Andiamo Avanti!

90s wanderlust and Liv Tyler

You’re getting this a day early because there are fun sale finds sprinkled throughout!

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Ask me what I wanted to be when I was 14 and 17 and again at 25. The answer was always the same: I wanted to be a travel journalist. I wanted to get paid to travel the world, to have adventures, to see beautiful places. Condé Nast or Travel & Leisure, I wasn’t picky. I was overflowing with wanderlust.

There was a poster of Venice in winter tacked above my bed. Magazine cutouts of far-flung places alongside 90s Winona Ryder and Liv Tyler.

My teenage mood board.

I had an Italian boyfriend in college who had the most glamorous mother. This woman wore thin cashmere and had a chic bob and made pesto unlike anything that came from a jar. She had a collection of Jo Malone in her red marbled bathroom (the only bathroom in their London flat) that I’d spritz on my wrists before her cigarette-smoking, scarf-wearing son would take me out to a pub. I was helpless against their sophistication, their European charms.

I felt so American with my flip flops and fraying jeans that dragged on the ground until I stomped a hole clean through them. Me with my Discman playing Indigo Girls and The Rolling Stones. Chandelier earrings — it was the early 2000s — and black camisoles.

I studied abroad in Rome. Learned Spanish in Barcelona. Taught English in Prague. There was a trek up Machu Picchu and that time I got cholera on an island off Vietnam. I could not get enough.

All of this came flooding back reading Andrew Sean Greer’s Villa Coco. Young me would have been delighted.

• Seems unfair to include these because they are nearly sold out, but I’ve been dreaming of these Apiece Apart citrus-hued pants since I first laid eyes on them. I also hemmed and hawed over this gorgeous off-the-shoulder dress for too long, because it is now also sold out in my size.

• Over at the Kule sale, this navy terry sweatshirt and matching pants are calling my name.

• Browsing the Loeffler Randall sale (currently 30% off) and still thinking about these mesh aqua shoes that I posted about a while back. Also thinking it might be time to update my ancient gingham raincoat for this fresh one.

• I had no idea that Substack has an algorithm — silly, I know. But earlier this week I was served up a post by Lizzie Fortunato of the terrific jewelry brand and immediately did a deep dive. Her home finds are exceptional!!

• My dear friend Natalie Serber writes a terrific newsletter and her recent one about gratitude had me tearing up in the best possible way. Wondering if what I need is simply a gratitude journal.

• This week, in between World Cup viewings, you’ll find me glued to the final season of The Bear.

Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer

Is Andrew Sean Greer one of the funniest writers around? I think so. Admittedly, I started this right after Maggie O’Farrell’s Land and for the first few pages I thought, “Oh no, this is too light, possibly too twee.” But I was quickly charmed by the tale of the young narrator who heads to Tuscany in response to a ‘Help Wanted’ ad for an archivist to catalogue the contents of a crumbling country villa.

There he meets The Baronessa, a 92-year-old eccentric with an endless supply of colorful stories. With a nickname for everyone, she calls the narrator Giovedi — he’s to be her Man Thursday.

If you liked Greer's earlier novel, Less, you'll like Giovedi as they are practically the same person. And Villa Coco is enormously fun. Who doesn't want to be in the Italian countryside for a bit, eating puntarelle and fried zucchini blossoms and braised artichokes?

Practically in Tuscany at our neighbor’s pool.

The Baronessa has plenty of jobs for Giovedi that don't include archiving her many treasures — there's an overflowing septic tank and a car that barely works (MITSU! BITCHY!) and, of course, a handsome young cousin who quickly foils Giovedi's attempts at temporary celibacy.

There are simmering secrets and a final trip to Venice around Christmastime that made me think of that poster above my teenage bed. No, Villa Coco does not ask you to think too deeply, but it is charming and effervescent and just what I needed. I immediately gave it to my husband who has been having a bad week so that he too can escape to Italy for a while. Avanti!

1. How cute is this striped raffia tote? Currently 30% off. Buono.

2. The Baronessa would look fabulous in these super chic sunnies.

3. The Baronessa loves an accessory and she didn’t get to her glamorous 90s without protecting her skin. This Janessa Leoné hat feels interesting enough to suit her over-the-top personality.

4. The weather turns while Giovedi is in Italy and this lightweight polo sweater would be great for those in between seasons.

5. Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer

6. Giovedi’s style transformation from preppy American to sophisticated Italian involves a lot of high-waisted pleated trousers. These cotton/linen beauties are on sale, so if you’re a size 2, 4, 8 or 16, I’d scoop them up.

7. Is this not the happiest, swingiest dress?? Giovedi’s character wears a short yellow robe and this feels like the next best thing.

8. A vintage abalone bottle opener for cold bottles of Peroni.

9. When I lived in Rome I bought a pair of Pumas and felt so cool. Giovedi takes long walks each morning, but he’s also working on his too American style. These unisex kicks would be perfect.

10. The very stylish Jess Graves who also seems to have flawless skin mentioned this Tonal Sun Veil Foundation in a recent newsletter and I was a moth to a flame for that bright yellow bottle. Italian summer, here we come!

11. The Baronessa wears a red silk suit in Venice and I cannot imagine anything chicer. I’d recreate the feel with these Comme Si silk pants and matching top.

My event with Sofia Coppola is this Fridayyyyyyy!!!! What on earth does one wear next to that pillar of cool?? Will report back 💚