It's Your Young Voice That's Keeping Me Holding On
Good advice from those long lived, a vibrant bakery, rekindling passions, 80th birthday raves, and more
As I still find myself “betwixt and between,” that is to say, doing odd jobs for money, cooking a lot, and working on my health, I’m often on the lookout for signs or advice to help me determine my next path. So when Kottke posted about Kevin Kelly’s 101 Additional Advices I knew there would be some gems to process and apply to my own life. Kevin posts these bits of advice on his birthday, and at the storied age of 73, he has plenty of learnings to offer. Here are some that I really connected with.
“Forget trying to decide what your life’s destiny is. That’s too grand. Instead, just figure out what you should do in the next 2 years.” - Literally me rn. I was about to start my coffee project, but after a soul searching convo with Kyle, I decided that all the necessary pieces weren’t on the board yet. In time.
“Never hesitate to invest in yourself—to pay for a class, a course, a new skill. These modest expenditures pay outsized dividends.” - Bullseye, me yet again. I’m enrolling in barista classes this week.
“Try to define yourself by what you love and embrace, rather than what you hate and refuse.” - Each week I’m extremely conscious of posting things that excite me, that inspire me. Some weeks that means I don’t post. I’ve believed for a long time that the energy you put into the universe is what you get back.
“Every now and then throw a memorable party. The price will be steep, but long afterwards you will remember the party, whereas you won’t remember how much is in your checking account.” - This morning Kyle and I spoke about having a silly, tongue-in-cheek Cinco de Mayo party at our apartment with some friends (none of which are American). Kyle makes an amazing guac and I’ve been wanting an excuse to make these gochujang Palomas.
“Write your own obituary, the one you’d like to have, and then everyday work towards making it true.” - Kyle wrote a stunning essay about death which really made this advice stick with me. Now that I’ve roughly hit “the middle part” of my life maybe it’s time I start looking at it from the vantage point of the ending? We only have so much time, and we never really know how much that time is (unless you’re the kids from The Immortalists) so I’m intent on making the most of it!
Hope spring is treating you well so far. It’s been sunny and rainy and sunny here, very “April showers bring May flowers” energy. See next week, and a new OÍR as well next Wednesday, which may be my favorite I’ve put together so far? I surprised myself with this one, haha… 💙
🍰 — An adorable little spot called Postcard Bakery opened in Greenwich Village which was beautifully built by the team at Sarah Carpenter Studio. The space was inspired by “Japanese vintage postcards and artwork of the Taisho era of the 1920s,” so they brought in a gorgeous palette of vermillion red, lime green, buttery yellows, and peach tones. It’s wonderful how the space radiates thanks to the use of these colors, both in the day and at night. If you’re in NY, please stop by and try one of their katsu sandos or the cheesecake for me!
👨🍳 — I found the story of Bille Brahe, and his journey to rekindle his passion for cooking, to be quite a beautiful tale. The head chef of Apollo Bar & Kantine, an unassuming museum cafe in the Kunsthal Charlottenborg, he began to lose steam for the role around 2020. But after readying Donna J. Harway’s book “Staying With Trouble” he changed his mind and decided to rediscover his gastronomic ambitions. Bille is already well-known for his bakeries Atelier September so I found it inspiring that he was able to rekindle his passion for cooking. You’ll now find me trying to adapt his dishes into my own day-to-day cooking.
🎁 — Aging is inevitable, though it doesn’t need to be a limiting factor. Look at Michelle Lamy, well-known as the muse and wife of fashion designer Rick Owens, who celebrated her 80th birthday with a rave in Venice.
🐟 — It’s always a treat when Christopher Doyle & Co. release a new design project, and their work for Sydney Harbour’s Project Restore is bold and iconic. Featuring a strong set of stylized icons highlight various flora and fauna of the deep which are paired in contrast with that bold, condense sans serif. It creates such an eye-catching combination. I’m also a fan of the paired back color palette, an ocean blue and subtle cream color, with just a hint of texture. You must visit the link above to see the motion aspects of the project, especially how they’ve used grain to mimic the movement of water. It’s a subtle detail that truly brings such life to the project.
👟 — Schiaparelli have decided to dip their toes in the luxury sneaker pool, yet I can’t say that any other fashion house has done it quite like this. The Gold Toe Trainer is absurdist elegance taken to the extreme, creating a Converse-esque high top with brass toe cap that literally looks like toes, and an irregular shaped sole made to look like a measuring tape. I applaud Daniel Roseberry for designing such ridiculously fun objects in a time of banal quiet luxury. More of this please!
🌾 — The Superilla project, if you’re unfamiliar, is an urban transformation project here in Barcelona that turns streets once filled with cars into beautiful pedestrian focused avenues lined with massive trees and plants. The team at 08014 Arquitectura recently completed a park that allows people to meet and hang out, surrounded by lush vegetation and shade. It’s one of the best parts of Barcelona now, I can’t tell you how many times a week I walk these beautiful streets, which are only getting better now that spring is here.
love this 101 list <3