May's Six

Image Credits: upper-left tile by David Lauridsen via Sunset; upper-middle tile via @onia; upper-right tile by Greg DuPree via Real Simple; lower-middle tile via the Getty; lower-right tile by @mariewanders.

The aim of this series is to corral some favorite things and share them in a short and sweet post. Whether it’s a song, book, recipe, tip, or product, hopefully you will find some inspiration in this list.    

1. Sunset magazine has heralded Santa Barbara wine county as “California’s greatest long weekend.” For a state that boasts a plethora of hard-to-match destinations, I am intrigued by this claim and want to see if the Santa Ynez Valley lives up to the hype. For the full write-up, check out this article. Maybe it’ll provide some summer travel inspiration.

2. Absolute treasures can be found at Marshall’s…as long as you have the patience to wade through white patent leather Jessica Simpson handbags from 2009. If you have such patience, you can score great basics by James Perse and Splendid, lingerie by Natori, Korres skincare, and more. My best find to date, though, is a perfect one piece swim suit by Onia. Mama Kath is due some credit for this one too, especially since she picked up the tab for Ari and me ;). Long story short, Onia is an awesome brand. The aesthetic is cool without being trendy, and the quality is top-notch. At $200 a suit, however, it is prohibitively expensive which brings me back to Marshall’s where we snagged one for an easy $30. So, check your local Marshall’s, and Nordstrom Rack while you’re at it, to see if you can score a suit in time for summer. If you’re not on a budget, find Onia at Neiman Marcus, Saks, and other major luxury retailers. PS: their men’s swimwear is fantastic too.

3. Real Simple shared a recipe for sesame crunch trail mix that looks so good and easy to make. I can’t wait to try it and have it on hand for car rides, beach days, and hikes. Find the recipe here.

4. Okay, so this isn’t the first—and won’t be the last—awkward transition. But here goes. I couldn’t agree more with the complaint at the bottom of this commentary on academic writing. The author’s quote of the following confusing/obscure/opaque passage really drives the point home: “The work of the text is to literalize the signifiers of the first encounter, dismantling the ideal as an idol. In this literalization, the idolatrous deception of the first moment becomes readable. The ideal will reveal itself to be an idol. Step by step, the ideal is pursued by a devouring doppelganger, tearing apart all transcendence. This de-idealization follows the path of reification, or, to invoke Augustine, the path of carnalization of the spiritual. Rhetorically, this is effected through literalization. A Sentimental Education does little more than elaborate the progressive literalization of the Annunciation” (from Vinken’s Flaubert Postsecular: Modernity Crossed Out). I mean, LOL, right?

5. If you like studying or reading about history, language, theology, antiquity, or all of the above, Aeon’s “How the Poor Became Blessed” will interest you. It is a study of the concept of charity and the status of the most vulnerable in society in the Greco-Roman versus Judeo-Christian world. Find the argument here.

6. The Tallest Man on Earth has released a new album called “I Love You. It’s a Fever Dream.” I love this new song and never can get enough of this achingly beautiful older one. He is on tour—check to see where he’s headed here.

Alison