Jules Newsletter

Hello hello! I’ll get right to the big news: Jules is going on hiatus. I love you, I love Substack, and I love this community—but I’m starting an exciting new job on Monday, and that’s where my focus will be for the foreseeable future. The silver lining: You can still follow along with everything I’m reading, eating, cooking, and seeing on IG at @julievadnal.

At Prospect Berkshires, a new hotel with pine-walled cabins, a fourth wall of windows, and major Scandi vibes—sound familiar? If all that seems like an Upstate trope at this point, well…it is, but the difference here is that Prospect has a massive lake for dipping, lakeside saunas for sweating, and and a wholly unpretentious vibe. All 49 cabins are the same square footage (democratic!), boast cooling marble floors, and are outfitted with best in-room instant coffee I have ever tried by Share.

The Tell by Amy Griffin, a memoir by the G9 cofounder and daily runner who always felt like there was something (a secret memory, one she couldn’t totally place) that she was trying to outpace. Then, at her husband’s urging, she tried MDMA therapy and within minutes, she remembered.

In November 2008, Jenna Lyons, then the creative director of J.Crew, landed her first magazine cover. But it wasn’t on a fashion title—instead, it was on Domino, the cool-girl design publication that translated runway looks into rooms and made DIY seem cool, not crafty. Even if I were blindfolded, I could still describe Jenna’s cover:

Hello to all the new Jules-ians joining us this week! This is the Friday edition of Jules, my classic rundown of lifestyle-minded recs. These letters will always be free to all, and affiliate links will be used. Okay, let’s get to it! Jules is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Don’t forget! Leonora Epstein of Schmatta and I are discussing East Coast vs. West Coast Design during our Substack Live on Tuesday, June 24 at 2 p.m. EST / 11 a.m. PST. Click here to add it to your calendar, and we’ll see you there! Halfway through Materialists, during a scene where Pedro Pascal, a finance guy, and Dakota Johnson, a matchmaker, wake up in his Tribeca apartment, my sister noticed something odd.

Don’t forget! Leonora Epstein of Schmatta and I are discussing East Coast vs. West Coast Design during our Substack Live on Tuesday, June 24 at 2 p.m. EST / 11 a.m. PST. Click here to add it to your calendar, and we’ll see you there! Matrix by Lauren Groff, which I picked up from a stoop because it was 250 pages short, and I thought it would be a quick read. (I’m behind on my yearly goal of 24 books.) BOY WAS I WRONG. It took me weeks to get through the Middle English references and nun shenanigans.

When my husband, Paul, and I got engaged on Thanksgiving in 2022, we didn’t plan a single thing for a few blissful months. And I’m glad, because the minute I sent my first exploratory email to a potential vendor, I realized something that Big Weddings wants you to believe (but obviously isn’t true): You can only design the wedding of your dreams if you’re willing to pay big bucks for it.

A latke slider (not a typo) at Pancakes, a popup at S&P Lunch that ends this weekend, so this is your chance! (Get in line around 6:30 p.m; it opens at 7.) Also order the Fines [Herb] Gibson, which your server will pour from a syrup dispenser, then also get a round of olive and cream cheese sandwiches for the table. Finish the whole experience with a Lowly Linguanatto, their mascarpone-topped version of an espresso martini.