“Anna liked magazines. They were glossy machines. The only technology that she could fold. She read them on a regular basis because they were absorbing.” ― Sarah Schulman, Empathy
“C.,” I hear you say, “You hinted at something last week and failed to follow up. For shame.”
Indeed, kittens. Here’s the big announcement:
I’m working at Red Magazine for this week and next as a sort of short term intern at their London office! Ruth, who is currently killing it as the Lifestyle team’s intern, very kindly tipped me off when a short work experience vacancy opened up and encouraged me to contact the responsible member of the Features team to put myself forward. Bless her for being the loveliest of friends.
It’s only been three days out of my first week (two total) but it’s been an absolute blast stuffed with insights and opportunities to help out with projects. It’s been a whirl of feminism, beauty, health, trending issues, and interesting people!
As it happens, it’s also coinciding with strike action on the part of London Tube workers. Yesterday was the first day and the city was gridlocked. I totaled over 5 hours commuting by foot over cobblestones to work and back again (only falling in the door at a quarter to 9pm). This morning my oyster card was also lifted from my pocket by some perfidious fiend, leading to a frantic scramble to buy a new one on my way to the office. I might need a chiropractor, but it’s a small price to pay for the chance to contribute to an editorial and creative team!
Quick – how do I make myself indispensable and talk my way into an internship? This office is a well oiled machine but surely they could use a whipsmart plucky Yank somewhere, right?
“She couldn’t get any farther away inside from her skin. She couldn’t get away.” ― Cynthia Voigt, When She Hollers
Confession. All my adult life I’ve read the articles in women’s magazines about the perils of winter on a girl’s skin, and I always assumed I got genetically lucky. My skin was largely okay. Even living in a desert state with dry air for years, the only thing that really affected my complexion was hormonal cycles and bad eating (still occasionally guilty of the latter). Then I moved to London. After an initial breakout, my skin calmed down again (many thanks for your advice)…until winter hit.
Team, consider me a convert. The magazines were not, in fact, just lying to promote sales of various products. The desert air has nothing on your old school heater in a city flat. I’ve never experienced the flaking, cracking, and shedding of my epidermis that I have in the last couple of months. Also, as a child I had eczema that mostly cleared up, except for my scalp where it has more or less stayed for the past two decades. Annoying but manageable. Not anymore! My eczema is back with a vengeance and it has become quite painful in areas.
I’m giving the mirror some serious side-eye here.
Sorry to the more prurient minded among you, that’s not a hickey. It’s but one of the visible patches of winter eczema currently dotting my neck, chest, and face. This one is mostly healed, after a week long battle with medication. I’ve got streaks of it just below the neckline of my supremely fashion forward alma mater hoodie, and a patch on my right temple which took a big enough hit that I’m pretty sure its going to leave some scarring. Drat.
The current arsenal, posed in front of the offending heater.
Nivea is currently managing things below the collar bone while my argan balms and are keeping things like knees, elbows, and feet intact. I’ve got my eczema specialist for spot treatment, my moisturizer with SPF for day and my eye cream and Kiehls treatment for night. Lips require their own regimen. Neosporin gets slathered on any point where the skin is punctured, fractured, or generally abused. One heavy duty cream for the nights where they won’t cut it. For the first time in my life I’ve needed the occasional slathering of hand cream after a day out in the cold!
All of this is mostly helping, but I’m wondering if it’s a bit much and if there’s an easier way to keep my skin from falling off. So I’m putting another call out for winter skin and facial care recommendations. RSVP. Before I disintegrate.
“All happiness depends on courage and work.” ― Honoré de Balzac
Big week! I’ve finished the majority of some major assignments. And I have a pretty big opportunity happening next week, provided of course that nothing falls through. More on that as confirmations roll in – we hope! Here are your links, kittens. I’m distracting you with shiny things while I hustle to wrap a few things up and fight a burgeoning sore throat with absolutely massive amounts of tea.
Trigger warning, because the blurb alone is pretty bad. Court. Ordered. Gang rape. Utterly, utterly horrifying and hideous. This is why we need feminism, sorry those who say it’s outdated.
Pretty good, but not quite as good as Richard III turning up in a car park on the very first day in the very first trench the archeologists dug. That one still takes the cake.
I give both this headline and the clothing items described therein a resounding, huzzah!
What’s that, well beloved minions? You say you still haven’t found a calendar for the new year? Feast your eyes, kittens!
This one’s not for the pearl clutchers, fair warning. Enthusiastic medievalist I may be, but frankly between the wars, famines, plagues, and “medicine,” in many ways it’s a marvel our species made it past the 15th century in the West. Add these sorts of logistical worries and it might be a miracle we made it past the 10th. Although we have the behavioral evidence of several kings of Britain alone, to say nothing of popes, to show that the medieval world seemed to have viewed this more as guidelines… (Sidenote. ‘Are you in church?!’)
Minions with kids, take note! Gap (whose Peter Rabbit collection for kids I found adorable) is now doing a Paddington Bear collection.
An old neighbor of mine, who it must be said is a kinda well known name in the world of baking blogs and Pinterest, is getting her first book published soon, and it’s already available in Kindle edition! High five, Ashton!
“What you see before you, my friend, is the result of a lifetime of chocolate.” ― Katharine Hepburn
Best saved for last, kittens!
This is another Portobello Road find, which Jeff and I literally stumbled across on a side street while trying to avoid tourists. A charming young man was standing outside the shop with samples, and it would have been rude to turn him down. After which it would have been rude not to go in and buy something because, ducklings, this store is incredible.
Alexeeva and Jones is a self described ‘salon du chocolat’ which brings some of the world’s top chocolatiers into one place. The shop occupies some prime real estate on Westbourne Grove in Notting Hill and each chocolatier’s work is beautifully presented to an admiring public. Without doubt these stunners are some of the most visually gorgeous foods I’ve ever seen and photos don’t do them justice, but here are a few anyway.
This woman is an utter delight. She’s served me both times I’ve been in (the second time, obviously, to purchase goodies for our Christmas stockings). She is so unabashedly enthusiastic about her work, and is one of the most genuinely friendly salespeople I’ve ever come across in my life. Between personal recommendations, descriptions of the various chocolatiers’ signature styles and flavors, and being generous with the samples, she’s the girl you want waiting upon you while you browse.
So, when you come to visit me in London, after we’ve bought you some tweed, we’ll recover our equilibrium by choosing some of the strangest and loveliest confectionery available. May I personally recommend the sea salt caramel with mango and coriander? You’d think it would be awful, but it’s just the nicest thing imaginable.
“The greatest tragedies were written by the Greeks and Shakespeare…neither knew chocolate.” ― Sandra Boynton
One of the joys of living south of the river (and I don’t mean that sarcastically, it’s seriously awesome down here) is the south bank of the Thames. It’s got theatres (hi, Globe!), markets, wharfs, museums, more history than you can shake a stick at, and a steady stream of interesting events. The Southbank Centre itself is a major London hub and is constantly putting on nifty events. One such was the Chocolate Festival in mid-December.
It was a great outdoor market sort of affair, with stalls upon stalls of independent growers, importers, craftsmen, and bakers (this was where we lost out cronut innocence) lined up offering their goods to public nibbling. What, I ask you is not to like?! Everything from cocao nibs to chocolate beer was represented and absolutely all of it looked just as gorgeous as it tasted.
I’m going to mostly shut up from this point and let you soak in the goodness.
Just one row of stalls.I find cake pops a bit too precocious…but I would eat these in a heartbeat.Hm…what are those flavors, you ask?Awesome!This company creates the most gorgeous concoctions, with flowers, gold and silver, and anything else you can think of.Nuts, bolts, scissors, pipes, wirecutters, irons…all made of chocolate! Easily the most impressive stall I saw.
“No weekend, all weakened.” ― Toba Beta, Master of Stupidity
A few misadventures this week (including a ticketing office splitting up tickets over two separate dates, which annoyed and vexed me greatly), but also goofing off with Katie and Adam, and Ruth and Terri. Also this has been significantly less frantic than last week, which can only be a good thing! A few freelancing projects to get through today, lots of housework (blech), job apps, and a run to the dry cleaners is all that lurks on my Must Do list. Here are your links, tell me what you’re up to this weekend.
Freelancers, assemble! New York Time journalist and author Caitlin Kelly’s webinars for success in freelancing or for boosting your blog or site traffic are available for sign up now, and so are her individual coaching sessions which I wholeheartedly recommend!
History nerd find of the week! A blog exploring the clothing collection of Charles Paget Wade, who lived from the 1880 through the 1950s. (People with that kind of lifespan intrigue me!) Apparently he was one of those magnificent, British eccentric collectors, whose archives are now maintained by the National Trust. His passion was Georgian, Regency and early Victorian clothing, and the collection looks incredible.
I want – nay, need this table. Though I fear to obtain it might require obtaining the boat it’s attached to…
A brief article of the mostly forgotten sister of Benjamin Franklin. The differences between the siblings’ circumstances are quite stark. Considered one of the Great Men of his age, a self-educated wit who made a profession and legacy of words – and a woman who only read “as much as she dared.”
Loved this article in the Atlantic about the importance of telling stories (h/t Mel). There are massive gaps in my understanding of my family history. Partly because my immediate family’s relationship with extended family has not always been smooth and so a lot of lore simply hasn’t had the opportunity to pass itself along, and partly because my immediate family has been busy for most of my life creating our own story all over the world. But as I get older I think about my family stories more and more, and try to think of ways to learn and preserve them. I never knew until this past summer that my great-grandfather on my Dad’s side supported his siblings and made his own way through Harvard (in the 1920s when it was still a place of privilege that he had not been born into). Or that my Scottish great-great-grandfather (I think) on my mother’s side followed his brother to the Western frontier with Mormon pioneers to stay close to him even though he wasn’t part of that faith himself. What else have I missed!
Current resident favorite Tom Hiddleston has a Jaguar deal, his commercial for which is basically a homicidal riff on his Loki character (which I’m sure will have some clever twist come Superbowl time). I had a moment’s pause thinking that for such a talented actor it might be frustrating to be defined by a single role… And then I remembered he’s already won an Olivier Award and is probably laughing it all the way to the bank, and got on with more important pop culture ponderings.
Another map. Everyone’s good at something! (h/t Matt)
This made me laugh (h/t Heidi who is living in Denmark). What are the dressing stereotypes where you live? At some point I should knock together a Brit style post, but frankly I’m still trying to figure some of it out.
“The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Awkward realization. Without exactly intending it it, this week’s content is moderately themed. Which wouldn’t be so bad if not for the fact that next week’s tales of adventure and mayhem are explicitly themed (and that theme, kittens, is chocolate so you know you’re going to love it). Regardless, the unintentional theme this week is decor!
On Saturday Katie and I met up to go to the Geffrye Museum of the Home, showcasing how the design, decoration, form, and function of British homes have evolved over the last 400 years.
There charmingly are even a couple resident cats who deigned to make my acquaintance in the midst of hunting pigeons.
The building itself is made of almshouses from the 18th century, originally built by Sir Robert Geffrye, but acquired by the London County Council early in the 20th. Instead of demolishing the site, it was turned into a museum and today holds authentic furnishings and home goods stretching from the 1600s right up though today. It’s focus is on the everyday life of the British middle class, which makes a nice change from most institutions which tend to focus on the Great and Important. Walk with me.
The 18th century buildings really are beautifully preserved and maintained.A 17th century dining and main family area.Early 18th century writing desk.18th century tea table – note the early teacups sans handles and the prominently displayed tea caddy!Georgian card table in a parlor.An early Victorian sitting room. I didn’t include any late Victorian stuff because frankly I find the design period hideous. I never claimed impartiality.Things calmed down significantly in the Aesthetic movement, so photos are allowed to resume.There was a whole room devoted to Mid-century design which was delightful, but I fell in love with the period television set.
It’s a wonderful museum and well worth a look in if you’re design minded. In their galleries there is currently another exhibit that I loved documenting the private history of homes around the UK. Current owners look into their the past of their dwellings and found some amazing things, including children’s toys under floorboard discovered during renovations, and tales of hauntings.
The museum is totally free (donations encouraged) and open Tuesday through Sunday.
“You can all go to hell; I will go to Texas” ― David Crockett
Explaining the US can be tricky, especially since the truth is that in spite of our best endeavors, we really are in many ways a “nation” of separate countries. The word “state” was precisely chosen as a replacement for “colony” when our upstart ancestors declared independence because it meant a sole, sovereign entity.
Which makes for fascinating political philosophy, I hear you ask, but what’s the point? Well, having lived there once (and I admit it was largely a negative experience, though I wouldn’t mind trying out Austin since I’ve heard good things), my family and I sometimes joke that Texas at its heart really is a separate country altogether. London recently confirmed my suspicions by way of a chalk artist in Trafalgar Square.
Wait for it…Confirmed!
Unless of course they’ve actually gone through with the threats of some of their most disgruntled citizens and seceded lately? Have I missed an announcement?
in Kindle edition! High five, Ashton!
Small Dog Syndrome 
