Wintertime Whimsy
Vintage return address labels, an iconic love story, and really good cake
Headed for the hills again this month, back upstate to eat at the world’s coolest breakfast spot (Phoenicia Diner!), ski a new-to-me NY hill (Belleayre!), and sip German-inspired beverages at a cozy, eccentric, middle-of-nowhere bar (Ralph’s Bar & Bowling!). I’ve spent a lot of time in upstate New York, and while it’s usually spent off the grid, backpacking, I fall more in love with its unique establishments and little lifestyle quirks each time I return.
The snow as of late has been fantastic; record-breaking, even. Certainly, it’s been an age since the midcoast got anything more than twelve inches, and the way the Weather Channel reporters were moving, you’d have thought we were in for the snowstorm of the millennia. While they drastically overpromised, bless them, I still feel kind of like a giddy third-grader every morning I pull the curtain to reveal a scene resembling an Eyvind Earle painting.
The snow also made the perfect vessel for some pre-dinner festivities on the half shell. I have always really wanted to have a wintery oyster feast, because what could be better than tucking the shells into a snowbank and chilling a few beers or a classic cocktail alongside? Maybe it’s just me, but I would eat every meal outside if I could (and do in the summer!) so it’s a fun challenge to bring that sentiment into the winter months.
Martinis were shaken fireside, I shucked oysters, and then we jetted off to dinner. This sort of thing is always further proof that making something that much more special is worth it a million times over. I’m turning this into a February tradition.
Speaking of extra effort, my design deep dive this month has been vintage return address labels, more officially called “figural cameos.” These labels situate their advertising text, typically the establishment’s name and address, inside a figure that represents the product or industry of the company, to charming effect.
Their use peaked in the 1800s, which I believe was also the height of creative store shingles—hanging signs—shaped like the product, whether a boot, eyeglasses, et cetera. We need to bring shop shingles back immediately. Of course, in England, they never really left—a great contemporary example of this is one of my most-loved stationary shops, Choosing Keeping, whose shingle is a quill and ink pot.
As both a type design and stationery/letter-writing materials nerd, stumbling upon these was somewhat seminal. It’s vintage branding at its finest. The cameos take the shape of things like a stovepipe hat for a hatter, a pear for a nursery, a mortar and pestle for an apothecary, a saddle for horse outfitters, and the list goes on. There are soup tureens, mackerel, and about a million locks; all of them are delightful.
I am already plotting one for the farm. Should it be a flower of some kind? A frog? A seed packet? An owl? Taking your best suggestions!
Should I have a personal one that’s a pencil?? I think yes.
All of these are from the José Rodriguez Cameo Collection on Sheaff Ephemera, which is a true trove of old ephemera bits and bobs.
In short, I think it’s high time to bring some whimsy back into branding, whether personal or professional. Not only does it showcase some serious creativity, but it’s a treat to behold and harkens back to a time when effort, even if just for commercial purposes, permeated every part of daily life, including the mail! Bring it back—mail, and whimsy!
Kill ‘Em and Leave by James McBride is nonfiction that reads like mystical fiction, and is a compulsively readable piece of cultural reporting. McBride journeys south in search of answers to the enigmatic life of James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, civil rights activist, and legendary African American figure whose personal life has remained mostly shrouded in mystery. There’s more here than mere biography, and McBride’s assessment of Brown’s countenance and the South that made him is both inspiring and more than a little heartbreaking.
Another month, another memoir, this time poet Tracy K. Smith’s beautiful book Ordinary Light. Because she is a poet, Smith writes about her childhood with a quiet, calculated voice that reminded me of the hold on language that some people are lucky enough to possess. One of my beloved high school English teachers gave me this book, and I love thinking back to all the times I managed to get a glimpse of what my teachers were reading in their own time. Tastemakers all, even if they didn’t know it.
Kindred by Octavia Butler; what a novel. I’m sorry to say that I’d never read Butler before, her novels and short stories piling ever higher on my list of to-reads. Speculative fiction is my most-loved genre, especially alternate and spec histories. Butler’s premise is this: Dana, a black woman living in the 1970s, is continually pulled backwards in time into the antebellum South and into the lives of her distant ancestors. It’s a deeply unsettling and meaningfully horrifying perspective on slavery, egalitarianism, and the legacy of race relations in the US. It’s intended to be haunting, and it is.
Also! Do you work at Knopf? Do you know someone who works at Knopf? I have seen the book influencers begin posting their advance copies of Emily St. John Mandel’s upcoming novel, Exit Party, and I need a galley more than I need to find an apartment (which is saying something). This is me sending out smoke signals to anyone with a copy—let me borrow it and I will owe you a million favors. I am a pretty good baker and very proficient in hauling things and other manual labor. xoxo…
It’s impossible not to get ambitious about a cake. I especially find myself inexplicably drawn to the recipes from Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar cookbook, knowing full well that they will be gloriously complicated, require every kitchen appliance known to man, and that some element will fail completely. This time it was a coffee frosting that refused to whip. But I love a kitchen project; it’s better than actually consuming the results.
Four recipe components and fifteen hours in the freezer later, I had a chocolate chip-dotted, passionfruit curd-layered, cocoa crumb-sprinkled, coffee icing-swiped birthday cake. I love the flavors at work here; a passionfruit and coffee pairing is previously uncharted territory and they’re gorgeous together. Plus, the joy of second-day cake for breakfast, straight from the fridge…hell yes.
A glass of coquito is liquid coziness. I found this recipe on ITG years ago as I used to make this in college, and while it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, it’s a nice break from the traditional. Despite being chilled, it’s a wintery bev that suggests warmer weather on the horizon.
Caroline and I went back to Sergeantsville Inn this month and I simply have to take a moment for the onion rings, which arrived to us stacked six rings high and steaming on the mismatched china. We had a fantastic dinner in the low-lit loft while it snowed outside, and my drink was splendidly smooth and strong. I’m still dying to make it for blue plate specials in the tavern (fried chicken by the piece and pickle sandwiches are speaking to me) but this place has become an easy favorite.
Seven songs for March.
Lady Day and John Coltrane by Gil Scott-Heron
How Many More Times by Led Zeppelin
Get Together by The Youngbloods
Give Me Your Love by Sisters Love
Northern Sky by Nick Drake
One of These Nights (Live at the Los Angeles Forum 10/20–22/76) by Eagles
I’d Rather Go Blind by John Verity
Madeline put me on to a new album/artist, Massive Shoe by Way Dynamic, that I’ve really been liking. “People Settle Down” sounds like it should be soundtracking an indie movie montage, “Miffed It” is a quiet, folky piece with a nice little riff, and “The Others” is a subdued jaunt. It’s all very Mac Demarco!
Pat Metheny has a new album out this month, Side-Eye III+. I’ll admit it’s a little weird that Metheny is my second most-listened to artist, but his music is just incredibly comforting to me. I found out that he was actually one of my very first concerts, as he played alongside Bruce Hornsby, who is my dad’s longtime favorite artist. I like to think my love of Metheny began early and has endured throughout my occasionally eclectic music taste over the years.
Cycling through the good, the bad, and the terrible of 80s synth pop, I fell into Kajagoogoo’s 1984 Islands, where the eponymous song is, actually, pretty awesome. You have to appreciate the ambitious forays into true, genuine weirdness that no one seemed to fear in the 80s. “The Loop” off this album is equally odd and high drama.
I’m also listening to: Sid Mashburn’s 2026 Fix, Sharp Objects, and ace of graces.
Love Story. Like every other person on the planet, I am obsessed with the new FX drama chronicling the relationship of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and JFK Jr. The styling, the acting, the music—I haven’t been this enamored with a show’s needle drops in some time (though Sophie Hawkins’s “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover” was my song of the fall and I would love for that to stay on the low…). The ethics of this show are, admittedly, probably not the best. But it’s gorgeous, and as someone who did not live through that era, I find the nuances of the Kennedy family (however correct or fabricated they may be) fascinating. Once Upon A Time is definitely next-up nonfiction for me.
Sumo oranges. Maybe it’s the strange proliferation of marketing by a citrus company, or just the glowing pyramids of softball-sized oranges greeting me each time I enter a Trader Joe’s, but Sumo season has me hooked. They are the perfect orange—easy to peel and perfectly sweet, with a quirky gnarly-ness that I kind of adore. The only drawback to a Sumo is the amount of room they take up in your lunch bag.
Drake’s Autumn Collection in Wyoming. Yes, it’s now March and this editorial is from September. But it’s winter-forward, and I’m still thinking about how Drake’s, long the epitome of classic style and enviously well-made clothing, styled and shot their earthy-hued, Pendleton-striped, old-meets-new Fall 25 collection. There are layers for days, good use of scarves (truly, the brand’s calling card), and of course, the incredible vintage signage of Jackson.
Six upcoming book releases I am anxiously awaiting.
Holy the Body: Poems by Donovan McAbee (March 4). This cover treatment is phenomenal and I’m excited to keep up my poetry streak with this collection about “faithful doubt.” Even cooler, McAbee’s PhD in contemporary poetry is from St Andrews—and he studied at nearby Princeton Theological Seminary, too.
Python’s Kiss: Stories by Louise Erdrich (March 24). Erdrich is a masterful writer whose wisdom permeates pretty much everything she pens, so despite my general indifference to story collections, this feels like something I can’t wait to dip in and out of.
The Westerners: Mythmaking and Belonging on the American Frontier by Megan Kate Nelson (March 31). The aesthetics and tall tales of the American West are endlessly fascinating to me, and while I love a cowboy, I’m really curious to read a truer history that includes badass frontier women and indigenous peoples.
Cook Out: Recipes and Tips for the Great Outdoors by Rashad Frazier (April 14). I got to highlight this one in G&G’s 2026 release roundup, but I’ve followed Frazier and his travel brand for years now and cannot wait to make these gorgeous recipes in the Airstream or while car camping upstate this summer.
Canon by Paige Lewis (May 19). Honestly, the premise of this nearly 500-page book eludes me, but the early hype (and to be honest, the blurbers) has already sold me on what will surely be a weird, meta, and hopefully mind-expanding journey of epic proportions.
The Children by Melissa Albert (June 2). Someone described this as a mix of gothic fantasy, mystery, and “publishing world realism”—sign me up. It takes place in Vermont (sold!) and follows the children of a famous yet mysterious fantasy author who get deviously tangled in their mother’s past. I can’t wait.
Thanks for reading in this short and snowy month, all. And sorry for the day delay, but this time yesterday morning I was in Philadelphia with my best friend hunting for a recovery breakfast—I turned 24 on Saturday, and to celebrate, dragged us to a stellar array of spots I can’t wait to discuss in next month’s dispatch. See y’all then!
I sometimes post on Instagram @gracerobrts.
My Goodreads is here and I am always looking for reading recommendations.
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Just want to say hi? My email is gracecroberts@gmail.com.
See you next month!
Sincerely yours,
Grace
You definitely need a pencil and the farm needs one too, but not sure if it should be a frog or flower! I'm a big believer in making an effort to make things a little more special, the details make the difference and convenience is overrated.
The Catskill hits just keep on coming! We’ll have to get back to Ralph’s this summer!