POV: Adjustments.

POV ("point of view") is a series that addresses many of the same themes covered in my Equals Record column: growing up, saying yes to adventure, learning to embrace a quarter-life crisis. While my previous column focused largely on ideas, POV focuses on moments - glimpses, glances, tiny stories.

I dressed up as a queen of darkness this past Saturday.

At least, that’s what I said I was doing. I’d been invited to celebrate the birthday of a friend at a bar in Williamsburg, an event for which the honoree had requested each guest dress according to his or her interpretation of the word “queen.”

I did not want to do this.

Moments before leaving my apartment, I stood in the hallway wearing a black dress so billowy it more closely resembled a bed sheet than any sort of women’s garment. “When you see me, do you think ‘queen of darkness’?” I asked Lily.

She tilted her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “You look — like a mom. Like a cool mom.”

Not long ago, I would have hated that comment; last weekend, I wore it — and my shapeless dress — with pride. “I love it,” I said. “I’ll take it.”

Berlin-bound.

Hello, friends — I'm so sorry for the radio silence; the past week has been a whirlwind, and I'm off on a last-minute trip to Berlin tomorrow to work with Freunde von Freunden for the next ten days. I've never been, and I'm thrilled for the adventure — any tips from those in the know are greatly appreciated, as always!

I'll be doing things a little backwards this week blog-wise, posting a POV by Wednesday, along with Recommended Reading before the weekend. Wishing you all a wonderful Monday — and sending very best wishes from the road. I'm here in spirit, always.

Photo by Max Wanger.

Plant Light.

From Canadian design studio Object/Interface: handmade light fixtures that double as planters (and are built to withstand watering). Pair with one of Huy Bui's Plant-in City structures for the ultimate indoor, urban jungle.

More from Object/Interface, here. Many thanks to Ignant.

See also: dancing plants / senior citizens in nature / tending to green planets.

Recommended Reading / 47.

Every Monday, words to start the week. 

This week, from The New York Times: an essay by Frank Bruni too beautiful not to share (even despite the fact that it's 16 days old — practically a decade in Internet time). The piece calls attention to the importance of spending substantial, meaningful, distraction-free periods of time with those we love, rather than attempt to cram so-called quality time into measured doses over Christmas or New Years. The reason? "People tend not to operate on cue," Bruni writes. "At least our moods and emotions don't. We reach out for help at odd points; we bloom at unpredictable ones."

He continues: "With a more expansive stretch, there’s a better chance that I’ll be around at the precise, random moment when one of my nephews drops his guard and solicits my advice about something private. Or when one of my nieces will need someone other than her parents to tell her that she’s smart and beautiful. Or when one of my siblings will flash back on an incident from our childhood that makes us laugh uncontrollably, and suddenly the cozy, happy chain of our love is cinched that much tighter. There’s simply no real substitute for physical presence."

Read more, here. Photo by Jesse Chamberlin.

Three more, just because: 
-The world's most beautiful cocktail.
-Monet, Renoir, Rodin, and Degas at work.
-Hitchcock says: "I have a feeling that inside you somewhere, there's somebody nobody knows about."

More recommended reading, here. Have a wonderful Monday.

Be Brave.

I met someone recently who had the words "Be Brave" tattooed to his left forearm in sizable script — I found out later that he'd gotten it done in the midst of a transition from a full-time to freelance career. Henry and I talked about this yesterday over lunch, recounting the quotes and phrases that have meant something to us at times when our worlds have shifted. I keep an entire notebook devoted to words like this but I always return to the same line: Adventure may hurt, but monotony will kill you. I have no idea who said this. But I'm remembering it this weekend, which I'm using as an opportunity to plan new projects, prepare for a new season.
Working on a new POV for next week on this very subject — in the meantime, wishing you all a wonderful, restful, and very happy weekend. Enjoy it!