This week, I’m thinking about tiny things. Over the last two-ish years, one of Zu’s fixations has been tiny things. Tiny things of all kinds and bitsy things that go with bitsy things.
She has a vintage Maileg mouse courtesy of her godmother which, for the uninitiated, Maileg has the cutest accessories. For her birthday and holidays, she’s received clothes and accessories for Mousey and her Mousey’s extended family, Baby Mouse and Princess Mouse.
Mousey with the best fits
Much to my delight, she’s BIG into Lego. She has a few sets along with a bucket of Legos. I’m not sure if you know but Lego has some TINY cute things these days - little tiny potion bottles, itsy bitsy brushes, tiny cookies - it is REALLY cute.
She’s also begun to make her own tiny things with modeling clay including, but obviously not limited to an entire bakery worth of tiny pastries.
a small selection of the many pastries offered
She has a small drawer filled with “little guys” and a second drawer filled with their things. SO MUCH STUFFFFFFF.
Of course, as adorable as this is, it is also a nightmare. Keeping track of all these tiny things is a painful and challenging task. The panic of trying to find the exact miniature at the exact moment that Zu needs it RIGHT NOW is deeply unfun.
A while back, friend and photographer Liz Renstrom posted this photo she took of the an Airbnb stunt - a Polly Pocket house. It struck me like a lightning bolt. I LOVED Polly Pocket as a kid, my sister and I had SO MANY of them (SOB. Where are they now, mother?!?) I went down an absolute rabbit hole on Etsy, Ebay and Poshmark (yes, Poshmark!) to find a vintage case and dolls. It turned out to be significantly harder than I anticipated. Mostly because I couldn’t bring myself to spend $150 on an old toy that didn’t even come with the dolls. But with the help of my friend Britt, I was able to find the animal hospital and three cowgirls with horses.
So even though she has too many things, and my life will flash before my eyes trying to find one of these cowgirls some evening in the future, I cannot wait to see how excited she will be when she opens this gift.
SHHHHH! don’t tell her!
This week in reading. . .
I really liked Sirens and Muses. It follows the college and post-college experience of three art students and one professor whose lives are all intertwined. (And shout out to Kate because I knew all about gesso-ing canvases because of her!). Now I am about halfway through The Hypocrite which feels like a bizarro cousin to The Mother Act (complimentary)
This week in listening. . .
Song Exploder on my current obsession and one from this summer.
This week in TV. . .
Do I have Star Wars fatigue? Yes. Will I watch Skeleton Crew anyway? I started it, yes.
This week in a gif. . .
This week in movies. . .
When was the last time you watched Home Alone? It has been decades since I’ve watched and wowwwww that movie is SO DARK. Different lighting and soundtrack and that is a straight up horror movie.
Conclave was so entertaining. Tucci, Fiennes and Lithgow should just keep doing movies together - rom-coms, buddy comedies, family dramas, thrillers.
This week in a newsletter. . .
This interview with former pro-boxer who is now living with brain damage.
Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, the geniuses behind this series (among others), have a newsletter where they write about picture books and they wrote about Where the Wild Things Are and it is lovely.
This week in google searches. . .
ulysses dove vespers
are poinsettas annuals
percentage calendar
This week in one good thing. . .
Watching all my cozy holiday movies with cozy Christmas lights on around me.
This week in a quote. . .
“but reading with no ambient noise makes you feel like you’re in a padded cell. you can’t listen to classical music when you’re reading because it feels downright fucking preposterous, like you’re pretending to be a smart person in a movie when you are decidedly a dumb person on this earth. and you can’t listen to familiar songs with tons of words because you will inevitably start singing and stop reading-comprehending.” - Samantha Irby
This week in artsy stuff and photo things. . .
Coney Island in the 30’s and 40’s.
All these BTS photos from the making of Wallace & Gromit.
AP’s 100 best photos of the year.
This week on the internet. . .
Canceling Sesame Street has to be bad karma for sure.
My idea of a good time: invite me to your house so I can go through all the books on your shelf. (And yes, obviously I am obsessing over my own list of foundational texts)
Will be sad to see these subway cars go. I did so many homework assignments curled up next to the window. (Now I don’t love them because I feel so crammed in)
This deep dive into the world of professional organizers.
An interview with NYMAG’s EIC David Haskell.
me, at any game night,
Leonor
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