Sweet Somethings #11

An island dinner, commuting by ferry, new city sneakers, and more

Aug 03, 2025

Hello and happy Sunday from Brooklyn!

Today, I’m sharing a small-but-mighty list of sweet somethings, beginning with a recent Fishers Island cooking gig and ending with the book I’m currently reading.

Thank you for being here!

Sweet Somethings

Lighthouse Works dinner
Last month, I spent a weekend on Fishers Island cooking with my friend

Eliza

(you can read her newsletter here!) for Lighthouse Works, the island’s artist residency where Eliza works year-round. She organizes dinners with visiting chefs throughout the year to celebrate the artists and the wider Lighthouse Works community, and I was honored to be invited to collaborate with her.

Together, we cooked a four-course meal for forty-something people, starting with a golden gazpacho made from sungold tomatoes, corn, and sherry vinegar. Next came steaming bowls of clams and chickpeas in a rich, spicy broth, with Eliza’s (EXCELLENT) sourdough on the side for sopping up every last bit. For the salad course: tender lettuces, herbs, and edible flowers tossed in a tomato-shallot vinaigrette. And to end the evening, we served homemade cornmeal shortcakes with sour whipped cream and red wine cherries — a slightly more elegant take on the classic strawberry shortcake.

Although I still work in food, I don’t cook every day like I used to, so it was an absolute joy to be back in the kitchen, cooking for a big group.

Taking the ferry to work
I’ve designed the perfect commute to my nine-to-five (at least for when the weather’s nice), and I’ll be sad for it to change when the company I work for changes offices this fall. The commute begins with a half-hour walk from my apartment to Brooklyn Bridge Park, though it feels shorter thanks to the pretty Cobble Hill streets along the way. From the ferry station in the park, it’s a five-minute boat ride to Wall Street, followed by a quick walk to the office. I almost wish the boat ride were longer — the views of the Brooklyn Bridge and Lower Manhattan are that good.

From the ferry in the morning, from the office in the evening

New sneakers
I finally bought myself some new sneakers for walking around the city: Reebok Black Classic AZs. To me, they’re perfect — comfortable, versatile, and classic, as the name suggests. I’ve been wearing them with everything from dresses to athleisure. The only problem? Now that I know how well they fit and how much I like the style, I want them in every color — especially the bubblegum pink and butter yellow.

All the Beauty in the World
Everyone I know who has read this book has told me it’s one of their favorite recent reads. I’m only midway through it, and I already know I’ll be telling you the same thing the moment I finish. The full title is All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me, and it’s written by Patrick Bringley, who left his job at The New Yorker after the death of his beloved brother. Seeking stillness and space to grieve, he took what might seem like an unusual path: he became a security guard at The Met. The book is a meditation on grief and art, and is as beautiful on the sentence level as it is conceptually.