#018: 7 noteworthy things I did this week
The Sunday post: A ritzy staycation, a joyous broadway show and some early fall shopping.
Summer is officially over, as they say!
I had one last summer hurrah by having a super refined and absurd staycation at the Aman New York. There’s quite a bit of lore surrounding this elusive property that is part hotel, part private residence and part private members’ club. It’s apparently NYC’s most expensive hotel but it’s also been bitched about quite a bit by billionaires who expect nothing but perfection. And when a place has been talked about so much by mere outsiders observing the kind of people that would choose to stay at the Aman over countless other incredible cool luxury properties in the city, or choose to make it their point of hang out, you’re going to go into the place with a slant of absurdity. If you haven’t caught on by now, I, too, am said outsider. The Aman, as expected, is ridic — $45 glasses of a basic Brunello di Montalcino, California rolls… at the sushi bar?, a lobby on the 14th floor that you must go up to in order to access your room back down. Yet, it was the only hotel I’ve ever stayed in in New York that felt quite literally transformative. The hallways feel like a tunnel to another world, the world being your suite that resembles something of a Japanese country retreat, complete with a fireplace and a wall mural that looks like it belongs in a museum. The suites are larger than most New York apartments (😩) and for two nights, I left the city and went into my own little world that made me feel like my chicest self. If you’re into funny little experiences like this for the novelty of it all, suites start at $2,000 lol.
I watched the broadway show Some Like It Hot and couldn’t stop smiling the entirety of the show. I haven’t seen many broadway shows in my decade of living here, which is quite disappointing because after seeing Some Like It Hot, I really should be seeing more. How joyous they can be! Without giving too much of it away, this show is sensitive, deeply moving and uplifting. There are many characters that go through their own arc of self-discovery and acceptance but I was especially touched by the one of the queer black protagonist coming into their own. There’s a whole lot of diversity and friendships and real humor. Please, go see it. I cannot recommend it enough.
On the theme of Japanese brands I simp for, I know I’m always talking about the perfect lip product, but I truly discovered another perfect lip product by Addiction Tokyo. I attended an event by the brand during fashion week where I got my makeup done by their in-house artist. When she applied the matte lipstick in Bitter Walnut on my lips, I thought, oh, a pretty standard mousse-type lip product. But three hours later, I check myself out in my front camera and I’m fucking amazed at how my lips stayed intact. They had the kind of punchy color pigmentation that made me look like I have my shit together. A perfect nude color that complimented my yellow undertones perfectly, a rare feat in a nude lipstick. It’s a sexy but playful formula that I can’t wait to get more colors of! Addiction Tokyo just launched in the US and they’re super popular in Japan, which tells me they’ll have no problem joining cult-status here.
Said selfie. I started and finished Drops of God in one week, and it is definitively the most gripping and well-made show I’ve seen all year, with an insanely attractive cast. This is my perfect show!!!! It’s a plot-driven drama about a woman who learns of her estranged father’s (a master of wine) death and his subsequent wish for her to compete against his Japanese oenophile protégé for his $150 million estate. It is a French-Japanese co-production and its international weaving is delicate, richly-textures and intricate. After all, wine is a global phenomenon, but there are nonetheless regional rivalries. Pitting a Japanese oenologist against the French daughter of a world-famous French wine critic brings a human face to the tension between classic French expertise in viticulture and the rest of the world’s, especially East Asia’s, burgeoning passion for wine over the last several decades. (South Korea and Japan are two of the biggest international exports for natural wine right now). The series is actually shot in the locations they are supposed to be — no cheesy CGI here. It’s juicy and filmed in a very expansive way—the scenes are beautifully shot and very indulgent. I will rewatch this again soon.
Which has prompted me into getting back into ~eNoLoGy~. I’m not a huge drinker and most of you know that pretty much the only alcohol I indulge in is wine, namely red wine. It’s a hobby I’ve always wanted to take more seriously and my god, did Drops of God really sell the world of wine to me. In just the first episode of Drops of God, I feel like I was set up for proper wine education and I wanted more! So I’m starting with books and a local wine club. Join me? :)
I got started on some fall shopping. The most exciting category for me to shop right now? Oddly, going out tops. I haven’t shopped in a reeeeallly long time, which is surprising and very unlike me. But between furnishing my new apartment and reeling in from an expensive summer, I haven’t had much desire to spend money on clothes. But the season is palpably changing and this September in New York energy makes me wanna socialize and have fun and wear fun tops!
The Area top I wore to their show this season is currently 25% off, this gorgeous Magda Butrym one-shoulder top seems quite versatile, this asymmetrical Helmut Lang top is nothing groundbreaking but has the kind of silhouette and composition that can turn any outfit into a sexier one, this Sleeper jacket is so fun and perfect for transitional evenings where you don’t have to be responsible for a jacket because the jacket is the top!, I kept seeing this fun little sequin number by The Attico on my feed yesterday at their show in Milan and it’s also 25% off!
On Saturday, I stayed home all day. It was nonstop raining all day and I took the day to sleep in, have no routine at all and do some chores around the apartment. Slow days with absolutely no agenda at all and even no social interaction at all, to me, are resolute. They counter the stimulation I get Monday-Thursday, which is odd because for most people, I’m sure it’s the other way around? Weekends make me feel weird because they are as uneventful as they are introspective. And they are absolutely necessary for an introvert like myself. Might you try staying home for 24 hours straight?
