Praecantiphilia
Past lives, crowd surfing, and the midnight sun.
April 2026
Scoff if you will at pulling a rabbit out of a hat. But, there’s a reason the all time highest paid performers in Vegas were two men with mullets making white tigers vanish before our eyes. And why Angelinos still get a thrill when invited to the exclusive and elusive Magic Castle. We crave wonder. We thirst for the anti-rational. Life gets too mundane and our spirits are crushed. Magic is a basic human need. The real trick is finding it without the wave of a wand or the words of a spell. Everyday magic is out there, waiting for us to tap into the incomprehensible beauty of life–the ephemeral, intangible je ne sais quoi of those tingly, twinkly moments. So get fresh with me as we abracadabra amor oo na na or maybe you prefer the old fashioned way. Prestidigitation never goes out of style.
Culinary
Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill - Sedona, AZ
Breakfast was at 8:30am. I had pulled over on the narrow trail and straddled a rock as close to the wall of the Grand Canyon as humanly possible. My hiking partner had gone on ahead but I needed a moment. It’s not that I’m afraid of heights. But you bet someone who trips as much as I do has a healthy fear of plummeting off of them. A big horned sheep, blessed with natural sure-footedness, sauntered by. I munched the only Cliff Bar I’ve ever actually eaten on a cliff. By 6:30pm, I had done a quick change into an orange pleated dress, ready for my second (and far less perilous) memorable meal of the day. At the ornate wrought iron gate we gave our names, prompting a massive quartz inlay door to swing open, unassisted. High ceilings, wire butterfly sculptures and woven orb light fixtures served as accessories to the main event–sweeping red rock views. Chef Lisa Dahl’s menu, inspired by her time spent in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, features dishes like wood oven charred octopus with olive tapenade and fennel slaw without sacrificing comforting favorites like a trio of hand made empanadas with chimichurri, or a whole section of the menu humbly titled Frijoles y Mas. Sipping the tequila I could have used that morning, terra firma never felt so good.
For a preview of why Mariposa was named one of Open Table’s 100 Most Scenic Restaurants in the US, follow @mariposa_sedona.
Page Turner
The Hour of the Wolf by Fatima Bhutto
Fatima promised her 10 year old brother a puppy. But in the 48 hours it took to fly the dog to Pakistan, something inconvenient happened: Fatima fell madly in love with her. Coco the Jack Russell would be her companion. Reading Bhutto’s memoir, one can’t help but retroactively endorse the decision. The story tracks parallel relationships in the author’s life for over a decade–one with a charismatic, emotionally abusive romantic partner, one with a best friend, and one with this tiny stolen canine. Yes, it is a story of being consumed by, and ultimately extracting oneself from, a coercive relationship. But in its retelling, Bhutto writes with an awareness that the background action was really the hero’s journey all along. Recounting her own longing for motherhood alongside Coco’s pregnancies blurs the distinctions between what is rational and what is primal, what is societal and what is instinctual. There is the indelible haunting image of Coco delivering a malformed, skeletal, stillborn puppy and then mourning the loss–quivering constantly, losing her appetite, and using Fatima’s hand as a surrogate, licking it raw. There is Fatima, alone in Barcelona, calling her clinic in a panic describing the odd reactions of her skin to her daily hormonal injection as she prepares to have her eggs harvested. And between them, something cosmic. Something to carry them both forward.
This isn’t Bhutto’s first rodeo…err, memoir. Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, the grand-daughter of former Pakistani prime minister and president Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Fatima suffered the loss of her father at a young age, in a scandalous murder at the hands of police (and potentially with the involvement of her own extended family). To keep up with her writing, speaking, activism, and the occasional cameo from Coco, follow @fbhutto.
Libations
Paquita - West Village, NYC
Perched on an emerald green tuffet, a young woman uses a pen of the same shade on a stack of wardrobe tags. Engrossed in her task, she scrolls the names of teas in an elegant, yet characterful script as I approach, attempting not to swipe brass candlesticks and cut glass lamps from their displays with a tote bag far too cumbersome for such a narrow shop. She looks up, unphased, and invites me to sit down for a pot of tea. If a spa and a cozy library and an antique shop had a baby, it would be something like Paquita. With its pounded tin ceiling and walls of copper canisters holding its impressive selection of organic loose leaf blends, this tea house is a place for whispering. A handwritten “no laptops” sign gently establishes an analog oasis. So much so, in fact, that a patron voluntarily elects to take a phone call outside. Nobody wants to harsh the vibe. I pour another tiny cup of bergamot lavender black tea and luxuriate in the unchallenged sound of turning a page of my book. Soon I’ll be back on the move, squeezing onto a delayed train and dodging the parade on 5th avenue. But for now, for a little while, there is this.
Tea time is any time when you follow @paquita.nyc
Live Performance
Songs N Scenes - New York, NY
When your roommate’s beloved cat (who may or may not shit on your bed) passes on from this world, where does she go? Cut to the next scene. We’re in a bureaucratic subsection of heaven, where the cat chats to a representative from the reincarnation department. They’re open to some new possibilities next time around…but they really loved pooping on beds. Much like this cat protagonist, Songs N Scenes at Second City NYC is a little mischievous, a little unexpected, and full of zest for life. Half concert, half improv jam, this recurring show features top tier improvisers from NYC, LA and Chicago, creating scenes inspired by songs performed on the very same stage by a live band. The result is often as touching as it is hilarious, as the emotional depth inherent in music permeates the subconscious minds of the comedians. There’s a sincerity often missing from other improv shows, due in large part I’m sure to the influence of producer and performer Louie Pearlman, who leads from the heart. At what other show might you see a scene about breastfeeding and also witness a little (responsible) crowd surfing? Having recently hit their first 100+ audience, New Yorkers are catching on to the alchemy happening Fridays at 7:00. Like our friend the deceased cat, go once and you might find yourself wanting to come back for more.
For lineups and showtimes, add @songsnscenesnyc to ye olde feed.
Fine Art
Inuuteq Storch - Sisimiut, Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)
I am alone in a gallery. A slide projector hums and clicks, cycling through decades of family snapshots, never meant for a museum. But Inuuteq Storch is an archivist as well as a practitioner of what he calls identityography. And in his own work, displayed in the adjacent galleries, the same degree of intimacy both invites in and alienates the viewer. We are shown floors covered in flattened cardboard boxes to protect against the muddy paws of sled dogs, the knuckles of an elderly couple, each tattooed with the other’s name, and the raw and bloody aftermath of a narwhal hunt. The banal details of daily human life exist here too, Storch shows us, turning the lens on the epic landscape of his home. We exist here. With its five months of midnight sun and otherworldly vistas, the untamable land of the Inuit has been scarred by industrial intervention and years of colonial rule. Inuuteq’s images question concepts of progress and self-assertion. “What if my work has devolved?” he challenges, when asked about the evolution of his practice. There can be triumph in a return. And there is beauty in seeing what was there all along.
All the cool kids follow @inuuteqastorch.
Artisan
Gabriela Hearst (spring/summer 2026 collection) - New York, NY & Paysandu, Uruguay
Imagine a statuesque mature woman opening a runway show, striding in flat white sandals, dark blonde hair in lived-in shoulder skimming waves. Now imagine her in a dress of 2,500 hand assembled white leather flowers. Oh wait–and it’s Laura Dern, as the Empress, at the helm of a collection inspired by the major arcana. For the uninitiated, we’re talking tarot. And, of course, capital “F” Fashion (courtesy of Gabriela Hearst). After receiving her first deck from her mother at age 18, Gabriela has been waiting to create her own interpretation of the cards as artists like Nikki de Saint Phalle and Salvador Dali have famously done. I’m a fan of both of those decks, but Nikki doesn’t have fringed cashew suede, Nappa leather patchwork stars or metallic gold linen twill. And as for puff-sleeved trench coats or dark navy textured leather biker jackets with hand painted moons? Eat your heart out, Salvador! It’s not only the effortless, wearable glamour, and impactful silhouettes that make this collection shine. Hearst’s ongoing sustainability efforts continue to impress, as she boasts wovens made of 97% deadstock materials from previous seasons. Backed by an honorable ethos and fueled with the open-hearted energy of the Ace of Cups she confesses to frequently pulling, Gabriela has crafted a collection that celebrates feminine strength, grace, resilience, and regenerative ability, in all its many textures.
For a feed you’ll wish you could feel, follow @gabrielahearst.
Community
The Mount: Edith Wharton’s Home - Lenox, MA
Later that afternoon, a summer storm would pull blankets of dark, rippling clouds low above the tree tops. But for now, the sky was bright and the air curiously fresh as we approached the symmetrical facade. Were we in Massachusetts, or the 17th century English countryside? The rhythmic crunching of white gravel under our feet triggered a sort of déjà vu in me. The stirring of a past life memory, perhaps? We toured the house (porcelain and peonies, views of topiaries dogs must have daydreamed over, and beds in which works of classic American literature were written by hand) and the gardens (ivy-canopied stone arches and bubbling fountains). Edith had designed it all. Upon later reflection, she considered it a superior act of creation to The House of Mirth. The Mount was to be her home from ages 39 - 49. It was a transformational decade which brought professional success and the dissolution of her marriage, ending with a permanent move to her favorite city: Paris. To her name, Wharton can claim an output of over 40 books in 40 years, including volumes on architecture, travel, gardens and interior design in addition to her poetry and acclaimed fiction. In Europe during the war, she became a front line journalist and devoted humanitarian, earning the French Legion of Honor. There are many ways to describe Edith Wharton. About herself she said, “I am an incorrigible life-lover.”
Ghost tours, yearly outdoor sculpture exhibits, a writing residency, author talks, forest bathing tai chi, and musical performances! There is no shortage of reasons to visit @themountlenox.
Playfully curated culture to help you keep exploring.
New York based, globally minded.
Archive: April 2024, April 2025