Hello darling friends! I hope you are all doing alright and finding ways to brighten each of your days. This week was pretty good for me, but I of course am still constantly missing all of my friends. This has been a week for me coming to terms with staying home for a while which is pretty bittersweet. If anyone else is staying home this semester reach out, we are in this together!! Now onto the letter!
Tweets of the Week
My Polyvore girls KNOW this feeling!
Folklore :,)
Lily subtweeted me about this, and yes half-birthdays are an excellent excuse to celebrate!
Honorable mention goes to my own tweet that started some beef with the LWHS kids:
Quarantunes
I was in a music drought this week, so I am so glad that Taylor gave us Folklore, it has definitely been on repeat all week. The Chicks also FINALLY released Gaslighter which I also have been getting in to. One late night this week when I was feeling particularly sappy (and somewhat lovesick) I made this new playlist to help take me back in time and imagine a little bit of romance. Listen here! Please email me links to your best Spotify playlists you are jamming to, I always want new music!
Agapanthus Field of Dreams
I celebrated my half birthday in style this year with a trip down to Half Moon Bay. I of course dined outside at Moss Beach Distillery (see June 28th's letter). The trip was fun and full of Taylor Swift songs and ocean air. Nothing was too out of the ordinary until we were driving home on Highway 1 (California's Coastal Highway) and saw a sea purple and white on the side of the road. Caroline and I instantly recognized this lush field of flowers as agapanthus. Though it is typical to see wildflowers along the coast, a sprawling range of non-native flowers is not so common. We pulled over to check out the sight and it was even more strange close-up, around the flowers were carved out paths where we could walk through the flowers and find little coves to explore. The flowers grew right up to the edge of a cliff where Montare State Beach lay below beach below. The flowers were gorgeous, and you probably saw the pictures on my insta, but I still couldn't stop thinking about how weird this field is.
It turns out this field is the vestige of historic commercial farmland that grew these flowers. I assume this farm existed pre-internet because it has been difficult to find any trace of a modern agapanthus farm in Half Moon Bay. I was going to try to make this an investigative piece, but I quite enjoy the mystery of this field and sometimes things are better of unknown. I refrained from looking up the harmful aspects of these plants, but if I learned anything in AP Environmental Science I know that they probably are not great for biodiversity. It was a serendipity mystery to run into these flowers, and I recommend stopping by if you have a chance
It was hard to take a picture that did the brilliance of the color justice.
Sassy Celeb of the Week: Elton John
Elton John is one of those celebrities that I have such positive memories associated with. Whether it was dancing to Crocodile Rock in third grade after school with Olivia, going to the late-night showing of Rocketman with Devin, or hearing Your Song for the first time and dreaming of somebody writing a love song about me. Though he has had his ups and downs in his career, I admire him as an artists and performer. I also love his latest track with Gaga!!
Birthday Brunch
My darling sisters (and bff) turned 24 today! She was disappointed to not be able to throw a lavish bash in DC, but she settled for a charming garden party brunch. This brunch was meticulously planned, and everyone had a job to make sure it went smoothly. My assignments were to bake my orange currant scones, shop at the farmers market for food, loan some decor, and set up. The gathering had a dress code of blue and white to ensure nobody clashed. We had fruit, scones, mimosas, faux-mosas, and quiche for the non-vegan crowd. Overall this was a success, and though it was not the birthday Caroline had hoped for, it was lovely just the same!
The spread!! By some miracle, I got the last hydrangeas at the farmer's market.
Annie had her own quarantined table.
Fam minus Minty.
The News from Hanken Drive (what's up with grandpa)
All signs point to Grandpa having a pretty great week this week. Baseball is back on TV so he has something to watch other than cable news! Instead of hanging out with us at the pool this week, he only stopped by briefly before saying "I have to go home to watch the ball game." He also attended Caroline's birthday brunch, which he enjoyed of course because it involved champagne, family, and sitting in the redwood grove. He did not get the memo on the brunch dress code so I made him put the button up on over his polo (fashionable, I know).
Homemade Apple Butter and Sourdough!!
This batch of bread is definitely one of my most proud bakes of quarantine! I also made some apple butter with grandpa apple from the tree that has a constant abundance of fruit for about three months of the year. If you have apples lying around, I definitely recommend this recipe. I will definitely be making more batches of this, and some lucky friends might get a jar!
Sisters Reunion :)
Nothing is more powerful than all three Fogarty girls together. With Annie located in Berkeley, our time together has become rarer. We try together every few weeks to catch up and this week we met up in Willard park to enjoy some lovely Mediterranean food from one of our favorite spots. It is funny to think I spent so much time with them as kids, and now I am lucky to spend a few hours with Annie, and when Caroline is on the east coast I can go months on end without seeing her. In these crazy times, it is really nice to have some sisters to lean on, even if I can't get too close to Annie.
Carbon Foot Print Tips?
I am proudly vegan and reduce waste when I can, but I am always looking for new ways too make my life greener, what do you do to be more eco-concious? Tell me in this form!
Toffee on the Mic
Instead of "Dog with a Blog" it's "Cat with a 'cast"
That is all for this week's letter! I adore you all and feel so lucky to have you in my life, no matter how far apart. Please stay in touch! It has been a while since I have featured other people's writing in the letter, so if you have anything, send it my way! Art is always welcome to :) Keep an eye out tomorrow for a new podcast with Eli (of tik tok/jar fame)!
xoxoxo
Claire
hatcherfogarty@gmail.com
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