molehill may favorites
indian mirrorwork, my dream issey miyake skirt & how i got my first pull-up.
American fashion is built on the creativity, innovation and labor of immigrants. Here is a list of Rapid Response Networks in the Bay Area + Los Angeles with hotlines for community members to report ICE activity, in additional to legal support resources.
Hello! I’m writing this from a cafe with my headphones on listening to the new MARINA album and lapping up the sugary foam leftover at the bottom of my honey hojicha latte. The girl sitting next to me is studying for some sort of medical exam. She’s flipping through high-res photos of weeping rashes on feet and fucked up toenails. I can’t look away…
This week on the Molehill, I loved reading about your non-diamond engagement rings and why newsletters are replacing online mags in your media diet. A few of you messaged me asking for more peridot jewelry specifically, so I went ahead and added more finds to the secondhand sonar google doc <3
May was a long month. And it was a major one!
The desert writing retreat girls trip finally made it out of the group chat. I hit a subscriptions milestone with this newsletter. I did my first pull up EVER!
But I’ve also been plagued by this constant flickering restlessness…because it’s June and I have this affliction called scarcity mindset when it comes to summer. I love this time of the year and never want it to end.
I am greedy for the sunlight, the tanned stupor of a beach day, ruby red strawberries, square ice cubes clinking in a chilled glass, grill marks on hot dogs, sandy toes, puffy blue hydrangeas, anklets, mango popsicles, all of it.
Here’s what stood out last month in my brain and in my closet.
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ARQ is back (sort of). After the beloved underwear brand closed in 2023, the only way to get your cornflower blue high-wasted undie fix was through secondhand marketplaces like Noihsaf Bazaar. The brand quietly relaunched in May with a limited supply available for email subscribers only. Sources report that the drop sold out fast. To get on the list for the next drop, you’ll have to sign up for their emails.
Connecting the Tory Burch mirror dress, 1999 Prada & Shisha Embroidery. I researched and made this video about the Indian origins of the mirrorwork embroidery that’s having a *trend moment*, and it got picked up in The Cut! Please feel free to share and repost this graphic because I spent wayyyy too much time on it.
Looking for a versatile garden clog? I wore these Dansko Beatrix Potter-coded clogs to Berkeley Bowl and got so many compliments, which makes sense because it’s like THE target demographic for something like this. At $95, it’s a highly versatile summer shoe because it slips on/off easily, it’s lightweight, and waterproof for the beach/pool. Let’s be real though, what you’re really paying for is the adorable print. It’s easy for a fruit or veggie print to fall into microtrend catnip territory, but I think these work because of the mix of classic veggies (carrots), trend-aware ones (radishes), and niche ones (endives).
Did a closet re-org. I put the lightweight breathable stuff in the MOST accessible drawers. For example, I’ll sort through my pajamas and stuff the full-length/flannel ones into the bottom drawers. I’ll roll up thick socks and stuff them in the back corners, where they will lie dormant until November. As you can tell, there is a lot of stuffing…it’s not the most organized system.
This is what I’m wearing and washing in the laundry every week: Oddobody organic cotton undies (I like the tanga cut), Piglet in Bed linen pajama shorts, Baserange tank tops. I also wear Le Bon socks year round.
I’ve worn Martiniano glove flats for 7 years now and couldn’t pass up a pair for $43!
Proof that these were an incredible bargain…they arrived in mint condition, clean insoles, and the previous owner even got them fitted with vibram soles!!! (I usually pay $70+ at the cobbler for this). This is exactly why I will forever recommend shopping japanese ebay. I found a navy blue pair listed today for $85, they’re in the secondhand sonar google doc for paid readers.
Found my DREAM Issey Miyake skirt. It’s so cotton candy sugarplum Faye Wong galaxy girl. I’ve gotten into a habit of checking the Molehill chat first thing in the morning instead of work emails; the other day I woke up and saw Flo posted this ISSEY MIYAKE GRAIL and my heart jumped out of my chest. Because this was on Vinted UK, she kindly helped me as a proxy buyer!
I’ve been looking for this specific color and print for months. I have the orange version of this print in dress form and it’s even more gorgeous in person. I can’t wait to style this with sheer tops and green silk camis this summer. I miiiiight also need to get it tailored because I’ve got a feeling it will be long on me. We’ll see.
Discovered that pinky rings give me less sensory issues than rings on other fingers. When I saw this 10K gold peridot heart ring on Poshmark for $80 including shipping, I scrolled down praying it was my usual ring size (6-6.5). I didn’t expect it be a size 3 pinky ring—which I’ve actually never worn before because I’ve always been a little insecure about how short my pinkies are.
I know other people probably don’t even notice but I do. Something in me said to give it a try. And I actually love it! I personally find it more comfortable to wear than rings on other fingers. It’s helped me get over my pinky issues lol.
What can I say, the secondhand gods treated me well in May.
Getting my first pull up!!!!!!! This is my new personality and I’m not sorry lol. It’s unlocked a new confidence for me and dare I say, a jock streak?
I started trying earnestly around January, but for months it just did.not.click.
I stayed semi consistent with practice (doing negatives where you do an assisted pull up and try your hardest to lower down with control), but the biggest difference was taking inversion conditioning classes at the pole dance studio. Flipping your butt over your head on a pole requires SO much back and shoulder strength. One day I tried it after a climbing session and it just HAPPENED. My form isn’t perfect, but I know I can clean it up. I try to do at least one good attempt a day.
Also, having a supportive circle makes a huge difference. From the start, my partner told me “you can definitely do one, I know you can” even when I could barely muster a shoulder shrug. He never doubted that I was able to do it. When I felt like I got “weaker” some days, my siblings reassured me there are ups and downs but every time you try, you just get stronger. After taking a week off pole classes and complaining that “I probably lost all my strength,” my badass instructor was like, girl according to science your muscle doesn’t atrophy that fast :) and she was right. To anyone reading this who is in their pull up journey: YOU GOT THIS!!!!!!!
Otherwise, I’m just trying to vibe out this month. Ride my bike to get ice cream. Sunbathe as much as possible. Learn new pole choreo, ideally something to a new MARINA song like CUNTISSIMO or METALLIC STALLION.
Daily stone fruit. Ugh, I can never leave the store without buying $15 worth of fruit. I’ve eaten so many peaches over the sink this week.
I’m making lots of stone fruit meals at home, like peach-burrata-basil salads and sandwiches. You know what’s really good—is mixing in balsamic vinegar and hot honey in the aforementioned foods.
The first thing I cooked after coming back from Tuscon was a pot of rigatoni. I like to use a blend of 50/50 pork and beef, Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes and some heavy cream to make it silkier. After traveling I always miss my own cooking.
Ate at Z&Y with Madison Huizinga! I love meeting other SF-based writers and talking about our experiences on Substack. We had clams, pork and cabbage dumplings, green beans and chicken fried rice. Power lunch.
The black sesame mochi at Baby Cafe is a perfect dessert. It’s piping hot and comes in a scalloped soup bowl and plate that says “I love…Baby Cafe” in cursive. Feels right out of a Sandy Liang moodboard, no? But aesthetic fodder aside, I care about FLAVOR first and foremost and this delivers!! The black sesame is rich and nutty, thickened with rice flour. There are three balls of powder soft mochi with a sweet crushed peanut filling. I’m never not gonna order this here.
Celebrated good news with my sibling at Belotti, an East Bay favorite. Their specialty is pastas with beef reduction sauces (I’d skip the red sauce pastas, tbh). The anchovy tagliolini with a glass of fizzy lambrusco always hits.
Lately I’ve been watching so much TV, but I really want to catch up with my MUBI saves and I can’t wait for The Materialists to come out next week omg. I know I’m gonna wanna do something to my bangs after watching Dakota Johnson onscreen…
Quick TV show thoughts:
Overcompensating—moves super fast, easy to blow through the whole season in 2 days, liked the nostalgic throwback to mid 2010s college culture which I lived through, but humor and writing wasn’t quiteeeeeee my taste
Four Seasons—heard good things about this, thought episode 1 was slow but once I got to episode 2 I couldn’t stop and I cried in the finale episode…very tender and human story about relationships in middle age, you don’t have to be middle aged to relate
Ginny & Georgia—watching this rn, I’m invested in the plot at this point, having watched the prior 2 seasons, and I love YA as a genre, some of the writing is corny and boring but it always picks back up
As for books, finishing Private Citizens by Tony Tulathimutte, which is set in the Bay Area and incorporates humorous tech industry satire. I also got this email from a publicist about Katie Yee’s upcoming novel:
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday <3
I’d love to hear about your May diary—did you score a great secondhand find? Are you obsessed with any summer produce recipes? What’s on your summer bucket list???
xo viv
Thanks for being here. You can find me on IG and TT. My wardrobe pieces and recs are saved here—unless it’s vintage, of course ;)
Yooooooo wildly jealous of your pull-up success, congrats! Major inspo.
ive been hunting for the perfect secondhand bright yellow ballerina for so long now (great minds) & these are gorgeoussss