Hi friends!
In this issue we are recapping recent travels, kicking off summer with celebrations (both birthday and baby!) cooling off with frozen drinks and treats, recommending podcasts from other girls who like to gab and a stack of summer reads.
Happy shopping/eating/Cancer season!
Rach + Cait
Open Tabs
CP: Lately I’ve been zeroing in on ways to combat New York’s deeply humid days. This summer I anticipate I’ll be eating a lot of the Gelateria Gentile granita with crema, will partake in an annual pilgrimage to Long Island Bar for their frozen piña or cosmo (paired with a trip to Montague Diner for their giant grilled cheese), and will be routinely popping into Rigor Hill to try all of their exceptional ice cream flavors. After that, I’m angling to grab an iced americano and Zoe Kanan pastry at Elbow Bread, cool off in AC at Eel Bar and while homeware shopping at the gorgeous new showroom/store Quarters in Tribeca and tihngs, a cute and bright antique store in Ridgewood.
We are also about to head out on a west coast trip and I am THRILLED to be getting a dose of chill (mentally and physically) both at home in Portland and in LA! Can’t wait to first and foremost meet my new nephew, celebrate my Dad’s birthday (and mine the following day at the best bar in America, Someday) and then cosplay as LA residents in Silverlake for a few days to tackle all of the restaurants that I’ve been saving on the eastside there. I’ve been told it’s worth it to wait in line for the pizza and cake at Quarter Sheets, bagels at Courage and coffee at Maru, but I’m also earnestly excited to go to places in person whose owners I have followed for some time, like get a glass at Helen’s Wines (RIP to Wineface podcast, the best!), have an espresso and encourage Mike to buy something at Ghiaia, eat at Ètra — the list goes on! Find my obscene map of almost 100 places I want to go in southern CA here.
As part of this, I’m of course shopping for the trip. I have my eyes on this silk tie shirt, maybe this crochet crop top, these or these hoops and brown bags like this Casa Ayllon bag and this woven Dragon Diffusion one. I also need a dress for my birthday (35 feels important!) and am compelled by this one from Mr Larkin but might save it for a future girls trip to New Orleans.
RKH: 35 absolutely is important. So excited to see you so soon!! Feel free to just … not … board your flight back to NYC. 😇
I have so many open tabs re: general inspo and new brands I fell in love with during my trip to Paris back in May - I’m honestly so proud of the restraint I showed (but don’t worry, will get into the restraint I did *not* show in closed tabs below). Some highlights … we stumbled upon the cutest little home goods store, Les Saintes Cheries, with such a great selection of ceramics and textiles. I tried on a 1990s Cartier Baignoire in silver at Antoine de Macedo, and just need a loan of $10K to add her to my life.
I’ve been obsessively scrolling Petite Mendigote, Essentiel Antwerp, Maison Chateigner (specifically the Albert dress), Momoni and Sandro. At Petite Mendigote I really loved everything, but the bags in particular really caught my eye - the belt bag in denim or metallic silver, the Servan bag in ecru, and the Serion raffia bag in either natural or black. From Essentiel Antwerp, truly everything, but the pink maxi dress is so cute for summer, or I love the white embroidered mini dress too (attn: summer 2024 brides!). I love Momoni’s lurex tops with the subtle sparkle - the sand colored button down and the emerald green cut off style tee are on my list! Also die for this long striped linen coat. Their lingerie is so pretty, too. From Sandro (also currently having a Fourth of July sale!) - the satiny wide leg shorts and matching oversized top in green, these crochet knit trousers, this embroidered skirt and crop top (which feels *very* similar to this Zimmerman set we linked a few issues ago!), this knitted dress, raffia sandals, and this floaty patterned shirt.
Also came across some very cute kids brands, like Holi & Love, Mathilde Cabanas and Petit Pan (also very cute home things!). In my cart specifically: this quilted bag (or this one!), this summer blanket, and this door mat.
Closed Tabs
CP: Over Memorial Day, we went to Portland, Maine and it really surpassed my already high expectations. We stayed at Blind Tiger and it was very walkable to everything and right around the corner from Tandem Bakery, which has one of the best biscuits I’ve ever tasted. Highlights included — dinner at Wayside Tavern, drinks at Room for Improvement, dunkaroos (with homemade frosting!) at Maps, coffee at Smalls, an insaneeee tuna melt at Palace Diner, wings and an array of sauces from Crispy Gai, vintage shopping at Viand Mercantile, sneaking onto private beaches with novelty towels we just bought because we forgot to bring blankets, seeing approx 1,000 silly vanity plates and having deep convos in the car rides up and back from New York. It was also a bucket list check to be able to squeeze in a visit to the Met Costume exhibit with Jess, since we have been texting each other our favorite ensembles every first Monday in May year over year.
I made some pre-trip panic orders that actually delivered! I got these drawstring starchy cotton pants from Deiji Studios and have worn them a ton since. Also, these shell-adjacent earrings converted me to being open to clip-ons. Lastly, I snagged these black strappy St Agni flat sandals to complete my interpretation of “coastal grandma” (the given brief) and they proved yet again why St Agni is a favorite brand for cool, quality items.
RKH: Paris purchases and a few recs! Let’s get into it. For vintage and antique shopping, had success at Thnx God I’m a VIP, Such a Crush, Katre and of course just perusing the flea markets. I could have spent an entire day just picking up and putting down random items at the various stalls. In true Rachel fashion, of course I bought things I very much do not need and just fed into my ongoing obsession with fun jackets and impractical bags. I did buy a silk scarf that I’m excited to play with wearing as a top this summer! At the flea market happening at the base of Sacré-Cœur, I snagged a few Limoges boxes as souvenirs (my mom is a collector and she’s put me onto them!), some very sweet vintage baby clothes, a few silver picture frames, and hand embroidered floral cocktail napkins. Also of course I have to recommend a stop at Galeries Lafayette (can be touristy but worth a visit, IMO!) and the APC surplus store. Inspired by a TikTok rec, also purchased some monogrammed lip balm compacts at L’Officine Universelle Buly - a hack is to order online for in-store pick up if you don’t want to wait in the long line of people hoping to get social content. I did also end up grabbing a little green Goyard card holder and it just makes me happy when I use it!
On the restaurants/drinks/pastries front, also must recommend Parcelles, Madonna, Le Voltaire, Frenchie Bar a Vin, Racines, Le Syndicat and Odette (Cait’s rec!). Experience wise, we also loved going to a show at Crazy Horse! Between that and watching Taylor’s athleticism for three hours on stage, I’m very inspired to work out. We love a high/low mix when it comes to beauty and skincare, and I have to recommend making time for both shopping at the local pharmacies and getting the skin analysis and facial at Ambassade Biologique Recherche. My skincare buys from both: Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse, Nuxe Melting Sun Cream, A313 (obviously!), Caudalie Vinoperfect glycolic night cream, peel mask and brightening serum, and the Biologique Recherche elastine serum, Biokiss lip balm (so good), and the creme masque vernix VG. And last but not least, I have to recommend our hotel, Grands Boulevards! We loved it - perfect location, well designed, excellent service and very comfortable.
On the pre-trip panic purchase front, I bought this phone chain to use in situations when the purse was too tiny. I’d been contemplating an Ossa chain (specifically the pavé strawberries), but wanted to make sure I actually liked the concept in practice before spending that much on something so seemingly silly - but the verdict is in: I love it! I still have it on my phone and find it to actually be so useful when your hands are full.
A few more recent closed tab highlights - my mom hosted the sweetest baby shower for me at Cafe Olli, and for favors we gave guests these mini cloud candles + custom matchbooks from this Etsy shop. She was so speedy and easy to work with! Have to recommend for your future matchbook needs. We drove over to Juniper Preserve for a little babymoon and had such a nice time just relaxing by the pool and walking around. On our way out of town we drove through Sisters, and stopped into Big Chief Vintage - the best curated selection of denim, workwear and leather and suede jackets. A must visit if you’re passing through! And lastly, I have to highlight my favorite new addition to our neighborhood: Cornet Custard. Not to be dramatic, but it’s some of the best ice cream I’ve ever had. Specifically the strawberry shortcake flavor - run don’t walk!
[The Met / Maine shopping / A Paris vintage must-visit / APC Surplus]
Open Books
CP: Got distracted in McNally Jackson the other day and grabbed an Eve Babitz Slow Days and Fast Company ahead of our trip to LA, which I think will feel very meta to read while there as she is the patron saint of writing about Los Angeles. I also got Last Summer in the City, a translated Italian book about “a city smoldering under the summer sun and la dolce vita,” which hopefully will feel like a thematic treat during these hot and humid days. Lastly, I’m curious about the new release Bright and Tender Dark, a new novel about an unsolved murder on a college campus.
RKH: I just finished what I think may be one of my favorite books of 2024 - Margo’s Got Money Troubles. It felt breezy but still substantial enough to hook you. I was sad when it was over! A few others that received either 4 or 5 stars from me on Goodreads: Sociopath: A Memoir, Boy Parts, Worry, Such a Bad Influence and Beautyland (also a best books of 2024 contender for me!). Up next in the Kindle queue: All Fours by Miranda July, Oh, Sister, and Martyr!
CP: I actually just finished All Fours this week! What a frenzy of a book. Need your thoughts as soon as you’re done.
Open Obsessions
CP: My current shot-in-the-arm of joy is podcasts where two female friends provide cultural commentary together. For those with strong feelings about Bennifer, Bridgerton and whether Paul Mescal sharing a cigarette with Natalie Portman is the spark (ha!) of a new romance, Lemme Say This is for you. I started following cohost Peyton when I was living/breathing social and she was running it for InStyle and have been obsessed with her smart takes and her mom guessing celebrities videos ever since. Her cohost, , is oft-mentioned in OT for her newsletter where she writes weekly laugh-out-loud drill downs into things like Bradley Cooper’s new beard. The combo of these two is simply electric.
On the other side of the spectrum/pond, Caroline O’Donahue’s new installment of “Continental Garbage” is no exception to her usual genius. Caroline and her friend Jen interrailed around Europe and discussed movies about traveling abroad. Or, as they put it, “how Americans perceive a trip to Europe will fix their life” (very me). They cover Eat Pray Love (a DVD I owned and watched repeatedly), Under the Tuscan Sun and Before Sunrise. Their dialogue prompted me to *finally* watch the “Before” series, after years of my brother telling me it was phenomenal. It was and he continues his streak of being the person whose taste I trust the most! Caroline and Jen also did a one-off about The Tortured Poets Department including tidbits about if Travis Kelce should voice a cartoon raccoon in a future Pixar movie (he should) and whether Taylor would be a good step-mom (she would), if that tempts anyone.
RKH: Oh what a good open obsession! I have yet to start Continental Garbage and this is the endorsement I need, both to start listening and to also actually watch the “Before” series.
Like everyone else, I can’t stop listening to the new Charli xcx album - specifically The girl, so confusing version featuring Lorde. And more broadly, I am just obsessed with all of the summer bops coming out right now (is this how all of our brain’s feel these days?!). Is there anything better than driving around with the windows down and AC on (sorry but it’s the best combo), with your little iced coffee listening to that’s that me espresso?!
CP: As someone who “rides for” Lorde, I also loved this! That Brat green and font really are everywhere/so Julia. Pop music is healing!
That’s all for issue #9! To see more of what we ate, linked to or chatted about in this letter, follow our Instagram @opentabsletter or shop all of our issues here.