A closet saga with a happy ending, a Moncrief London bag, a novel about a girl who cannot stop moving, and a Hackney home that is all frames.
The closet pole is back in the wall. Three extra holes had to be patched after a couple of false starts, but it is reinforced now with an extra bracket and it is not going anywhere. For those of you who were following along, the drama is officially over.
Two large bags went out the door to the thrift store. I have made a silent pledge to myself (and now a not-so-silent one to all of you) that I do not need another dress this season, the next, or possibly the one after that. Bags and shoes I cannot promise anything about. In fact, I ordered a beautiful burgundy bag from TJ Maxx last week, it arrived Saturday, and it is gorgeous. Moncrief London makes beautiful bags, and lately both TJ Maxx and Marshalls have been carrying a steady supply. Classic design, beautifully made. If you have been looking for a Fall/Winter bag, keep an eye out. You will love them.
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The Weekend
Aside from the closet victory and the new bag, I did absolutely nothing this weekend. Nothing. Bill was out for the day Saturday, the house was quiet except for me clattering around and the pups barking occasionally when someone walked past or rode by on a golf cart. I baked a little Sunday afternoon with the games on in the background, which is the way Sunday afternoon should go. Slow. Quiet.
It was exactly what I needed.
What I Am Reading
A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke.
Paris, 1885. Aubry Tourvel is nine years old, stubborn, spoiled by her own admission, and on her way home from school when she comes across a wooden puzzle ball on the ground. She tosses it over a fence. It turns up in her backpack that evening. Days later, sitting at the family dinner table, she begins to bleed to death.
When every treatment makes her worse, she flees to the outskirts of the city and discovers something impossible: it is the act of moving that keeps her alive. Not exercise. Movement. Travel. She cannot stay anywhere for more than a few days. She cannot return to any place she has already been. What begins as a medical mystery becomes a lifetime of wandering: the Calanshio Sand Sea, the peaks of the Himalayas, a bottomless well in a Parisian courtyard, an underground library of impossible size.
The novel is described as spellbinding, and that is not an overstatement. Aubry is fiercely independent and full of longing in equal measure. She wants a life she cannot have. She wants to share what she sees with people she cannot stay long enough to know. The book is about what it costs to keep moving when what you want most is to stop. And it is about whether a life that cannot be ordinary can still be a life that is fully, beautifully lived.
What I Watched
Homeworthy England, specifically the Hackney home of antique dealer and collector Farang Wren. She calls herself a magpie, which is exactly right. More than a decade of collecting has layered every surface, wall, and corner of this house with art, antiques, and remarkable finds. She is best known for vintage and antique frames, and she has over a thousand of them throughout the property, which sounds like it should be overwhelming and somehow is not. Each frame adds to the character of the room rather than competing with it. There is a lesson in there somewhere about the difference between collecting and accumulating.
Follow Farang on Instagram at @farangwrenframes.
Outfit of the Week
It’s hot and sunny outside and my emails are filled with not only Fall but Winter looks. Today I put together an outfit with a fair isle sweater, one of my favorite looks for the cool seasons. I paired this bright cheerful fuschia sweater with classic black wool trousers, loafers, coat and a Moncrief bag. You can create the same look by shopping your closet.
Outfit Seperates
I hope your weekend was a slow one too, or at least that it had a slow hour in it somewhere. There is real value in a weekend where the biggest accomplishment is a cleaner closet and a good book. Tell me what you are reading right now. I am always looking for the next one, and this community has never steered me wrong.
If you missed Weekend Meanderings Kim, Juliet and I had lots to share!
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On My Radar
Yay for the closet repair and purge. Nothing like that sort of thing to make us reassess what is in our closets. Had a fairly ordinary weekend and began reading Yesteryear for my October book club meeting. Not sure about it just yet. I also just finished Never Let Me Go…very different kind of plot. Not for everyone but found it intriguing. Have a great week.
I am reading A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella at the suggestion of another blogger. I’m enjoying it so far, mostly I think because I like the people. Today I picked up The Girl Who Reads on the Métro from the library at your suggestion. And thank you for the list of library resources to check out. Fortunately, the town recently voted funding for the library for another ten years. My favorite book this summer was The Rooster Bar (2017) by John Grisham. He takes aim at ICE (could have been written yesterday), the student loan industry, and diploma mills. Though serious subjects, some of it is just hilarious and a great ending.
Hi Elizabeth,
Beautiful handbag, I have a burgundy one already, otherwise I may have purchased this one. It looks very nice and well made. I am glad you decided to treat yourself to something special.
Yippee for your closet victory. I donated 21 bags (huge black trash bags) to the Goodwill last summer. The sad thing is I inadvertently mixed up two of the keepers with the rest of them. When I went to look for some of my super nice keepers everything was donated. I had a little what and cry and my husband said he did not want to hear my sad story again. Hopefully everything went to good homes. It was the best stuff too. I do not need all these clothes I guess. Even my good leggings got sent, hmmm. Have you ever made a oh my goof like this one?
Katherine, I am so sorry about your treasured pieces going to the thrist store! That would cause me to have more than a little cry. I too hope that all of your favorites found good homes.
Have a wonderful week my friend. I hope that the weather is cooling off.