Shroomy lamps, retail charity, and a botanical "Amazon" in app form
I’m heading out on a quick trip this weekend—spending as much time in the air (or at least “in transit”) as on the ground—and while I’m a little dismayed about packing, it’s a relief to know I already have my flight uniform on deck. I say “uniform,” because that’s truly what it feels like: a pair of slim black pants, my favorite white hooded sweatshirt, and sneakers. It’s a completely acceptable ensemble for an average NYC workday, yet I never wear it any other time. Readers: do you have go-to flight uniforms of your own? Have they changed since Covid? Genuinely curious here, so feel free to reach out!
1.
I’ve always attributed a sort of Scottish resourcefulness to the way I cook ("No chive left behind!”), which is why I already feel like Alexis deBoschnek share a particular kinship. Her beautiful, uncomplicated cookbook To The Last Bite is loaded with suggestions for repurposing remaining ingredients from one recipe into another. The methodology cuts down on food waste, which in turn saves money and helps combat climate change, but it’s also a useful means of putting together a single streamlined menu of sorts. (And personally, sometimes the hardest part of cooking dinner is actually coming up with what to cook.)
2.
I wish I’d known about Olivela sooner. Simply put, it’s an online luxury retail platform (like Net-a-Porter and Matches, offering brands such as Bottega Veneta, Givenchy, Mansur Gavriel and Tom Ford) that donates 20 percent of net proceeds from every purchase to charity. And it’s been around since 2017! Five years is the equivalent of several decades in the digital space, and when you think about all the philanthropic efforts to spring forth from brands both new and old during the pandemic, Olivela gets high marks in my book for launching when it did. To date, the platform has supported over 40 various charities, and in the next few weeks, it’s projected to hit a $1 million milestone in funding to Save the Children (where efforts have most recently gone towards initiatives in Ukraine).
3.
I’ve been seeing mushroom-y shaped desktop lamps everywhere lately, which sent me foraging for something that might work on my own bureau. Here are three favorites (with mushroom-shaped shades or something shroomy-adjacent) by Hay, &Tradition (via MoMA), and Verner Panton.
4.
Plant-based: Neverland is a new app for all things domestically botanical, and it’s giving me so much confidence about expanding my own indoor garden (honestly, I’m shocked I’ve kept Blair and Gus, my two potted plants, alive this long). Aside from providing plant owners with educational tools and advice for various indoor/outdoor environments, the app is also a thriving social community, and a locally-focused marketplace that can deliver actual living plants(!) to your doorstep in a few simple swipes. I used it recently to auto-identify a few aesthetically-pleasing species that had caught my eye…only to learn that they likely wouldn’t last a week inside my NYC apartment, with its limited daylight and steam radiators. (Good intel, as I’ve already buried more plants than I care to admit.) To any current or aspiring green thumbs: this app should be a back pocket no-brainer.
5.
Keeping this as succinct as the ingredients list: mini, plant-based and fiber-rich, caffeinated energy bars that won’t sit in your stomach like a gut bomb. That’s it. ;)