Having been relatively unemployed for some time now, I've had to be fairly stingy where treating myself is concerned. A couple weeks ago though, after another late night session on craigslist trolling the depths of the cesspool otherwise known as "Gigs," I came across a marketing firm that was offering a $25 Amazon.com giftcard for thirty minutes spent reviewing a new website.
The company's address was in the same wing of the Chelsea Markets as the Food Network offices, so how shady could it be, right? My Amazon wishlist is always a mile long, and I didn't have much else going on...So, after a painless half-hour spent spewing my inner monologue into a computer monitor, I emerged victorious, with twenty-five internet dollars burning a hole in my pocket.
What to buy with those $25 was a no-brainer. A few days before, I had taken advantage of my favorite library (aka Barnes & Noble) to compare a few books I had been itching to own. After carefully inspecting The Sartorialist
, Facehunter
, and The Selby Is in Your Place
, I decided hands down that The Selby Is in Your Place takes the cake.Not only are the photos amazing (duh) but it contains an exciting mix of old favorites (Bill and Fanny, Helena Christensen, above) from the blog along with new, print-exclusive homes (like Lou Doillon's, above top.) The book itself is also just beautifully put together in a simple, unfussy, but incredibly charming way. I honestly can't recommend it enough!
On the subject of treats: last week, while strolling through the Union Square Greenmarket, I came across a sight that literally made my heart leap. A small stand was selling nothing but buckets and buckets of freshly bundled Lilly of the Valley! These have always been a sort of mythical, storybook flower to me, something strictly confined to mossy dells and Brian Jacques novels. I would always beg my mom to try and grow them in our garden, but they rarely seemed happy and never actually lived long enough to bloom.
I had to stop myself from spending a week's grocery money on a whole bucket, and brought this little bundle home instead, which I set in my Roost teapot. I'd always had the sneaking suspicion that "Lilly of the Valley" was a scent solely invented by Crabtree & Evelyn--I mean really, what flower could actually smell like that?? But they do! A bit like roses, but more so, and entirely unique. And worth every penny.
