the art of the wishlist
hello.
in a world of over consumption (and peak recession core), there’s an art, and something unexpectedly tender about curating monthly wishlists. a quiet, thoughtful archive of treasures. i keep a running list in the notes app. it’s chaotic and messy and contains everything that has caught my attention from the month. everything from the wildly extravagant things i could never afford like a pilates reformer to the more cost effective mundane fancy potato chips i saw at the grocery store, it’s all there. no hierarchy, just desire in its many forms.
there’s something therapeutic about writing it all down where i can see it rather than reaching for a dopamine hit of one-click online shopping. it allows myself to want things without needing to have them. more often than not, i’ll revisit the list at the end of the month only to find half of it has lost it’s sparkle. and that’s kind of the point, right? desire is a moving target. writing it down makes it feel less urgent and all consuming. it’s like a moodboard for a life i don’t have to live, but enjoy imagining anyway.
the wishlist becomes a sort of self portrait. a place to gather fleeting fascinations, cravings, little luxuries and quiet longings. sometimes i’ll treat myself to one thing. sometimes nothing at all. but the ritual of collecting and curating reminds me that wanting is not always about lack. sometimes it’s about noticing.
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here’s what on my wishlist currently…
(putting a * on items that have been on my wishlist for longer than 4 months)
fragrances and candles:
-eau rose edp by diptyque: a modern rose that feels airy, green from the artichoke note and luminous, like fresh petals in a sunlit kitchen. it’s soft, never powdery. a quietly elegant floral with hints of lychee and honeyed fruit, like your prettiest self on a spring morning.
-eau duelle edp by diptyque*: vanilla, but make it poetic. this one feels like incense curling in a cold room. dry, resinous, slightly smoky. it’s sensual but restrained, like a monastery where someone once kissed you behind the tapestries. (i layered this with molecule 01 and it gave it the woody freshness i was looking for)
-althair by parfums de marly*: warm, spiced, and a little luminous. it opens with soft cardamom and orange blossom that feel almost fizzy at first. there’s something almost edible about it, like praline and candied almond dusted in powdered sugar, but it never tips into sugar bomb territory. it smells like expensive, luxe skin. cozy, intimate, and just the right amount of dramatic. the amount of samples i’ve acquired and devoured and loved makes me feel like i’m ready for a full bottle.
-happy dust by narcotica: a pastel fever dream of mango, coconut water, and bourbon vanilla. it opens sparkling and lush, like glitter caught in sunlight, but settles into something warmer and more narcotic: brown sugar, matcha, tonka, and soft sandalwood. it’s sweet, a little dizzying, like a sugar rush laced with something holy. perfume for girls who believe in serotonin magic and mourn their childhood at the same time.
-taipei by one day: this smells like a memory of breakfast in bed, warm rice steam, creamy soy milk, and sweet, rooty taro make that make the opening feel like comfort food turned into a cloud. iris and guaiac wood add a cool, damp quiet, like the air after rain. it dries down to something intimate and grounding: clean musk, gentle sandalwood, and vetiver like woven straw. like wearing a cashmere sweater over bare skin while sipping warm soy milk on a tiled balcony. delicate, nostalgic, and oddly spiritual.
-jasmine tea by one day: quiet, floral, and barely awake. jasmine and clary sage open bright and slightly green, but the heart is all tea: clean, meditative, and gently aromatic, like oolong steeped in porcelain. the drydown is soft and sheer, with vetiver and musk that linger like linen dried in wind.
-fig and cassis home diffuser by jo malone (this would be a repurchase. it’s one of my favorite home scents)
-little flower hair oil by regime des fleurs: i can’t get enough of little flower… and now they made a hair oil. a tender, melancholic rose wrapped in pale incense and quiet radiance. it smells like pink silk ribbons and old prayers. something written by sofia coppola.
books:
-float by anne carson: this book is out of print and impossible to find. i found one copy on ebay for an outrageous price. this book is a collection of twenty two unbound chapbooks meant to be read in any order, drifting between poetry, essay, performance, and translation. it moves through themes like myth, intimacy, silence, and war, always circling carson’s preoccupations with language and loss. cerebral and elliptical, it’s a book that resists containment. it’s meant more to be wandered than read.
-in the kitchen with love by sophia loren*: another expensive out of print book with a lot of lore. part cookbook, part memoir. this is a warm, charming glimpse into her life through the lens of food. originally published in the 1970s, it’s filled with classic italian recipes she actually cooked, alongside anecdotes from film sets, travels, and childhood. it feels less like a celebrity cookbook and more like being invited into her home: casual, nostalgic, and deeply loving.
-clarice lispector’s selected cronicas: her cronicas are tiny, strange essays written for a newspaper column, often overlooked but deeply intimate. philosophy in fragments. would feel like owning part of her soul.
-the memoirs of a nun by dennis diderot: slightly scandalous, quietly philosophical. it’s about confinement, desire, and religious hypocrisy. a must for any girl trying to start a convent with her most damaged friends.
-an anthology of sacred texts by and about women by serenity young: this is an academic yet deeply moving collection of religious and spiritual texts. everything from hinduism, buddhism, judaism, christianity, islam, and indigenous traditions centered on women’s voices, bodies, myths, and roles. it’s one of the few anthologies that approaches the divine feminine across cultures with scholarly care and spiritual openness.
-ficciones by jorge luis borges* is a collection of short stories that reads like a labyrinth, a dream, a library inside a mind. borges weaves together philosophy, theology, metaphysics, time, and identity with eerie precision. every story feels like a thought experiment disguised as fiction—books within books, infinite mirrors, invented authors, imaginary faiths. he’s beloved by both atheists and mystics because his work doesn’t dismiss belief, it studies it, deconstructs it, and finds strange beauty in its architecture.
misc:
-piglet in bed bedding *: i’m quite fond of the fern green pembroke stripe as well as the kemptown stripe paired with raspberry colored pillows.
-tekla bedding *: the sateen satin stripes duvet with the matching pillows… tekla please sponsor me. i fear this is a need.
-dyson vacuum: to make me feel like a fancy adult.
-dyson air purifier: (allergy girls unite)
-a big cozy reading chair: i don’t have a specific brand in mind… any recommendations? six penny has been on my mind, but it’s so expensive.
-aurora skies ring from the catbird x laufey collaboration: this is the dreamiest ring. i’ve seen it in person, tried it on, daydreamed about it, walked away from it, because she is pricey.
-blythe doll: specifically this one from her collection (yes, i know these are not technically blythe…)
-doen leia top*: i fear this is another need. this top feels like it was made for me.
-salter house nightdresses, specifically this one:
-frog hollow farm subscription box: especially for stone fruit season
-a black cat: i actually want two black female cats and i will name them clarice and anais
-goodnight moon stamps: you get it, right?
-a camera: fuji film xt 30 or sony a7 3 camera. i don’t know much about cameras, but i have friends who do, and as someone who enjoys photography, i’d love to pull the trigger on my first one.
-a mandarin tree: i fear i’m in my gardening era. the sill sells the sweetest house plants and there’s something about having a mandarin tree that would spark immense joy in my home. how about a baby strawberry plant? imagine having a vanilla bean plant and baking with the fruits of your labor?
-pottery classes: i’d love to learn how to do wheelthrowing and make mugs and bowls for my kitchen. the process feels therapeutic.
okay, that’s all for today.
go make a wishlist… to notice beauty, to be curious, to allow yourself to linger in longing without rushing toward resolution. the wishlist is less about consumption and more about attention. it’s a record of desire, yes, but also of restraint, imagination, and mood.
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i love you.
bye.
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My wishlist is also chaotic and I love it. (Many perfume and book wishes have been added from reading your posts)
It’s an open door to explore what we are drawn to, and why does it move us, feel like us. I’ve gotten to know myself a little better with this practice
I do this for my kids and it's such a good exercise for them. We write it down, and take pictures, and hardly ever go back to buy, but it quells something inside of them.