Yesterday, March 1, was the Best Day Ever.
I’ll admit I deem many days the Best Day Ever, but yesterday really was. I woke up feeling refreshed and reinvigorated after Thursday night’s Freakquencies at Silencio, the newly-opened nightclub in midtown designed by David Lynch, where I ordered a club soda with lime and received a glass bottle of sparkling Voss water. The venue itself was nothing special, but the music was great—can confirm Von Dutch by Charli XCX goes hard in the club. Coincidentally, I babysit for a family in the luxury apartment building right next to Silencio, so walking out of the club’s doors at 2 A.M. and waiting for a car in front of my place of employment was a harrowing experience.
Yesterday. Friday. Lunch.
It was a chilly yet sunny Friday, which is perfect walking weather and also unavoidable spend-money weather. I was in a great mood and feeling light-as-air after receiving an email from my landlord saying that my apartment is valued much higher than what I’m paying, but since I’m a good tenant, he’s not raising my rent for the next lease cycle. Clearly he’s unaware that in October I had a party so loud that the neighbors across the street called the police on me, but what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. More parties in the pink kitchen!!!!!
My heart happy and my hands cold, I walked east on Houston and made a right onto Orchard to meet Emily and Jack at Good Thanks for lunch at 2 PM. Emily texted me at 1:59 saying, “i see the shearling from a distance,” meaning she recognized me from afar because of my jacket. Naturally after reading her text, I looked for her in all directions, dumbfounded, until I realized she was standing in the vestibule of the café waiting for me. We greeted each other with smiles and hugs and “I can’t believe we can have more parties in the pink kitchen!!!!!” since now we know I’m not being displaced. We were ushered to a table in the back corner (arguably the best seat in the house), and Jack arrived shortly after.
During lunch, we discussed the concept of lamb days vs. lion days. If you’re unfamiliar with the weather-related proverb, the old saying goes, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb,” and vice versa. Jack and I are constantly debating the state of the weather (we have a very Seinfeld relationship), and he thought yesterday was a lion day. I disagreed, as it was perfectly sunny and about 40 degrees with a slight wind chill. (Obviously a lamb day.) Jack posted an Instagram poll to probe the masses, and the results were in my favor. Yesterday was a lamb day.
After our nourishing meal at Good Thanks where I was certainly talking way too loudly because of the good mood I was in, the three of us decided to jaunt around the Lower East Side and pop into a few stores. This is what I imagine it feels like to be unemployed—to be able to try things on at Sandy Liang at 3 PM on a weekday.
At Seven Wonders on Grand Street, we came for the vintage clothing and stayed for the music. The Adults Are Talking by the Strokes started playing, and of course, still talking too loudly, in one breath, I exclaimed, “Oh my god this is the best song ever this is the best day ever.” Emily and I very bravely refrained from purchasing anything, even though I wanted a brown distressed leather mini skirt and she wanted a champagne silk paillettes cardigan and I wanted Pants That Actually Fit Me. It is one of my 2024 goals to find a pair of pants that fits me.
After shopping without purchasing, we all headed back to the Village in our own separate directions and said our goodbyes and see-you-tomorrows and text-me-laters.
When I got home, my home for at least another year (which is a really good feeling in the NYC real estate climate), I didn’t have much time before I had to head out again to meet Anne, Reid, and Jack in Flatiron for our 7:00 showing of Dune 2. We were seated separately since I purchased my ticket later than everyone else, but I enjoyed my grapes and Diet Coke in the row in front of Jack and 3 rows behind Anne and Reid. I loved the movie. I love Timothée Chalamet. I love the concept of Spice and I wrote “cinnamon challenge propaganda” as my Letterboxd review.
Immediately following that 5-star movie, I darted out of the AMC to meet Serge on the corner of 19th and Broadway to hop into a car and head to the Triad Theater on the Upper West Side for Birthday Girl’s album release show. The venue was small and old and charming and burlesque-esque and magical. We found seats in the mezzanine and watched as the band set up their equipment which included both a glockenspiel and a cello. So fire.
This was my second time seeing Birthday Girl live, the first being almost a year ago at Elsewhere when they opened for Shallowhalo. I remember being awed by that performance—Birthday Girl combines punk attitude and performance techniques with whimsical and circus-y sounds in their indie rock music, making the set feel like a true spectacle. At last night’s show, the band members were clad in corsets and lacy tights and stage makeup, and the crowd was enamored by lead singer Eva’s ability to captivate her audience with her hypnotizing stage presence. They played the new album from top to bottom, and the music sounded great. Birthday Girl is my favorite band right now. Birthday Girl fucks.
After the show, in another $30 Uber ride back downtown (spending way too much time above 14th St this weekend), we stopped at a birthday party in the East Village where I soon decided it was time to end my perfect day. Walking home down 2nd Street, I couldn’t help but feel grateful for the lamb day and the pink kitchen and the New York City music scene and everything in between.
I hope you all have a great weekend.<3
Today is a lion day btw.
This week’s playlist:
xo
love the lamb/lion day discourse
More Parties in the Pink Kitchen