Phew. Wipe away that sweat and tell us what you’ve been up to!

Here are some of my recent diversions…

Reading: Ann Patchett’s Whistler (her newest novel) and The Dutch House, back to back.

Art: Shape of Dreams: Leonora Carrington at L’Space Gallery.

Video: My friend A and I went to see some Laurel & Hardy shorts at Film Forum (where we were probably the youngest people in the theater, as well as the only women). So much fun.

Drinks: Heat waves make me want white wine, or just my usual Negroni.

(Tr)eats: Some lovely friends just gave me a dark chocolate bar made with rose petals, elderflower, blood orange, and toffee chips. It tastes like a perfume, in the best possible way.

Beauty Products: As a birthday gift, someone treated me to some new makeup from the Lisa Eldridge pop-up boutique in SoHo. So far, my favorites are the Silk Matte Liquid Eyeshadow and the Seamless Glide Eye Pencil (in Bettina). I was already a big fan of the refillable lipsticks!

Fragrances: I’ve been enjoying some samples of the new LAFCO New York fragrance collection. (I was a longtime shopper at their old Lafayette Street boutique so I already knew how good their candles are!) The wonderful nostalgia of L’Artisan Parfumeur Premier Figuier and Mûre et Musc.

Garb: I’ve been wearing out my walking shoes, so I got a new pair from some brand called Lonza, for stomping around town. I hope they hold up well. And I lost my Pearl River hand fan and had to get a new one—essential!

Pleasures: A day out in Manhattan with a visiting friend, enjoying all our usual favorite things. Giving lots of tours of MoMA’s Duchamp exhibition. Having a tarot reading, for the first time in ages.

Up Next: Offering my intro Fragrance Appreciation session at the Brainery again. (Tell a friend!)

Image: Bernard Sleigh, July from The Faery Calendar, 1920. Victoria & Albert Museum, London.