Welcome to Chili Padi 🌶
A spicy lil Substack 💌
Back in 2013, I started a blog called Daily Coupe. Maybe you remember! It’s ok if you don’t - if it weren’t for the annual reminder from Go Daddy, I probably wouldn’t either. It lasted one hot little minute. Writing publicly, in theory, promised to be thrilling and cool (the Carrie Bradshaw effect) but also felt deeply vulnerable and uncomfortable. The idea of sharing my life when no one was asking for it felt like the writing equivalent of a GRWM video. I’d delay hitting publish, forever tinkering with and trying to improve each post. Paralyzed by my own imperfections, I left it to languish, focusing on things that came more naturally to me back then (dancing at Teddy’s, showing up hungover to my retail job).
Last week I attended Frieze (and if you live in LA, you probably did too). My birthday loomed and I was feeling quite broody, all too aware of my own expiration date (I know, I’ve got a great attitude about it).
My views on aging are complicated, and I know I’m not alone here. A birthday is like a big sister, one who loves you and supports your growth, but will also never let you forget all the stupid things you’ve done. Getting older is both a blessing - another year of adventure, of life, of potential - and an unavoidable reminder of unfulfilled goals. Your solar return can quite literally shine light on your shortcomings. So, I went to the fair in hopes of disassociating amidst the beauty, weirdness and excess (all counts on which it delivered). What I hadn’t counted on was getting some much-needed perspective.
I was drawn to this piece by Olga de Amaral because it looked deliciously touchable. Even from across the room, I had the desperate urge to stroke it, to trace its grooves with my fingertips. Up close, the details were layered and delicate, but still robust, none of which my 2D photograph do justice to. This was work that required mastery, discipline and dedication. De Amaral is a Colombian textile artist who began practicing in 1986. Her work has evolved over the years and it’s widely recognized that she made some of her most vital work (including the above) in her eighties. Her eighties! She’s still actively making art at 92.
Solely based on the number of times it appeared on my feed, this Ed Clarke seemed to be a fan favorite. “Untitled” (2010) was HOT at Frieze, with its bold, broad strokes and dreamy color palette. Clarke was a contemporary art pioneer, using a broom to achieve the dramatic flair seen above. To look at a janitor’s broom and see potential takes vision, but to try takes guts. So many of us get stuck in that liminal space between having the idea and actually expressing it. I’m guilty of it myself, of censoring and criticizing my own work, sometimes to the point of suppressing it entirely.
Time is a funny thing, isn’t it? A decade can be both an eternity and a drop in the bucket. It can also be the perfect amount of time that needs to pass before picking something up and trying it again. Here’s what I’ve learnt since Daily Coupe: life, and the art you make in it, is beautiful and fleeting, and if you allow it to, can be tons of fun. When my friend Paige suggested I start a Substack, I was touched, but I thought what’s the point? But what’s the point of anything really! Life and art and writing, all of it can be special even if it’s pointless. Putting it out into the world, making it communal, that’s when it can transcend into something magical. So today, on my birthday, I invite you to join me in this new (and old) beginning - let’s have some fun <3
CATTY CORNER
It never fails to amaze that for some, being faced with something new and exciting is seen as a personal attack. I’m referring to anyone taking Beyonce’s country turn as a a direct hit on their happiness. To these people I say - please be so serious!!!! This is Houston’s favorite daughter we’re talking about, put some respect on her name.
Still, I was not expecting her to show up at the Grammys looking like the most extra Exxon executive at the Petroleum Club. She really said let the TikTok girlies cosplay Carmela Soprano, I’LL be dressing like an oil baroness. If it’s not clear, I love it love it.
CHILI METER RISING: THINGS I CAN’T SHUT UP ABOUT
Elf Brow Lift Eyebrow Gel - My eyebrow journey began in the back room of a strip mall nail salon, which were not the auspicious beginnings I’d hoped for. With a few rough pulls, the technician set me off on what would become the lifelong pursuit of eyebrow nirvana. The road has been rocky to say the least, but we seem to have reached a detente and this eyebrow gel appeases all three of us. This laminates, holds and I’m pretty sure conditions thanks to the aloe. I apply it with a spoolie brush but be careful not to over do it, or it’ll flake (and who needs eyebrow dandruff to add to the mix). It’s the closest thing to a brow lift sans Botox and washes right out.
Naturium Marshmallow Root Barrier Balm - Years ago, I read a beauty roundup in a since-defunct magazine (RIP InStyle) and one particular description stuck with me. I can’t remember the brand, but this moisturizer was described having texture akin to “being kissed by a thousand bunny noses.” I knew in that moment I may never feel peace until finding a cream as luxurious. This moisturizer delivers. It melts in, is buttery soft and and feels like it’s changing my skin on a cellular level.
This Zwilling Cool Touch Kettle - I love tea. I grew up in a household with a dedicated tea time and it’s a tradition from childhood I’ve yet to shake. Based on that alone, you’d think I’d have made the switch ages ago! But I was married to how perfect my dainty glass teapot looked (too cute). After breaking not one, not two, but three of them, it was clearly time for an upgrade. The beauty of this kettle is you can saunter out of a room and it will shut off on its own. Plus, it keeps your water hot for an extended period of time. This is very thrilling to me! A small luxury that’s vastly improved my beverage program.
San Jose Strut - Finishing the NYT crossword is satisfying in itself. Getting to listen to this catchy little tune is gratifying beyond measure. The serotonin boost it gives me is enough to shake off my anxiety most days.
Penelope Cruz’s face card simply never declining.
FASHION FLICK : HEARTBREAKERS
I first watched Heartbreakers at a sleepover, years after its release, and wow did I love it. Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt were doing their best pre-Keeping Up impressions of Kris Jenner and Kimmy K and looked bananas-good doing it.
The movie is a romp, but it’s the wardrobe that really shines. Directed by Dave Mirkin (of Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion), the ‘fits (by Ann Roth and Gary Jones) are the perfect time capsule for aughts fashion.
But nothing comes close to the real star of the show - this pink dress:
At a more recent sleepover (side note: sleepovers truly are an elite-level hang in which we should all be indulging more of as adults), my friend Sof and I confessed it had been living rent-free, maybe even rent-controlled in our minds. This dress is the perfect intersection of trashy and glamour, the kind of thing Pamela Anderson would’ve casually rocked on a Tuesday (complimentary).
My main Heartbreakers takeaway: Bad girls get away with everything (and every dress is a minidress if you have the right scissors).
WHO IS SHE?
FRIDAY BOP ALERT 🚨
I’m a forever Feist fan. As a Pisces-sun-Leo-rising, this song never fails to get under my skin in all the best ways.
Also! My dear and very talented friend, Nieri, releases his album Flow State today - give it a listen here to fire up your Friday 🚀
That’s a wrap for now! I’ll be back in two weeks. For now, I’ll be celebrating with tinis, daydreaming and my favorite decadent daytime activity - curling up with a good book. CIAO!
Heartbreakers! ❤️🔥