March Roundup
For this month’s roundup, I’m taking a bit of a different approach and simply dumping a true mix of things I ate, made, learned, watched, etc over the last 31 days. Less curated, less words, potentially more fun? Let‘s try it out:
(01) PERFECT DAYS
The latest film from Wim Wenders follows the daily routine of Hirayama, a man who lives in Tokyo cleaning public toilets for a living. If you like a movie that is action-packed it probably isn’t for you, but I personally loved the minimal slice-of-life approach. I think it’s also always a treat to experience and observe a way of living so foreign to my own (in many more ways than one).
(02) GOLD HITS A RECORD HIGH
Gold hit an all-time high this month — which while not great news for me, is great for any customers that have ever bought a gold piece from me 🥲
It’s wild to remember that when I first started working with gold in 2017, prices were ~$1300/oz — this month they breached $2200/oz. That’s about a 70% increase in just seven years!
If investing in stocks/bonds/crypto intimidates you, perhaps try investing in gold… it’s a bit more fun, too 😉
(03) DARNING WORKSHOP
Re: a different type of investment, this past month I took part in a virtual darning workshop hosted by Repair Shop, a research and learning studio investigating maintenance, craft, and design.
One of the most striking takeaways was realizing how much our society has replaced a culture of repair with one of disposal — back in the day, you might’ve only ever owned one dress in your lifetime, so you would take great care of it and repair it when damaged.
The workshop was empowering and served as a reminder that, in addition to being deliberate with the items we purchase in the first place, we also have the ability (the responsibility, perhaps) to invest in what we already own.
(04) NEW: POLISHING CLOTHS
On the topic of taking care, you can now purchase Abel polishing cloths to help maintain your jewelry (+ other metal belongings). There are a lot of subpar cloths out there, but these are professional-grade like the ones jewelers use. I made a video showing how to use them here.
(05) GOOD HAPPY HOUR WINE
Winona’s is about a 15-minute walk from my studio, and I went twice this past month for their apéro (aka happy) hour. While it feels lame to order the same thing over and over again, I can’t get enough of this wine (pictured below). At $9/glass during happy hour (normally $17), it’s not a bad deal, either!
(06) A NEW KIND OF SPA
I’ve had the same hairdresser since 2015; over the years, Ritsu has become my friend (she even did the hair and makeup for my very first Abel shoot!). While she still cuts hair at a salon in the city, she also recently opened a dry head spa in Greenpoint with her friend, called Tetote.
Whenever I’ve gotten my hair cut by Ritsu the shampoo part has been my favorite because she throws in a little head massage that feels amazing. I never want that part to end. I’m thrilled that I can now book an appointment with her and get a head massage, no haircut needed!
(07) HOMEMADE PAPUSAS
My friends and I attempted to make papusas using the recipe from Jorge Gaviria's cookbook Masa. While only mildly successful, there is always great satisfaction in trying to make something completely out of your comfort zone. My takeaway tip if you want to try this yourself: you will need way less fillings than you anticipate.
(08) A NIGHT AT CARNEGIE
A group of friends and I got tickets to see the Rotterdam Orchestra at Carnegie Hall for one of our birthdays. We all live in Brooklyn and don’t regularly attend classical music concerts, so it was a very novel and fun group outing for us. I think this was the most musicians I've ever seen playing at the same time and it kind of blew my mind.
Okay — so I'm not that great at being succinct, but I was able to fit more things in this month. What do you think of this format compared to the previous two months? Shoot me a message at 917-905-9492 with any and all thoughts, and thanks for reading!
