New Year, Same Shoppies 🛍
All the latest and greatest from under the tree and the after Xmas sales
Happy new year Material Girls!
This time of year is like, the shopping Olympics. Between enjoying all the lovely gifts from the holiday to indulging in the post Xmas sales, which are always some of the best all year, it’s truly the season I was born for. Today’s newsletter is going to break down some of my favorite gifts and purchases as well as two new sections I’m excited about — Material Girl Eats, and Material Girl Watches; with a recipe and current tv obsession respectively.
So let’s get into it shoppers.
Walking Pad: I swear I bought this before New Years so please don’t mistake this for a resolution purchase which would be incredibly off brand for me and violate my longstanding “no resolutions because NYE is fake and silly” rule. But I’ve been wanting to get in more daily exercise since recovering from surgery and I’m a walking girlie. I wanted something super simple and affordable and this one absolutely fits the bill. It also comes in pink which is the color I obviously bought. It’s compact, easy to set up (my dad only had to help a little!) and has very few frills or bells and whistles. Just get on it and use the remote to raise or lower your speed. I got the handrail so I would be able to watch TV while I walk (I also treated myself to an iPad mini for this reason) and honestly I’ve done a 30 min walk every night since it came into the house! Only snag is the distance meter is in km not miles but whatever I do a little conversion in my head and it’s fine.
7 Virtues Vanilla Woods: When it comes to perfume, I am a gourmand girl — I don’t care what anyone says, a good vanilla scent is the coziest, and most sensual fragrance and wearing a good one feels like you’re being smothered by a really luxurious piece of cake. I’m not sure if it’s strictly an Italian thing but I was raised to have a “nighttime perfume” — that is, one I exclusively wear to bed. It’s the height of nighttime routine opulence to put a quick spritz of perfume on from my nightstand — I feel glamorous and feminine. I switch it out seasonally; in the warm weather I wear Bulgari Au the Vert, but I got this scent from 7 Virtues for Xmas and it’s perfect for nighttime; creamy and sweet without being overpowering or nauseating.
Melody Rose London Pillow: In the ongoing quest to perfect my new office/dressing room I treated myself to this pillow as an Xmas gift. I love nude artwork and I love the combination of the sort of irreverent/quirky nude figures and the more traditional tassels and velvet.
Bruce Diamond Barnes Ring: Bruce makes some of the most beautiful artisan jewelry out there; it’s classy, simple, and refined and the pieces are so obviously crafted with love and care. Unlike a lot of delicate jewelry on the market, Bruce’s jewelry has some weight to it so while it looks dainty, it feels sturdy and well made on the hand. Her Barnes ring is such a timeless piece and this year for Xmas my mom, sister, and I all got matching diamond ones. Perfect on its own or in a stack.
Roxanne Assoulin Color Therapy Bracelet Set: I bought one of these for my mom and for myself; I love RA and I love that this set comes with a selection of bracelets that can be stacked all together or worn on their own. And they’re super marked down right now on Net-A-Porter.
The Frankie Shop Button Down: Speaking of the Net-a-Porter sale, this button down is so beautiful and well made. I live for a good blue and white stripe and this one reminds me so much of one Harper wore in White Lotus.
Zimmerli Tank: I treat myself to something from Zimmerli maybe once a year — I came across the brand interviewing Donald Sutherland about his favorite things and he swore by their underwear. This tank is my ultimate layering piece; I already own it in black and this year I bought it in white. It’s delicate, luxurious, sensuous, truly perfect in every way.
Ciao Lucia (everything): If you’ve been reading Material Girl for a little while you know I am a Ciao Lucia ride or die. I think they make some of the most beautiful, feminine, and comfortable pieces on the market right now. They’re having a great end of year sale (though I think it ends tonight!) and I scooped up this dress that I’ve been eyeing for years which is unforch sold out now, and this sweater. If you like clothing that is as easy to wear as it is effortlessly pretty, you cannot go wrong with anything on their site. Only catch is their sale section is final sale — I wear a M in almost everything, occasionally a large.
Eberjey Modal PJ Set: Eberjey is one of those brands I have seen for years and wondered if it was worth the hype and I regret to inform you all it truly is. I have raved about the joggers on here before, but right before Xmas I picked up a pair of their signature modal PJ’s and wow are they truly perfect in every single way. Soft, flattering, and very chic. I sleep in silk slips but I love these as loungewear or after the shower when I’m not ready to go straight to bed. They’re also on sale right now on both Net-A-Porter and the Eberjey website!
France Luxe Hair Pin: I know that French hair pins are all over TikTok and everyone seems to be obsessed with the Deborah Pagani gold plated one and I’m here to tell you that if you are spending ~$100 on anything gold plated you have been robbed, bamboozled, etc. As a rule, I try to avoid costume jewelry and I don’t see any reason to break that rule for a hair pin that in my opinion looks.. kinda gauche. Instead, I die for the France Luxe pins which are made in France in a selection of different shapes, and tortoise shell colors. I find these to be sturdy, and incredibly chic. I love that they’re understated and much less fussy than a gold option.
John Derian Dish: Every year my sister does this really lovely thing and gets everyone in our home a “personality gift,” where she buys us each the same thing but in different versions tailored to our personalities. Sometimes it’s something fun and cute like a plushie; this year it was beautiful dishes from John Derian. There truly is one for everyone, they are like little pieces of art.
Material Girl Eats
For the inaugural installment of this section, I’m sharing a creamy pasta recipe that’s easy and perfect for colder weather. I make it all the time, it takes about 30 min soup to nuts, and tastes delicious!
Ingredients:
Pasta (shape of your choice – I like DeLallo Tortiglioni); Olive Oil; Butter; Garlic; Heavy Cream; Prosciutto; Basil; Parmesan; Salt & Pepper; Cup of pasta water reserved.
Boil your pasta — be sure to reserve about a cup of pasta water. This is more than you’ll need but it’s critical. Scoop it out when the pasta is close to be done and the water is starchy!
Depending on how many dishes I want to do, I’ll either start the sauce in a separate small sauce pan while the pasta cooks, or wait until it’s done, drain it, and use the same pan. The sauce takes about 15 min so the pasta should stay warm.
In a sauce pan, heat garlic and olive oil. I use extra virgin and garlic sliced very thin (think Goodfellas with a razor blade.) This is a real, measure with your heart kind of thing. I use about 6-8 cloves depending on the size. Cook the garlic until it’s soft enough to flatten on the back of the spoon. Also add salt and pepper to taste at this point — remember you can always add but cannot take away!
Once the garlic is cooked, add about a quarter stick of unsalted butter, and let it melt. Then add in about a quarter cup of heavy cream and about the same amount of the pasta water (again, these are really measure with your heart type instructions, I just pour from the carton until the amount feels right!)
Bring this to a simmer so it all comes together and the olive oil and butter are one with the heavy cream; the pasta water will have mostly boiled off too and the starch left behind will thicken the sauce. At this point, add your prosciutto - I usually use 3-4 slices of prosciutto; I slice it so it’s like small strips. Let that cook in the sauce for a few minutes (I used to add the prosciutto to the garlic and olive oil but I found that by the time the rest of the ingredients were added, it had cooked off so I like to add it at this stage.) Finally your basil! I do a pretty rough chop of about two handfuls, sometimes three — really depends on your flavor preference.
Let the whole sauce cook together for a few minutes; it should be creamy but still pretty viscous; taste it on a piece of bread to gauge if it needs more salt, pepper, basil, cream etc. It’s pretty fool proof so if the flavor isn’t quite right, add a little more of what it seems like it needs until it does.
Toss with pasta and parmesan cheese and add a little parm on the top once it’s plated!
Material Girl Watches
Fair warning, this section will probably be about 70% Scandinavian TV/Nordic Noir because it is my firm belief that no one is doing it like them. I think it’s something about being deprived of sunlight for so much of the year, they just produce the smartest, most understated but captivating television out there. So this week’s suggestion is a new (to me) Nordic that I just blew through in a matter of days: GreyZone. It’s a sort of political crime drama/thriller that follows the developer of a drone flight mechanism; she’s kidnapped by terrorists who want to use her technology to launch an attack in Denmark. It’s intense, human, and full of twists right up until the last second. It’s available on Amazon Prime or MHZ choice!