Welcome to my island b*tch
My newest hobby.
By starting out with this, I’m making it seem like we’re on a bad date with nothing to talk about. But, the weather this week was truly magnificent. I hope everyone spent some time outside. I’m about to head to the Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Parade (one of my favorite days in the city along with the marathon, the Met Gala, amongst others).
Something that’s been keeping me inside is my new Nintendo Switch. Everyone I’ve revealed this latest purchase to has been shocked, so I guess everyone forgot my multi-year span of Sims 4 obsession, which only stopped recently in 2023 when I got a full time job in an office. I am and always have been a gamer girl, from my first Gameboy that I rhinestoned to my Guitar Hero branded DS, to now. Animal Crossing is the only game I’ve explored so far, and I’ve fully entered the vortex. Building my island, selling things to Timmy, making Tom Nook proud, and expanding my house are top priorities at the moment.
The reason I love Animal Crossing is that it feeds into my shopping addiction—the whole game basically revolves around developing land and expanding your personal portfolio of assets, which happen to all be extremely adorable. Here are some of Olive’s recent outfits and a home tour (don’t judge her house right now, we’re building brick by brick).
I understand why so many brands tried to integrate themselves into the game back in the mid-COVID metaverse obsession. I do not pay for Nintendo Online Play, so I won’t be able to visit Marc Jacobs island, which I’m sure has been uninhibited for many years now. Maybe I could collect more iron nuggets for the shop I’m trying to build there, though…
In my real life, this week has been full of catching up with friends and enjoying the neighborhood, including some places mentioned in Friday’s guide to the LES that paid subscribers got access to. On Tuesday night, I paid my first visit to the East Village outpost of Corner Bistro, which was desolate to my surprise and pleasure. I would like to gatekeep it as much as possible because the West Village one is harder to get into, but I suppose writing about it in this blog is the antithesis of that. I got the chili and the grilled cheese on the side to dip into the chili, which I highly recommend. I’m not as obsessed with their burger as everyone else because I prefer a thinner, less drippy patty, but you can’t really go wrong there anyway.
On Friday, I joined some friends for dinner at Kiki’s. The wait time was…drumroll please…two and a half hours, to which we decided to just accept our fate and have a Spanish-inspired 11 pm dinner. We grabbed drinks at the Bar Belly sister restaurant, Carlota, where they have an excellent drink with tequila and mezcal. Kiki’s at 11 hit better than it would’ve at 8:30, mainly because we were ravenous by the time it was time to eat, and the only con is that they were sold out of the octopus by the time we sat down. We got lamb chops, chicken skewers, the greek salad, marasoufalata, fries, and tzatziki.
I really loved some of my outfits this week. Here are the details:
Hoodie from Gap x Sandy Liang, ReDone jeans, new UGGs. Bag is 10 years old but here’s a similar one.
Hat by indyknitty, sweater from Urban Outfitters from like 10 years ago, Citizen of Humanity cargos, Isabel Marant sneaker wedges.
Really old Buttondown by Something Navy, Favorite Daughter capris, vintage Chanel flats from Sorbara’s.
Longsleeve from H&M, vintage skirt, slingbacks from The Row via TRR. Sandy Liang ring.
Dolce & Gabbana coat from TRR. Double-layered Intimissimi long sleeves. ReDone jeans. Tabi Ballerina slip-ons (not sure where mine went but these are similar).
I realized that I’ve been showing up to work every day like I just rolled out of bed, so I wanted to step it up while the weather was perfect for getting dressed. There’s nothing like a light jacket and bone-dry conditions for suede or leather footwear.
I also picked up my recent pottery pieces from my latest session, and I’m very pleased with how they turned out. I love the glazes I selected for this batch:
I also made a quite unusual purchase for myself this morning at Trader Joe’s—picking up one of their Halloween edition mini tote bags. I have never felt drawn to Trader Joe’s merch the way other people do, I’ve never lined up for a mini cooler or anything of the sort, but I am a sucker for cheap things at checkout. I believe this to be genetic, my mother is a sucker for cute, festive things as well, so I can’t fight my nature. I just loved the color. What I will use it for—your guess is as good as mine. Maybe a lunch bag for work?
Some other things on my shopping radar are these, which I cannot afford, but would still like to shout out:
Alexander McQueen Skull Scarf I want to be Little Edie for Halloween this year, and I think it would be really funny if she wore a McQueen Skull Scarf.
Maryam Nassir Zadeh Leather Bow Accents Mules w/ Tags Every cool girl I’m obsessed with right now wears MNZ, the store is also just a few blocks from me.
A girl can seriously dream.
This week, I have plans to see One Battle After Another, which I feel extremely late for not having seen yet, but better late than never, and also tickets to see Mary Beth Barone at Union Hall in Park Slope. I have some other stuff down the pipeline as well that I’ll share come Friday and next Monday, lots of exciting things and places to share. I’m also extremely ready for Dancing with the Stars Wicked night and the Love is Blind Season 9 weddings. Sparkle Megan has fans at Coffee Order Media Group, and I hope she knows that. Rooting for a happy ending for her, but honestly no one else.
This Friday, I’ll be launching some really fun paid subscriber initiatives that my genius friends helped me come up with. They are now the first consultants to Coffee Order Media Group—unpaid, for now. You won’t want to miss it.
caroline polachek X charli xcx X george daniel X coffee order
omg your pottery is amazing