“Strategist Brain” is a series where staffers share the stores they’ve stopped into, stuff they’ve spotted, and extra tidbits from stories they’ve worked on. You’ll hear from a different writer every week.
My birthday is in October, and while I’m hardly leading an ascetic lifestyle the other 11 months of the year, I’ll never deny myself this month. A funny tchotchke from the antique store? Ah, what the hell. Boba and ice cream … on the same day? Well, why not!
But beyond indulging in little treats, the pragmatic big-ticket item I’d been planning to splurge on was a new bookshelf, which I desperately need for my office space. A couple weeks ago, I found the perfect one on Facebook Marketplace, made by Beijing-based design studio FNJI and priced at less than half the going rate. I reached out to the seller, and all seemed to be going to plan until I tried to set a date and time for pickup. Then they went inexplicably silent, despite repeated polite follow-ups; a couple days ago, the bookshelf was marked as sold. I try to adopt an “easy come, easy go” attitude when it comes to Marketplace shopping, but this one hurt.
Now I’m on the hunt for a replacement. USM’s Haller is far out of my price range; Milo Baughman–style étagerès are cool, but too sleek and glossy for my warm woodsy room; the Ikea Kallax is fine, I guess, but I’d prefer something a bit more special. So I’m holding out hope that the universe will come through for me soon with a struck-by-lightning, love-at-first-sight experience like the moment I saw my desk. It is my birthday, after all.
Here’s everything else I’ve seen recently …
Even as a kid, I was never all that into birthday cake: I’d take a few bites and spend the rest of the time shoveling frosting around my plate. Pasteis de nata were a different story — I could put away three or four in one sitting. So I was especially delighted to discover Lisbonata, a Brooklyn-based artisanal bakery pop-up slinging handmade Portuguese custard tarts. It used to offer delivery on Fridays, but since it’s currently only doing pop-ups, I made the trek to the Fort Greene farmers’ market to treat myself to a couple tarts: one raspberry-flavored, the other yuzu.
While I was in the area, I stopped at Saffron to pick up a birthday bouquet. When I lived in Park Slope, Saffron was my go-to florist for all celebratory occasions. I’ve since embraced other florists closer to home, but Saffron’s dark, gothic, slightly bizarre aesthetic still has my heart. To usher in an autumnal vibe, I went for a preserved arrangement that looks very nice in this lavender-periwinkle vase I got a few months ago from Maggie Boyd Ceramics.
I am a ride-or-die stan of the library and rarely ever buy books new. (Sorry, authors! I support you; I just don’t have a bookshelf at the moment!) Sometimes I’ll buy a used book, however, like this monograph that I stopped to leaf through at a sidewalk sale and found captivating. It’s called The Shopping Bag: Portable Art, and it’s filled with images of iconic, design-forward shopping bags, from the Bloomingdale’s Big Brown Bag to the Cafe Du Monde’s takeout bag.
I buy almost all my clothing secondhand, including — or maybe especially — at Halloween. I have no desire to sport some flimsy polyester nightie that’s destined for the trash on November 1; instead, I’ll try to put together a costume with clothes that are already in my closet or source some things that I could still conceivably wear the rest of the year. This year, with multiple engagements on my calendar, I’ve decided to go as both Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service and Snow White, so that the red-bow headband I’m wearing can pull double duty. While Kiki’s black dress is pretty straightforward, Snow White’s blue top and yellow skirt are a little more challenging; I’m still on the hunt, but these are some of the options I’ve been considering.
While browsing eBay for my Snow White top, I somehow stumbled upon this long-sleeve tee from an officially licensed NASCAR merch retailer. I’m not sure how it snuck through my filters, but I’m glad it did, because the navy-and-goldenrod tie-dye pattern immediately struck my fancy. Have I ever watched a single NASCAR race? No. Do I have any idea who this “Mark Martin” guy is? None. But am I gonna be rocking this top with a leather skirt and knee-high boots? You bet.
Over the summer, I went on vacation to Quebec, specifically to tour Les Jardins de Quatre-Vents — a private-estate garden designed by renowned gardener and horticulturist Francis Cabot. Well, apparently the Quatre-Vents garden was just a summer residence, and the Cabots also kept a primary residence in Cold Spring, New York (as the upper crust are wont to do). It’s called Stonecrop Gardens, and it’s been open to the public since 1992, encompassing 63 acres that includes woodland and water gardens, a bamboo grove, and a traditional English flower garden. Since it’s only a short drive from the city — less than two hours — I’m planning to do a day trip there next weekend, and I can’t wait to witness more of Cabot’s gardening genius on display.
I also just returned from a trip to Disney World, where my step-counter app recorded over 20,000 steps per day for a week straight. The whole time, I was wearing these sandals from OESH Shoes, which I bought three years ago after someone recommended them in a Reddit thread on somewhat stylish orthopedic footwear. They’ve been my go-to vacation shoes ever since because they’ve never once given me an ounce of trouble — not one blister, sore, or friction burn. Sadly, the 3-D printed soles were already on their last legs before the trip, and Disney pretty much did them in; by the end, they were so shredded that they had the same texture as pulled pork. Once I got home, I swiftly ordered a replacement pair.
In an effort to connect with my boyfriend’s mom, who’s a die-hard Phillies fan, I started brushing up on the rules of baseball. Then I started watching Phillies highlight reels. Then I subscribed to ESPN+ just to watch MLB. Then I joined the Phillies sub-Reddit. Now I can’t stop calling Nick Castellanos a dirtbag and rhapsodizing about Alec Bohm’s Goldilocks curls. She is, of course, thrilled about these developments and gifted me this Phanatic pillow pet and Phillies baseball cap, both of which are my faithful companions on the couch on game days. Red October, baby!!
And finally … I gifted myself this New York Magazine tote bag that I’ve stewed over for three years straight. I first spotted it on the shoulder of a fellow Strategist colleague, whom I accosted demanding to know how she got it; apparently it was given to her when she first started at the company, but since I was hired remotely in the summer of 2021, no such welcome present ever arrived at my doorstep. I even went so far as to request print issues in the mail in the hopes they would be accompanied by a tote, but no dice. So last week, I finally bucked up and made some inquiries, and in a few days, it was in my hands. It’s true I did pay $0 for it, but I love it so much that I would have shelled out if necessary. Of course, it could also be yours, or anyone’s, for the cost an of annual digital-and-print-combo subscription — and it’s more than worth it, if I do say so myself!
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