Discover more from All's Well by Nadine Zylberberg
Hi! How are you? Me, I have completely gone down the where-is-Kate-Middleton rabbit hole. To briefly catch you up, the Royal Family announced in January that Kate had undergone abdominal surgery and would be out of the public eye for some time. On UK Mother’s Day, they published a photoshopped image of Kate with her kids, which launched a real slew of conspiracy theories regarding her whereabouts. Both the Royal Family’s botched piece of damage control and the social media frenzy that ensued are… ridiculous, for lack of a better word, and I can’t get enough. Please send all theories my way.
Before we proceed, I should mention that my more athletic half, Coby, is running a half marathon this Sunday, in support of my sister-in-law Sara, raising awareness (and dollars!) for Type 1 diabetes through JDRF. We are so proud! You can donate here if you wish. Also, Sara, my brother Ezi, and my friend Mel are running in the Glucose Gang too, so send your support their way. And if you’re in NYC, come watch them make the truly heroic (in my eyes) run from Prospect Park to Central Park. We’ll be the crew with posters and babies in tow.
Onto some other things:
Well Watched
It’s funny to mark your years in Oscars. I remember watching the awards ceremony with friends in college and while studying abroad in Paris and staying up way too late. I remember working my first show (Envelopegate!) and traveling back to LA for it after I moved to New York. I remember watching it with one baby and, now, with two babies! Needless to say, I’ve seen embarassingly few nominated films this year. And yet, there’s always a reason to tune in. My favorite moments included Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s Best Supporting Actress win (and when former winners came out to introduce the nominees) as well as Emma Stone’s Best Actress win. Her combined expressions of terror (about her ripped dress) and panic and gratitude and wonder and overwhelming love—for her daughter specifically—embodied what we love most about these speeches. They’re live! Shortly after the broadcast ended, I came across this earlier Vulture piece on Stone’s acting evolution. It’s a nice primer on how she got to this moment, two Oscars in and the world ahead of her. In a way, she feels a little like the Katharine Hepburn of our time and I’m into it.
Of course, there’s also Ryan Gosling’s energetic performance of “I’m Just Ken.” Did you miss it? Give it a watch!
Then watch “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” and let’s talk:
Well Fed
It feels rude that Campell’s limited-edition Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup is only available via sweepstakes (and, eventually, select stores—but not for long). I can almost taste it! Can’t we all? It’s the next best food pairing after cookies and milk. It’s the taste of summer camp. It’s not talked about enough. Until I can get my hands on a can, I’ll be experimenting with grilled cheese sandwich compositions generally, inspired by a recent sandwich that involved avocado and a parmesan crust. Some ideas: French onion grilled cheese, zucchini grilled cheese, mac & cheese grilled cheese, and this simple, but quite possibly perfect, classic grilled cheese. It’s amazing the ways you can riff off two slices of bread and some gruyere.
Well Drawn
Swap “blue dinosaur” for “Elsa figurine.” Or “wooden train whistle.” Or “tiny Japanese snowglobe.” This week’s pick, via Ellis Rosen’s Instagram, feels all too relevant to my glamourous life of motherhood.
Well Worn
Before I move on to the planned Well Worn, a quick shout-out to my favorite Oscar get-ups from Sunday night: Carey Mulligan, Justine Triet, and Shona Heath. Elegant, energetic, and personal, in that order!
Onto the rest: The brooch trend has been brewing over the last year-plus, but it really came to a fever pitch this awards season, as the best-dressed men were all wearing them. Jeremy Allen White, Cillian Murphy, and Simu Liu, for example. Fashionable ladies, like Leandra Medine Cohen and Jenny Walton, have been wearing them, too, and now, I can’t unsee a great brooch on the street when it passes me by.
It’s easy to go down a rabbit hole here because Etsy and 1st Dibs seem to have endless brooch inventory to scroll through. Here are some of my favorites:
A Dali hand brooch from Agmes, my #1 pick and the only one of the bunch that I am dangerously close to buying. Can’t help it! Ayo Edebiri wore it in her recent Vogue shoot, which only encourages me more. This spiral from Etsy is similar in look and feel.
This one isn’t too far behind: A dainty beauty from Tiffany & Co. without the exorbitant price tag of the diamond-encrusted alternative. Elsa Peretti’s designs are timeless.
I love the art deco style of this diamond and amethyst brooch that you can also turn into a necklace (and at that price, why wouldn’t you?) Ben Amun has more accessible crystal brooches to try the trend on before leaning in hard. But maybe I like this Oscar de la Renta one the most, particularly the subtle gold blooms that hang off the leaf.
Bird brooches can feel fusty or, with the right design and corresponding look, so right for changing seasons. I like this Jean Cocteau-style one a lot, but there’s also something to this adorable yellow finch.
I don’t love a blatant branded brooch, but Etro makes a nice, subtly logo’d one. Margiela does great sculptural things with burgundy and blue. One more burgundy brooch from Margiela to consider, too.
We have to include flowers here, right? I love how this red rose is slightly squished. And this Chanel tweed camellia would look great on a jean jacket (or anything, really). This pink gardenia is one of many well-priced brooches from M&S Schmalberg, whose flowers have adorned everything from Vera Wang dresses to the windows of Harry Winston.
Then there’s the miscellaneous list of elegant pieces like this mixed-metal knot, this Givenchy feather (buy it so I don’t!), this Tiffany double leaf, and an embellished elephant.
That’s it for now. More soon!