Discover more from All's Well by Nadine Zylberberg
Hi friends! Each week or so here, I offer up things I enjoy reading, watching, doing, wearing. Sometimes, I notice a theme emerge: heat, family, coziness. Today’s is a little nebulous, but I’m feeling it has to do with time: how it shapes us, how we spend it, how we immortalize it. A chef recounts the years that made her who she is. An actor shares how art helps us cope with the passage of time. A kitchen altar to make memories holy. Even a dang sweater, which marks the start of a new season. Is it a stretch? I don’t know, but this is my newsletter! And with that, here’s to appreciating time and spending it well. Happy Friday to you.
Well Read
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Ina Garten’s first cookbook came out 25 years ago; she’s since published 12 others. And most recently, she came out with her first memoir. If reads like a love story, that’s because it is. The celebrated chef and cookbook author pinpoints the moment her life changed when she met Jeffrey at 16 years old. With him, she discovered her voice, her confidence, and her love of food beyond its role as mere sustenance. It’s a breezy read that I’ve been toting with me around town, getting a few pages in here and there. A little jolt of inspiration each time. Though Ina was brought up in the ’50s, there are lessons to be learned about the ways in which she trusted her gut from early on. Sometimes, things didn’t pan out, like when she bought a house hoping to renovate it, but had to sell it when she realized the renovation would cost more than the house itself. Sometimes, they did, like when she bought a specialty food store in the Hamptons (before it became “the Hamptons”) and only grew from there. And so goes the title of her book: Be ready when the luck happens. Words to live by! You can find her book here. And since I did technically recommend this a couple of weeks ago (before actually reading it), here are two more food memoirs I can safely vouch for:
Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton, founder of the New York restaurant Prune. I love the way she writes about food and frustrations and life.
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain, no introduction needed. He transformed food writing and it all began here.
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The beauty of Instagram! I recently came across Loryn Brantz’s page and am now eagerly anticipating her upcoming book of parenting poems. She covers everything from soft bellies to mom friends to food prep. And she hits the emotional nail on the head every time, like here:
Well Watched
We just wrapped up the Netflix series Nobody Wants This, a rom-com that follows an agnostic sex podcaster (Kristen Bell) who falls in love with a rabbi (Adam Brody, swoon). The chemistry is amazing, the secondary characters (namely the protagonists’ siblings) are amazing, and it’s just the funny-but-also-kinda-deep watch I was looking for. It’s based on writer Erin Foster’s own conversion story and it’s quippy and real in all the right places. It got me thinking about great and realistic portrayals of American Jewry onscreen. I once asked Bottoms director Emma Seligman for her picks, and here’s what she said (titles below to save you the suspense). All five are classics, and I’m curious what you would add to the list. Give me a shout! (For what it’s worth, and I’m not sure why, The Wedding Singer feels like a Jewish movie to me and a deeply nostalgic one. And of course, Seligman’s Shiva Baby makes the cut!)
Well Heard
Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh’s new movie, We Live in Time, promises to be a heartbreaker. It follows Almut and Tobias’ love story over a decade, from the quotidian moments to dealing with illness. I’m excited to watch it; from the trailer alone, it has the energy of the 2013 Richard Curtis film About Time. Trailer here:
In a new episode of New York Times’ Modern Love podcast, where subjects select an essay from the archive to read and discuss, Andrew Garfield picks an essay about time, love, and loss, themes that emerge in his new movie. He shares some of his thoughts about the feelings it evokes. At certain points, it overwhelms him:
“I don’t know why it’s affecting me so deeply. But —I feel this man’s writing — for all of us, it feels like he’s tapping into something so universal — A longing to be here.
And there are moments in our film when I watched it in Toronto with an audience where all I saw was — it was in the quiet moments, particularly after a diagnosis or something heavy — all I saw was two people that want to live. They’re not asking for much. They just want their fair shot at creating a life. And I think that’s all of us. I think we all just want a fair shot at creating a life.”
Find more Modern Love episodes here.
Well Fed
There’s something so comforting about the messiness of a dinner table. I don’t mean messy mess, but rather hints of imperfection, in other words, real life. Table linens that are a bit wrinkly, mismatched napkins, small chips on the underside of plates. I like when different pieces have stories: this pitcher was purchased on vacation, these utensils survived five different moves, these napkins were bought to support a small Ukranian business. It’s the stuff of a real lived life and it’s the best.
Somewhat in the same vein, when I came across Joy the Baker’s guide to making a kitchen altar a couple of weeks ago, I felt a jolt of coziness and of home. I didn’t know what a kitchen altar was, but now I feel like I’ve seen them everywhere—little tchotchkes assembled somewhere in the center of the home. There’s something about bringing intention and meaning to a place as quotidian as a kitchen. Why not?!
In my world, it might be filled with more practical things, but special nonetheless: a candle, palo santo, matches, a small dish for keys, a little glass heart a shop owner once gave me, a mini snow globe from Tokyo, a picture of my kids. Here’s how Joy does it.
Well Worn
I have a sweater problem. I own too many and yet I always find an excuse to buy another. They seem to be the article of clothing I most covet on others; I see a lady with a great sweater and I can’t shake it! Call me crazy, you wouldn’t be the first:
I wish this wasn’t a regular conversation with my friend Celine, but it is. (And for the record, I did buy the sweater in question. I love it.) Anyway, may my obsession be of use to someone, anyone, maybe you? As temperatures start to drop (in New York, anyway), here are a few good sweaters on my mind:
Argyle is a pattern I never thought would work on me. Maybe it still doesn’t, but right now, it’s all I want, namely in the form of this Lingua Franca knit polo. This does the same thing. And this with more color.
This Cos mohair sweater is 1970s fun.
This Dries van Noten sweater veers a little close to Sesame Street territory, but Instagram fashion head Eva Chen dressed it up nicely and I want the whole look.
This is a plain ol’ sweatshirt, but I am really digging teal right now, so it’s on the list. A close second: this Ralph Lauren Western-inspired in blue. And in left-field, this floral one with an attachable scarf that I’m still questioning, but the print is great so who cares?
The perfect v-neck sweater! I like a high v these days and this one is super thin and an excellent shade of red.
Aflalo is the new brand from Reformation founder Yael Aflalo and it might just have the perfect cashmere crewneck. This one comes close, for less.
If you prefer cotton, Babaà is the gold standard, but Gap is making a compelling argument at $79.95 plus frequent discounts.
Because I also shop for my husband, here are four men’s sweaters that I would happily borrow without asking: LEJ’s shadow patch mock neck (worn so well by Paul Mescal in this Esquire profile), this Bode tic tac toe sweater, this cashmere crew from Cos, and an Alex Mill cashmere cardigan.
And here, Jenny Lyons—of J.Crew and Real Housewives fame—teaches us how to properly wash a sweater. Thank god.
And here, a slightly goofy, but probably brilliant, way to hang your sweaters.
Wishing you a great fall weekend, and an easy fast to those observing Yom Kippur tonight. More soon.