Letter of Rec #022: 7 good things
Welcome back to Cafe Leandra, where I’m sorry to report that the shoes officially have platforms beneath them and I am back in the vicious cycle of not knowing how to cover my legs! Why do pants and winter shoes suck so much when they get together? Their astrological signs must be fiercely incompatible.
On the bright side at Cafe L, I crushed kids dinner last night with a haphazard combo of herb marinated sweet potato, avocado and feta cheese.
It tastes so good when there is overlap on the Venn diagram of what they want to eat and what I want to eat/is healthy. There were brussel sprouts too. Purple ones doused in white wine:
Meanwhile, I made a persimmon smoothie last week, per the recommendation of cereal aisle regular, Megan Patrick, who dropped a link for the one she was drinking at the bottom of Letter #21 — so that’s recommendation numero uno for #22:
A persimmon smoothie. Made mine with persimmon, banana, turmeric, cinnamon and walnut milk. What a way to consume the beaten up left over fruit of the week. There should be a more clever joke about drinking the fruits of your labor but it’s not coming to me. Something being about eating your kids rejected fruit. Or something.
Another thing related to the kitchen, that has made cooking 65% more enjoyable: this furikake finishing spice and this self-dubbed salad topper.
The latter is great with yogurt too and I put it on salmon last Monday, which went over p well. And that finishing spice on rice is literally like, the difference between pairing your jeans and sweater with these loafers and these heels.
Both good, but one pair has a lot more life to give.
I actually fell down an Amina Muaddi rabbit hole earlier this week when I encountered these backless sandals which took me so far over the line on the return of the platform, heralded by Alessandro Michele for Gucci (RIP) and Pierpalo Piccioli/Valentino and most recently Dior
A Valentino campaign 
Dior Spring 2023
That officially, I prefer not to imagine wearing jeans and a sweater (this one in particular):
A Tory Sport beauty fit for a bunny with anything other kinds of shoes.
Speaking of jeans, what are you doing about them for the rest of the season? It feels like a crime to get another pair, but I am unusually drawn to these though I do also wonder whether I’d want to wear them with any shoes that are not like these. (Grey wool socks notwithstanding!)
Or actually, you know what, these could be fair game partners too.
Also really like the idea of a pair of earrings like these, as a nice companion to a solid beanie.
Khaite beanie, Leandra Studio earrings (no relation!) To achieve this effect
Carlota Cahis beanie, Aeyde bandana scarf, Sophie Bille Brahe earrings In Geneva (our group chat) this week, the talk of the recommendations room is on Uniqlo heattech socks. Thank you Jessica Rush! These from the J.W. Anderson collab are pretty cute and these seem like a simple no brainer, esp if you think the Falke ones are wrong for whatever the reason. Good travel companions for the newly back in stock Aeyde Mary Janes.
Also the talk of the chatroom this week: all the sales across the internet. There are like 4 things that have piqued my interest —
But I have deliberately made out with nothing — as in, no things. Not even this tank.
Not on sale, but pretty good if you’re looking for a bag/clutch: this Serena Uziyel suede one with a tassel.
My preference is the black only because I don’t know how I feel about the gold tassel but in both instances, rugged suede as the backdrop for a regal pillow-like ornament is exactly the unlikely pairing I appreciate.
A shop update is coming (Dec. 4th) for these ceramics, by someone named Luca. I am crazy about this “busy bowl”:
And finally, I really like this perfume.
I have been wearing a scent called 11:11 for the past few years, which I love, but lately have wanted to settle into something new. It actually feels more significant than it probably sounds — like the familiar smell of the past is still nice and all, but I have a thick desire to reflect the present. This one seems to help do that. It’s soft and unassuming with opening notes of citrus but kind of strong and unshakeable with this lingering, deep musk. Also a nice smell to return to in the sweaters I wear most often and it does a great job distracting the third-party noses in my periphery when I haven’t showered in a long number of days.
Before we trail off into the weekend now, two Netflix-adjacent questions for you:
Are you watching White Lotus, are you up to date, and if so, are you surprised at all at how episode 5 ended? I for one am not.
Have you watched Jonah Hill’s documentary, Stutz? It’s basically a two-hour conversation where Jonah Hill interviews his therapist about his (the therapist’s) life. I am pretty surprised by how many of the concepts really stayed with me after watching. There was one bit, drawn out on screen about the triangle of liberation or something like that, taking care of your physical body first tier, your relationships second tier and then your highest self as nirvana third tier that I’ve returned to like 100 times in the last few days. And Jonah Hill is a good storyteller — like it doesn’t get boring even though it’s two hours of watching two people talk in a black and white office setting. He throws in these intellectual surprises and truth bombs and I have always admired the way he presents as honest and vulnerable and self-aware, or really, really curious about understanding his emotional interiority. I appreciate, even relate to that contrast set against his persona as funnyman Jonah Hill.
Okay, that’s it from me this week. And if you’re not usually here, I’ll just say: this is typically what Friday’s Letter of Rec for paying subscribers is like. My personal fav was the one that ran two weeks ago on gifts. If you like it, why not, as Substack’s suggested promo copy says, consider becoming one?
Signing off yours,