Strong Week Links 15


Considering I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to sunglasses, it's not surprising I'm intrigued by Ditto, a new site that lets you rent sunglasses and prescription glasses. They carry brands like Illesteva, Karen Walker, The Row, Ray-Ban and Retro Super Future, and the prospect of having a new pair to sport as often as you want is pretty compelling.

The perfect striped shirt for summer (and any season really).

#lovewins

Have you checked out La Double J? They source amazing vintage pieces and have their finger on the pulse of the most stylish women in Milan. I love their Vintage Wars series. It's such a good illustration of fashion in friendships — like one friend is all about bandage dresses and one is all about sack dresses, and you're each approaching things from that perspective, but occasionally there's that piece you both agree is amazing and bond over.

A DIY project I wish I had time to do.

It's been a big week for President Obama. Did you listen to his interview with Marc Maron? I really enjoyed it. It was a full hour of the President having the type of very down-to-earth conversation Maron is good at cultivating with his guests. But I still think Maron was more excited about his ten minutes with Mick Jagger.

New Oakland Restaurant: Kronnerburger

Kronnerburger Kronnerburger recently opened on Piedmont Ave. in the former J Hamburger & Such location, and it’s a welcome addition to the neighborhood. Beautifully revamped and designed, light streams into the triangular space through banks of windows, an incredible terraced marble counter separates the dining room from the kitchen and there’s patio seating outside.

Strong Week Links 14



This dreamy sounding (hello saxophone) Kurt Vile video filmed at Rancho de la Luna in Joshua Tree could not speak to my interests more. Cannot wait for the new album this fall

I've loved LA designer Beatrice Valenzuela's shoes for a while (I have a pair of tejidos I'm still excited to break out this summer), so I was excited when she revealed her latest project this week. It's a dreamy Airbnb rental in Echo Park she renovated with her husband who designed many of the furnishings and light fixtures. The Moroccan tiles and Heather Taylor Home textiles make it even more beautiful. What a fun place to stay in LA. 

Have you been wanting to learn how to weave? I love Janelle Pietrzak's weavings and she's just introduced the first in a series of kits that collect her favorite materials and show you how to create artful weavings like hers. 

Enjoying the #apieceapartwoman series on Instagram and their blog. Inspiring women and dreamy minimalism.

Infinite cute.

Strong Week Links 13


How cool are the Bird-of-paradise prints of Fendi's Cruise 2016 collection? Tim Blanks' review is worth reading as always.

Flipping out over the delicious rosewater notes of Amaro Montenegro. It's named after a princess, known as 'the liqueur of the virtues' and perfect for summer.

Also perfect for summer? These Prada and Céline-inspired ice creams by Coolhaus. Seriously, the Céline Coconut Negroni Ice Cream sounds amazing and I might have to make it.

If you love tassels, as I do, you should check out Takara Design jewelry.

If Madewell is the new J. Crew, what's the new Madewell?

It's from a while ago, but we watched this PBS documentary on Peter, Paul and Mary this weekend and it was pretty amazing. They were so committed to their music and the causes they sang about, and have such an amazing focus and intensity in their harmonies. Plus, Mary Travers was a true original and a major babe.


Southwestern Escape: Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, New Mexico

Ghost Ranch Abiquiu New Mexico
If you drive about an hour and a half Northwest of Santa Fe, you'll find yourself in a little town called Abiquiu, New Mexico. In Abiquiu you’ll find Ghost Ranch, and at Ghost Ranch, there’s a lot to find. Most well-known as the place where Georgia O'Keeffe lived and worked for much of her life, it’s still a functioning ranch and retreat center, and an incredibly unique place to see.

Georgia O'Keeffe Ghost Ranch Abiquiu New Mexico
Ghost Ranch Abiquiu New Mexico
The landscape alone is enough reason to visit, with its painter’s palette of colors, sweeping views, Southwestern mesas, geologic formations, winding rivers and famous light. But there’s also the idiosyncratic history of O’Keeffe’s life there, her adobe house (the inside of which we know is incredibly chic, but which is not open, or not regularly open to the public - yet) and some pretty impressive paleonotological finds, like the discovery of some of the oldest fossils in North America.

Bode's Abiquiu New Mexico
On the way we stopped at Bode’s, a gas station and general store with excellent sandwiches, in Abiquiu.

Ghost Ranch Abiquiu New Mexico


On our visit, we took the Georgia O’Keeffe trail ride which takes you on horseback through the landscape surrounding her adobe house.

Georgia O'Keeffe House Ghost Ranch Abiquiu New Mexico


The colors, shapes, sky and plants of the landscape were so beautiful it felt like being in an almost surreal dream, or maybe like being in heaven. In a way, O'Keeffe thought so too. Of the nearby mountain mesa Pedernal, she said that God told her if she painted it enough, she could have it.

Ghost Ranch Abiquiu New Mexico


We were led by two guides who seemed like hip city folks who packed it in to move out West. Really who better to steward the next generation’s love of Georgia O’Keeffe's landscape than tattoed perhaps former art majors who loves horses and sometime Brooklynites who now only wear Western denim?

Ghost Ranch Abiquiu New Mexico


Ghost Ranch Abiquiu New Mexico




I hadn’t ridden a horse since I was little, and I was nervous. My horse, Pancho, was a little cagey. He champed at the bit and was prone to unauthorized snacking on the surrounding plant life, but once we got on our way we began to understand each other, and I loved every minute of the trail ride. It was made even more perfect by all the facts and stories our guides laid on us. They were the kind of yarns I imagined you’d hear from real cowboys on a trail ride. Here are a couple of the best stories:

Ghost Ranch Abiquiu New Mexico




Gerald's tree: A poet friend of Georgia O’Keeffe's used to come visit her at Ghost Ranch. He studied meditation in the Far East and would walk around a dead juniper in circles until he achieved a meditative state. Then, he would write a poem in the circle of sand. One day O’Keeffe noticed the circles around the tree and a poem he had written in the sand. She painted the tree and called it Gerald's tree.

Ghost Ranch Abiquiu New Mexico


El Rancho de los Brujos: People thought the area now known as Ghost Ranch was haunted (hence its old name, El Rancho de los Brujos). So some cattle-rustling brothers, Nacho and Matteo Archuleta, took up residence there hiding their stolen cattle in the Box Canyon. They were also stagecoach robbers, and one day, Matteo hid some gold by burying it. Nacho immediately sussed it out, and when Matteo wouldn't share the money, Nacho shot him. Nacho also knew that Matteo's wife knew where the gold was. He told her she had until the morning to tell him where it was, and figured she'd never run away across the haunted Rancho de los Brujos. But Nacho was wrong. She did run, and she made it back to her home in San Juan Pueblo. She spilled the beans on the whole operation, and men from the town raised up a posse and went back to Ghost Ranch where they hanged the whole cattle rustling gang from the tree right in front of the Ghost House, which they still call the hanging tree.


Ghost Ranch Abiquiu New Mexico

Strong Week Links 12

Cult fragrance brand Byredo has just opened its first US store in Soho, and Style.com published this fascinating interview with the brand's Creative Director, Ben Gorham on everything from the unique way the space was designed to accommodate discovering product and talking about bespoke creations to his project to create dream-inducing toothpaste (!!). This one will definitely be on the list for my next NYC visit.

Speaking of fragrance, this article on Glossier explains how to spray perfume so it lasts (hint, in your hair). I love the word sillage.

Mansur Gavriel designers Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel won the CFDA's Swarovski Award for Accessory Design this past week. At the event they revealed their plans to expand their line by wearing adorably coordinated new clothing, shoes and accessories they'd designed. If their minimal dresses, suede sandals and clutches are anywhere near as popular as their cult bucket bags, good luck getting your hands on them.

I feel like it's time for a chic barette.

It's finally starting to feel like summer, which means I'm looking forward to one of my favorite vegetarian grilling recipes.

Photo via Byredo.

Southwestern Escape: Santa Fe

We spent the recent long weekend on a whirlwind Southwestern escape to New Mexico. In just four days, we aimed to take in all we could in Santa Fe, at nearby Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu and on a mini-road trip to Taos. At every turn, there was something to be inspired by: regional New Mexican food, art from contemporary to traditional, amazing Southwestern vintage (more cowboy boots than you can shake a stick at), tons of museums, breathtaking landscapes and the very special high desert, high altitude sky that changed the mood of the day from hour to hour. They don't call it the land of enchantment for nothing, and I came away with a ton of recommendations. Here I'm starting with a mini guide to Santa Fe — stay tuned for the next installments on horseback riding through Georgia O'Keeffe's Ghost Ranch landscape and staying in an earthship in Taos.


Eat

We stopped by this cute spot twice while in Santa Fe. As advertised, it's a modern take on a general store and they carry home and garden wares like ceramics, biodynamic seeds and a curated selection of books. There's also an airy open cafe in the back which was the perfect place for a light, tasty breakfast of kale and pineapple smoothies, coffee, granola and kolaches that were enough to charge you up for the day while leaving room for New Mexican comfort food for lunch and dinner.

La Choza 
Sister restaurant of the popular Plaza tourist spot The Shed, La Choza (a 5 minute drive over to the Railyard area) was much less crowded with a much shorter wait. Probably the best New Mexican meal we had on our trip, they offered a vegetarian version of their satisfyingly spicy pozole and blue corn enchiladas with equally hot green or red chile

Santacafé

When I heard this spot was a favorite of Tom Ford's, it was clear we needed to go. It opens later for weekend brunch, so show up right at 11:15 to get seated right away and avoid the crowds at every other brunch spot in Santa Fe. We sat in the pretty outdoor courtyard long enough to try their signature calamari with 4 chile lime dipping sauce (delicious) before clouds rolled in and we took refuge at a table under the eaves. Our other dishes — poached eggs on a brioche-like house-made english muffin with avocado mousse and perfectly pan-seared scottish salmon with baby bok choy — were delightful too. Be sure to take a trip inside where you can walk over the building's dizzyingly cool original well.

Cowgirl
This downhome spot known for BBQ was right around the corner from our Airbnb, so we decided we'd check it out even though we don't eat meat. Luckily they had a great vegetarian red chile quesadilla, and we also tried their crazy, unique ice cream baked potato dessert.

Shop

An incredible space on the second floor of a building on the corner of the historic Plaza, Shiprock carries a stunning collection of museum-quality, Southwestern vintage pieces — think squash blossom necklaces, traditional pottery, and an entire light-filled room of Native American textiles dating from the 1800s to the 1970s— along with mid-century modern furniture, contemporary art and new items from the Americana-inspired Japanese brand Visvim. It's so beautifully curated and the staff were so friendly (refreshing in a rarefied gallery setting), I can't recommend visiting enough.
We stopped in at Double Take on our first day when we only had about 15 minutes before we had to take off for Ghost Ranch, and so I actually had to do a double take at Double Take. It's huge, with room after room upstairs and a thrift store next door, but the heart of their selection is right there on the ground floor as you walk in. You'll definitely want more that 15 minutes to go through their collection of turquoise jewelry, embroidered western shirts, cowboy boots, concho belts, woven ponchos and more.

Boots, boots, boots! This is the place if you're looking for a vintage pair of cowboy or cowgirl kickers. They also have men's and women's vintage clothing, hats and accessories.

See

This unique museum houses the vast vision and collection of Alexander Girard. An architect and designer who worked for clients like Herman Miller, he was also an obsessive collector of folk art. The exhibition is laid out in a really interesting way that visually communicates the similarities of folk art throughout the world by juxtaposing pieces from different countries and minimizing textual explanation.





It's a lively, colorful riot of chockablock dioramas depicting entire Mexican towns, masks, textiles, woven birdcages, grave decorations from Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris and so much more. Another exhibit revealed the history of natural red dye cochineal. It traced its rise as a highly prized commodity on the level of silver, and the ways in which it traveled from the old world to the new and back again, influencing the fashion across the globe along the way.

Stay

We stayed in a cozy casita with a spiral staircase and rooftop terrace close to the Railyard/Guadalupe district. The neighborhood was made up of traditional adobe buildings, and was beautifully green and leafy. A half mile from the Plaza and a short walk to spots like Cowgirl and Kowboyz on Guadalupe St., it was close enough to everything to serve as the perfect jumping off point, yet felt far enough away to feel secluded from the crowds.