10 Things We’re Doing Besides Falling Hard for Japan

erica’s things

• Landing on a GIF that perfectly encapsulates how I traverse the internet.

• Nodding my head at this Into the Gloss post about prepping food for the week on Sunday—which also kind of helps with my end-of-the-weekend anxiety?—and praising Bon Appétit for putting together this fully genius guide to having a better lunch deskside.

• Liking the idea of a lamp in a sweater, no matter what the weather’s doing outside. Naomi Paul’s got the good stuff.

• Cold-brewing some green tea, thanks to this tip from A Series of Tubes. So good, so cheap!

• Dabbling in co-washing, a truly terrible name for the practice of cleaning your hair with conditioner, not shampoo. Listen, so far I’m into it—more here and here. (Current fave: Suave Rosemary + Mint.)

claire’s things

• Loving that Wallpaper* City Guides (my go-to!) are now available in app form—one less thing to pack means room for at least two more souvenirs, right?

• Wanting to buy this seriously awesome Dictionary of Color Combinations for everyone I know who works in design.

• Awarding Tide To Go Stain Eraser the title of Travel MVP. (Though, to be fair, it had a real leg up on the competition given the omnipresence of splatter-prone ramen in Japan.)

• Putting $20 towards this super-light and portable laptop stand because my lifelong quest for better posture is, apparently, still going strong.

• Readying myself for bare-leg season with the consistently clean, fast, and just-plain-good service offered by European Wax Center—now with a whopping 588 locations across the U.S.

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Getting 30% off a Bunch of Jewelry!

erica’s things

• Trying to avoid summer-in-the-city feet by scrubbing with this sucker daily.

• Becoming a regular reader of The Billfold, the highly entertaining personal-finance site from the smarties behind The Awl and The Hairpin. Try this and this.

• Remembering why the Lower East Side restaurant Kuma Inn is just so great: There’s the whole fish, the coconut rice, the rice crepe thing, the weirdly special edamame—and the fact that it’s BYOB.

• Winning points from my economist husband for sending him this website that so-adeptly demonstrates that correlation does not imply causation (and sometimes uses Nicolas Cage movies to make its point).

• Tearing through The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner—if you’re in the market for a new novel that’s not too beach-ready, I think this should be it.

claire’s things

• Obsessing over Wild Child lipstick by ILIA—you won't find a more perfect red for summer, and it somehow looks good on everyone. So, yeah: Basically it’s Essie’s Clambake for your mouth.

• Naming a new favorite internet video: The debate teams from two top-notch NYC high schools duke it out re: social media.

• Welcoming the arrival of Nespresso’s long-overdue recycling program. Now the only guilt I’ll have associated with this product will be re: my caffeine intake. (Because P.S.? The $$ investment is WAY worth it if you’re replacing a daily Starbucks habit.)

• Relating to so many of the stories in this wonderful Leanne Shapton piece on the clothes we inherit from our mothers—I’m never not wearing at least one thing that used to be my mom’s.

• Digging the very calm, very hip Nakameguro neighborhood of Tokyo—it kind of feels like Japan’s take on Venice, California. Don’t miss the cafe and shopping at Taste AND Sense. (Yes, I’m writing this from Japan! “10 Things” waits for no honeymoon.)

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Looking for New Neighbors

erica’s things

• Planning some fantasy vacations via the flight search engine that dreams are made of, Adioso.

• Whipping up a batch of this super-quick rhubarb-chia jam that’s going to make this week’s yogurt consumption a lot less boring.

• Realizing that I made it through the whole freaking winter without chapped lips—and that I have Lansinoh (er, technically for breastfeeding moms, but go with it) to thank.

• Clearing some time on the schedule to check out the Sight Unseen Offsite, featuring home-slash-industrial design awesomeness, from Of a Kind designers Brook&Lyn, Fort Makers, and Light + Ladder, even. It’s happening in Soho ‘til tomorrow.

• Feeling suddenly cool—or at least on-trend?—for not having a microwave.

claire’s things

• Loving the Fantasy Dress Up instagram feed that puts celebrities in “what they should be wearing”—e.g. HRC in Louis Vuitton Resort ‘15.

• Feeling a lot less daunted by all of the strappy, backless, and generally un-bra-friendly tops hitting the shelves this summer, thanks to these magical little things that work shockingly well. (TMI, I know, but these things are important!)

• Doing a deep dive into the world of mid-century Rosenthal China after being handed-down a beautiful set—how good are this and this and this?

• Thanking the good people at Mouth for opening an all-American liquor store a few doors down from my apartment.

• Perfecting the at-home Saltie method of cooking eggs, which marries the fluffy, easy-to-consume form of scrambled eggs with the runny-yolk goodness of fried eggs. Total game-changer.

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Recovering From Wedding Weekend

erica’s things

• Doing a deep-dive into Eater’s totally brilliant, completely enlightening “One Year In” series that shares all the wonderful and terrible things about opening a restaurant.

• Falling in love with a broom. Yes, a broom—specifically this Minam one (that can even be stored-slash-displayed on a wall).

• Scarfing down this riff on elote that subs in zucchini for the corn. Hashtag spring!

• Double-tapping the wacky, throw-back, mood-enhancing goodness that is the @funkyoffishnation instagram feed.

• Readying the HBO GO account for the May 25th premiere of The Normal Heart, Ryan Murphy’s film adaptation of the iconic play about the eighties HIV/AIDS crisis. Trailer here, with some Julia Roberts, Mark Ruffalo, Taylor Kitsch, Jim Parsons, and Matt Bomer action—yah, all-star cast.

claire’s things

• Deeming this the best Met Gala slideshow around—Humans of New York brings all the high-flying fanciness back down to earth in a wonderful way.

• Receiving the most beautiful and cheerful floral arrangement I’ve seen in awhile, delivered by bike from the folks at (the brand-spankin’-new!) Petal by Pedal.

• Finally finding the answer to a question that has nagged me for years—how the eff to clean a coffee grinder?

• Feeling grateful for the sheer magic that is Mario Badescu Drying Lotion—nothing zaps zits faster than this old standby.

• Loving that there are so many leftovers from the amazing crew at Talula’s Table who catered our wed

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Getting Pumped for Barbara’s Day

erica’s things

• Double-dating to the so-major new Russ & Daughters Cafe (opening officially on Orchard Street on Wednesday!). The space and its vibe are—SOMEHOW!—even as good as the food.

• Appreciating the review of the film reviewers from Vocativ—and bookmarking the author page of the Chicago Reader’s J.R. Jones for future reference.

• Looking for an excuse to buy this Craig & Karl print titled “Brainz.” I mean, everything about it.

• Turning sub-par strawberries into something really wonderful, thanks to this roasting tip ℅ Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day. (Pssst: I skipped the port and didn’t miss it for a sec.)

• Realizing that I’ve been using GoodReads for five-plus years...and really hearting the fact that I have log of my book-consumption habits for half a decade.

claire’s things

• Brunching on the oh-so-beautiful roof of The McKittrick Hotel with bottomless food and booze and a fantastic band. A+ idea for birthdays, team outings, or just because it’s nice outside.

• Loving this MAKE bronzer—it’s subtle enough that I don’t end up looking like an Oompa Loompa, no matter how heavy-handed I get with it.

• Enlisting the help of Fancy Hands to help me bang out all of my last-minute wedding tasks.

• Getting a whole lot better at bringing my lunch to work, thanks to these three-compartment containers that keep everything in its place, bento-style.

• Applauding Fathom’s series on forbidden places—which includes a fascinating tour of North Korea via their instagram.

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Wondering if You’re Even Getting This Email

erica’s things

• Whipping up this very spring-y pasta that comes together in 20 minutes flat. Really!

• Cracking up over pretty much everything posted on the men’s style site Four Pins. The tone is like Of a Kind’s ornery brother—try this and this on for size.

• Thinking that every city should have a wine bar like New Orleans’s Bacchanal: You pick out a bottle (and maybe some cheese!) from the shop in the front, grab some glasses, and camp out at a table in the verdant back patio.

• Falling unreasonably hard for Eric Trine’s Rod+Weave Chair. Woven leather—oof.

• Revisiting my old pals Claudia Kishi and Stacey McGill: The Hairpin imagines what life might be like post-Baby-sitters Club.

claire’s things

• Loving this New Yorker piece about the internal politics of hip-hop and one guy at the center of it all. Here’s the Radiolab version of the story, in case you don’t have a subscription to the former.

• Slowly but surely getting the hang of pilates (I think I’m standing up straighter now!) and wanting to buy this thing so I can keep up my routine while I’m on the road.

• Falling down an internet rabbit hole of marbled balloons, inspired by design genius Grace Bonney’s wedding party. (Congrats, Grace!)

• Wondering if I’ll ever get tired of the green papaya or the shaved collard greens at Nightingale 9—my near-weekly habit is telling me the answer is no.

• Remembering how much fun I used to have playing with my dad’s record player, thanks to this great, slowed-down version of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.”

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Cheering on Boston

erica’s things

• Applauding the release of the too-tempting cookbook from my local ice-cream joint, Ample Hills Creamery. Where to start, Pistachio Squared or Ooey Gooey Butter Cake?

• Realizing that my vocabulary’s been longing for the term FODO, which stands for “fear of disappointing others” and is basically the antithesis of FOMO.

• Trying to pick up a little (um pouco?) Portuguese before a big summer trip—and discovering that the free app Duolingo is the way to do it.

• Diving into the 60 Minutes story of the ultimate family business, McIlhenny Company—which has been making Tabasco sauce for five generations, y’all.

• Anxiously awaiting the arrival of peonies! And getting my fix with Muji’s incense tribute to the flower in the meantime.

claire’s things

• Letting Jenna Wortham charm the crap out of me via this genius Buzzfeed column in which she is tasked with explaining her most recently used emoji.

• Using a brush on my very-curly hair for the first time in probably 15 years: The Tangle Teezer manages not to break and pull at it and just generally get all caught up in it.

• Loving this snappy, six-minute talk by Nick Roope, which reveals, among other things, fascinating details about urinal design.

• Keeping track of all of the brilliant ideas (and, okay, random to-dos) that pop into my head while showering, thanks to Aqua Notes.

• Hoping to improve my running form (and avoid perennial running injuries!) with these tips from Well & Good.

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Feeling Heartwarmed By A Fairly Brutal Sport

erica’s things

• Dying over Richard Lawson’s depiction of the Anne Hathaway-Rachel Zoe/actress-stylist breakup for VanityFair.com—it really is so funny.

• Listening to the brand-stinking-new album from my friend Zach’s Nashville-based band The Farewell Drifters. “Bring ‘Em Back Around” is where it’s at.

• Making this body scrub with coffee grounds and about three minutes of time.

• Wishing my tennis habit was, well, enough of a habit to validate the purchase of this Outdoor Voices dress.

• Popping this probiotic—when I can remember. If it’s good enough for Niki Taylor…

claire’s things

• Double-tapping all over my latest instagram obsession, @donalddrawbertson—a witty and talented artist who also happens to be one of the founders of MAC Cosmetics.

• Finding We Steal Secrets, a documentary about the Wikileaks drama, to be more entertaining and suspenseful than most Hollywood thrillers.

• Sipping on seltzer with bitters at the bar when I’m not in the mood for something alcoholic—delicious combo that also turns out to be a remedy for upset stomachs and hangovers.

• Thinking this excellent, crowd-sourced NYMag weekend guide to NYC is as good as any travel book you’re likely to find on Amazon.

• Returning to an old-favorite recipe from my college days, when Cooking for Mr. Latte was practically the only cookbook I owned: this foolproof and fulfilling roasted chicken with curry and chutney.

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Shivering

erica’s things

• Trying not to buy every single card that Emily McDowell makes. Lots of non-gooey valentines to be had, I tell you.

• Digging the concept behind Design*Sponge’s new “Veterans and Startups” series—interviews with an industry leaders and newbies that run side-by-side.

• Loving that somebody put all that Sundance star power to good use: Get a load of these 1860s-style portraits from Esquire.

• Stocking up on Mighty Leaf tea—Green Tea Tropical and Vanilla Bean are my two very favorites.

• Smiling every time I spy this little lemon tree brightening up my too-gray, January windowsill.

claire’s things

• Replacing all the stale pita chips in my pantry with falafel chips. Snack game = officially upped.

• Feeling so many feelings in response to Marisa Meltzer’s wonderfully honest Elle.com essay about the intersection of feminism and weight loss.

• Fending off the flu by tossing a packet of Aloha’s The Daily Good in my morning smoothie.

• Ceasing wondering what gifts to buy for pregnant friends now that Storq is on the scene.

• Ordering boatloads of Verterra palm leaf dinnerware for my wedding—it’s cute, compostable, and cheaper than renting china.

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Giving Away $250 Worth of Goodies Courtesy of The New Potato

erica’s things

• Giving the 7-Minute Workout a shot (with the help of this handy app). All it requires is not pressing the snooze button, right?

• Wishing I could have been besties with Diana Vreeland after watching this documentary about the fashion-mag innovator—girlfriend gives good quote.

• Determining that See’s Vanilla Lollipops are my favorite candy, officially. I hope those suckers feel as honored as they should.

• Applauding Ready for Zero, a site that tracks credit cards, student loans, and mortgages to help you pay off any debt that’s making you chest-clenchy.

• Making the apt. smell like a mountain lodge, thanks to Paine’s balsam fir incense.

claire’s things

• Finding The Hollywood Reporter’s Roundtables to be a surprisingly honest and entertaining peek behind the curtains of the movie industry.

• Keeping an emergency stash of these delicious spiced almonds in my purse at all times—discovered in the airport, of all places.

• Consuming most of my pop culture knowledge via Jon Caramanica, whose sense of humor and insight makes topics like Miley Cyrus and a reality show about really, really rich kids seem totally worth reading about.

• Thinking NYC might finally be coming around to the whole healthy-but-actually-tastes-good trend now that places like Feel Food are popping up.

• Being reminded of what a kook Joaquin Phoenix can be, thanks to this delightfully awkward Terry Gross interview in which he ranges from bizarrely antagonistic to downright charming.

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Planning Our Honeymoons

erica’s things

• Giving the 7-Minute Workout a shot (with the help of this handy app). All it requires is not pressing the snooze button, right?

• Wishing I could have been besties with Diana Vreeland after watching this documentary about the fashion-mag innovator—girlfriend gives good quote.

• Determining that See’s Vanilla Lollipops are my favorite candy, officially. I hope those suckers feel as honored as they should.

• Applauding Ready for Zero, a site that tracks credit cards, student loans, and mortgages to help you pay off any debt that’s making you chest-clenchy.

• Making the apt. smell like a mountain lodge, thanks to Paine’s balsam fir incense.

claire’s things

• Finding The Hollywood Reporter’s Roundtables to be a surprisingly honest and entertaining peek behind the curtains of the movie industry.

• Keeping an emergency stash of these delicious spiced almonds in my purse at all times—discovered in the airport, of all places.

• Consuming most of my pop culture knowledge via Jon Caramanica, whose sense of humor and insight makes topics like Miley Cyrus and a reality show about really, really rich kids seem totally worth reading about.

• Thinking NYC might finally be coming around to the whole healthy-but-actually-tastes-good trend now that places like Feel Food are popping up.

• Being reminded of what a kook Joaquin Phoenix can be, thanks to this delightfully awkward Terry Gross interview in which he ranges from bizarrely antagonistic to downright charming.

10 Things We’re Doing Besides, Um, Sleeping

erica’s things

• Taking a trip down Talkboy and Furby memory lane with this list of toys of gifting-seasons past.

• Really loving Tasting Table’s tribute to neighborhood-restaurant gems that don’t always get the love they deserve—it includes Barbuto, where we had our tremendously tasty team holiday dinner.

• Wanting to make a pegboard headboard HAPPEN. So good, right?!

• Learning about AmazonSmile, which lets you to choose a charity to donate 0.5% of your Amazon purchase to—and, if you are anything like me, makes you feel at least 7% better about the fact that you order toilet paper online.

• Stuffing a stocking with a straight-up genius office supply: the stapleless stapler.

claire’s things

• Feasting on the most delicious dungeness crabs shipped straight from San Francisco to my mouth by Alioto-Lazio Seafood Company in SF. Perfect zero-prep-required dinner party idea.

• Thinking it’s time for all of those rainbow-coordinated bookshelves to move over and make room for something even prettier: the gorgeous tomes of Juniper Books.

• Loving these alt gingerbread houses commissioned by Vogue and dreamed up by the likes of designer Rachel Comey and so-hot-right-now artist Will Cotton.

• Determining every office deserves one of these amazing custom felt pennants emblazoned with the company’s name hanging in its entryway. Starting with Of a Kind.

• Eagerly anticipating the publication of The Guardian’s “10-year Blog Project” which will feature some of the best user-submitted Livejournal and Xanga entries from days of yore. Don’t be selfish: Submit yours today.

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Getting Tote-ally Carried Away

erica’s things

• Deciding that if I had gotten my act together to send holiday cards, they would have been ones by Aileen Cheng.

• Wanting more gummy, pasta-y Korean rice cakes in my life—and looking for ways to make that happen.

• Re-experiencing the amazingness that is F.A.O. Schwarz on Fifth Avenue. If you’re looking for a (weeknight) NYC activity, check out the Muppet Workshop or hit up the crayon bar.

• Dying over the opening paragraph of this New Yorker profile of art dealer David Zwirner.

• Understanding, for the first time, the sheer decadence of the everything bagel.

claire’s things

• Thinking Letters in the Mail—a subscription service from The Rumpus that sends you hand-written letters from authors—might be just be the best gift idea I’ve seen yet. Especially the kids version.

• Having a moment over head-spinningly amazing food art (art food?), courtesy of Flourshop, Mocomeshi, and my OG fave, Luxirare.

• Dying over The American Reader’s “10 Under 10 Writers to Watch”—a hilarious send-up of age-festishizing lists, self-serious writers, and the like.

• Discovering the wonder that is a jujube (yes, it’s a real fruit, not just a candy)—tastes like a cross between an apple and a date, and makes the perfect snack.

• Wishing I could live inside a Brigitte Sire photograph—seems like a pretty dreamy and happy place to be.

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Making Sure 2014 Looks GOOD

erica’s things

• Appreciating the crap out of Valet’s winter shoe care guide—and scoring some Obenauf’s leather oil as a result.

• Testing out the so-far-so-good to-do list app Any.Do. Major sell: It plays well with Gmail.

• Seriously applauding NPR’s highly educational exploration of how an average T-shirt is made.

• Adding Christina Tosi’s weirdo take on the Rice Krispie treat to my holiday baking roster.

• Filling up my Goodreads queue with all of the books that Maris Kreizman—A.K.A. Slaughterhouse 90210—really loved this year.

claire’s things

• Using this $20 curling wand to fix a botched blow-out job and flipping out over the results.

• Falling in love with the collages of artist Hanna Eshel—presumably studies for her sculptures, they stand on their own as damn fine fixin’s for your wall.

• Hulu-ing Masterchef Junior, because there’s something really heartwarming and inspiring about watching a bunch of 8- to 13-year-old kids whip up dishes that look like they belong in Michelin-starred restaurants.

• LOL-ing at College Humor’s imagining of our world if we all wrote like we were still in college.

• Feeling like I truly know what it feels like to be a teen superstar after reading the fascinating accounts by Joe Jonas and Mandy Moore.

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Doling out Some Cyber Monday Deals

erica’s things

• Searching for the perf matte brick red lip, inspired by Dana Scully and Alicia Florrick. Maybe RMS lip2cheek in Rapture? MAC’s lip pencil in Brick?

• Adding all of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s books to my to-read roster after finishing her super-compelling Americanah.

• Learning that Greek yogurt makes a really stellar pasta sauce (when combined with parmesan and caramelized onions, at least).

• Taking a break with Mei Lun and Mei Huan, the four-month-old twin pandas at the Atlanta Zoo that are viewable via, duh, their PandaCam.

• Unearthing some very pretty internet destinations, thanks to Site Inspire.

claire’s things

• Running long distances without having to stop to re-tie my shoes thanks to Hickies—a genius little rubber contraption that takes the place of laces.

• Loving the literary scandal retold in great detail in this article, suggesting Dorothy Parker may have done a little copy-catting of Nabokov’s Lolita. Don’t miss the comments section.

• Wondering if shuffleboard is the new bowling—and guessing we’ll all know the answer very soon since Royal Palm Shuffle is finally opening its doors in Brooklyn.

• Keeping warm with a big mug of The Queen’s Guard tea by Bellocq—I’m not normally a fan of rose-flavored things, but it works so well in this blend.

• Following (and loving) NASA’s instagram feed—it’s chock-full of stunning images, and they even managed to work multiple Black Friday jokes into their ‘gramming. #astronauthumor

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Getting Ready for our Holiday Spectacular

erica’s things

• Loving Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn even more than I already did thanks to her penchant for carrying wine bags as purses (as broken down for Elle).

• Getting my greens with this cozy, soy-saucy recipe via Milk & Mode.

• Dying over The Onion’s review of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

• Traversing Mercer Street to get some gift shopping done buy an early present for myself: a knitting kit from the way-too-enticing shop Purl Soho.

• Trying to avoid winter hair static/dryness with this serious deep conditioner from Davines.

claire’s things

• Making double batches of Smitten Kitchen’s absurdly easy one-pan farro with tomatoes to last me for the whole week—it somehow manages to taste better reheated.

• Texting Erica some really next-level emoji action, courtesy of LINE, a hilarious chat app that is apparently all the rage in Japan.

• Scrolling endlessly through Into The Gloss’s tumblr, which serves up a bevy of some seriously strong magazine editorials, film stills (Katie Holmes in Disturbing Behavior, anyone?), and other inspo images.

• Loving this story about how San Francisco hired design firm IDEO to figure out how to get public school kids to eat healthier lunches.

• Getting pretty nostalgic for the nineties thanks to Vulture—check out this epic Sheryl Crow cover by Lorde and Haim, and read Irene’s account of “the bitch-slap heard round the world” (yes, that one, from the The Real World: Seattle).

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Celebrating our Third Birthday

erica’s things

• Catching up on Grace Bonney’s really compelling art-slash-design podcast “After the Jump” that makes you wanna create things (or at least clean your house). Claire and I got to be on it back when!

• Whipping up a ginormous batch of hummus, the perfect in-between weather comfort food.

• Gearing up for my favorite NYC holiday tradition, Stockings With Care: You sign up to play Santa to a kiddo who might not have anything under the tree this year otherwise.

• Dying over Michael Galinsky’s photos from American malls in the eighties (compiled in a coffee-table book, natch).

• Getting completely sucked into the Thanksgiving Menu Generator over at Saveur.com—and suddenly understanding how people spend five hours at a slot machine.

claire’s things

• Challenging my friends to rank just about everything I can think of, thanks to Proust, a completely addictive app that takes the basic concept of “Do, Dump, or Marry?” to soaring new heights.

• Coming across the hands-down most genius iPhone “case” I’ve seen—Corners4 protects your phone while still letting you have the naked experience that Steve Jobs intended.

• Loving the Annie Liebovitz-shot spread of Jessica Chastain in December Vogue—click through the shots here and see them side-by-side with the paintings they were inspired by here.

• Appreciating this New York Times op-ed on Etsy and the difficulty of trying to define what qualifies an item as handmade.

• Browsing the amazing (and well-priced!) collection of made-in-America vintage men’s apparel (lots of never-been-worn, military-issue stuff from the sixties!) and objects (Nixon campaign buttons!) at the newly-opened General Store in Dumbo, Brooklyn.

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Jamming Out to Songza Daily

erica’s things

• Finding it impossible to believe that Love Actually was released a full 10 years ago—The Hairpin is paying tribute with some serious fan fiction and GIF action.

• Making this delicata squash recipe from The Yellow House two times in three days. Yes, it’s that good.

• Wanting to frame this completely insane (and mood-improving) photo of the world’s fluffiest bunny.

• Staying up way past my bedtime to Hulu The Good Wife, which Phil Maciak of The Los Angeles Review of Books argues is the best, fastest show on TV—and also Scandal’s spiritual sister. Sold.

• Looking to plan a trip to Austin or Nashville or BOTH so that I have an excuse to pick up one of these awesome-sounding Wildsam Field Guides.

claire’s things

• Wanting to decorate my life (and my belly) with these stunning cookies by Sogi’s Honey Bakeshop.

• Wondering just how much cooler I’d be if I had an electric bike like this sweet Pedego Interceptor.

• Wishing I could live inside Shed in Healdsburg, California—it’s a bright, sunny, beautifully designed cafe-slash-grocery-slash-shop-slash-event space. What more could I want?

• Watching while 13-year-old superstar Ruby Karp schools the world on social media: how Instagram is in and Facebook is out, why Kik has serious potential, and what’s so great about Snapchat.

• Dying to see The Armstrong Lie, a documentary that starts filming in the pre-scandal days, then gets derailed by all the hubbub, and picks back up with his confession.

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Loving Our Little Work Family

erica’s things

• Watching this video—of beauty vlogger Promise Phan transforming herself into an Angelina lookalike—twice.

• Getting to the bottom of the word dude, thanks to The Atlantic.

• Marveling at just how quickly this mushroom pasta—courtesy of self-proclaimed domestic goddess Nigella Lawson—comes together.

• Wanting to cloak all my holiday presents in this freaking amazing wrapping paper from Wrap.

• Getting a little watery-eyed over this little movie about Archi’s Acres—a SoCal greenhouse biz that’s all about training military veterans.

claire’s things

• Sprinkling Snake Oil Hot Sauce all over everything—it’s produced in Baltimore by the geniuses behind Woodberry Kitchen, who revived a nearly-extinct breed of pepper to make it.

• Plotting a honeymoon in Tokyo and finding Lizzie Fortunato’s blog posts about her recent trip to be one of the best resources out there.

• Finally listening to all those podcasts I’ve bookmarked over the years, thanks to the handy Stitcher app, which serves them up on-demand.

• Getting my gluten on with loaves from Hot Bread Kitchen—the New Yorker Rye is perfect, and they’ve got a damn fine mission to boot.

• Completing the final steps of becoming a total Danny Meyer fangirl by reading his fantastic book on hospitality—a must-read for anybody in (any type of!) business.

10 Things We’re Doing Besides Giving Away an Eames Hang-It-All (and a $500 Gift Certificate to Of a Kind!)

erica’s things

• Celebrating cookbook season by toasting my pals JJ and Katherine, who both co-wrote very-big-deal ones—Pok Pok and Roberta’s Cookbook—coming out tomorrow!

• Exploring the weirdness of the NYC waterways through these really striking photos of washed-up trash.

• Wanting to dress my bed in chambray, too, ℅ the sheets from Emily Current and Meritt Elliott’s collab with PBteen. (Do I care that they’re technically marketed to girls half my age? Not at all.)

• Dying over this Twin Peaks-themed fashion editorial from the October 1990 issue of Sassy, unearthed by the Tumblr Sassy Magazine LIVES.

• Planning a little New Year’s getaway to The Graham & Co.—a chill-looking hotel in Phoenicia, NY—to escape the event that, according to Sloane Crosley, only just recently lost its “Most Intolerable New York Holiday crown” to Halloween.

claire’s things

• Loving the mesmerizing and sometimes hilarious “Little People Project” by London artist Slinkachu. Don’t miss the bonus reel on his blog.

• Waking up with a little more ease thanks to the Sleep Cycle app that tracks your sleep and wakes you up during lighter periods so the alarm isn’t so jarring. It’s kind of life-changing.

• Getting a kick out of Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring 2014 runway show concept, inspired by So You Think You Can Dance—if you can’t make it to his retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum, it is the next best thing.

• Obsessing over the fascinating backstory of sriracha.

• Wondering how Karlie’s Kookies Perfect 10 can be so absurdly delicious and moist despite being gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free.