Weekend Update

1. I have been stalking this adorable Banana Republic dress for quite some time now, so I should probably just buy it, it’s $148 even at full price. Right?

I swear they’re messing with me. I’m after a petite 0 or 2 in this one, because it’s already midi length, so I know I need the shorter height, and whenever they have a code, it’s like all the petites sell out. And then, once the code is gone, they appear! What’s going on! It finally restocked in most of the regular and tall sizes so I thought I’d share. It’s adorable! Linen, and peplum, with that belt. Great for work and after. One of the best I’ve seen from Banana Republic in a while.

2. This week I have a few older articles, the result of late night Google searches. The first is a great piece, via New York mag, about Rocky Aoki of Benihana and his very, very complicated family. Did you know any of this? I didn’t know that Devon and Steve Aoki are only half siblings.

3. Yes, even though I like to complain I’m tired, I spend my free time thinking of things like “what happened to C Wonder?” I remember following its rise and fall but thought this article, via Racked, still had a lot of interesting nuggets. And yes, I arrived at this question after being tempted to read this article, about Luann from RHONY, behaving badly at Chris Burch’s party. I have very narrow interests.

4. Have you read this article, via Refinery 29, that has people up in arms because of how this marketing intern “manages” to live in NYC on $25 an hour (spoiler: its with a lot of help from her parents). I found the article itself kind of awkwardly written but I actually think a lot more people live like this than you think and she was just being honest. You still cringe through it though. What do you think?

5. This week I read The Coldest Winter Ever, by Sister Souljah.

I first found this book through PBS’s Great American Read list. I had never heard of it! And then I looked it up, and it seemed like what I live to find – that sort of blockbuster, super engrossing book that you for some reason – age, distraction, whatever – missed out on and now get the pleasure of discovering after the fact. And this book completely fulfilled that promise. The story of Winter Santiaga, the daughter of Brooklyn’s most powerful drug dealer, and her rise, fall, rise again, and…you’ll just have to see what happens. Sister Souljah writes with such passion and and clarity and intelligence that you can’t help but root for each of the characters, even when they’re being terrible people.  Honest, raw, propulsively written and just incredibly engaging – I highly recommend The Coldest Winter Ever.