice, 1/2 tsp EVOO, and the juice of 1 orange.

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A READ

Last: Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer

Now: The Fine Art of Lying by Alexandra Andrews

Next: The Glorians: Visitations From The Holy Ordinary by Terry Tempest Williams.

Add a comment with what's on your TBR pile!

A LISTEN My favorite store in Charleston, SC, Wentworth, has created a really excellent High Summer playlist. Its description takes me right back to July in the South: Sun on skin, linen sticking to the chair, condensation on the glass. Equal parts poolside hypnosis, coastal drive, and after-dark dance floor.

Full Lyst on Thursday!

A READ I just downloaded The Vocabulary App, and it has earned a permanent spot as a widget on my home screen. Every time I unlock my phone, I'm greeted by a beautiful new word, along with its pronunciation, etymology, and examples of how to actually use it. I suppose this is my first small step toward becoming more sesquipedalian. (See? It's already working.)

A TASTE I can’t stop thinking about the rol de guayaba I had at Rosetta Panaderia while in Mexico City last month. When I saw this new release at Highland Park's Fondry, I knew I had to try it. (I'm doing so right after I press send on this email this morning!)

Full Lyst on Thursday, July 9, because of the upcoming holiday. Until then…

I recently thrifted a copy of The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, Gertrude Stein's playful "autobiography" told in Toklas's voice, largely because it is illustrated by Maira Kalman, one of my favorite artists. That purchase inevitably sent me down an Alice B. Toklas rabbit hole, where I rediscovered the recording of Toklas reading the famous "Hashish Fudge" recipe from her 1954 cookbook. Contributed by artist Brion Gysin, the recipe unexpectedly transformed Toklas into a counterculture icon, despite later insisting she had no idea what the mysterious ingredient actually was. Listening to her read it aloud is about as Wonderlyst-worthy as it gets. And if that inspires your own Alice B. Toklas deep dive, I Love You, Alice B. Toklas, the wonderfully groovy 1968 Peter Sellers comedy inspired by the recipe's cult status, begins streaming on HBO on July 1.

ADDING TO THE TBR PILE

My summer TBR pile is already overflowing, but I can't stop, won't stop adding to it. Here are three that have recently found their way onto it. The Fine Art of Lying by Amil Niazi follows a young woman who takes a job with a charismatic art collector and quickly finds herself pulled into a web of deception. Waist Deep by Linea Maja Ernst became a word-of-mouth sensation in Scandinavia before making its way to the U.S. It follows two sisters through a Danish summer filled with swimming, friendship, and the messiness of adulthood. And while we'll have to wait until August, I already have Rachel Cusk's Life of M on pre-order. A new novel from the author of the Outline trilogy automatically earns a place on my reading list.

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A LOOK I use this app to help me plan my gallery-hopping sARTurdays in LA, and it’s also available in other major cities around the world • A LISTEN I love a seasonal playlist. This is Le Sud, from author Rebekah Peppler, named after her Provence cookbook • A TASTE What The Cluck? You will be the hit of the potluck if you bring this summer treat!

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A READ Memorialize the group chat by turning those texts into a printed Forever Book (if you dare!).

A LUST I want to worship at the Altar of Three, a trio of perfumed aromatherapy oils from Kindred of Black, housed in gorgeous handblown sculptural bottles from Justine Menard.

Full Lyst on Thursday!

One of my favorite ways to discover new music is to find someone with impeccable taste and follow them wherever they go. For years, Travis Holcombe's FREAKS ONLY on KCRW was one of those places for me. Last fall, Holcombe was among the staff affected when KCRW reduced its workforce amid broader public media funding challenges. Just a few weeks ago, he launched Freaks Only FM, a listener-supported station that carries forward the same spirit of musical discovery that made the original show so popular. The programming unfolds throughout the day, moving from ambient and instrumental sounds to indie, electronic, and dance music. Freed from the constraints of a two-hour radio show, Holcombe now has room to mix what he unearths with longtime favorites. If you love discovering new music but would rather have someone else do the digging, this one's for you. Also, I love a comeback story!

MEDITATING WITH VAN GOGH

While I was in Mexico City recently, I attended a meditation seated in front of a James Turrell installation (pinch me). It was an incredible reminder that art can be experienced in ways other than simply looking at it. The Getty's new podcast, OMMM (Our Museum Mindfulness Meditation), builds on a similar idea. Hosted by museum educator and meditation practitioner Lilit Sadoyan, each episode pairs a work of art with a guided meditation inspired by it. Van Gogh's Irises becomes an exercise in noticing. Edvard Munch's Starry Night becomes a meditation on blue light and release. I have never thought of a museum collection as a meditation guide before, but after experiencing art this way myself, I think it is a perfect pairing.

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A LOOK This coming Monday, see four short music documentaries, from the Fugees to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, at a downtown LA cultural center • A LISTEN July is a big month for Twin Peaks fans: a lecture series dives into the myths and mysteries of the series • A TASTE LA’s Estrano Verano is a 39-day World Cup pop-up by chef Diego Argoti of Poltergeist fame, cooked an hour before each game over an open fire on a loading dock

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Today, their focus has become even more intentional. Through a trade-oriented model serving collectors, interior designers, architects, and advisors, they place exceptional works into the hands of people who live with them, study them, and build collections around them. Whether through art fairs, special collaborations, or future international pop-ups, Rhett and Patty continue to follow the same instinct that has guided the gallery from the beginning: a belief that discovery is one of life’s great pleasures.

HIS & HERS SHOPPING

We both love retail spaces that feel personal and considered. Even when we're not shopping for anything in particular, we're drawn to places that celebrate craftsmanship, good design, and the people behind the work. On New York's Lower East Side, we always make time for Colbo and Tumbao. Colbo combines fashion, coffee, vinyl, and exhibitions in a way that feels effortless, and we've discovered more than a few favorite brands there over the years. Tumbao is a beautiful female-owned boutique focused on Latin American designers, and Patty can usually be counted on to find something handmade and completely unexpected. Both shops remind us that the best stores are about far more than what you buy.

THE QUIETER SIDE OF NEW YORK

Central Park hardly needs an introduction, but spending real time there reminded us just how extraordinary it is. The scale is difficult to comprehend until you're inside it, wandering past bridges, ponds, fountains, hidden pathways, and stretches of landscape that make it easy to forget you're in the middle of Manhattan. What surprised us just as much, however, were the neighborhood gardens and pocket green spaces scattered throughout the city. During our most recent visit, we found ourselves seeking them out whenever we needed a moment of quiet. More than once, we had these spaces entirely to ourselves. Surrounded by tall buildings and buffered from the sounds of the city, they offered a sense of solitude that felt every bit as restorative as the slower pace we enjoy at home in Los Angeles.

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Joshua Vides is an artist who makes you stop and ask, "Wait, is that real?" For Flat Out at the Petersen Automotive Museum, he has transformed cars, garages, and automotive ephemera using the black-and-white aesthetic that has become his calling card. Vides first gained attention by applying the same treatment to sneakers and everyday objects before expanding it into entire rooms, storefronts, and now museum exhibitions. The result is disorienting. I am always zooming in on his photos, trying to understand what is happening, so I can't wait to see this live and in person with my son. The exhibition opens on June 20.

A SURREAL SAILING ADVENTURE

There are some experiences worth planning an entire trip around. Sailing aboard Gala, Salvador Dalí's personal boat, is one of them. Departing from Cadaqués, the whitewashed fishing village on Spain's wild Costa Brava where Dalí lived and worked for much of his life, the excursion follows the same stretch of coastline that inspired many of his paintings. This rocky corner of Catalonia has long attracted artists and writers, including Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, and Truman Capote, who spent time nearby while writing In Cold Blood. If I make it there, I would likely stay at Casa Nereta, a 12-room guesthouse housed in the former home and studio of artist Joan Ponç, a friend of Dalí and member of the influential Dau al Set movement. Voila! I have the start of an itinerary!

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A LOOK Is there anything Richard E. Grant can’t do? This time, he is in a mapcap period comedy with Claire Foy that is worth a watch in the theater • A LISTEN Garrett Graham Sexy Little Dance Mix #iykyk• A TASTE Frozen desserts paired with great reads - a perfect Summer treat!

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A JOURNEY Registration is open for the Every Woman’s Marathon, the only U.S. marathon designed for and by women. This beginner-friendly, inclusive race was announced with a powerful, women-first film from poet Amanda Gorman. Conceived by MILK, participants will experience 26.2 miles of New Orleans, Louisiana’s beautiful historic scenery, as well as 3 days of wellness from cooking to yoga. While most endurance races cater to men, EWM wants to bridge the gap and celebrate all ages, athletic abilities, and body types. The marathon takes place on February 28, 2027, so register now and start your training journey!

A LOOK Josh O’Connor may be everywhere, but I am ok with that. If you can’t, like me, get enough of him, then I highly recommend that you watch The Durrells in Corfu. As this is my favorite show, I can easily say that The Durrells has it all: gorgeous settings, sweet love interests, charming storylines, and a wonderful cast (including the animals). The Durrells is based on the real-life writings of the youngest son in the family, Gerry, who goes on to become a famous naturalist. O’Connor plays the oldest son, Larry, and you might see a resemblance to his Patrick in Challengers. Watch all 4 seasons, which aired from 2016-2019, on Masterpiece.

Full Lyst on Thursday!