the monday newsletter archive

Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Taking 15% off the Greatest Gift Sets on Earth

Sometimes even the best people on your gifting list are a pain in the ass to buy for. Not because you don’t know ‘em well enough and not because they don’t mean enough to you—but just because they’re tough to pin down. We created our gifts sets for those people. (And, okay, we also created them for your cousin-in-law, who, frankly, you don’t know well enough and doesn’t mean enough to you.) Use the code GETSET to take 15% off any of these perfectly put-together presents—but hurry because that offer ends tonight at 11:59 P.M. ET, and we promise you this: A more fitting gift is not going to suddenly reveal itself on December 23rd.

erica’s things

claire’s things

  • Convincing even the most aggressive orange-wine-skeptics at the dinner table to order this stuff by the bottle once they’d had a sip of it.

  • Inching closer to to a cell-phone-free bedroom by pulling the trigger on a good-looking alarm clock.  

  • Trying to remember the last time I went on vacation without Bananagrams in tow.

  • Listening to a lot of Longform these days ‘cause they’re really on a roll featuring a roster of badass women with incredible stories to tell, including Kara Swisher, Jodi Kantor, and Maggie Haberman.

  • Taking my newfound sneaker enthusiasm one step further with a seriously beautiful (but also legit fascinating!) book that helps make the whole realm feel a little less frivolous thanks to first-person deep-dives into the business and design details of the classics.

turn it up to 11 - from erica

  • Declaring this the wackiest face wash I’ve ever massaged into my pores. (Its bizarreness also makes it a very good gift, by the by.)

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Asking 2018 to Hurry It up Already

Oh, 2017, you’ve really known how to push our buttons—especially when it comes to our sanity and sense of calm. So, it is with a healthy mix of anticipation and trepidation that we march forward towards 2018, armed with, if nothing else, a goddamn great-looking wall calendar. That’s right, friends, the Of a Kind 2018 wall calendar has landed, and, like each one before it, it is even better than last year’s. Chock-full of original prints from Of a Kind designers, it makes the perfect gift for the person for whom there is no perfect gift—your office secret santa, your next-door neighbor, your bodega guy. Oh, and you’ll want one for yourself, too. Obviously.

erica’s things

  • Getting so much out of this podcast interview with Ina Garten that I recapped the bulk of it to Claire live. (She’s welcome??)

  • Raving about something called a delicata squash burrito bowl that doesn’t seem like it could possibly be as delicious as it is.

  • Witnessing many a new baby contraption over a wedding weekend and coming home especially impressed with these, which seemed to make dancing to “Summer of ‘69” a lot more enjoyable for a three-month-old.

  • Getting a real kick outta this one and this one, who need to be followed on IG as a pair.

  • Convincing myself that I can put a third food-related item in 10 Things this week because this is really, actually about America (and Thanksgiving, but mostly America).

claire’s things

  • Keeping this tab open on my browser all week long because it requires, like, ten tries to take it all in.

  • Appreciating the beauty of this simple reminder.  

  • Steering clear of most Instagram accounts that fall into the category of oddly satisfying (see: pimple-popping, back-waxing, or, um, bread-facing)...but getting a reeeal rush of excitement whenever Elle beauty editor Emily Dougherty posts a new lipstick-smashing vid.

  • Taking a moment to appreciate the golden era of newsletters we’re living in, as exemplified by Racked, which, in addition to their regular (really good) routine, is also offering a four-week series just on closet-cleaning. Genius!

  • Hoping to have an opportunity to use the line “These are not $2 billion shoes” sometime soon.turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Wanting this real badly for myself—still!—after giving it as a gift years ago.

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Swearing up, down, left, right, and center that this hydrating goodness is worth every penny—it was the only thing that worked to salvage my aggressively dry skin after an overdose of retinol, and it’s been keeping me fresh-faced every day since.

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Bringing Our Professional Enthusiasm to Sweater Weather

In case the news didn’t make its way to you yet: Professional Enthusiasm got a whole lot cozier last week with the release of our hand-embroidered cashmere sweater, made in partnership with the geniuses over at Lingua Franca, a line with a hell of a backstory. All proceeds from this puppy go straight to Her Justice, an org we love that provides legal support to women living in poverty in NYC—many of whom are survivors of intimate partner violence. Lingua Franca founder Rachelle Hruska came on the ‘cast to talk to us about her socially conscious line that’s straight-up exploded over the last year.

erica’s things

claire’s things

  • Coming to rely pretty heavily on this this hair stuff, which does double-duty as heat protectant and humidity shield.

  • Stocking up on simple little stacking stools because there are never enough convo corners at a party, and these solve for that in the easiest way possible. (And, okay, also double as ottoman, plant stand, place to perch your coffee cup, and god knows what else.) 

  • Putting my money on Gossamer, a smart, timely, woman-led media company nailing the lifestyle and sensibility at the center of cannabis culture.

  • Admitting that somehow this, more than most things, makes me want to eat more fruits and veggies.

  • Still riding high on post-marathon vibes (but you knew that, right?), aided in part by the realization that Shalane Flanagan is a GD case study in Shine Theory.

turn it up to 11 - from erica

  • Encouraging Claire to buy one of these for herself because 1) they’re so beautiful and 2) if she did, she’d have to stop making fun of my alpaca stuffed animals, surely.

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Remembering Air Bud

The list of things we’ve toyed with including in this newsletter on a slow week run the gamut from Moana to piña coladas to well-publicized Apple products and a TV show that the whole country is already watching. More on those last two on this week’s podcast! Listen to us wax enthusiastic about things you already know about—but somehow still might not be sold on—here. 

erica’s things

claire’s things

  • Realizing I’d totally forgotten about the time Brandy was Cinderella and Whitney Houston was her fairy godmother, the oral history of which is a seriously fantastic read.

  • Wondering if I’m allowed to describe an exercise mat as “chic.” What if it is not the requisite ugly shade of royal blue, folds up neatly for storage, and has a really classic logo on it? 

  • Climbing aboard the emotional rollercoaster that is this creepily accurate, full-of-surprises, personalized musical time capsule.

  • Taking a few minutes to drag all my favorite newsletters to my primary inbox so I won’t miss them in the mess that my promotions tab has become. (Don’t you wanna do that with 10 Things? And, hey: Add info@ofakind.com to your contacts list while you’re at it—think of it as an altruistic move ‘cause it’ll help make sure others get it front and center, too. Your good deed for the day is almost done.)

  • Thinking that dumpling-making really oughta be the new fondue—i.e., a participatory, hard-to-screw-up dinner-party activity that feels like the perfect answer for entertaining even the motliest crew of guests.

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Wondering if it’s going overboard to get all three of these but feeling like I have enough coffee stains that need covering to justify doing so.

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Reading the Room

hat odd sense you have that reading has somehow become all the rage lately? It’s real. And you have Lisa Lucas, executive director of the National Book Foundation and bona fide cool girl, to thank. We snagged her on the podcast just as she was getting ready to throw the literary world’s most important party of the year. Best thing short of an invite, right this way. 

erica’s things

claire’s things

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Jazzing up any outfit in one step (or two, depending on how you do your math?).

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Moving yet Still Grooving

What’s that thing they say? That moving is more stressful than divorce? Just as? Leads to? Either way: Between the two of us and Of a Kind, we did it three times this summer. “It” being relocating, not breaking up. We’re still married—to each other, to our husbands, and to our jobs. Tune into A Few Things to hear our big takeaways on how to not lose your mind or your partner(s) in the process.  

erica’s things

  • Tracking the rise of kale, which (somehow) involves a T-shirt, a music video, and a full-blown conspiracy.

  • Remembering how much I like a buffed manicure, surfacing proof that it’s not bad for my fingernails, and shaking my fist at whoever convinced me it was in the first place.

  • Discovering that this book about Georgia O’Keeffe’s life—and her homes and the clothes that she made herself that I’d like to borrow—is just as impressive and absorbing as the museum show it’s based on (which is currently on exhibit in Winston-Salem, N.C.!).

  • Looking for excuses to schedule drinks at Oiji in NYC just to overeat honey butter chips (which can also be procured, in a different but still very delicious form, on the internet).

  • Swooning over a bike light.

claire’s things

turn it up to 11 - from claire

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Keeping You Current

You know that book you keep hearing about on all your favorite blogs, newspapers, Instagram accounts? Little Fires Everywhere? We had its author, Celeste Ng, on the podcast, and damn is she a good interview. Tune on in—no reading required. 

erica’s things

  • Keeping jars of this artichoke pesto on hand for days when boiling water is exactly as much as I’m willing to do to make dinner.

  • Embracing the sheer stupidity of American Vandal. Sometimes sixth-grade-boy humor is just what you need, you know?

  • Investing in a disaster kit because it sure feels like the sane thing to do right now. (I was only a tiny bit swayed by the cute branding and good copywriting, thanks for asking.)

  • Accessing the National Archives...by way of its GIF collection.

  • Playing Margo Price’s wonderful, twangy new album on loop. Start with a little ditty called “Pay Gap.”

claire’s things

  • Nominating (former A Few Things guest!) @fransquishco for most innovative use of insta stories—his daily “Fran Digest” posts are an A+ guide to critical reading.

  • Getting bored just *thinking* about shopping for wall-mounted towel bars and opting for a sleek and simple alternative instead.

  • Spending a Sunday cozied up with the magical charm of Cipe Pineles, Condé Nast’s first female art director, whose artwork, style, and recipes are brought to life by a truly all-star team of design-world women in Leave Me Alone With The Recipes.

  • Listening as two ladies I look up to for their business savvy and honesty about mental health talk about both of those things. Laura Miller and Jen Gotch, be my friends? Pls?

  • Thanking the team at Architectural Digest for launching Clever right in time for me to realize that just because I know how to get dressed in the morning does not mean I know how to outfit a home.

turn it up to 11 - from erica

  • Dabbing this on the zits that inevitably pop up during this weird-weather time of year.

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Besting 10 Things

Sometimes email just isn’t a dynamic enough medium to adequately express our love of a THING—so we gotta take it to the podcast. This week, we teed up a “Best of 10 Things” ep that covers everything from contact lens care to iPhone functions you probably aren’t using but really oughta be. LISTEN UP.

erica’s things

  • Wrapping the hippest of dental flosses around my fingers. (You know, this week in teeth trends…)

  • Declaring that every neighborhood deserves a restaurant as warm, cheery, and just plain delicious as Golda—get the eggplant menemen there for bfast, and tell me you don’t feel so much better about your day.

  • Exploring the design history—and, blessedly, future—of something that’s been pretty much the same since the 1840s: the speculum.

  • Sticking a lazy susan turntable under my kitchen sink. Just like that: accessible cleaning supplies, on heavy rotation.

  • Taking a quick (fluffy) escape from EVERYTHING.

claire’s things

  • Admitting that I can’t break the questionable habit of gel polish (that durability, tho!) and submitting CND’s Nude Knickers—one coat only—as my nominee for the perfect minimalist manicure vibe. I know at least one vote’s in the bag.

  • Drawing out summer just a little longer via Beautiful Animals—one part beach read, one part psychological thriller, one part cultural critique. All parts really hard to put down.  

  • Bookmarking People of Craft, a great project (and resource!) celebrating creatives of color across various disciplines.

  • Dwelling on this great piece of advice for focusing your activism energy, care of Mikki Halpin and featured in Julia Turshen’s all-around wonderful Feed the Resistance: Pick three causes—one you’ll be a leader on, one you’ll be a follower on, and one you’ll make a habit of.

  • Feeling like this nation could really use something silly and communal along the lines of HQ Trivia to bond over right now.

turn it up to 11 - from claire

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Fitfluencing

Want to know what we're bingeing on right now? Endorphins. And trainer-to-lots-of-fancy-people Joe Holder has got the hookup. He came on the podcast to school us on all things fitness, wellness, and #plantbasedgang-ness (turns out you can still eat meat and be a member), and, of course, to share with the world what a complete and absolute joy it has been to get Claire in shape for Hood to Coast and the NYC marathon.

erica’s things

  • Joining the chorus of praise for The Hate U Give, which, I hear, is already making its way onto required-reading lists at high schools.

  • Taking weird pleasure in a a ($10) glass tea kettle that doesn’t seem like it could be a viable thing but is.

  • Sweating everything about Young Joni, a Minneapolis restaurant with a sweet space, an “I’ll take one of everything” menu, and a professionally enthusiastic waitstaff. They don’t make service like this in NYC.

  • Consuming even more Busy Philipps content.

  • Tucking the tiniest little rain jacket you ever did see into all the bags and suitcases. Downside: I’m gonna feel like such a dummy whenever I leave home without it.

claire’s things

  • Reminiscing about the golden age of rom-coms with two experts who really get it.

  • Having a very Tokyo-but-in-L.A. dinner at MTN, the new semi-outdoors izakaya joint from the team behind oh-so-buzzy Gjusta and Gjelina.

  • Locking myself in a rage cage thinking about yet another crappy outcome of the of lack of diversity in investing. This is actually why we can’t don’t have nice things—for women, for people of color... for most people who aren’t white dudes.

  • Chopping off half my hair and not being entirely prepared for it to change so much more than just my morning prep time. Betsy Beers: I really feel you, girl.

  • Grasping for anything new to add to my running playlist and feeling very grateful to Lizzo for helping out in that department.

turn it up to 11 - from erica

a 12th thing:

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Still Learning How to Do a Vacation

Summer is over, but vacation regrets last forever. (That’s a saying, right? Or a tattoo on someone’s lower back at least?) Hear about ours on the latest ep of A Few Things. And then take our dang listener survey so we can stop bugging you about it, will ya? 

erica’s things

claire’s things

  • Getting so much more than just a profile out of this A+ story about Matt Maxey, who’s making sure deaf and hard-of-hearing concertgoers can enjoy Chance the Rapper with zero problems. (Sorry, had to.)

  • Feeling very in-the-know about what the kids (okay, and adults) are up to these days thanks to the extremely good, equal parts useful and delightful Cassandra Daily Newsletter.

  • Scooping up craspedia (aka billy balls) from the farmers’ market whenever I can. They are cute, sure, but their real talent is looking so fresh and so clean long after they’ve died.

  • Crossing my fingers I never get tired of these things—they’re delicious cold or warmed in the microwave, and there is no easier solution for an at-your-desk lunch.

  • Managing to get a truly solid night’s sleep in the back of a van because I happened to be wrapped in the world’s most perfect sleeping bag. I’d use it in bed at home if I thought my husband would let me.

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Fist-pumping as the pics of all my friends wearing this thing start to roll in—how does it look so good on everyone?!

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Getting Back to Regularly Scheduled Programming

WE’RE BACK! We’re podcasting (with the one and only Fran Tirado), we’re 10 Things-ing (with new, new, new discoveries), and we’re even surveying. We’re doing it all. And we’re not even tired yet. Come join us.

erica’s things

  • Tuning in for the v. v. interesting and politicized history of sex ed.

  • Downloading an app that sounds totally gimmicky until you use it: Who knew organizing and rearranging Post-Its digitally could be so dang satisfying?

  • Spending the better part of a breakfast date discussing how to acquire a jar of this oh-so-buzzy stuff, which is outrageously expensive for yogurt but less so for a super-powered probiotic. And then making a trip to Dean & Deluca for the express purpose of scoring it.

  • Contemplating the impact that free laundry could have on school attendance—something I hadn’t considered until I read this.

  • Sacrificing sleep after getting sucked into Celeste Ng’s really fantastic, nineties-tinged second novel Little Fires Everywhere.

claire’s things

  • Reliving a very specific era of cinema—and my youth—with this truly perfect playlist.

  • Taking in a fascinating lesson on why everyone on Insecure looks so dang good—other than, ya know, their genes.

  • Asking you to try not to judge the fact that I’ve started putting spicy honey on delivery pizza, inspired by the geniuses over at Emily who’ve landed on a really stellar flavor combo.

  • Getting goosebumps and soggy tear ducts just re-watching the trailer for Step, a helluva back-to-school flick that I could not have loved more.

  • Cracking the (very complicated!) code of how to furnish a long, narrow townhouse with the game-changing help of the design stars at Jesse Parris-Lamb.

turn it up to 11 - from erica

  • Making the most of the end of the season of exposed limbs with the help of a bug spray that works hard and smells (oddly) great

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Working on Getting Rich

While we are certainly no experts when it comes finance—personal or otherwise—we’ve picked up a thing or two over the years. The most important lesson? Ignoring your bank statement does not make it go away. Coming in second: The more you know, the more you know. A few of our favorite learnings, tips, and tricks, below. 

P.S. Podcast survey’s still happening! 6 questions, 2 minutes, a lifetime of gratitude.

erica’s things

  • Devouring every last episode of Open Account, a podcast about people and money hosted by SuChin Pak, who is very good at what she does.

  • Telling the many people who ask whether I like Simple that I think it’s the greatest online banking experience of our modern era.

  • Reaching for Get a Financial Life any time I need a refresher on...oh, any of the finance-related acronyms that I should probably know by now.

  • Recommending the high-drama, now-on-Netflix, Wall Street movie Equity—with its badass female team—to anyone who will listen. I think of this scene often.

  • Rah-rahing this retirement-plans explainer from an unlikely source: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

claire’s things

  • Not kidding when I tell you that the most pleasant phone conversations I have (aside from those with my mom, DUH) are with the customer service people at Schwab, a bank I feel pretty great about. Their checking accounts are very legit—ATM refunds and all!

  • Feeling like every smartphone should come preloaded with Credit Karma—there’s no good reason for you not to have it.

  • Requiring any financial advice that I’m expected to follow to be as quick, painless, and easy to understand as this v. good trick.

  • Finding this kind of open and honest sharing about personal finance and spending so, so valuable. More of this type of reporting, please.

  • Applauding Above the Glass for being an incredibly useful resource for anyone working with or for startups or small businesses. Because if you have equity in a company, you oughta know your way around a cap table, understand what a Series B means, and be able to wrap your head around runway.

turn it up to 11 - from claire

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Snacking on a (Newly Marked-Down!) Sample Sale

Y’all went SAVAGE on our sample sale and wiped us almost completely clean on the first day. SO. We added a few more styles and marked some down even further. Go have at it—you’ve got until EOD tomorrow before it all disappears. And, because you know what they say about shopping hungry, see below for some snacking advice from two bona fide experts.

P.S. Got thoughts on our podcast? Of course you do. There’s a 6-question, 2-minute survey right this way. Tell us what you want to hear.

erica’s things

claire’s things

  • Feeling like these dried mangos are so, so much better than all the other dried mangos that it honestly makes me kind of suspicious. Like, what black magic are they using?

  • Giving you some straight chip chat: Maya Kaimal’s chickpea creation is a truly masterful take on the form.

  • Sometimes just popping an entire bag of frozen pao de queijo in the oven and calling it a damn fine dinner for two.

  • Realizing that the uses for this stuff are virtually endless but sticking mostly to stirring it into every single cup of tea I make and occasionally spreading it on toast with cinnamon and honey.

  • Roasting handfuls of olives, walnuts, and grapes with a touch of olive oil and balsamic and some herbs at 375 degrees for 30 minutes and calling myself a very fancy hostess. (Don’t @ me. There is no link—that is the recipe.)

turn it up to 11 - from erica

  • Putting together some bday-gift goodies from our stellar selection of office and personal-care treats. I went with this + this + this, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg, kids.

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Traveling Well-ish

If you’ve ever wondered which one of us has more sway in this relationship, consider this: Claire is now a certified member of the carry-on-only club, but Erica still has yet to get pre-check. (BTW: How’s this talking-in-the-collective-third-person thing working out for you guys? Weird? Good? Both? Great.) Anyway, if you’re game to take travel advice from someone who is totally comfortable taking off her shoes in an airport every time she flies and another who spends, oh, a minimum of two hours packing for even just a weekend trip…read on!

erica’s things

claire’s things

turn it up to 11 - from claire

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Sweating for Sanity

Remember when Elle Woods successfully defended someone against murder charges by invoking the mental benefits of exercise? CLASSIC. Read on for our all-time faves in fitness, and thank us for the alibi later. 

P.S. Harvard Law-ready necessities right this way.

erica’s things

  • Road-testing too many sports bras and landing on a low-impact and high-impact favorite—thanks for the rec on the latter, Serena Williams.

  • Reading the fantastic blog of a gym I don’t even belong to.

  • Keeping a few of these face wipes in my bag, always—for when a yoga class ends up being so much harder (read: SWEATIER) than planned and, eh, you still have a full day of work to tackle after.

  • Running exclusively in these glorious socks, which 1) never fall down and 2) protect your heels from chafing and blisters.

  • Getting in a pretty committed relationship with New York Pilates—due only partially to their stunning, airy studios. (If you think I haven’t googled for an interior-design story about that, you’re wrong—somebody get on that.)

claire’s things

  • Trying out all sorts of new strength-training and mobility routines and realizing that everything builds on the very same foundational moves I’ve been perfecting in Bar Method all these years. Those classes are legit, y’all.

  • Swiping this stuff on sore muscles with seriously impressive results.

  • Making myself marathon-ready with the help of Joe Holder, who keeps Nike+ Run Club and the S10 crew in top form. (Just don’t call him a #fitfluencer.)

  • Feeling genuinely fashionable in running shorts for maybe the first time ever.

  • Flipping open the MindBody app whenever I notice the weather’s going to be too atrocious for a run—makes it way easy to find and register for a class on the fly.

turn it up to 11 - from erica

  • Uncovering an expected perk of carrying this just-the-right-size bag at a wedding: It keeps both of your hands free for both wine and snacks

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides ‘Gramming for Gold

Let’s get real: There’s only one Instagram account you need to be following, and it’s this one. (Seen THIS, by this way? Mmmmhhhmm.) But! If you’re looking to fill your feed with something other than pure, unfettered beauty from your favorite brand, see below for 10 runners-up we think will get your thumbs double-tappin’. 

P.S. Probably the most exciting link in this entire email: NEW DEALS.

erica’s things

  • Hoping you’re aware that—hand to God—@tsa (you might know them from airport security?) has one of the best accounts in the game.

  • Following the trials and tribulations of the rabbits of @bunnymama...and possibly even talking about them in public with acquaintances?! Who can say?

  • Waiting for @tasteofstreep—a mash-up of Everyone’s Favorite Actress and, oh, breakfast burritos, Cadbury eggs, and Bloomin’ Onions—to get old.

  • Wishing @dailyriggins would rebrand to @hourlyriggins...but appreciating its content output just the same.

  • LOLing if you thought I was just gonna include one cute-animal IG here. What, I was gonna leave out a punnily named suburban alpaca

claire’s things

  • Knowing that, deep down, I won’t really feel like I’ve made it on the internet until my husband or father shows up on @miserable_men.

  • Slacking Erica links to practically every post in Joana Avillez’s GD brilliant #goldenageofinstagram series. (BTW, for more of that kind of thing, see: Joana’s upcoming book.)

  • Challenging you to name an artist more satisfyingly hilarious and talented than @mimiochun. Exhibit A, B, C, and D. (Okay, and E.)

  • Letting @laurakitty take me to school on the history of fashion.

  • Dredging up memories of an era that brought regrettable life choices but excellent celebrity gossip via @popculturediedin2009.

turn it up to 11 - from claire

  • Fooling people into thinking I really made an effort by wrapping this around whatever I’m wearing.

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Rerunning our Best Recipes

Member how last week we told you A Few Things is going on hiatus? Surprise! 10 Things is, too. For the next six weeks, we’ll be surfacing some of the classics from some of our most-linked-to categories—the things we’re still coming back to after all this time. First up: really good recipes. Readers, sharpen your knives. 

erica’s things

  • Coaxing fresh corn—and, fine, butter—into polenta just like magic. (And, when I’m feeling lazier, turning it into this.)

  • Letting my refrigerator make this for breakfast almost shockingly consistently for the last four years.

  • Cooking an embarrassing number of things that Gwyneth tells me to—but a tuna-bowl thingy the most of all.

  • Marveling at a dead-easy GF cookie recipe that doesn’t call for any $11 alt flours.

  • Riffing on this frittata week after week after week. The lesson: Just use veggies you don’t hafta deal with pre-cooking.

claire’s things

turn it up to 11 - from erica

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Keeping it 100

Get a load of this: The latest installment of A Few Things is our hundredth freaking episode. So it only felt right to: get an Alex update, do a deep-dive on cereal, and give our jaws a rest from all this yakking for the next month-ish. In the coming weeks, we’ll be queuing up some of our favorite vintage eps, and we’ll be back in the fall (9/18 to be exact) with fresh ideas and rested vocal chords.

erica’s things

  • Going all the way to Italy to source the best dried GF pasta. (But—wouldn’t you know?—the internet has it, too.).

  • Flying through Rachel Khong’s touching, sad, funny, and (blessedly) distracting debut novel Goodbye, Vitamin while waiting for a plane to get up in the air already.

  • Turning to shared iPhone Notes for brainstorming and idea-logging whenever booting up Google Drive feels like too much of a drag.

  • Cherishing a dumb little piece of silicone that does a far better job keeping a bottle of prosecco/cava/Champagne than anything else I’ve encountered.

  • Waiting for some big-time beach-day sunscreen innovation—because we deserve better than the greasy, hard-to-apply, overpromising stuff we’re working with, right? Until then, I’m looking to the Environmental Working Group’s guide to the best ones goin’

claire’s things

turn it up to 11 - from claire

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Seeking Job-Seekers

Checked in on our jobs page lately? We’re on the hunt for an art director—someone with great taste, a killer eye, and some serious design chops. Is it you? Good. Get in our inboxes. (Same story if you think you might be our next marketing & web product manager.)

P.S. The author of The Miseducation of Cameron Post came on #ReadingThings to chat with us, and it was one of those please-never-stop conversations that could have kept going for another hour—or three.

erica’s things

claire’s things

turn it up to 11 - from erica

  • Leveling-up a boring bathroom like that.

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Catherine Krenzer Catherine Krenzer

10 Things We're Doing Besides Documenting Documentary-Making

This week’s A Few Things is a fave—and not just for us, either. As soon as we finished recording, the perennially angsty #Alex barged into the recording room exclaiming “I LOVE this guy!” We think you’ll feel the same way: Take a listen as next-big-thing filmmaker Ben Nabors breaks down writing, producing, and directing...and what it feels like when most of your documentary subjects try to block you from showing your films.

erica’s things

claire’s things

  • Getting way, way more into SFMoma’s text-for-art project than I thought I would. It’s a totally addictive (and poetic! and funny! and genius!) way to discover art.

  • Thinking they should consider renaming the cult-y Altitude Oil to Underground Oil ‘cause this stuff is *clutch* on a steamy, stinky subway platform.

  • Feeling like a very fortunate fly-on-the-wall listening to Mario Testino’s bite-size podcast episodes featuring convos with fashion heavy-hitters (Kate! Kendall! Tonne! Hamish!) on their work together.

  • Bemoaning the loooong delivery timelines for couches—where exactly am I supposed to sit for the next three months?!—and putting points in the “pro” column for this (flat-pack!) beauty’s speediness.

  • Flagging the very smart (and, according to a friend, very easy) Homepay, a service that sets you up with all the headachey tax and legal stuff to pay people like nannies and home health aides on the books.

turn it up to 11 - from claire

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