T LOunge for April 26th, 2023

Coccodrilo Restaurant – Berlin, Germany

It’s WEDNESDAY and we think you all could use some STIMULATION right about now. Today’s vivid LOunge was chosen specifically to keep you awake, if not particularly focused. Let your mind wander and create today. Grab a seat and daydream.

Freddie Mercury’s private collection will go on show (and sale) at Sotheby’s this summer
The global superstar’s costumes, handwritten lyrics and personal belongings will tour several cities before a major London exhibition
It’s not often that a celebrity reaches the realms of superstardom, capturing the public imagination – and adulation – for decades on end. One such celebrity is undoubtedly Freddie Mercury, the singer and songwriter who achieved worldwide fame with Queen.
This summer, the icon’s never-before-seen private collection will be unveiled to the public for the first time, in a month-long exhibition at Sotheby’s in London. Every inch of the company’s 16,000 square-foot gallery will be dedicated to Mercury’s rich and multi-faceted life, culminating in six, dedicated sales in September.

The 100 Best Met Gala Looks of All Time
Did you know the Met Gala has been around since 1973? Sure, the outfits seem bigger and bolder now, and the event’s name has been altered ever-so-slightly (it used to be the Costume Institute Gala and also the Costume Institute Benefit), but the goal has remained the same: to raise money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, and also mark the opening of its latest exhibit. Each year, celebrities are invited alongside designers and asked to dress for the exhibit’s theme. Unsurprisingly, those creative dress codes have led to many memorable fashion moments, so choosing the best Met Gala looks ever — ever! — isn’t an easy task.

How to build the ultimate capsule wardrobe
Curating a considered edit of pieces will make getting dressed so much easier
When a new season rolls around, we often have the desire to simplify our lives and get things in order – this may include sorting through an overflowing wardrobe.
Perhaps you’re in the process of swapping over your winter clothes to spring and summer, and you’ve realised you have more items than you really need; you made too many impulse buys you’ve forgotten about or maybe it’s just time to sort through some pieces that have been hanging in your wardrobe, unworn, for far too long. If getting dressed feels more chaotic than you would like it to be right now, it might be a good time for a wardrobe re-set. Try adopting a more mindful approach to dressing by building your own capsule collection.

Did Coachella Destroy Coachella?
From the money to its influence – and the influencers – Coachella has strayed far from its roots. But is that becoming a problem? And can it find its way back?
It’s all become a bit much. Local cops rancorously patrolling two-lane highways traffic coned down to single-file gridlocked lanes, producing hours-long waits to access the car parks, even with preferred parking passes. Patrol officers and volunteers screaming misinformation at festival-goers attempting to navigate the grounds by foot or bike. It’s clear that the desert infrastructure isn’t aptly set up to withstand the roughly 125,000 people that descended into Indio for the first of its two, three-day weekend-long events otherwise known as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, now in its twenty-fourth year.

Tamar Adler’s Encyclopaedic Everlasting Meal Cookbook Will Revolutionise The Way You See Leftovers
Kids’ leftover sandwich crusts, plucked from the school lunch box and turned into a main course? If you’re instantly intrigued by the notion, you definitely need to seek out a copy of Tamar Adler’s The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A–Z, which offers inventive and surprisingly practical recipes that incorporate everything from stale doughnuts to next-day burritos to that little bit of dust left at the bottom of a bag of nuts. (Trust me: after becoming a student of Adler’s, you’ll start examining everything from unused pasta water to the slick of oil left in an almost-empty can of cannellini beans for meal potential – and that newfound resourcefulness is part of the fun.)

Ellie Goldstein Shares An Empowering Message About The First Barbie Doll With Down’s Syndrome
Ellie Goldstein, the model and current British Vogue cover star, has shared a powerful message about the first Barbie doll with Down’s syndrome.
“When I saw the doll, I felt so emotional and proud,” Ellie wrote on Instagram, adding: “It means a lot to me that children will be able to play with the doll and learn that everyone is different. I am proud that Barbie chose me to show the dolls to the world. Diversity is important as people need to see more people like me out there in the world and not be hidden away,” Ellie continued. “Barbie will help make this happen.”

The World Plays Tribute to Singer, Actor, and Activist and Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte—the chart-topping Jamaican-American singer, actor, and activist—has died at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, according to spokesman Ken Sunshine. At 96, the Carmen Jones leading man was one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, to say nothing of his long legacy as a tireless civil rights advocate. (In March, Variety reported that Following Harry, a new documentary chronicling Belafonte’s ongoing social justice work, was being “readied for premiere at fall film festivals.”)

Obsessed With the Titanic? You Need to Visit This Gin Distillery
Belfast is getting a new, working distillery — its first in some 90 years — and it’s both a spirits lover’s and a history buff’s dream.
In an early April release, Titanic Distillery announced its plans to open its doors to visitors by the end of April. And it’s keeping that promise by welcoming guests on April 28.
“Whiskey has played an important part in the history of our city, but there hasn’t been a working distillery here since the 1930s, so we are delighted to revive this great distilling tradition — bringing Belfast back to the forefront of Irish whiskey production, while at the same time telling the story of a historic past,” distillery director Peter Lavrey shared in the announcement.

Judy Blume’s Unfinished Endings
Her most famous novel, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” is finally being adapted for the screen. But its mysteries remain rooted in real life.
One of the great truisms and paradoxes of the Judy Blume phenomenon is that, for millions of fans, her books performed the role of parents—helping guide kids through coming-of-age milestones like periods, erections, and masturbation—while giving parents and kids the freedom to avoid discussing those things. Her books are wise but not preachy, light on their feet, easy to digest. Reading one a little too early isn’t going to mess anyone up. It’s more likely to give you clues to the human mystery—which will, in turn, help you decode your future.

Georgia O’Keeffe Before She Was Famous
She’s known for her paintings of skulls, flowers, and deserts. A new MOMA show suggests that her early work was stronger.
You don’t have to spend long at “Georgia O’Keeffe: To See Takes Time,” moma’s new show of the artist’s works on paper, to see that she was wrong about her own talents. This is nothing unusual. Mark Twain was sure that his masterpiece was a soggy thing called “Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc.” Susan Sontag thought that she was a great novelist whom the world had mistaken for an essayist. And O’Keeffe devoted the better part of her ninety-eight years to grand, sometimes grandiose oil paintings, despite the ample evidence that she was spectacular with charcoal and watercolor. A world-class sprinter chose to run marathons.

The Making of Star-Studded Climate Drama ‘Extrapolations’: “I Hope People Are Moved, Entertained and Perhaps a Little Bit Scared”
Sienna Miller, Meryl Streep, Forest Whitaker and Kit Harington are among the international cast of Apple TV+’s ambitious limited series, which asks what happens to humanity in the near future, when global warming upends every aspect of our lives, including the way we love and grieve.
Rather than fixate on hypotheticals about what the planet might be like if humans continue on our current path or depict a distant, apocalyptic-like universe, the eight-episode drama drops viewers in near-future societies around the world where its characters’ entire relationship to one another revolves around the climate issues many believe we still have the luxury to ignore. And that, in and of itself, is terrifying, says Yara Shahidi, another member of the star-studded cast.

Here’s what Barbie looked like the year you were born
The first Barbie doll hit shelves in 1959, making the iconic toy 64 years old in 2023.
Barbies have offered broader representations of race, body type, and careers over the years.
A new doll with Down syndrome was released in 2023.

How to find your people
An adapted excerpt from Lane Moore’s You Will Find Your People: How to Make Meaningful Friendships as an Adult.
We don’t teach people how to do this, how to create friendships, how to nurture them, how to choose better, and then when and how to end them if they’re not working. And because of that, so many of us are just fumbling around, hoping one day we’ll stumble into the friendships of our dreams because we want them, because we deserve them.
Even if you ask someone how to do it, most people just tell you, “Join a club!” or “Join a gym!” But if you’re like me and you have no idea what kind of club you would join (a club for people obsessed with watching the same TV show over and over again? Those people are at home watching the same TV show over and over again) and either you already belong to a gym and you go there to exercise quietly and then leave, or you just really, really don’t want to join a gym, here are some places to start.

Coronation brooch worn by Princess Margaret’s mother-in-law, the Countess of Rosse, will be sold for first time
The dragonfly brooch, commissioned for the Coronation of King George V, boasts emeralds that became a favourite of the Countess of Rosse
The glittering diamond and emerald treasure was originally commissioned by the 5th Countess of Rosse to wear to the Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911. The emerald briolette drops that adorn the wings (and can be worn separately as earrings) were later worn by her daughter-in-law, the 6th Countess of Rosse, to the Coronations of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II. She also wore the jewels to the royal wedding of her son, Antony Armstrong-Jones, to Princess Margaret.

12 Classic Cocktails Every Home Mixologist Should Know How to Make
Learn how to shake or stir up a Manhattan, martini, piña colada, and more.
What makes a cocktail a classic? It might be the liquor that defines it, or its era of conception. It also might simply start with the letter “M”—after all, the martini, Manhattan, margarita, mint julep, and mojito all fall under the iconic label. But there are other drinks that command our attention, too, like the old fashioned and the negroni. And then there are the outliers: Is the cosmopolitan forever? We think so. What about vacation-forward daiquiris and piña coladas?

16 Classic Italian Pasta Recipes Everyone Should Know How to Make
Make noodle night extra special by dipping into our collection of classic Italian pasta recipes. You’ll find dishes you know from your favorite restaurants, spring vacation on the Amalfi Coast, or Sunday nights spent sitting around your nonna’s table.
In addition to recipes like Bolognese that require slow cooking on the stovetop, we’ve included classics that are much quicker to put together—like the 15-minute wonder that is our famous One-Pan Pasta. Other time-honored pastas have a short ingredient list but pack a lot of flavor, such as rich and creamy Spaghetti Carbonara and spicy options like Linguine Arrabbiata.
These classic Italian pasta recipes are popular for good reason—make them all to taste why these dishes are such favorites.

Everything You Need to Know About Adding a Kitchen Island to the Heart of Your Home
A kitchen island streamlines your culinary workflow, expands storage space, and serves as an area for your friends and family to gather.
If you’re looking to increase storage, countertop, and seating space in your kitchen, look no further than an island. A kitchen island is the optimal way to streamline your culinary workflow, making it easier to move between your countertop areas, appliances, and sink without straying far from a single feature. Beyond their unparalleled functionality, kitchen islands are also a way to enhance the cozy atmosphere of this room, providing a central space to gather with family and friends.
Despite an island’s advantages, it can be difficult to figure out how to incorporate one into your kitchen. From choosing the correct material to accounting for clearances, there are a few things to keep in mind when designing your dream kitchen island.

Harry Belafonte, Folk Hero
Cool and charismatic, Belafonte channeled his stardom into activism. He was a true people person, who knew how to reach, teach and challenge us.
Of the many (many) job titles you could lay on Harry Belafonte — singer, actor, entertainer, talk show host, activist — the one that nails what he’s come to mean is folk hero.
Not a title one puts on a business card or lists in, say, a Twitter bio. “Folk hero” is a description that accrues — over time, out of significance. You’re out doing those other jobs when, suddenly, what you’re doing matters — to people, to your people, to your country.
Belafonte was a folk hero that way. Not the most dynamic or distinctive actor or singer or dancer you’ll ever come across. Yet the cool, frank, charismatic, seemingly indefatigable cat who died on Tuesday, at 96, had something else, something as crucial. He was, in his way, a people person. He understood how to reach, teach and challenge them, how to keep them honest, how to dedicate his fame to a politics of accountability, more tenaciously than any star of the civil rights era or in its wake.

A Traveler’s Guide to Tipping in a Changed World
In the age of tip fatigue, many are bewildered by how much to tip in hotels and restaurants and on guided tours. Customs in foreign countries complicate the picture. Here’s some advice from experts.
Not long into the pandemic, Americans were eager to tip their front-line-working baristas and servers. But now that tip fatigue has set in — driven by the proliferation of payment tablets that suggest tipping for everything from a sandwich at a grab-and-go counter to an ultrasound — consumers are often bewildered by when and how much to tip.
“This is the hottest topic in etiquette right now,” said Daniel Post Senning, the co-author of “Emily Post Etiquette, The Centennial Edition” and the great-great grandson of the etiquette icon Emily Post. He cites the pressure of inflation, the disruption of the pandemic and the rush back to travel for the unease. “There’s growing anxiety and public discussion around tipping.”
Offering guidance on when and how much to tip when you travel, etiquette experts, academics and travelers weighed in with the following advice.

The 500 Best Hotels in the World, According to T+L Readers
These properties scored the highest in Travel + Leisure’s most recent World’s Best Awards survey.
Finding the right accommodations can make or break a trip. That’s why every year we put together the T+L 500, a directory of your favorite hotels around the globe. These luxurious destinations deliver, with coveted amenities (think: floating breakfast in your private pool) and staff that goes the extra mile with meaningful local insights.
The best part is that you, our readers, picked them all: when you vote in the annual World’s Best Awards survey, the 500 highest hotel scorers make up this prestigious list. The honorees are grouped into eight geographic regions: Africa and the Middle East; Asia; Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific; Canada; the Caribbean; Europe; Mexico, Central America, and South America; and the United States.

[Photo Credit: Jérôme Galland, bigsquadra.com]

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