Just Checking In — with Mel
a series of catching up with friends, near and far
ft . Melissa palermo
your @/.com?
@fusilli_mel
how do you take your coffee/tea?
I like to drink my coffee black and out of whatever mug feels right in my hands that morning. I am very particular about choosing my dish ware for reasons that are beyond me.
describe your style in 3 words:
Sentimental ✸ Romantic ✸ Cowgirl
sentimental
romantic
cow-girl
your go-to stay-home outfit?
Any combination of pieces from my stockpile of heavy knits and Victorian nightgowns. Basically anything that looks good by candlelight
mel in a sweet cotton dress from magnetism <3
a song/album you have on repeat:
Let me pick 3 songs because if I don’t I’ll overthink this...
~Thank You by Bonnie Raitt
~Diamonds and Rust by Joan Baez
~Stardust by Willie Nelson
what keeps you grounded?
ohhhh definitely my turntable. picking out a pile of albums to spin and doing my own form of meditation. i like to have a soundtrack to my moments of clarity/self reflection.
nature is an obvious one too. any time i am by a large body of water or tall, tall trees-- i am grounded in the most sincere way. there is something very humbling about being so small in your surroundings. i look forward to spending the entire summer camping out in the back of a ford ranger.
fav meal to make at home?
Homemade pizza (with brie, arugula, and balsamic glaze)!!!
My partner, Aidan, worked the pizza circuit as a teenager and so pizza night to us means flour on every surface, dough thrown in the air, and That's Amore on a loop. I encourage everyone to play with their food! :)
what/who inspires you?
Joni Mitchell, Patti Smith, Maud Lewis, Frank O'Hara...
In my day to day life, Aidan inspires me a whole lot. We hold each other steady and he has this way of making me feel extremely capable. It’s nice to look at someone and feel empowered by their desire to grow with you. It makes looking into the future a lot less scary.
Being mutually vulnerable with others in general is where I get a lot of my inspiration from. Human connection is a big deal to me! If you know me, you know I love to talk. It brings me relief to know I am not alone and that drives me to find ways to connect more deeply to those around me.
a current hobby, and one you’ve always wanted to try:
Making things with clay has been a long time hobby of mine. I have always felt a pull toward ceramics and hand building. The things I create are... Imperfect, but I find a lot of tranquility in the process. In the last few months I have been attempting to recreate ceramic pieces by artists that I admire. Picasso especially.
I want to be a proper musician one day, to be totally honest. This has been a lifelong dream of mine. I am so afraid of approaching the medium, but I have been making strides semi recently. I spend a lot of time holed up in my room with a bass guitar and an electric organ (both very generous gifts). I can barely play either, but it's a work in progress.
what makes a home?
The things that I have collected over time. Every piece of furniture or art or clothing has been coveted by me at some major juncture. If it doesn’t hold meaning I have certainly gotten rid of it long ago. I consider my home to be where I am surrounded by the bits of my life.
A sacred nest!!!
—
I wanted to take a moment to highlight the Encampment Support Network in Toronto. What makes a home more than anything else is a roof over your head-- shelter. Not everyone has that privilege. The lockdown measures in place are set to protect everyone but those who are experiencing homelessness. There are less and less options for housing as the temperature drops. If you have the time or the funds, please consider reaching out to ESN and supporting those in need in our community.
www.encampmentsupportnetwork.com
✸ ✸ ✸
1 little moment that brightened your day recently?
This happens fairly often, but whenever I can hear the saxophone player in the park from my bedroom window, I am totally overjoyed.
what are you reading/listening to/watching?
I just finished reading The Favourite Game by Leonard Cohen. Now onto the Brontë sisters for the heavy Winter months.
I got a healthy stack of vinyl for my Birthday last month. This includes Joan Armatrading’s self titled album which I have been obsessed with. Honourable mentions to Emmylou Harris’ Pieces of the Sky and Linda Ronstadt’s Heart Like a Wheel. My roommate and I are almost through watching the Sopranos for the first time. It is totally as good as everyone says it is. Evenings are set aside for Cary Grant comedies or Hitchcock films on the projector.
fav vintage item you own?
This is perhaps the hardest question I have ever been asked... I guess my parents’ shared Neil Young tour shirt aka my mum’s painting shirt. For sentimental reasons and because it is the coolest. Neil Young bridged the gap between myself and my dad as I got older. We related to each other for what may have been the first time through our love for the song Sugar Mountain.
