10 Things We're Doing Besides Serving Up Headache Remedies

erica’s things

• Fig-uring out how to amp up some garlic-roasted potatoes. (Pssst: I used fresh fruit instead of dried, just tossing it in during the last 10 minutes of cooking.)

• Getting way into scalp care. Eyeroll, I know, but this Christophe Robin scrub is where it’s at.

• Becoming more civically engaged...via text. Votum tells you what Congress is voting on, asks what you think, and gets word back to your reps. So smart!

• Adopting a chicken named Widdle from Farm Sanctuary. Now I just need to plan a trip to go visit him…

• Listening raptly to fellow member of the women who don’t want kids posse Terry Gross share her thoughts ‘n feelings on the subject.

claire’s things

• Questioning why I don’t reach out to Zappos customer service more often.

• Having my world rocked by an herb-chopping trick I picked up from the Fortunatos: Tear the leaves into a short drinking glass, pick up some kitchen scissors, and start snipping away right there inside the cup.

• Using the easy-peasy TodayTix app to score discounted tickets to see (A++) The Color Purple—my kneejerk response to this amazingness.

• Staying in-the-know about what’s hip in hip hop via the Rap Caviar playlist.

• Licking the bowl of this silly-simple black bean soup from Gwyneth’s new cookbook—and adding it to my arsenal of make-ahead-for-office-lunches tricks.

turn it up to 11—from claire!

• Locking in my go-to summer wedding look well before Memorial Day.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Putting a Pin In It

erica’s things

• Celebrating a first bday by donating to National Diaper Bank Network—such a worthy cause (and good tactic!) for parents who want to enforce a no-gifts-please policy but know people won’t listen.

• Encouraging Forcing the boy to get on the natural-deodorant bandwagon with this woodsy take from Schmidt’s.

• Finding a lot to love about Molly Prentiss’s debut novel Tuesday Nights in 1980, but especially the descriptions of art.

• Giving a bunch of spring asparagus its due—and in no time at all.

• Click-click-clicking on the headline “Why Does Hollywood Keep Disrespecting Melissa McCarthy?” Mark Harris, I wanna hug you.

claire’s things

• Rooting for more honest and revealing conversations about income like this one.

• Making sure the cuteness factor of my knitting supplies measures up.

• Thinking a whole lot about breast milk for someone who’s never produced any. Turns out buying it and flying with it are both (maddeningly!) harder than they should be.

• Wondering where Gjetost cheese has been hiding all my life—other than Norway.

• Harboring a serious newsletter crush on Tomorrow Looks Bright. If you like this, you’ll like that. Trust.

turn it up to 11—from erica!

• Fidgeting with this instead of my cuticles during long meetings. Way chicer.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Being Crystal Clear

erica’s things

• Associating Tax Day with men-boys in bedazzled jeans from here on out.

• Looking for an excuse to use the term "ship name"—what the kids call those celebrity-couple portmanteaus like Brangelina or Speidi. (Get it? 'Cause relationship?)

• Downloading an app for the sole purpose of entering the daily lottery for $10 Hamilton tickets. There's something weirdly satisfying about the process...even if sharing this intel lowers my odds even more.

• Following a Pinterest board dedicated to A-frame houses and feeling A-OK (A+, really) about that.

• Roasting some radishes and their greens, tossing 'em together, and eating them up so very fast.

claire’s things

• Cruisin' for a bruisin'—any opportunity to sport these downright fantastic suckers.

• Intentionally clicking on a display ad (first time for everything, I guess!) because this exhibit looks that good.

• Wondering why, in the midst all of this 90s nostalgia, Michael Jackson's Free Willy theme song still hasn't had its well-deserved moment. Put it on your workout mix and thank me later.

• Really living for a tasting menu these days. Babu Ji in NYC and Sugarfish in L.A. are both home runs—and neither requires you to make a single decision OR wear a dinner jacket.

• Taking the edge off my winter-white legs with a swipe of St. Tropez—this stuff's a classic for a reason.

turn it up to 11—from claire!

• Cycling out my collection of boring terra cotta planters, starting with the introduction of this one—and using this handy guide to propagating to make sure I don't kill all my greens in the process.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Snacking and Snoozing

erica’s things

• Picking up the pace—and counting down to the Olympics—after reading 'bout the first family of running.

• Telling my phone it's time for bed thanks to the new iOS Night Shift feature.

• Hoping that Colin Firth is ready to play Fitzwilliam Darcy when it comes time to turn Eligible, Curtis Sittenfeld's highly entertaining modern redux of Pride & Prejudice, into a movie. Cause he's the only Mr. Darcy we want, right?

• Chic-ifying my sticky-note situation: These really stack up.

• Jumping for joy over the fact that the best lip balm there ever was (that isn't even marketed as a lip balm) now comes in mini tubes.

claire’s things

• Feeling grateful for the consistently delicious menu at Uncle Boon's, my go-to laid-back, no-fuss dinner spot in downtown NYC. They even take reservations—how novel!

• Reveling in the latest in drugstore cotton-round innovation—they make an exfoliating version now! So perfectly useful.

• Determining "it has packets!" is the new "it has pockets!": Say hello to my new favorite nut butter company. (Also a bestiepreneur operation!)

• Realizing I never really appreciated the full potential of custom M&M's until this happened at my great-aunt's birthday party.

• Betting you've never seen a sippy cup as chic as this one.

turn it up to 11—from erica!

• Fishing for compliments: How cute does my husband look in this tie?! Meow.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Reading and Crying

erica’s things

• Doing a deep-dive into the history of scratch-off lotto tickets, which involves melted butter and a millionaire statistician.

• Wardrobing my cast-iron skillet for spring in this jazzy leather grip that’ll get better with age—just like the pan.

• Supporting the crap out of Her Justice, an org that provides legal assistance to NYC women in need.

• Catching the poké wave: After getting toppings-bar-happy at Wisefish Poké in NYC, I’m tempted to make my own.

• Having my mind blown by the astounding, everlasting appeal of Friends.

claire’s things

• Wondering if I have time in my schedule to open up my own franchise of make-your-own-healthy-thing hotspot Honeygrow.

• Snatching up tickets for the premiere of Ben Nabors’s The Happy Film (starring cultish graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister) at Tribeca Film Festival.

• Thinking Quarter Life Poetry is the Instagram feed that Broad City’s Abbi wishes she had. Don’t miss the lolz-y video trailers for the upcoming book.

• Handing it (heh) to Hamburger Helper for raising the bar on the typically cringe-worthy branded April Fools’ joke genre—and supporting emerging artists in the process.

• Making my desk salad a little less sad—and a lot less soggy—thanks to these ridiculously handy little things.

turn it up to 11—from claire!

• Stopping someone in the middle of a mountain trail in Joshua Tree National Park to admire her amazing ACB earrings and extending my lobe to show her that I, too, consider them a key part of my hiking lewk.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Getting Gussied Up

erica’s things

• Mourning the fact that I stayed at South Congress Hotel in Austin for just one night—it was so pretty, so chill, so just what I want.

• Determining that our household ice-cream consumption warrants these.

• Feeling on-trend: There is now an entire—very well-designed—book dedicated to spritzes.

• Getting a thrupples (chair) massage with Claire and her husband at The Now in L.A. Three thumbs up for the beachy vibes and for the pricing.

• Cementing my affections for concrete floors. See: this and this.

claire’s things

• Nagging the crap out of everyone I love to fill out their medical ID profiles—it's the only info someone can access from your lock screen without your passcode, i.e., in an emergency.

• Telling kale chips their time is up; everyone make way for cabbage chips.

• Accessing my inner cowgirl with an overnight in Joshua Tree, California, where I slept in this little one-room situation and am considering going back just to have the ribs at nearby Pappy & Harriet's.

• Gearing myself up for the dreaded NYC apartment search with lots of inspo and encouragement from the story of (Of a Kind Insider!) Whitney Parris-Lamb's home.

• Stocking up on Simi Sauvignon Blanc (despite rarely opting for whites)—it's sub-$15 and goes down dangerously easy.

turn it up to 11—from erica!

• Missing this thing so much while traveling that I think it might have just earned itself some of that coveted carry-on space.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Mixing up Creams—Iced and Otherwise

erica’s things

• Hoping that my four-year-old niece likes her shiny new copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland—illustrated by Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co.—half as much as I do.

• Ambling around Venice and having dinner outdoors at the pretty, tasty, and newly redone Rose Cafe—you know, living that (very temporary) L.A. lyfe.

• Deciding that “magical realism” might be for me after devouring the weirdness-in-a-small-town book Bone Gap.

• Finding a travel pillow worth the trouble: This Muji one can be attached to the side of your carry-on (so no baggage space!), is flexible enough for any plane-napping style, and is easy on the eyes (as I said: Muji).

• Using the James Beard Award nominations as an excuse to read about break-ups and chicken tenders.

claire’s things

• Losing an afternoon to exploring my past. Hand-written census results describing your great-great-grandparents: surprisingly moving!

• Solving one of the great mysteries of our time: why Jennifer Garner and Gwen Stefani got divorced at the same time.

• Turning those amazing “live photo” iPhone shots into Instagrammable videos with the Live GIF app.

• Easing my way back into a long-lost art habit with these awesome watercolor pens—no supplies (not even a paintbrush or a cup of water!) needed.

• Marching through the kitchen of a grilled cheese restaurant to reach a delicious dinner at L.A.’s Maré—the crispy octopus and kumquat cocktail are my new standard-bearers.

turn it up to 11—from claire!

• Wondering if I need to double-up on these (quite possibly my favorites of all time?), given my propensity for losing shades.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Talking Bunnies, Donkeys, and Elephants

erica’s things

• Melting like a quesadilla whenever a post from @tasteofstreep (as in, Meryl) hits my Instagram feed.

• Feeling victorious: I finally know how to answer the question, "Do you need insurance for your rental car?"

• Wondering if all of the so-good hotel openings in New Orleans—this, this, this!—are excuse enough to book a trip (and a table at Willa Jean).

• Fact-checking the almost audaciously good The People v. O.J. Simpson with the help of Vanity Fair.

• Fancifying my ginger tea recipe. How put-together and calm would I be if I drank this every night, I wonder?

claire’s things

• Reaching a new snack-food high (or low, depending on how you look at it) with this decadent merger of two of my favorites.

• Calling it: Impulse-buying custom-printed sweatshirts is the new impulse-buying domain names. Rush Order Tees, your lightning-fast turnaround and A+ customer service and I will certainly meet again. And again.

• Shvitzing my way to the closest thing I've found to a vacation without leaving NYC.

• Wondering if I was wrong to discount graphic memoirs as not-for-me after being 100% charmed by this tiny taste of one. (From Mira Jacob, whose excellent novel is our current #ReadingThings pick for the 3/30 ep of our podcast!)

• Searching all over my tiny apartment for the perfect corner to hang a hammock-chair hybrid.

turn it up to 11—from erica!

• Putting a cork in it—"it" being my kitchen.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Knitting and Menstruating

erica’s things

• Falling even harder for Tessa Thompson (of Creed, Dear White People...and Veronica Mars!) after watching her kill it in the play Smart People, which is thought-provoking, funny, and, yah, smart.

• Laughing at New York...and L.A., too.

• Supplementing my reading list with the quippy reviews—and pretty pics—of @bestbookgrams.

• Spending more time behind the wheel and re-reading this New Yorker story about a guy learning to drive as an adult—in Manhattan, no less—and his enigmatic instructor.

• Casting a vote for the faux first lady memoir American Wife as a solid escape from all dat campaign coverage (but one that still feels 2016 election timely).

claire’s things

• Feeling like this longread about teens on Tumblr is one of the more revealing reports on the current state of the internet, adolescence, and meme culture.

• Finding myself dangerously close to planning an impromptu vacation (top of my list: Mexico City) after seeing the discounts I’d get via Hotelied.

• Eating up the bite-size art history lessons served up by Commune Design’s excellent blog.

• Thinking you could probably fill this home’s “water court” with the drool I produced after poring through images of it.

• Wondering if courtroom art is about to have a moment—the Library of Congress just acquired the sketches of a bunch of high-profile cases, and Criminal had a surprisingly charming episode on the woman responsible for portraying John Wayne Gacy’s trial, among others.

turn it up to 11—from claire!

• Lighting up my a.m. routine with a candle that’s destined to become a permanent fixture in my mornings long past its burn time—the thing transforms into one of the chicest coffee mugs ya ever seen.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Reading, Leading, and Succeeding

erica’s things

• Feeling a rosewater obsession comin' on, fueled by this Mario Badescu face spray (which, it should be noted, mists uncommonly well).

• Apartment-cleaning to the captivating episode of Death, Sex & Money with Brooke Shields, who I haven't quite known how to feel about since reading that so, so good Andre Agassi autobiography, Open.

• Uncovering a faster way to cook sweet potatoes that's also 1) very tasty 2) healthy and 3) filling, with lots of beans and kale. Does it sound like I'm doing a hard sell? Because I am.

• Fancifying my shower timez with these DIYed aromatherapy tablets/bombs/melts/what-have-yous that I discovered via Simple Matters. Currently playing: grapefruit and jasmine.

• Learning that the super-influential Paris store Merci has a blog—one that involves vegetable peelers and outrageous ice cream cakes, even.

claire’s things

• Getting into a truly consistent meditation routine for the first time ever with this app, which has a seemingly infinite selection of guided recordings to choose from so you can pick the length, topic, and style that feels right for you.

• Recognizing way too much of my father and my husband in the subjects of this amazing Instagram feed.

• Spending a weekend exploring the Berkshires (MassMoCA and Clark Instititute both live up to the hype, BTW) using the cozy and adorable Hotel on North as our jumping-off point. I also hear good things about their sister hotel, Porches.

• Amping myself up to knit something more complicated than a beanie thanks to the copious amounts of inspiration found at The Knitorious.

• Coming way late to the game on the so, so great, must-see musical that is Fun Home—and, hey, you can probably afford to buy tickets to this show without mortgaging your home!

turn it up to 11—from erica!

• Finding a way to wear fringe that suits someone who has never attended Coachella or even aspired to (i.e., me).

10 Things We're Doing Besides Paying The Beautilities Bill

erica’s things

• Loving love—especially after reading this. I'm planning to spend some QT with this series stat.

• Finally downloading the Way2ride app for hailing and paying for NYC cabs. It's really as useful as Taxi TV claims.

• Pretending to take advantage of the great outdoors via this very pretty—and currently very snowy—Instagram account.

• Latching onto the term "softboy," used to describe a particular type of emotionally aware but still self-involved modern dude. (How late am I to this one? You can tell me.)

• Firing up Vance Kitira taper candles: The white ones have this almost-milky (and not too fancy!) look, and the smoky gray ones are neutral but in a just-surprising way. Very modern pastoral, both.

claire’s things

• Loving love—especially after reading this. I'm planning to spend some QT with this series stat.

• Finally downloading the Way2ride app for hailing and paying for NYC cabs. It's really as useful as Taxi TV claims.

• Pretending to take advantage of the great outdoors via this very pretty—and currently very snowy—Instagram account.

• Latching onto the term "softboy," used to describe a particular type of emotionally aware but still self-involved modern dude. (How late am I to this one? You can tell me.)

• Firing up Vance Kitira taper candles: The white ones have this almost-milky (and not too fancy!) look, and the smoky gray ones are neutral but in a just-surprising way. Very modern pastoral, both.

turn it up to 11—from claire!

• Getting stopped on the reg by people wanting to know 'bout my work bag—because I guess their plain black totes aren't doing much to help with the winter blah.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Thinking Beyond Those Candy Hearts

erica’s things

• Moving Clover’s daily emails to my primary inbox: They’re technically for teen girls, but, really, they’re good reading for anybody at all.

• Anticipating a real cobb salad moment after mmm-ing my way through the butterleaf version that Midtown Eats in Reno, Nevada, dishes out.

• Adding the sneaky savings program Digit (with its GIF-fluent texts) to a growing list of internet-y personal-finance tools I use—love ya, Simple and Acorns.

• Upgrading my mixing bowls: Mason Cash has been making earthenware ones since the 1800s that are plenty nice to serve in, too.

• Thwarting altitude sickness with a winning combo of Advil and bananas.

claire’s things

• Celebrating Erica’s bday with a trip to Great Jones Spa for baths and facials, topped off with a visit from her favorite gals...in Lego form.

• Finding a reason other than Misty to take an interest in the ballet—NYCB’s latest production is a collaboration with one of my favorite artists Marcel Dzama and composer Bryce Dressner of A+ band The National.

• Finding so much to love about The Portable Veblen, a seriously delightful novel that (IMHO) joins a spate of recent works by women that prove romantic comedies can be equal parts whip-smart and satisfying.

• Discovering, to my horror, that nobody who works at Of a Kind (other than me) has ever seen the eighties Cusack classic Better Off Dead. Get your acts together, people!

• Talkin’ teams, switchin’ sides...from linen sheets back to the good old-fashioned cotton ones, because I swear to thread counts on high, I have never felt anything so ridiculously soft and smooth in my life.

turn it up to eleven—from erica!

• Declaring the clutch the ideal bag shape for cold weather: Carrying one means I don’t have to fight that losing battle between a shoulder strap and a bulky winter coat, and this one’s quite a looker, too.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Booking It

erica’s things

• Getting sucked into Born to Run, a very gripping (really!) book about ultrarunning that’s prooobably gonna be made into a major motion picture starring Matthew McConaughey.

• Celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Big Night—for sure one of the greatest food movies of all time. Turns out, 1996 was a BIG culinary moment: Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, and Emeril Lagasse got their Food Network shows the same year.

• Flopping onto a new mattress: Bunches of research said Leesa was the way to go, and I’m a real happy sleeper so far.

• Considering what it’d be like if the Ken doll got a makeover, too.

• Topping off some out-of-character Saturday party-hopping with a wildly fulfilling late-night meal at Wo Hop in NYC’s Chinatown—it’s not technically a 24-hour joint because it closes from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. (which, LOLZ).

claire’s things

• Falling even harder for Bill Hader after watching his seriously impressive turn (alongside the equally glorious Kristin Wiig) in The Skeleton Twins—which also happens to feature one of the greatest lip-syncing scenes in any movie, ever.

• Preaching about the life-changing magic (seriously: magic) of adjusting your computer screen’s brightness with F.lux app. My like-clockwork 6 p.m. headaches have all but disappeared.

• Really loving this sharp breakdown of how the costume director behind Spotlight managed to make the characters as authentically unfashionable as possible.

• Putting my Prime membership to good use by sending water filters to Flint, Michigan, in just a few clicks.

• Consuming salt like it’s going out of style via my go-to lazy dinner of late: Sauté anchovies, capers, chili flakes, and garlic until the latter’s golden, add crushed tomatoes (these, obvs), and let simmer until your pasta’s ready.

turn it up to eleven—from claire!

• Feeling a very serious silver-jewelry phase coming on inspired by some major hand-me-downs—and these guys, with their everyday vibes.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Listening Up

erica’s things

• Putting this book on a list of "Things I'm Buying Myself When I'm Real Fancy."

• Falling hard for the story of these beans, which were grown specially for everyone's Italian grandma Marcella Hazan and are very good on their own but even better like this.

• Cheering on epicene (i.e., gender-neutral) pronouns. Because language is real cool...especially when it changes.

• Adding "losing hours of my life on 1stdibs" to my list of hobbies. I keep telling myself it's kind of like visiting a museum, what, with its really important design pieces and all.

• Taking advantage of an overlooked perk of owning a Nespresso machine: on-demand affogatos.

claire’s things

• Finishing a workout with my ponytail still (mostly) intact thanks to this doodad. (This is my other longtime solution.)

• Making short work of a bunch of leftover mushrooms in my veggie drawer by sauteeing them with shallots and dousing them in pickle brine...and then eating them all in one sitting.

• Marveling at the fact that my two-year-old nephew's favorite Christmas present of 2015 was not only wildly entertaining, but also fiscally responsible. Okay, and stupidly cute, too.

• Deciding that Lin Manuel Miranda's annotations of his own lyrics are some of the most worthwhile of the Hamilton DVD extras floating around the web.

• Safeguarding my strands from the wrath of the curling wand with Living Proof's heat protectant, which doesn't do weird textural things like so many of the other solutions I've tried.

turn it up to eleven—from erica!

• Commending my friend who had the smarty-pants idea to buy this amazing set and split it into two smaller gifts.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Making Business Buddies

erica’s things

• Forcing myself into some low-commitment journaling: This five-year diary offers *blissfully* little space and the opportunity to revisit the ghosts of January 18ths past.

• Searching the internet for "infill development"—the practice of constructing houses on (sometimes teeny!) vacant spaces between buildings.

• Powering through my to-do list with a "rule of three" productivity trick: ID a trio of substantial things you want to cross off each day that'll make you feel accomplished and not just like you played email ping-pong.

• Sauteeing some chickpeas for mix-'n-match, not-sad desk lunches and saving their liquid to make vegan meringues, which sound both preposterous and cool.

• Fangirling for Rainbow Rowell. You should probably just go ahead and read every book she's written—that's my plan.

claire’s things

• Unlocking the secret to cooking non-mushy tofu.

• Learning the truly very useful term "MLBB" courtesy of this deep-dive into the insanity that is Makeup Alley.

• LOLing at the fashion illustrations that come out of the punny, funny brain of Angelica Hicks.

• Finding myself constantly thinking—and talking—about Claudia Rankine's painful, powerful Citizen: An American Lyric. Don't be intimidated by its classification—I'm not a "poetry person" either.

• Becoming that much more mindful of how much time I'm spending on my phone thanks to the Offtime app, which is not overly precious or shame-inducing—just plain useful.

turn it up to eleven—from claire!

• Waiting not-so-patiently for my new second ear piercings to heal, because as soon as they do this sucker (aka half the inspiration for the new holes) is taking up residency on my left lobe.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Rounding up the Best of the Best

erica’s things

• Wondering if watching cute animals do adorable things on PBS counts as documentary-viewing. Either way: a very good way to cap off a long day.

• Planning a weekend ski excursion to Tahoe—because when you can fly direct from NYC to Reno thanks to JetBlue and get a room at Basecamp Hotel, doing so suddenly seems a lot easier hauling your butt to Vermont.

• Spending a wet-eyed afternoon with When Breath Becomes Air and encouraging you to do the same.

• Looking to jazz up old family photos by sticking 'em in Fundamental Berlin's way-cool brass frames.

• Tracking the media consumption habits of one of the most media consumptive people I know.

claire’s things

• Wondering if GetHuman is the most important website of all time—it helps you figure out the fastest way to get a sentient customer service rep on the line.

• Filing away two ridiculously useful posts from our pal Joanna Goddard: a list of children's books with female main characters (I remember even as a kid noticing there weren't enough of them!) and tips on how to write condolence cards (I always worry I suck at this).

• Thinking "Broadway HD and chill" does not have quite the right ring to it, but being very psyched about the launch of the Netflix of Broadway shows nonetheless.

• Having a very moving experience with this Dick Taylor bar. (Pete Wells inspired me to spend all my money on fancy chocolate by claiming it's a better value than wine. Which for some reason I'm not drinking this month, anyway.)

• Admitting that while I did not possess the wherewithal to finish Making a Murderer, I did binge-read this entire celebration of attorney Dean Strang's personal style in one fell swoop.

turn it up to 11—from erica!

• Topping my brand-new nephew's sweet, sweet baby head with this handmade Kordal beanie—because if he's going to have to suffer through his first winter, he should do so in style.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Giving You 35% off for One More Day

erica’s things

• Getting my fruits and veggies with this very easy, delicious, and colorful roasted fennel, red onion, and orange salad.

• Adding the MAK in Vienna to the list of museums I wish were a whole lot closer to home. The Josef Frank exhibit slayed me. (If you don't know his print designs, wow, are you in for a treat.)

• Being one of those people who signs notes on behalf of her pet: Ash the bunny sent a big ol' box of hay to her pals at Animal Care Centers of NYC, which has a wishlist of stuff the shelter needs most.

• Looking for an excuse to try out Turo—it's like Airbnb for rental cars. Whoa.

• Cleaning my dishwasher (or making my dishwasher clean itself?) with the aid of vinegar, baking soda, and Bob Vila.

claire’s things

• Finding the perfect background music for working to in the tunes of jazz pianist Oscar Peterson.

• Trying to somehow route all errands on my recent L.A. trip through Santa Monica in order to make pit stops at hole-in-the-wall Tacos Punta Cabras for its unreasonably good and crave-inducing seafood offerings.

• Learning more than I'd like to about the space heater market and determining that this lil' guy is the winner (...of a contest nobody really wants to judge).

• Finally testing out Clinique's cult-classic shade Black Honey (in Superbalm form) after reading about it in beauty magazines since I was a kid. Verdict: It truly is the sisterhood of the traveling lip tints.

• Falling down a rabbit hole of intricate, charming, and deeply varied work by artist Mitsuru Koga—there's something strangely satisfying about all of it. Especially his stunning flatworks that really have to be seen in person.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Shopping our Big, Bad Sale (Duh)

erica’s things

• Following a squirrel on Instagram...and trying to decide whether that’s a 2015 high or low.

• Freaking out over these Home Adventures pendant lights that would make over any room like THAT.

• Bragging about all the books I read over the last 12 months: I totally nailed my GoodReads Reading Challenge goal, and I’m not gonna feel even a little embarrassed that plenty of them were Y.A. (Psst, some that I thought were the tops are here.)

• Celebrating a too-warm holiday season with loads of shrimp cocktail—festive-feeling always and requiring of no oven time.

• Touring Villa Tugendhat, an off-the-charts, Mies van der Rohe-designed house in Brno, Czech Republic, and saving this directory of big-deal homes that are open to the public for future travels.

claire’s things

• Having unexpectedly intense childhood flashbacks while reading a truly captivating profile of...Raffi.

• Getting way better about my nighttime skincare ritual thanks to this (yes, really splurge-y) stuff that’s magical enough to make me want to smear it on my face even when I’m extra exhausted.

• Listening my way through this so-far spot-on list of outstanding podcast eps of 2015. (This quickie is still haunting me.)

• Rooting hard for the social article-sharing network This.cm—it takes the good, relevant parts of your Facebook stream and leaves out everything else.

• Wondering why it took me so long to finally get orthotics for my running shoes. Total game-changers for my form issues—and they 3D print ‘em nowadays in no time flat. I got mine at Frontrunners in L.A., but I’ve heard good things about Sols, too.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Delivering Big-Time

erica’s things

• Turning to the comrades of Pizza Rat for some serious food criticism.

• Curling up on the couch with Mistress America, a movie about two women and their weird, funny, and complicated friendship...that does not revolve around men. More of this please, Hollywood.

• Toasting with a Gin Daisy, which involves citrus, seltzer, and, most importantly, this tart cherry grenadine (that’d be a really good host gift in that pretty bottle and all).

• Counting down ‘til these legit adorable Tsum Tsum stuffed animals take over the world in 3...2...1. Oh, man, there are also pencil-case versions.

• Drying myself off with clouds: Holy wow, are these Japanese Uchino towels fantastic.

claire’s things

• Slipping some warm and fuzzy sheepskin-lined innersoles into my boots in preparation for a trip to to Minneapolis—how have I lived so many winters without doing this?

• Nominating feel-good flick Twinsters as your alterna holiday movie this year—it's a lighthearted documentary that tells the story of twins who learn of each other’s existence at the age of 25.

• Thinking maybe everything really does happen for a reason because when I ran out of bourbon and had to use rum in this pecan pie recipe it really blew everyone’s mind. Lots of “best I’ve ever had”s going around the table.

• Deciding that if I ever feel rich enough to invest in a super-luxurious bath mat, it’ll be this one—my toes have felt it, and they’ll never be the same.

• Hoping my decanter doesn’t get too jealous of my Vitamix now that I know blending red wine does the trick just as well (and faster).

10 Things We're Doing Besides Lurking Around the Self-Help Section

erica’s things

• Putting sumac on all the things, like fish roasted with just this tasty-tangy spice, olive oil, and salt.

• Waiting for Bread & Boxers to blow up. Their men’s underwear is as minimalist as it comes (don’t tell Calvin).

• Racing to see The Big Short...and recommending that all y’all do the same.

• Cutting down my hair-drying time like WHOA with one of these real pretty waffle towels from Aquis.

• Contemplating the sometimes-gnarly aspects of space travel like motion sickness, moon dust, and hygiene, made captivating by Mary Roach’s book Packing for Mars.

claire’s things

• Applauding the launch of (and subscribing to) Bloop—“basically, what it would be like if Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop were written exclusively by and for black women,” from two of my very favorite people, Jenna Wortham and Aminatou Sow.

• Getting really used to having a slightly cheesy, GIF-filled wallop of positive motivation and career advice arrive via text message every morning thanks to the team over at Shine Text.

• Taking comfort in the fact that if it ever, um, actually feels like winter, I have a seriously legit cold-weather running jacket to put on (as opposed to the sixteen layers of fleece I usually suit-up in).

• Significantly upping my smoothie game by throwing a bunch of fresh mint leaves into the blender.

• Loving the intuitive layout and the savvy intel in Passported’s city guides—is it weird I want to use it in my home city?