27. Accidentally Regrowing Proteas and Exploring the #CoastalGrandmother World
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Proteas
Proteas are my absolute favourite guilty pleasure, since they are definitely not indigenous to The Netherlands (the King Protea is South Africa’s national flower). I always buy a small bouquet if I see them at the market, in fact I am quite spoiled and my florist seeks them out at the wholesale flower market because he knows I love them. So almost always there are a couple bouquets available when I see him at the weekly Wednesday market. I normally place them in hot water and trim every couple of days, they can last up to almost a month that way. I am not perfect though and during busy weeks I am known to forget about the mandatory stemcut and their beauty becomes short-lived.
A few weeks ago I bought three beautiful pink proteas. I placed one in some hot water in the guest room and proceeded to completely forget about it and I placed two in room temperature water with my moss furbabies. These two I doted on, trimming every three days or so and swapping out the water weekly - giving the moss babies their wringing out massage as well. I assumed they would live longer just like my other spoiled protea stems in the past. Instead, their petals and leaves began falling out after a couple weeks. I was disappointed until I looked closer and saw some regrowth happening along the leaves and even out of the core where the flower once flourished.
Having bought proteas almost religiously for the past three or so years (as a direct result of a Flamingo Estate obsession), this was the first time I ever noticed it happening. Could it be just these particular batch of proteas? Or because it was coupled with the cleansed moss water? Or because it is spring and they wanted to shine? Whatever the answer, I am grateful, and looking forward to see how these two stems progress.
The Coastal Grandmother Vibe Shift and my attempts and little failures at achieving this Nancy Meyers aesthetic. Not particularly centered around plants.
This will be a bit self-indulgent so skip it if you aren’t into that.
One of the newer TikTok trends made viral by @lexnicoleta - North American West Coast Nancy Meyers chic at its best - has been my favourite of the viral TikTok trends thus far. It is basically defined as "Oprah with her Montecito vegetables and AYR button down” and “Anything Nancy Meyers breathes near”.
Having been a Nancy Meyers fan since TBS Channel in Canada started airing Something’s Gotta Give almost every day (or what seemed like every day) before I even hit puberty - I am of course fully obsessed with this #coastalgrandmother trend popping up everywhere, despite never actually living beachfront. I remember being hardly 15 and getting early premiere tickets to see It’s Complicated in Ottawa and sitting in an audience with my parents and their friends and 50 or so others over 50. It solidified my love of the Nancy Meyers lifestyle and is possibly when I started manifesting a partner who would smoke weed and bake croissants with me (achieved, I married a semi-stoner French man). Suffice it to say I am a total nerd for this vibe. Although I constantly fail at wearing pristine white and pastels all the time, I do try and thanks to Savon de Marseille, I can quickly erase my clumsiness. That potion has gotten me out of wine stains and even pomegranate splatters. I guess such knowledge could be considered some #coastalgrandmother wisdom and I thank Nico’s grandmother who taught him about it.
The North Sea half an hour outside Amsterdam could be The Hamptons or Cape Cod if you block out the refineries with your hand, frolick through the grassy dunes, or attempt to have a picnic in the wind, solely for instagram purposes because you will end up with a sandy charcuterie board. It’s almost Diane Keaten and Jack Nicholson on the beach in Sagaponack, but I don’t think I am adult enough just yet to have red wine on the beach and not spill it literally everywhere.
Forever in love with local and seasonal produce, I began visiting weekly farmer’s markets since moving to Europe. I visited them in Canada too but they only really grew in popularity since I moved away (except in B.C. where it has always been a thing). Always engaging in farmer banter with the awkwardness of Meryl’s Jane or Diane’s Erica, made more awkward by language barriers. Often overwhelming myself with floral bouquets to the point of anxiety in terms of making sure they can outlive the first few days. It is great to befriend your florist, as I have, but beware it comes with the responsibility of gifted high-maintenance bouquets.
farmer’s market bounty last summer in the South of France, complete with white wine
In an attempt to make my rental apartment kitchen look more sophisticated, I try to regrow my greens or have glasses of cut herbs in the windowsill - but more often than not they end up rotten or infested by some unknown bug. I live in the land of Ginger Jars but have yet to acquire one. However, we were gifted a beautiful Delft piece (thank you Suzanne <3 ) for our wedding and I keep a simple dried bouquet of yellow roses in it - if only we had an ocean view through our kitchen window as well to match the vibe.
can you spot the failing attempt to regrow turnip greens in the glass
croque madame inspired by a late night viewing of It’s Complicated and that amazing croque monsieur scene
I have yet to make it to The Hamptons or Santa Barbara but I did spend many a summer growing up along the Cape in Provincetown, a gayer, louder, dare I say more fun, version of The Hamptons in Massachusetts. It was more selfies with drag queens, lobster rolls and longboarding down Commercial Street than rearranging hydrangea bouquets and wearing ironed white oxford shirts. But I will be returning this year, now fully influenced by the #coastalgrandmother trend and will be attempting a combination of both aesthetics. I mean there is a farmer’s market and gray shingled houses everywhere, so best of both worlds, I think. I will also be visiting a few botanical spots including a slightly secret garden so stay tuned for that in the fall.
excuse the grainy shots from 2016 snapchat autosaves
Here are a few of my favourite of kind of Coastal Grandmother moments, less so about fashion and moreso about the scenery, botanicals, and lifestyle in general, thank you for indulging in my trip down memory lane I hope this is not too boring <3
Nico and I were only dating a few months when, ignited by our love of adventure, we drove down last minute from Montréal to Maine in search of lobster and beach over an Easter weekend.
After a nightmare dealing with Spanish bureaucracy in A Coruña one summer, Nico and I sped out to the western tip of Galicia where we holed up on a moody beach with a bottle of vermouth and a grumpy Elvis (our cat). The entire region we were staying in was lined with hydrangea bushes, possibly the most coastal grandmother chic thing ever, in my opinion. When the sun hit them just right, it was bliss and we almost forgot the meltdowns at the visa office prior to our arrival. Unfortunately, I did not start cultivating my #coastalgrandmother wardrobe until during covid lockdowns so here is a photo of my fashion-confused self with some finds from Morocco and Spanish vintage shops. It was the only photo I could find that really demonstrated the bounty of hydrangea bushes against the beach sunset. I swear I won’t wear socks and sandals this summer.
Nico’s foraging skills for bouquets are peak #coastalgrandmother, as proven by this magical one off the coast of Napoli on Isola d’Ischia a few summers ago. We spent our days soaking in the Baia di Sorgeto and visiting the farmer’s market for heirloom tomatoes and burrata.
Forever searching for the best heirloom tomatoes such as these ones from France last summer.
Cap Ferret last summer, known as the Cape Cod of France, I convinced Nico to go even though he hates a ‘scene’ since I missed the landscape of the Cape. We stayed in a cottage two seconds from the beach in a pine forest and it was the real life Nancy Meyers recharge I needed.
Last summer for my birthday (Leos know it has to be a big deal), we headed south to Normandy for moules-frites and moodier beaches and to visit Nico’s mother who spends a lot of time there. I layered too many untailored linens and the beaches were windier than The Netherlands but still beautiful.
A #coastalgrandmother approved picnic at one of my favourite spots in the world, The Basque Coast, brioche and straw bags required:
Some things nourishing me this week:
finding a new female-owned natural wine bar in our neighbourhood with all the Eastern European orange wines to satisfy every inner basic bitch desire.
rhododendrons blooming in random places
the fam as per usual
my other fam of course, found this picture when searching up old pictures of ptown, aesthetic is definitely more circuit week than #coastalgrandmother but I still love it and thought I’d share. oh the days before sunscreen was the norm and I still bleached my hair.
I love an architect interview, especially when it involves gardens, like this short blurb with Toshiko Mori.
An old article from 1999 about European Summer films, which should really be redone and updated with all the new classics that have come out in recent years. If you are looking for some old classics to add to your ‘to watch’ list, this is a great start.
Happy New Moon today! I hope it is sunny where you are as well <3 thank you so much for taking the time to be here, I appreciate all of you. Enjoy the first week of May and hopefully there will be no more surprise snowstorms if you have been enduring those in April. See you next week!
Have a friend also obsessed with #coastalgrandmother?
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