Hi beautiful angels 👼! Another month in! 28 days of reading, learning, watching and a lot of time wasting in between. Working on decreasing the amount of time spent doing that last one, but we can’t be perfect.
let’s f*cking gab
Purchased
(9.) Vintage Etched Dome Ring, eBay, $36 — Was yearning for another silver statement ring. Similar ones here, here and here.
(5.) Custom Red Frame and Mat, in total $78 — I’ve been meaning to frame this photo of me and my dad for years!! I’m very happy with the result and would recommend ordering from Frame It Easy if you’re looking for a similar look!
(2.) Edward Gorey “Mystery!” Mug, Saves, $2 — I didn’t know anything about this mug when my sister picked it up at Savers, but I loved how whimsical and silly it was. Little did I know it was a collectable! They have a pair of them on eBay!
(7.) Robert Mackie Wool Scarf, Poshmark, $30 — Don’t be fooled by False Spring, it’s already cold again. Similar ones here and here.
Wants
(8.) Square Pocket Pant, Deji Studios, $215 — This is exactly the kind of pant I want to wear everyday of summer. They’re the perfect shade of white, have a great amount of slouchiness and an elastic waist band. Cute to wear to dinner with a heel or over your wet bathing suit.
(1.) Escali Digital Scale, Sur La Table, $32.95 — Is this not the most beautiful kitchen scale you’ve ever seen? What a perfect color.
(3.) Women’s Daybreak Scuffs, L.L. Bean, $69.95 — A really cute pair of summer slippers shared with me by Abby who knows I’m a sucker for anything with a shell on it.
(4.) Coda Watch, Breda, $215 — I know little to nothing about new watches. All the ones I own have been purchased second hand. When I saw this watch in it’s three different color ways on
I immediately fell in love. I further fell in love when I saw it was in my budget! I’m going to try this on in person before I decide to buy it, but I’m having a hard time holding back.(6.) Scoop Top, Brooke Callahan, $145 — This particular color is calling my name! I need warmer weather desperately.
Read
Do You Remember Being Born? by Sean Michaels 3.75⭐️’s
Marian Ffarmer is a renowned and respectable poet. Not a rich one, there is no such thing. When her son reaches out to her asking for some help to buy his first house she is unsure on what she can offer. That is until an unexpected invitation and large sum of money is presented to her by the biggest company in tech: will you write a poem with Charlotte, our AI program?
My take away from this book is that AI cannot take over the world.
“Charlotte was not performing for me—there was no ego managing the impulse of its id. Its id did not exist. It did not exist: it’s expressions were just the products of its algorithms, like a cash registers waxy receipts. Was there anything more natural than that? Not “natural” as in “from nature,” but the other kind, a child’s face, Mattise’s goldfish, a pitcher throwing a baseball. The shadow of a palm tree, a locomotives plume of smoke. When Charlotte wrote poetry it was never pretending. It did not share my weakness.”
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore 3⭐️’s
This is fine. I read it quickly because I wanted to know what happened in the end. A good book to have read for when someone related to your work life asks you for a book recommendation. You can say this and feel happy with what they will think about you, which is entirely neutral good.
Stoner by John Williams 4.75⭐️’s
William Stoner is the only son of a Missouri farming family. His parents decide to send him to the state university to study agronomy and perhaps change the trajectory of their lives. Instead, Stoner falls in love with English literature and decides to embrace a career in academia. Down his new chosen path he finds an unhappy wife, a daughter, the loss of a friend and a forbidden lover. Stoner is a work of “quiet perfection.”
I did not expect to love a book that follows an American man from 18 until his death during the 1900’s, but Williams’ made it so easy. My favorite parts of the book come later, when he has to confront a detestable professor and student. I highly recommend you give it a shot.
Self-Help by Lorrie Moore 2.75⭐️’s
A collection of nine short stories centering around different women, all with very similar qualities: a woman has an affair, a daughter takes care of her sick mother and a mom stabs her husband in a public restaurant.
I liked some of these short stories, “What is Seized” and “How,” and really hated the other ones. Moore’s narrative skills were non-existent in some of these pieces, sometimes her metaphors would bring me back in, but more often than not, it felt like I was reading the work of a student trying to impress their fellow classmates.
“They will have his eyes, the same pair, passed along on the street from face to face, like secrets, like glasses at the opera.”
Movies (*-watched in an independent theatre **-seen at AMC)
Sean Baker’s acceptance speech for Best Director was a highlight of the Oscars for me. Go see a movie in an independent theatre!!!
I’m Still Here (2024)* ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Incredibly emotional and the real winner of the Best Actress in a Leading Role, but beyond that, the interiors in this movie are so beautiful. If anyone knows the designer of the chair in Rubens office please let me know. I need more photos of this movie available online ASAP.
help me find this chair please. i need to read books in it.
Jackie (2016) 🔄 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
An annual watch for me. It lingers for days after in the best way. *Camelot plays in the background*
Longlegs (2024) 🔄 ⭐️⭐️
Emilia Pérez (2024) ⭐️⭐️
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (2024)* ⭐️⭐️⭐️ & 1/2
Anuja (2024)* ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Lien (2023) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’m Not a Robot (2023)* ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Baby Black Mirror
Before Midnight (2013) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Finally got around to finishing this trilogy. I had some insane dreams that night about a past life. Fun to put the series to rest. I don’t know if I can ever watch it again. Makes me love the power of movies man.
Singles (1992) 🔄 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ & 1/2
Another feel good movie from Cameron Crowe full of 90’s goodness. Forever re-watchable. A hilarious Paul Giamatti cameo in here too, so be on the look out.
Y Tu Mamá También (2001) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I did not expect to come out of this movie feeling the way I did. I loved it. MJ and I can’t stop talking about it. It’s on Netflix right now for your streaming pleasure.
No Other Land (2024)* ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nickel Boys (2024) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The type of movie I wish I had seen in theaters.
Music, Most Listened To
Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan (x5)
Drown, The Smashing Pumpkins (x5)
My Kink is Karma, Chappell Roan (x4)
Tempted, Squeeze (x4)
Overture (Ship), The Brutalist Soundtrack (x3)
Extra
Haim teased a new single, I manifested that
So many Navel oranges. They’re so good, you should get some.
A visit to The Whitney
I took a photography course during my Junior year of college. My first semester back in DC since Covid. Taking a photography course online was interesting. Half of the course was supposed to cover film photography and meet in the dark room where we would learn to develop film, but the curriculum was changed to accommodate our new learning environment. All of our projects were to be done on digital cameras in black and white. One of the last assignment in this course was a self portrait. I remember struggling a lot with this project, I did not hand it very great work in this class and I remain a pretty bad photographer to this day. This was my last opportunity to hand in something redeeming so I did some research: I looked at the first three pages of google when you search, “Self Portrait Photography.” The lackluster photos have been lost to the google drive void when my student email was terminated. On my recent trip to The Whitney I was reminded of this assignment when I saw this self portrait in the exhibit “Shifting Landscapes.” The photograph, Jennifer Calivas, is a part of a series called, “Self-Portraits While Buried” and I absolutely love them, the one below in particular. Not that this something I could have reacted in my college photography class, but is something I wish I had seen then to inspire me.
i want this framed for my home.
Xox,
Gabbie
Hi Gab,
I just love that red frame so much!!
Definitely loving your movie reviews and very excited to see you soon!
Xxx
Marcella
UGHHHH Brooke Callahan top also haunting me