Author: cdelacuadra

Always a reader. Sometimes a traveler. Usually an archivist. Often a writer. Frequently a musician. Constantly a student of life.

Stayings and doings

~ cdelacuadra ~ Leave a comment

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It feels like this week has lasted half a lifetime, no?  Our lives are becoming very different, day by day.  After several weeks of will-they-won’t-they, I am now working from home for at least the next five weeks.  The state of California has issued a directive to stay home except for essential errands.  All non-essential businesses are closed in Los Angeles County.  And around the globe, many, many people are sick.

It is easy to feel helpless or despairing at times like these.  A global COVID-19 pandemic is certainly cause for concern, alarm, caution, and consideration.  That being said, with an abundance of care, we can make it through this together.  Some tips and musings below:

  • Stay at home as much as you can.  If you need to get groceries or take-out, delivery or no-contact pickup options are available, and currently many business are offering these services at no extra charge.
  • Don’t hoard things.  Supply chains right now should be keeping up with needs just fine, put people panicking has some shelves empty.  Containing this virus depends on ALL of us washing our hands and disinfecting around us.  Buy only what you’ll need for a few weeks, and leave some for everyone else.
  • If you can do so comfortably without straining your own household expenditures, consider buying gift cards to support your favorite local restaurants and small businesses.  Your purchase will help then through a difficult period, and you get a treat or a meal out later.  Win-win!
  • Focus on what you can do rather than what you can’t.  I have been coping by cleaning and organizing areas of my home when the mood strikes, for example.  I cannot help overburdened hospitals in Italy from my living room per se, but I can stay put and clean out my refrigerator.  So far over the last couple weeks I cleaned out my closet and sent a bag of items to thredUP to be sold or recycled (get $10 to shop when you click here), cleaned out my pantry and refrigerator, replaced my duvet cover with this beauty, and got these excellent bins to organize my newly-clean fridge.  Some people have joked this is stir-crazy fifth-week-of-quarantine level stuff, but I figure if I’m going to be home all the time, I might as well be able to enjoy a tidy space!
  • Find a balance.  If you live alone, make sure to keep yourself connected by reaching out by phone or online.  If you are suddenly working from home with a partner and/or kids, carve out time for yourself as best you can.  We live in a smallish apartment, so my husband and I are trading off using our desk space at home.  I need to keep more regular business hours, so I use our area during the day.  He needs to keep in contact with his job but has more flexibility with when he does his work, so he’s been using our work space in the evenings.  We do have two desks, but this way we aren’t on top of each other in a small space all day every day.
  • And lastly, go easy on yourself.  We have so much to worry about right now that it can feel all-consuming.  Cozy up in bed for an extra few minutes.  Take things a day at a time.  If that feels like too much, just focus on your morning.  Then your afternoon.  Then your evening.  Give yourself time to rest, make sure you are nourished, and maybe try to take joy in small things as best you can.  We are all in this together, even while we stay at least 6 feet apart.

Cozying in

~ cdelacuadra ~ Leave a comment

It looks like a lot of us will be cozying in and social distancing for a few days or weeks thanks to the COVID-19 virus pandemic.  Please everyone take good care and limit potential exposure, wash your hands, and remember we are all in this together.  Find a balance that works for you in terms of staying informed vs. bad-news overload, maybe buy a gift card to a local restaurant to help them through the slump (plus you get an outing later!), take precautions, and get some rest.

In the meantime, I realized I haven’t yet shared the new mix of throw pillows I have in my living room.  I was feeling drawn to warm neutrals, so I swapped out a few for a fresh, casual new vibe.  It seems like this is a view I might have for a bit — I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

swirls  round  velvet  quilted  striped  half-moon (similar)  geometric  squiggles  throw

 

Friday links

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Happy Friday everyone!  We made it!  I just had to share some really excellent links from this week — happy reading and please enjoy.

Why you should rescue a dog.  This will make you teary at the very least.  Maybe make you sob.  But in a good way.

Women are still being punished for being unapologetically competent.  If we don’t apologize for being good at what we do, we get punished.  Elizabeth Warren is only the most recent.  Bonus: a poem on this topic by the ever-amazing Kate Baer.

Coronavirus advice for kids (and all of us!)

It’s going, my friend.  Yes! Exactly.

So so happy for Henry James Garrett for getting his book published!  I cannot wait to read this book on empathy and kindness.  Also, if you are not following him and his delightful comics on Instagram yet, here you go, and you’re welcome.

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

 

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Tiny but mighty

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Easy neutrals to ease into spring, including the sweetest little mini bag and cheetah mules to give a little zhuzh to classic stripes, denim, and pearls?  Yes, please!

I thought I would be the last person on Earth to buy into the mini bag trend, but I am obsessed with my new Coach Originals half moon coin case.  It’s 4 inches wide!  Tiny but mighty!  A few cards and my ID, keys, lip balm, and then I slip my phone in my pocket.  Perfectly light and easy, it’s both on-trend and a true classic.

striped linen sweater  denim jacket  skinny jeans  cheetah mules  mini crossbody  pearl hoop earrings

Suffrage

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I was having a conversation with a friend recently about movies and nostalgia, and childhood. Somehow we got to Mary Poppins, which I haven’t watched in years but remember very fondly. I feel sheepish even typing this, but all of a sudden a realization hit me like a thunderbolt — Jane and Michael’s mother was a suffragette. I remembered (barely) her “votes for women!” line in the song Step in Time, but I never connected the dots. Mrs. Banks was depicted as a bad mom, neglectful and flighty, because she spent her time blithely campaigning for a woman’s right to vote rather than staying at home with her children. She had a nanny. A nanny who had to show Jane and Michael love and care with a sprinkle of magic, because their parents were blind to their emotional needs.

I’m not sure if it is sadder that this movie depicts a suffragette as a terrible mother, or that it took me decades to realize it. Sexism, female subjugation, and the expectations of motherhood are so deeply ingrained in our patriarchal society that even a self-professed feminist can be blind to things that are painfully obvious. That Mrs. Banks trades in her sash and signs for kite-flying with her family at the end of the film seems obvious, the perfect ending. Another woman perfectly tucked away, motherly and nonthreatening. And I didn’t even notice.

Women, the vote, and societal expectations are big topics on my mind these days as we head through the primaries and towards Super Tuesday. We have two remaining female candidates for the Democratic nomination, both of which have bucked the societal expectation that women shut up, stay home, and mother their children. And there is a nation full of women who have the right to vote, when less than 100 years ago we did not. I don’t want this moment in time to go unnoticed. And I don’t want the sacrifices of so many women a century ago to go unnoticed. Send in your ballots, get out and vote next week, and make sure people take notice. Let’s make this our time.

Beauty picks

~ cdelacuadra ~ 2 Comments

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What better time than Valentine’s Day to talk beauty?  Whether you’re getting ready for a night out with a special someone or staying in and pampering yourself (or both!), here are some of my very favorite tried-and-trues.  I am rather picky when it comes to beauty products, so hopefully you’ll find these as excellent as I do.  Trust.

Skin Care

Glow Butter

I have to credit the excellent Andrea Linett with this find.  Kimberly Howell created this amazing skin balm that I love love love.  It is deeply moisturizing, healing, and revivifying for both face and body.  Did I mention it is handmade and all natural?  Jojoba, avocado, and coconut oils along with tupelo beeswax make for a luxurious, glow-inducing, well… Glow Butter!

Elta MD UV Facial Broad-Spectrum SPF 30 Plus

This is the ONLY sunscreen I have managed to use on a regular basis.  It feels more like a moisturizer and has none of that terrible sunscreen-y smell I loathe.  10/10 will buy repeatedly.

Fresh Rose Face Mask

My favorite face mask, this rosy gel is soothing, moisturizing, brightening, and all-around lovely.  My skin always feels supple and refreshed afterwards, which I love.

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment

Even my husband loves Fresh’s cushy lip balm — he says it is the only balm that makes his chapped lips feel more comfortable right away, which I agree with wholeheartedly.  I’ve tried a few of the tinted options, but I always come back to the original clear formula.  Why mess with perfection?

Clinique Self-Heating Blackhead Extractor

My skin tends towards blackheads on my nose and chin, but I have never had much luck with products to combat them.  Enter the Self-Heating Blackhead Extractor by Clinique.  It is a little creamy, a little scrub-y, and heats up like magic when you get it wet.  It even has a funny bumpy scrubby little massage tool built right into the cap.  All of these things together somehow have combined to create a product that miraculously cleans out my pores like none other.

Fur Oil

Thank you, Emma Watson, for spreading the news of Fur Oil far and wide.  This spherical bottle of smoothing, soothing, quick-drying oil is a truly wonderful thing if you ever deal with ingrown hairs.  Buy a bottle now and thank me (and Emma Watson) later.

Makeup

I am pretty minimal when it comes to makeup these days, but there are a handful of items I reach for every day without fail.

Rimmel Provocalips in Kiss Me You Fool

This 16-hour lip color really delivers, and is a great price to boot.  I hate applying lipstick throughout the day but also feel like a ghost without any lip color, so this liquid lipstick/balm combo is the answer to my flutist prayers.  It really doesn’t budge — food-proof, kiss-proof, holding-an-instrument-to-my-lips proof — and it comes in the perfect red.  Sold.

Glossier Boy Brow and Lash Slick

Most days I don’t use much eye makeup, opting for a strong lip instead.  I swipe on Boy Brow and Lash Slick daily, though, for the perfect wide-awake eye.  Mandatory feature:  Lash Slick never ever clumps.

Milk Makeup Lip + Cheek in Rally

If I go the extra mile (or minute) and opt for blush, my favorite go-to is Milk Makeup’s Lip + Cheek.  Rally is the perfect bright fuchsia pink to brighten my face a bit, and the creamy stick couldn’t be easier to use.  It is also super natural-looking — their formula just melts into skin like a dream.

There you have it!  My most favorite, tried-and-true beauty products.  Go slather on that delightful Rose Mask, kick up your heels in your fuzziest slippers, and enjoy.

 

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(Art) gallery

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Recently my mom bit the bullet and ordered a Frame TV, and she couldn’t be more thrilled with having interchangeable art on the wall instead of a large black rectangle hogging space in her living room.  We talked about doing a gallery wall to give that space even more visual interest, so a couple weeks ago I spent an evening shopping and installing it for her.  It was so much fun!

I can’t pop by and visit often since we live a couple hours apart, so rather than waiting for art from various places to arrive, we headed to Target.  Although I know they have really stepped up their home decor in recent years, she and I were both surprised we found everything we’d need.

travel photos  line portrait  neutral abstract

She’s been loving pinks, peaches, and warm neutrals lately.  I was smitten with this line drawing portrait as soon as I saw it months ago, so that was a top pick for sure.  My mom is thrilled to be traveling to Europe soon for the first time in years, so some travel photography was an obvious choice, and the graceful curves of this abstract gave a nice variety of mediums as well as a serene spot for the eye to rest.  I peppered in a lovely rose-colored African woven basket and a pair of 3-D printed planters she had found on Etsy, too, for even more texture and visual interest.

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We managed to leave an item behind in our cart (ooops!), so while she went back to get it I had the apartment to myself to hang her gallery wall and surprise her.  And *spoiler alert* — she LOVED it!

The addictive quality of new throw pillows is a constant joke between us, so that was another fun little living room update.  We picked a couple new pillow covers to mix with a few older favorites, and now she has this delightful combo on her couch.  Super pretty AND so lounge-y soft.  And voilà!  An easy January living room refresh.

metallic blocks  tufted half-circles  linear velvet circle  Mongolian lamb  velvet archways

 

You have my heart

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found_camellia

You have my heart.
I’m not sure you wanted it,
but it sits on your desk
(in the corner)
where sometimes it catches your eye
and you remember (me) for a while.
It beats (for you)
but mostly
you don’t notice.
So easy to take
(for granted)
sitting there on the shelf,
gathering dust
over the years.
I can’t seem to ask for it back,
as much as its absence pains me,
because one day
(I hope)
you’ll realize what a
treasure
it is,
how rare and precious
a gift
it is that you have,
(there)
on your shelf,
that you mostly
can’t help but
ignore.

–Charla M. DelaCuadra

Time to play

~ cdelacuadra ~ Leave a comment

Current obsessions: irreverent, playful pieces for home that are a little bit Memphis-design wacky, a little bit modernist, and a whole lot of fun.  Curved lines, chubby shapes, and a healthy dose of quirk?  Yes and please!  Perhaps it is the post-holiday lull, or I’m wanting to capture the freshness of a new year?  Either way, here are some fun items I am craving:

A curvy bench-couch hybrid just begs to be lounged on.  And that nubby fabric!

Francois Halard: A Visual Diary is exactly what I want on my coffee table right now.  Bold, stunning, and personal.

This chubby round stacked vase always makes me smile.  It’s like a wink of fun every time I see it on my console, and I love the minty hue.

I simply must have this print.  So hilariously clever!

This Scalamandré-esque shower curtain had me at hello.  Perfection with some minimal brass bath accessories and an amber apothecary jar or two.

Target’s decor options keep getting better and better, and this artsy-cool pillow is no exception.  So chic and easy.

And finally, I am dying over Ayush Kasliwal’s notch wood chair — classic and architectural, and so fresh and fun at the same time!

All of these together would be beautiful in my imaginary little Parisian pied-à-terre, no?  Individually, though, they are just as amazing, and easy enough to incorporate with a variety of decor styles.  Which would you choose?  Any fun new home additions calling your name this January?

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