Love Island has taken over my life!
For someone who has never really been into reality tv, I’m suddenly finding myself hooked. Sure, I had a lot to say about Summer House for someone who had never even watched it—Matchmaker Maria and I talked about it on the Ask a Matchmaker podcast in June and the essay I wrote inspired by Ciara’s situation.
But now? Love Island is my new obsession. Nicolandria definitely piqued my interest last season but it never went beyond watching fan edits on TikTok. As soon as I saw people on Threads talking about the cast I felt more inclined to tap in and I was only a week behind. Now I completely understand why people love this show so much. I'm endlessly fascinated by romantic relationships and how people find themselves in them, so a show like this feels on brand for me. Since I’m in Europe, it’s the first thing I think about when I wake up—and thank god for VPNs! Beyond the entertainment, it's incredibly interesting from a sociology perspective. The contestants—and the discourse surrounding the show—touch on questions of desirability, race, colorism, class, gender dynamics, and what people value in a partner.
I'm still taking it all in, so I don't have any fully formed psychoanalysis to offer just yet. But I do have a prediction: I think Trinity and Bryce are going to win. Whether they'll survive in the real world is another question entirely, but I don't think that makes what they've built in the villa any more or less real.
Now let’s recap my June as seen through my camera roll…
Don Toliver at MSG
Kicked off June with seeing Don Toliver live at Madison Square Garden. I've been dying to see him live because I’ve been obsessed with his music since his song “No Idea” was going viral on TikTok in 2020. He's kind of replaced Drake for me, he’s my most listened to artist ever year on my Spotify Wrapped (my fave album is Love Sick). Now that I think of it, TikTok has really become my primary source for discovering new music. For Don’s encore he brought out Malcolm Todd who I wasn’t familiar with in the moment but then realized he also has a TikTok famous song, "Chest Pain (I Love)." His new album, Do That Again, came out on June 5, and now I’m a fan of his as well.
with Matchmaker Maria
Before the concert, I also recorded another episode of the Ask A Matchmaker podcast—I think it was maybe my fourth time on it. One hour is not enough time for Maria and I to chat though!
Peonies in front of our house
My Taurus parents really live up to the green thumb stereotype. My mom loves tending to her peonies, hydrangeas, and roses. My dad grows tomatoes every year but sadly I miss out on most of them since I’m gone all summer.
I wore this very cozy outfit to go to The Devil Wears Prada 2 with one of my high school friends. For anyone who's worked in media, that movie almost feels like a horror film. It's a dramatized version of the industry, of course, but it's also surprisingly accurate in capturing what it's like to work in a collapsing media landscape. I got really emotional at the end when Nigel revealed to Andy that he was the reason she got the job. It made me think about the people who helped me get to where I am. This industry has always been driven by relationships, and I'm incredibly grateful to the editors who took a chance on me early in my career and recognized my passion for the work before I had much of a résumé to prove myself.
with Teri Agins and Recho Omondi
I celebrated my friend Recho Omondi and her landmark deal with Patreon for her podcast The Cutting Room Floor. If you love fashion, it’s a must-listen. The highlight of my night, though, was meeting Teri Agins. She's an absolute legend in the industry—one of the most respected fashion journalists, yet completely down-to-earth. She casually walked over to me and another friend while we were talking just to ask who we were. Like any great journalist, she's still deeply curious about people, even when she was arguably one of the most important people in the room.
Later in the night, she came over to my table, and we talked about everything from what’s wrong with the industry to dating. One of the most interesting things she shared was her approach to networking and working a room. Her strategy is simple: if you're trying to meet someone important, make sure you're up to date on their work or life, and lead with something specific you know about them. It immediately disarms people. I realized I had even done that with Teri earlier. After she introduced herself, I told her how much her book, The End of Fashion, meant to me and that I had written a college paper about it.
My vintage Betsey Johnson dresses
For my best friend’s 40th birthday she decided to do a “millenial nostalgia” themed party. I pulled out the old Betsey Johnson dresses I’ve been storing in my attic for over two decades and decided to go with the hot pink dress I wore to my 8th-grade dance. When I posted this on IG, it felt like most people were caught up on the fact that I could still fit in this dress (it’s a very stretchy slip dress) when I felt the more important point was that what I wore when I was 13/14 still looks just as good today. The dress on the right is another Betsey Johnson dress I have from the early 2000s that I think I wore to a father/daughter Valentine’s Day dance—I’m definitely putting that one back in rotation.
Casino
I had dinner at Casino, a new restaurant in the Lower East Side, the night the Knicks won the championship. I’m not a martini drinker but they had Mezcaltini’s on the menu and I think this drink should be more widely available for those of us who don’t care for vodka or gin. This restaurant is a really cute spot for a date—food was good but nothing to write home about.
Highly recommend the grilled cheese at Elvis Wine Bar
A few other spots I fell in love with while I was home: Elvis Wine Bar in the East Village and Sailor in Fort Greene.
I went on a date the day I arrived back in London—ambitious! But I was only going to be in town for a few days before I left again. We also talked on the phone a week before I arrived, which, honestly, might be my new go-to. I think it’s a great way to filter out men who are simply not serious. There was another guy I was supposed to chat with on the phone, but he flaked the day of. I wore my favorite Realisation dress. Overall, the date was lovely, we met for a walk in the park and then had a drink. Great conversation, he’s definitely someone who has done the work and has his shit together. We’ll see what happens when I’m back.
Back to my elevator selfies in London
My official summer uniform: halter top + linen shorts + bandana
at home in London
Sofie Pavitt reformulated her acne mask and it’s perfection! The original formula made my skin burn. So I’ve been using this a bit more instead of PanOxyl—it will still bleach your towels just the same—so beware. I got the Aerolase laser done at her studio before I left for London—it’s essentially a hair removal laser, but it’s also supposed to help reduce oil production. You need several sessions, so we’ll see how it goes. I definitely still got pimples after the first one but right now my skin is looking pretty good—maybe it’s from being in the sun. Here’s all the skincare products I brought to London.
I spent the end of the month in Lisbon and Colares, Portugal for what many thought was a wedding, but was actually my friend’s three-day 40th birthday extravaganza. I’ve been wanting to get back to Lisbon since I spent some time there in 2024, and unfortunately it was not nearly enough time, but I still got to hit my favorite cafes Magnolia and Dede’s. Also got to experience Cafeh Tehran and Calma for the first time, both were quickly added to my Google Maps.
Colares was pretty magical. The birthday girl and her family have a house there and the entire time my friends and I kept saying how it felt like Montauk (before it became crazy). Seeing all the surfers in the water, the huge cliffs, and all the laidback food spots. There was no scene, no pretense, it was just beautiful and calm.
Everything I wore is linked by outfit in ShopMy. I tried to plan what I would wear for each event on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but since I was going to Mallorca afterward, I had a lot of backup options. For these types of events though, the easiest thing for me to do is typically plan out exactly what I’ll wear from shoes + accessories and take photos so I don’t have to stress too much day of. Did I still overpack? Absolutely.
What I'm looking forward to in July: The rest of my time in Mallorca and seeing how the intense astrology plays out this month. Jupiter just moved into Leo, Mercury retrograde in Cancer, we’ve got a Mars-Uranus conjunction on July 4th, and the nodes will also be moving into Aquarius/Leo.
Sneak peek into the next newsletters: I’m so excited for my interview with actress/author Robinne Lee. The Idea of You quickly became one of my favorite romance books/movies and I’ve been loving her second novel Crash Into Me.
