A Few Things | April 8

Personal updates, links, and recommendations.

Eclipse Day!

I’m thinking of all the eclipse chasers today. We had our own eclipse-chasing experience in 2017 and loved it — we drove through the night to get to the tiny town of Weiser, Idaho, which was right in the path of totality, and stayed with our dear friends, the Lattins. We loved it so much. There’s a video somewhere of Ben Blair reacting to the moment of totality — just in awe and kind of shrieking — that captures the experience really well (I can’t seem to find it!).

I had wanted to witness a total eclipse since reading the famous Annie Dillard essay in college (you can read it starting on page 7 of this pdf). If you feel like you’re missing out on eclipse joy today, I recommend taking a minute to enjoy the excellent essay, and know that there’s a good chance you’ll add “experience a total eclipse” to your life list when you’re done reading.

Another good way to mark the day: Watch the 1985 classic Ladyhawke, where an eclipse is a big plot point. (My family had this movie on VHS tape and it was my sick-day pick when I would stay home from school.)

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In The News

Here are a few things I’ve bookmarked for you lately.

-From Forbes — French Revolution: Cyclists Now Outnumber Motorists In Paris. “The way Parisians are now traveling from the suburbs to the city center, especially during peak periods, has undergone a revolution thanks in part to the building of many miles of cycleways.”

-From Mississippi Free Press — A Mississippi woman could lose custody rights to her children nearly a year after a police officer shot her 11-year-old son in the chest. In court filings, a prosecuting attorney cited the shooting while accusing the mother of neglecting her 3 kids.

-From The Gazette — The most bizarre story I read this week. A former University of Iowa hospital employee had been using another man's identity for most of his life. The other man was arrested for identity fraud and committed to a mental hospital a few years ago.

-From Wired — Ugh. The investigation into the sexual assault of women working at science stations in the Antarctic is awful.

-From NPR — Only 11 states bar marriage under the age of 18. Between 2000 and 2018 nearly 300,000 minors under 18 were married, the vast majority were girls. About 60,000 of those "occurred at an age or spousal age difference that should have been considered a sex crime."

-From Gizmodo — I was so fascinated to learn that those walk-out grocery stores with no check outs, are closely monitored by 1000 employees in India who are watching via videocamera.

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Shopping

Just launched: The final Ines de la Fressange collection at Uniqlo. Do you know Ines de la Fressange? She’s one of my favorite French designers — her pieces are all about "bringing the effortless style of France to the world" — she uses great textiles, with perfect details. She’s been doing collections with Uniqlo for ten years, and this is her last one — I’ve picked up a few different pieces over the last decade and still wear them today. Here are 5 of my favorites from the collection:

Linen Cotton Gather Checked Skirt — $49
I love the buttons and drawstring detail on this skirt. There are a couple of other patterns available too.

Pintuck Printed Blouse — $39
Such a perfect print — with tiny touches of red, and the pintuck detailing of the shirt.

Wrap Dress — $49
Exactly what you want in a warm weather wrap dress.

Baker Pants — $49
Available in 3 colors — I really like the shape and stitched pockets here.

Canvas Tote Bag — $39
It comes in yellow or navy. Seems just right for anyone in search of a summer bag.

And there are lots more great pieces in the collection if you’d like to check them out. The best pieces in her collections always sell out quickly, so if you see something you like, be sure to grab it, and enjoy a bit of French style in your wardrobe.

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Current Projects

Lots of progress is happening at the Small House. We put in a stair landing using hexagon tomettes (classic French terracotta tiles) that we salvaged from the house.

We troubleshooted the cement section on the wall in the living room and oiled the huge ceiling beams. We painted the door, window, and the old blacksmith tool-boards in the living room as well.

This week we hope to finish the electrical work and tackle the floor in the living room.

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That’s all for now. I hope you are having a lovely start to your work week. Feel free to comment on anything I mentioned above, or whatever’s on your mind.

kisses,
Gabrielle