T LOunge for March 3rd, 2023

Príncipe de Asturias Restaurant at Gran Hotel Miramar – Málaga, Spain

Ah. There it is. Your Friday, all sorted out. Enjoy, darlings.

The Iconic Spencer-Churchill Necklace Is For Sale For the First Time
Dazzling on the surface, the jewelry is more than just an accessory. It’s a look into some of England’s most prominent aristocratic families.
The 150-year-old Spencer-Churchill necklace is a family heirloom that illustrates the elite social connections of one of the most prominent English families to date. Some of the most notable names that are linked to this piece of jewelry, and the family that created it, include Queen Victoria, the Duke of Wellington, Winston Churchill, the Vanderbilts, and Princess Diana. Now, the piece is available for acquisition at Hancock’s London for £125,000 (roughly $150,000). This is the first time the necklace has been available to the open market since it was made.
“From sentimental gift to a historic jewel, this is the story of a family necklace and the famous people it connects,” Guy Burton, the Managing Director of Hancocks London, said in a press release. “It’s an utterly unique piece of jewelry, both in its design and concept and in the family history and social connections of those whose names it carries.”

Willy Chavarria is Just Getting Started
At 55, he is perhaps the most highly placed and lauded Latino designer in the American fashion industry.
It was only last year, while attending Willy Chavarria’s fall show in New York, that I made note of a truth that doesn’t get less troubling with time. Mixed, in every possible sense, the crowd caused me to reflect on how seldom in two decades of covering fashion I’d seen such a diverse turnout. And with that thought came an inevitable reckoning with the fact that in mainstream culture, ­people—and especially minorities—are so routinely displaced, miniaturized, and marginalized that sometimes without even realizing it they become invisible to themselves.
Whether you call it assimilation or erasure, Chavarria is having no part of it. One of the rewards of watching this biracial son of an Irish-American mother and a Mexican-American immigrant father, raised among laborers in the farm fields of California’s San Joaquin Valley, make his way, in just under a decade, from being an obscure journeyman at midlevel labels to becoming in middle age perhaps the most highly placed and lauded Latino designer in the American fashion industry is knowing that he will never abandon his roots.

Inside The Parisian Hotel Where James Joyce Finished Ulysses
Live like a literary legend in Paris for a weekend.
For most of the 20th century, Saint-Germain-des-Prés served as inspiration for creatives chasing tranquility in the vibrant City of Light. It was a charming neighborhood escape that became a melting pot for legends such as Honoré de Balzac, Jean-Paul Sartre Simone de Beauvoir, Ernest Hemingway, Édouard Manet, Oscar Wilde, Pablo Picasso, and James Joyce, to name a few, who brushed shoulders at now-iconic restaurants like Café de Flore, Café Les Deux Magots and Brasserie Lipp.
In the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés sits one of Paris’s newest luxury 47-room boutique hotel, Pavillon Faubourg Saint-Germain—in the same space where Joyce finished Ulysses over 100 years ago.

The Line Between the Coffee Shop and the Cocktail Bar Has Never Been Blurrier
Baristas are incorporating craft cocktail techniques to make show-stopping coffee drinks.
Employing cocktail techniques and ingredients in addition to espresso machines gives baristas a much wider array of tools to work with, and coffee bars are seeing patrons embrace the unique offerings. “Our customers have come to expect wildness from our drinks, and it has created a really special community around creativity in coffee,” Castelaz says. The same is true at Indianapolis’ Parlor Public House, which serves coffee by day and cocktails by night. There, the nitro cold brew goes into the Espresso Martini, while some coffee drinks are served in fluted glassware. Analog Coffee Bar in Newport, Kentucky has a six-seat chef’s table, where baristas offer a la carte beverages made with ingredients like activated charcoal, cocktail cherries, and ginger beer, as well as dealers’ choice coffee drinks. Analog offers walk-in seating or reservations, and you can also book a combination of two drinks and a dessert.

You, Yes You, Can Eat Dinner with Willie Nelson at His Texas Ranch
Join him for one delicious night of food and music.
Willie Nelson hosted his first Luck Reunion in 2012, welcoming a handful of ultra-lucky guests to his ranch near Austin, Texas, for a low-key gathering heavy on music and camaraderie. The iconic singer has just announced the events that will accompany this year’s 11th annual Luck Reunion, and if you’ve ever wanted to be one of Willie’s dinner guests, this is your chance.
On Wednesday, March 15, the ranch is opening its doors for Luck Presents: Potluck 2023 – Three Sisters, which features a slate of chefs and a carefully curated menu that celebrates the three crops most prominently featured in Indigenous cuisine.

An Entire Tennessee Town Is Covered in ‘Whiskey Fungus’
“If you take your fingernail and run your fingernail down our tree branch, it will just coat the tip of your finger.”
Residents of Lincoln County, a community of 35,000 in southern Tennessee, say they’ve had enough of the black mold quickly coating their homes, streets, and public spaces. And they’re ready to make Jack Daniel’s fix it.
As Insider explains, the mold, known as baudoinia compniacensis, or by its nickname “whiskey fungus,” grows thanks to the ethanol vapor given off by whiskey distilleries, or in this case, the one by Jack Daniel’s located in town. In 2018, the liquor company built six barrel houses there and was going to construct 14 more before a recent lawsuit curtailed those plans.

Tennessee Bans Public Drag Shows, Trans Youth Health Care
Tennessee has become the first state to enact discriminatory legislation criminalizing drag and the eighth to ban gender-affirming health care for trans youth.
On Thursday, March 2, Republican Governor Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 3 into law, which expands the state’s preexisting restrictions on “adult-oriented businesses” by adding “adult cabaret performances” to the list. According to The Hill, the drag ban applies to any performance that happens in front of children or within 1000 feet of schools, public parks or churches by charging first-time violators with a Class A misdemeanor, which can result in a $2500 fine and up to a year in prison. Repeat violations will carry a sentence of up to six years as a Class E felony.
As LGBTQ+ activists and civil rights organizations argue, this type of legislation — which several other states are also contemplating — can be used to potentially punish trans and gender nonconforming people. It goes into effect April 1.

‘Funny Girl’ With Lea Michele Sets Closing Date on Broadway
Life in the the-a-ter is coming to a close for the company of “Funny Girl.” The Broadway revival has extended its run, but the show will play its final performance on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023.
Its closing date is almost exactly one year after Michele joined the cast, though the revival of “Funny Girl” first opened in April 2022 led by Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice. But she and Jane Lynch, who was replaced by Tovah Feldshuh as Fanny’s mother, departed the production in August after the production was plagued with poor reviews and lackluster turnout.

‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ Director Joel Crawford on Why Panic Attack Scene Was an Important Moment for Both Kids and Parents
When director Joel Crawford considered including a realistic panic attack in “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” he knew it would be an important moment for kids and adults alike.
“We know so many people who struggle with anxiety or we struggle with it and have panic attacks ourselves,” Crawford says. “Children can handle these scenes, maybe sometimes better than adults, and it can help everyone to feel seen if we create a scene that feels like it’s drawn from something that really happens.”

Dior’s sprawling, spectacular show set took six months to create
The woven art installation that formed the backdrop to the autumn/winter 2023 collection was designed by the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos
Dior kicked off Paris Fashion Week on Monday with its autumn/winter 2023 show, and while guests may have come for the clothes, they left mesmerised by a twinkling, floating, floral installation that filled the inside of the show venue. Created by the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos, the dreamlike work – titled Valkyrie Miss Dior – took six months to design and build.
The fabric installation was created site-specific, to precisely fit the dimensions of “the box” as Vasconcelos calls it, referring to the vast show space that Dior erected specifically for the occasion in the Jardin des Tuilleries. A feat of architectural engineering, the work required extensive planning and was woven, crocheted and sewn in separate parts before being assembled together in situ, the fabrics fitting over the top of giant inflatables that gently swayed when brushed against.

What Is The Stone Of Destiny And What Is Its Role In King Charles III’s Coronation?
Here’s everything you need to know
King Charles III’s coronation is fast approaching, with the date set for Saturday 6 May and the ceremony due to take place at Westminster Abbey, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury. We’re already counting down the days – and not just because of the all the street parties, afternoon teas and that extra Bank Holiday on Monday 8 May.
It’s the first event of its kind since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, and as such is set to be a spectacular affair featuring British traditions aplenty alongside modern-day details. Per an official statement released by the Palace: ‘The Coronation will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry.’

To Hell With The “Rules”: Long Hair Is Now The Go-To Style For The Over 50s
When it comes to the old adage that women should cut their hair short after a certain age, it’s time to throw out the antiquated rule book, says Kathleen Baird-Murray, a committed “long hair person” at 54.
My father – a Naval officer – used to say that the length of a woman’s hair should be in proportion to the width of her hips. He has, sadly, long since passed, but used to love winding up my mother (whom he adored) with a chuckle and this particular bon mot whenever he felt she had had a little too much chopped off at the hairdresser. In reality he loved the hairstyles of his wife and three daughters, a mixture of short and long between us, and would have been horrified had any of us retrieved the tape measure to ensure our hair was proportionally correct.
And yet rules persist, stubbornly so, and the attention received by Helen Mirren’s waist-length, shimmering silver hair in Berlin recently only served to remind us that that old premise – that women of a certain age should not wear their hair long – has no place in our modern vernacular, let alone at today’s salon. Mirren’s extra-long hair swung as she swirled, redolent of her confidence and swagger.

The Unexpected Nail Colour That’s Trending For Spring
If you’ve exhausted oxblood but it still feels a little too soon for summery pastels, could we tempt you with something a little… greener? Currently trending on TikTok (with 312 million views), green is tipped to be this spring’s most popular nail colour – and it’s the perfect shade to try for the in-between months, too.
“Green manicures are one of my most requested looks right now, and I’m using a lot of BioSculpture’s Free Lovin’, which is a deep green shade,” says manicurist Faye Dennis, an example of whose work you can see below. “It’s super eye-catching, and my clients say how many compliments they receive.”

10 Mistakes to Avoid During Your Kitchen Renovation, According to Interior Designers
Avoiding these common kitchen renovation pitfalls will save you time and money down the line.
As one of the most frequently used rooms in the home, you want your kitchen to work for you. If that’s not currently the case, you may be considering a kitchen renovation. Although kitchen makeovers are typically a significant expense for many homeowners, it’s also an investment that can last you for years to come and may even increase the overall value of your home. But there are a few things you need to consider before embarking on your renovation journey, like what your budget is and what you want out of your kitchen. Not doing so may cause you to make some common kitchen renovation mistakes many homeowners make during their own remodels.

10 Collectibles in Your Attic That You Didn’t Realize Were So Valuable
Check those storage boxes—from vintage Pyrex bowls to antique perfume bottles, these items could be worth a small fortune.
People often store items in the attic and forget about them. Many of us have ventured into the attic and looked around at the collectibles gathering dust without realizing that many of those bygone items could be valuable. Maybe our families held onto keepsakes for their sentimental value, or perhaps you simply found it too difficult to part with the items. Either way, you might want to spend a few hours going through those dusty boxes—some of those items could be worth thousands of dollars.

8 Tips for Making the Perfect Casserole
From choosing the right sized dish to prepping your casserole in advance, you’ll want to follow all of these tips.
Loved for their convenience, versatility, and ability to feed a crowd, casseroles have been a standby dish for home cooks since the better part of the 20th century. But a dish doesn’t need to be called a casserole to be a casserole. When you make side dishes like scalloped potatoes, brunch dishes such as baked French toast, or entrées like shepherd’s pie or baked pasta, you’re in casserole territory.

‘Babylon,’ ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ and ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ Costume Designers on Defining Their Characters’ Looks
This year’s Oscar-nominated costume designers — which also include nominees for ‘Elvis’ and ‘Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris’ — interrogated Old Hollywood glamour and ultimate-dad fashion in their explorations of overwhelming grief and hope for a brighter future.
‘Babylon’
The glamorous costume arc of silent film ingenue turned talkie-era flameout Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie) offers a cautionary tale, like Damien Chazelle’s movie itself. She audaciously crashes a Hollywood producer’s debauched party — sartorially manifesting her big break. “She’s already a star in her own mind,” says costume designer Mary Zophres, imagining that Nellie DIY’d her “power”-signaling red low-plunge, leg-baring playsuit out of a scarf and tap pants she probably stole from a former dance gig. “She goes there with the intention of ‘someone’s going to see me in this and put me in a movie,’ ” says Zophres, who instinctively draped a circa-’20s embossed silk charmeuse scarf over Robbie in a fitting. “She does just that.”

Margaret Atwood Is Still Sending Us Notes From the Future
Her new story collection, “Old Babes in the Wood,” offers elegiac scenes from a marriage plus a grab bag of curious fables.
There are authors we turn to because they can uncannily predict our future; there are authors we need for their skillful diagnosis of our present; and there are authors we love because they can explain our past. And then there are the outliers: those who gift us with timelines other than the one we’re stuck in, realities far from home. If anyone has proved, over the course of a long and wildly diverse career, that she can be all four, it’s Margaret Atwood.

[Photo Credit: granhotelmiramarmalaga.com]

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