A Conversation on Inspiration and Style with Susan MacTavish Best, the host of POSTHOC Salon, bi-coastal adventurer, and long-time YALI Tribe Member.
P.S. She also shares her DELISH Olive Tapenade Recipe
Susan wearing the Original Orange Robe from YALI Core Collection
YALI: Where do you typically find inspiration?
Susan: I have always spent a good deal of time in nature and I find doing that really settles well with me. Calming, inspiring and exciting all at once that is how I find the ocean and forests.
Susan: I have always spent a good deal of time in nature and I find doing that really settles well with me. Calming, inspiring and exciting all at once that is how I find the ocean and forests.
YALI: Are there any people or things that have been inspiring you recently?
Susan: My musician friends who have kept creating even when they can't connect in person with their audiences. For example, my friends Lena and China, aka Foxy Panic, are releasing new music this month. They have kept going during these wobbly times and not stopped creating. I'm so impressed by their tenacity and drive.
I live in my friend's cabin up in far North Norcal Coast. Bon made the cabin from scratch from scraps of metal and wood and other bits he found, and I'm daily reminded of that living there that this is a home made from practically nothing. I can barely manage to hammer a nail into a wall to hang a painting so I really appreciate living in a home someone has created themselves from the ground up. I don't really understand how it all works but I'm very appreciative that it does particularly in the dead of winter.
Susan: My musician friends who have kept creating even when they can't connect in person with their audiences. For example, my friends Lena and China, aka Foxy Panic, are releasing new music this month. They have kept going during these wobbly times and not stopped creating. I'm so impressed by their tenacity and drive.
I live in my friend's cabin up in far North Norcal Coast. Bon made the cabin from scratch from scraps of metal and wood and other bits he found, and I'm daily reminded of that living there that this is a home made from practically nothing. I can barely manage to hammer a nail into a wall to hang a painting so I really appreciate living in a home someone has created themselves from the ground up. I don't really understand how it all works but I'm very appreciative that it does particularly in the dead of winter.
YALI: Tell us a little about your personal style, how would you describe it?
Susan: I love getting dressed! I love the effort, every day, even if I'm not going to see anyone. How I dress is just a moment in time of how I feel. It's a fleeting vibe. Some days are bright and breezy, other days might be a bit more Victorian or sultry. Who knows! But I love my chic staples like my Yali robes that I can put on any day and that make me feel GREAT when I am in them.
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Susan's Olive TapenadeMakes 3 CupsIngredients
Tapenade- 9 garlic cloves
- 8 cups pitted Kalamata olives, drained and rinsed
- 3 cans (2 oz. each) anchovies, drained
- 1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup jarred brined capers, brine squeezed out (with your hands or press in a strainer)
- 1 1/2 to 2 tsp. red chile flakes
- 3 tablespoons brandy
- 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
- 2 1/4 cups each lightly packed torn fresh basil leaves and flat-leaf parsley leaves
To Serve- Endive leaves, mini bell pepper halves, and steamed broccolini
- Baguette toasts
- Hard cooked quail eggs
How to Make It- Put garlic in a food processor and whirl to mince.
- Add remaining ingredients and pulse into a chunky purée.