10 Things We're Doing Besides Falling for It

It’s FALL (yes, officially), and instead of fresh notebooks (though we have plenty of those, too), we’re bringing on fresh clothes, fresh bags, fresh jewelry, and even some fresh beauty products—including this “forget everything you thought you knew about foundation” formula that we are all very, very excited about.

erica’s things

• Laugh-crying about negative rights during Heidi Schreck’s stupendous play that I can’t stop thinking about, What the Constitution Means to Me.

• Souring on conventional wine with a shiny new podcast (and getting more of this fantastically winning human in the process).

• Trying not to get the Ducktales song out of my head now that it brings this to mind.

• Making TouchNote one prong in a zillion-pronged plan to cope with a long-distance relationship.

• Learning the right way to hold a knife—and how to do plenty of other things, too—with a class at Cook Space in Brooklyn.

claire’s things

• Deeming this article a gift, if only for blessing us with the term “bridesmaid font,” but appreciating the history lesson in cursive and calligraphy as an added bonus.

• People-watching in Paris via Messy Nessy’s highly entertaining “Style Spy” Insta-stories (find them in her highlights).

• Discovering that the key to maintaining a running routine past twenty-something weeks of pregnancy is this thing, which is basically like a sports bra for the belly. Chic, I know.

• Wondering what you’re waiting for if you haven’t started listening to Jonathan van Ness’s podcast yet? Was it that he hadn’t had an obscenely charming conversation with Reese Witherspoon up until now?

• Seeking out a giant piece of artwork just to shove a piece of furniture in front of it. Yes, seriously.

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• Not expecting these to become my everyday earrings, but they are surprisingly light and go with every single thing...so here we are.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Flying High on Snacks

If you’re game to listen to us go deep on Delta’s inflight snack program, click here. And if that somehow sounds too low-brow for you, you may want to reconsider your priorities, and you may also want to hear us get schooled by one of the coolest women working in wine. 

erica’s things

• Basking at the brilliance—and necessity—of mental health first aid courses.

• Possibly, maybe seeing into the future of home fitness.

• Tricking myself out of an after-work glass of wine (some nights!) with this stuff. If you don’t know where to start, might I suggest apricot or concord grape?

• Crying through at least the last 40 pages of The Great Believers.

• Needing this feminist sports podcast all the time...but this week especially.

claire’s things

• Trying to stop my head from spinning after realizing I (and maybe all of us?) have been cutting avocados in a, well, suboptimal way my entire life. Try it.

• Cheering on at least one good thing happening in Hollywood. (Hear from half of this powerhouse duo here.)

• Learning that Sylvia Plath, bell hooks, and James Baldwin all wrote children’s books—and starting to hunt them down for our own lil’ collection.

• Mixing up my meditation routine (I use this app) by bookmarking a bunch from this guy.

• Typing this with sticky fingers because wow.

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• Stocking up on these now that sleeves are BLESSEDLY in season.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Checking the Boxes

Great news: The hardest working fall dress of ‘em all is here, so you don’t have to spend the first couple of sixty-degree days asking what it is that you wear when the weather goes crisp. Even better news: It’s yours for $15 less if you just do us this quick little favor. 

erica’s things

• Navigating to #flowerflash and #potholeart when I’ve had a bad NYC day (which usually involves you, MTA).

• Wondering what we all did to deserve Lindsay Robertson, whose “Beginner’s Guide to Losing a Parent” series for Medium is so thoughtful, so touching, and so plain useful.

• Getting the scoop on all that went into making “...Baby One More Time,” twenty years later.

• Lookin’ for a way to get to the Austin Central Library. Um, HELLO, utterly brilliant Cookbook Bar & Café!

• Watching women on the Tokyo subway use this to smooth flyaways and then tracking it down so I can do the same.

claire’s things

• Seriously improving my rice bowl situation with this $3 bag of goodness available at basically every bodega.

• Falling hard for the Barcelona-based kidswear line Tiny Cottons—even my husband couldn’t play it cool around those prints.

• Toting around a sleek little carry-on that does damn well as an in-case-of-emergency bag, too—because I’m always packing to leave with more stuff than I arrived with.

• Tearing through—and tearing up at—the first pregnancy book I’ve read that really seemed to get me.

• Endorsing Praktik Rambla as a bang-for-your-buck hotel option in Barcelona.

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• Looking to make my subway card feel a little more fancy.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Baby Booming

Big news: One of us is pregnant, and it’s not Erica—and it never will be, for that matter! We took to the podcast for a two-parter on the topic: First, we break down the decision to have kids or not—and how for some, that’s an easy call, and for others, there’s a lot of hand-wringing involved. Then we dive into Claire’s pregnancy thoughts so far (well, complaints so far if we’re being honest). Strap in: We’re having a baby.

erica’s things

• Cracking open Fight No More because it's pitched as a series of interconnected stories about L.A. real estate. Staying up late to read it because of everything else it's got going on.

• Eating an elaborate, tofu-centric lunch in Kyoto’s bamboo forest that was exactly as magical as I hoped it would be.

• Throwing it back to obsessions with Reality Bites, frosted purple lipstick, and Joey Potter sweater inspo with the dynamic duo behind Haystack Stories.

• Commending those succulent nuts for landing on this genius way to get their plants for free.

• Finding the Chinese youth culture embrace of Peppa Pig beyond fascinating.

claire’s things

• Looking at furniture for the cat I don’t own when I probably should be looking at cribs instead.

• Not wanting this major historical moment to go unnoticed just because it took place in the midst of an otherwise busy news week.

• Getting carried away with my newfound status as a tea person by proclaiming this the ideal contraption for loose leaves. Basic criteria: doesn’t make a mess; is easy to clean.

• Cycling through too many bras to count while dealing with pregnancy changes but feeling confident that this extremely forgiving one is going to take me straight through to the finish (and after, too?).

• Marveling at how a book that is entirely about sadness and sleeping manages to be neither depressing nor boring.

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• Verifying the authenticity of a scent: So many things in Japan smell exactly like this.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Making New Markdowns Happen

Our sale section: Hottest place on the web right now. So many markdowns. People falling all over themselves to get access. Hurry up and visit before it’s not cool anymore.

erica’s things

• Politely asking Netflix to add When Dimple Met Rishi to its rom-com revival strat. The story involves coding camp, a Bollywood dance number, and A Wrinkle in Time even.

• Finding a house that would make me say, “Texas forever.”

• Positing that we’re living in the golden era of restaurant pens.

• Stalking my nineties teenage phone on Etsy and experiencing prank-call nostalgia. It almost makes me yearn for a landline…

• Getting a real kick outta these gloriously colorful and witty prints. Can I have a whole wall of them, do you think??

claire’s things

• Thinking way too much about these since seeing them at a tradeshow. Can someone please find them IRL for me?

• Discovering that the key to good peanut sauce is a can of coconut milk—as evidenced by this extremely addictive stuff.

• Answering my phone with a lot more ease now that Hiya’s in charge of blocking the spamsters.

• Calling these stunning little numbers the ultimate Ikea hack—does compressed wood even deserve a drawer handle like this, though?

• Having “if only I’d found this earlier” pangs re: the basic principles of mindfulness and feeling so glad that this exists for little ones now.

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• Apologizing to my husband for buying pink candlesticks for our dining room table without consulting him first. Shrug emoji.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Notifying You about the New

Have you poked around your favorite website recently? We’ve added newness in personal care and paper goods, and we’re even starting to pull together our transition-to-fall look because how else to distract ourselves from this humidity? And, speaking of planning ahead: We’re pitching a panel for SXSW 2019 all about **work wives**—head on over and give it a thumbs up, will ya? 

erica’s things

• Falling fast for 1) this woman and 2) her flower fossils.

• Dramatically improving my smoothie-drinking experience with a metal bubble tea straw.

• Considering the existence of tear-stained PlayStation controllers: There is crying in video-game playing, turns out. (But still not in baseball.)

• Finding two new Minneapolis favorites—the delicious ‘n cheery Hai Hai and the charming ‘n prickly Madre Cacti Co.—which happen to be four blocks apart.

• Counting down the days ‘til I can see Bel Canto in theaters. That Julianne Moore!!!

claire’s things

• Recommending a trip to Paris purely for a tour its fancy groceries, which are truly one of the more inspirational feats of retail I’ve witnessed of late. Start with Le Grande Epicerie, Printemps du Goût, and Maison Plisson.

• Experimenting with phasing out coffee (yeah, I don’t know who I am anymore either) and helping things along with this equally craveable tea blend.

• Saving sanity in spades by adding a second time zone to my Google Calendar. How’d it take me this long?

• Identifying an acronym that perfectly captures the stupidly painful process I go through when it comes to furniture-buying, vacation-planning, menu-ordering, etc.: FOBO.

• Finding out the bad news about the subway wait time before I even leave the house—but at least having the option to hike to the express or jump in a cab if necessary?

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• Upgrading to a jumbo bottle of this wondrous stuff because it really is so good for everything—even, if you ask my husband, as aftershave.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Taking a Break

Our podcast is officially on summer hiatus. We’re rerunning some of our very best eps, but only for three weeks because genius never sleeps. (That’s a saying, right?) While we gear up for the greatness to come, do us a favor: Hit reply to this email and tell us what the next season should sound like—what’s working for ya, what’s not doing it so much, and what topics we really need to cover

erica’s things

• Spending 11 seconds with this...and then 11 more seconds and 11 more seconds.

• Clearing out the nonsense in my camera roll with the wonderfully satisfying app Flic.

• Thanking Bedsider.org for the (well-designed) birth-control method explainer we all deserve. Side-by-side comparison included, even.

• Following an IG account on the basis of its name—@cheapoldhouses!—and then getting fully sucked into its content.

• Crossing a big one off the “Stars—They’re Just Like Us!” hit list with the news that famous people got themselves a new, chic, private terminal.

claire’s things

• Wondering if these are the things that would make me break my neutrals-only rule when it comes to furniture buying. (Click through to the big images; the details are dreamy.)

• Discovering that my email address has been, uh, “pwned” via this bummer of a website that is, all the same, very useful.

• Feeling like my cookware could use a little more pastel in the mix.

• Hearing lots about endocannabinoids these days—first on our podcast and now in a very relevant-to-my-interests breakdown of the science behind why running is so helpful for anxiety and depression.

• Getting my reading recs care of an underground network.

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• Identifying the only thing that’s ever tempted me in the slightest to learn how, exactly, dot journaling works.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Personalizing our Professional Enthusiasm

As if the the term “professional enthusiast” wasn’t self-selecting enough, we’ve gone and made it even more personal: Tell us your passion, and we’ll ask hand-lettering whiz Jen Mussari to spell it out all cute on a T-shirt for ya. And, yes, it’s fine to put “LaCroix.”

erica’s things

• Wishing every personal website had a page like this.

• Celebrating my five-year wedding anniversary by finally (finally!) putting together a photo album, and I’ve gotta say that this thing was worth the wait.

• Preparing for the worst after a friend had an apartment-fire scare: This flame- and water-resistant pouch is well worth the $20 to keep passports and vital docs safe.

• Asking Google Cal to field some of my OOO coordinating for me.

• Falling for the lowbrow brilliance of an ice cream sundae kit. It includes mochi, ok?!?!

claire’s things

• Making my way through the archives of a column that appreciates thorough breakdowns of internet minutiae just as much as I do.

• Apparently having a real ballet-fan moment because this light ‘n delightful documentary made my Friday night.

• Going deep on podcast news and discovery with the help of the Hot Pod newsletter.

• Managing the many recs I received for a trip to Paris by popping them all on a handy map. What’d I miss?

• Reminiscing about Kat Stratford’s enduring charisma in a tremendously charming and satisfying manner. Next up: Dionne Davenport.

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• Buying a fresh bottle of this stuff. The fact that it works for both Claire and me feels like some sort of haircare miracle.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Puttin’ the Podcast to Work

Lately on A Few Things, we are talking crosswords and oat milk, reading all your feedback out loud, self-caring like the pro athletes we’re not, making sure ladies are getting paid, and seeing much appeal in being 40 and single. 

erica’s things

• Feeling a tiny bit better about the world after reading the story of the artists who saved Nina Simone’s childhood home.

• Waiting (eagerly) for this wine-making adventure to be turned into a whole book...and then a movie, naturally.

• Taking quite an interest in these laser-cut wood architecture wonders.

• Getting excited about a tuna-salad lunch by rolling it—along with any veggies that need using up—into a nori wrap.

• Touristing in NYC with a visit to Merchant’s House Museum, the sort of Noho dream residence you could buy for $18k in 1835. Next up: visits to the rest of these.

claire’s things

• Always appreciating answers to the question of why something is all of the sudden such a THING—the latest being the Aperol Spritz. Now let’s get to work on adaptogens, ‘kay?

• Adding to the growing list of dance Instas I follow with this charismatic gem of a soloist from the Houston Ballet.

• Getting a whole lot out of So You Want To Talk About Race, which is exactly what its title says it is and as straightforward and accessible as you want it to be.

• Sliding this sardine-heavy pantry pasta into the regular rotation. (Plus one to commenters’ recs to add pine nuts and golden raisins at the saute stage and a generous squeeze of lemon tableside.)

• Cheering on technology that’s going to help clear out junk drawers everywhere.

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• Rerunning my annual PSA that a good, old-fashioned accordion fan is really the only thing that will make summer subway rides more bearable.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Not Leaving the House

You may have noticed, but we like a good newsletter over here. And if you’re a fan of what turns up in this one, you’ll probably also be into the one from Girls’ Night In, a Friday A.M. email that gets ya prepped for the weekend with lots of thoughts and tips for taking care of yourself—and your friendships. Just reading that made your heart swell a little, huh?

erica’s things

• Adding some small American towns that look charming as heck to my travel to-do list.

• Stuffing my face with Indonesian goodness at Kasih in Downtown L.A. Don’t sleep on the sambal tasting and the snapper ceviche, ya got me?

• Aspiring to have a quiet eye.

• Fawning over the interiors porn in Openhouse mag (which, unlike many of the chic niche pubs of this ilk, posts stories on the internet, too).

• Brainstorming all the things I could put in this parmesan-rice crust besides summery tomato quiche, which itself was delicious.

claire’s things

• Turning up my nose at the whole pre-prepped smoothie trend (because, what, like it’s hard?)...until I tried it. Full-on convert status. SO EASY.

• Discovering who the inventor of Monopoly was and wondering why nobody has made a movie about her life yet?

• Hearing a lot of complaints from my canine-loving friends about the dearth of good-looking dog beds and offering up at least one solution.

• Getting mad at all the other massages I’ve had for not being as good as the one at Tomoko Spa—it’s located in L.A., but you’d be forgiven for thinking you’re in Kyoto.

• Thanking the internet for filling the ultimate hole in the “how to” canon: "How to Break Up With Your Therapist."

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

10 Things We're Doing Besides Ending Our Summer Sale Tonight

Today is the last and final day of our sale! Lots of discounted prices turn into pumpkins at midnight (EST), so get moving. 

erica’s things

• Describing a comb as chic.

• Gobbling up an artichoke dip that’s so much brighter and ninety-degree-weather-friendlier than its creamy cousins.

• Not hating a strapless bra for, I’m pretty sure, the first time ever.

• Showing up for the reimaginings of book covers (℅ T mag) and concert posters (℅ Swissted).

• Running when I really don’t wanna—at least sometimes!—with a push from master motivator Coach Bennett on the Nike+ Run Club app. Try the guided Comeback Run, First Long Run, and/or Just a Run if you need a shove.

claire’s things

• Realizing I’ve been doing the sneaker thing all wrong.

• Booking a trip to Barcelona and Mallorca—send me all your recs, please!

• Feeling a little less tired and achy behind the eyes after staring at a screen all day thanks to these things.  

• Devouring a beach read with a bit more substance than the term typically implies.

• Wondering why it never occurred to me that climbing vines can be an indoor thing.

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• Thinking I couldn’t possibly love this thing more until I traveled with it and discovered that it can not, will not hold a wrinkle. Just won’t do it.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Shopping Our Big Summer Sale

There are a bunch of things on the site that only get discounted twice a year, and right now is one of those times. Put another way: We have a major sale happening right now, so go get it before it’s all gone. And if you need some help narrowing your options down, you can see what’s in our carts and closets below. 

erica’s things

• Looking to hit tortoiseshell jewelry even harder by adding a bracelet to my mix.

• Making quite the statement in these (if you ask me).

• Smelling this on my hair for, like, three days after I use it—and feeling the results at least that long, too.

• Running exclusively with these suckers on my feet.

• Solving the summer-dressing conundrum in a skirt that feels sleek but not stifling.

claire’s things

• Living that "no bra, no waistline, no problem" lifestyle.

• Wearing the 2018 equivalent of a pashmina without feeling like Carrie Bradshaw (or, worse, evoking my 2002 senior prom look).

• Getting made fun of for using these daily but wondering how anybody keeps their collars clean without them?

• Dressing up some otherwise boring outfits with a serious stunner.

• Daring you to find something more comfortable to wear in 95-degree humidity than this.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Bringing it Home

Not for nothing, but we just added some new home goods to the site, and they are all exactly the kind of simple-but-stylish flourishes that you see in other people’s places and think “I should have things like that. Why don’t I have things like that?” And now you can. You really can. 

erica’s things

• Gaining a little respect for the laugh track.

• Putting the first three songs from Priscilla Renea’s new album on repeat. I highly encourage you to do the same.

• Recognizing the audacity of buying a cactus in a planter the size of a thimble...but wanting one anyway.

• Having a dang enjoyable time poking around the website Fonts in Use.

• Cheating on Spain and Portugal with some (smoked!) tuna caught off the coast of Washington State.

claire’s things

• Struggling to shake the story of Mr. Wash—a tremendously compelling one about wrongful conviction, prison reform, the power of art, and hope. The 17-minute doc is very, very worth your time.

• Expressing my gratitude that someone solved a dumb problem related to a product I have a serious love/hate relationship with.

• Realizing at the last minute that I was fresh outta hoisin and, consequently, learning that making the stuff is pretty easy and delicious. (Bonus: I almost always have the ingredients for it on hand.)

• Feeling a little less alone in my weird habit of performing close readings of acknowledgement sections, even in books I don’t care for.

• Filling my Insta feed with images I hate.

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• Pledging allegiance to this natural mascara. Big, fluffy brush! No flaking or smudging!

10 Things We're Doing Besides Being Attentive Listeners

You know that one girl in junior high who calmly and confidently explained periods and sex to everyone without breaking a sweat? She grew up to be Alex Capano, who came on the podcast to teach us all about reproductive health, the world of medicinal cannabis, and so much more. And! Serious contender for the title of most charming author ever, Rumaan Alam, joined us to talk about how he manages to sit down and write whole dang books, including his latest one, which has the literary world straight-up vibrating with buzz. (Not for nothing, that ep also features the return of the Alex update.) 

erica’s things

• Feeling my soft spot for lawn flamingos get even softer.

• Confirming that female-scientist-as-narrator is a guaranteed way to lure me into a novel.

• Pondering the many, many, many things you could put this roasted pepper, pine nut, and golden raisin condiment on—like, beyond all the sandwiches.

• Engaging with the mesmerizing world of smushed lipstick here and here.

• Feeeeeeling Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John, especially as a start-the-day soundtrack.

claire’s things

• Recognizing that 50% of my soup-dumpling cravings are fueled by the dipping sauce, so scooping up some black vinegar and drizzling it on all my rice and veggies alongside soy sauce.

• Developing a real fondness for the writer Haley Nahman. This and this are both good places to start if you want to do the same, and her Insta won’t disappoint, either.

• Urging you to google “muppet outtakes.”

• Trying to make bowls of lychees the new bowls of nuts. Couldn’t be cuter fruits, and there’s something relaxing about sitting around peeling ‘em and chit-chatting.

• Tearing through this seriously engaging and thought-provoking memoir about what it means to be single and child-free as a 40-year-old woman. (Spoiler: Sounds kinda great?)

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• Struggling not to wear this every single day—a near-perfect summer garment, IMHO.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Just One More Thing

Checked out this other thing we do lately? We’re kind of obsessed with this priest’s wife who got her start in flowers by decorating his church and is now a full-blown, full-service florist. And, speaking of green things: This D.I.Y. plant hanger is definitely the most achievable macramé project around. Oh, also: Here’s what’s up with dry brushing.

erica’s things

• Planning on making the easiest of desserts with a whole bunch o’ toppings now that I’ve scarfed down the rhubarb version.

• “Huh!”-ing all the way through this enthralling book on athletes and aging.

• Returning to this Twitter thread when I need an afternoon pick-me-up. Top-notch animal and baby video curation!

• Mixing up my fitness gear: The wares from Girlfriend Collective are v. soft and comfy in a way that the internet struggles to convey.

• Betting this podcast is soon the talk of the playground. It features badass women sharing grade-schooler-friendly stories of other badass women—like Tarana Burke on Harriet Tubman, Jodi Kantor on Ada Lovelace, and Jessica Valenti on Billie Jean King.

claire’s things

• Living in an objectively unattractive bra because it is the most comfortable I’ve ever worn and because honestly it looks great under clothes (...that are not sleeveless).

• Flagging a stock-photo site (chock-full of free options!) with a focus on positive images of women of color.

• Getting totally sucked into In the Dark, a serialized true-crime podcast series that’s definitely the answer to making it out of summertime traffic jams with your sanity intact.

• Sinking right into the calm and comfort of my new neighbor Healhaus—yoga, smoothies, a patio that kind of feels like you’re in Tulum even though you’re in Bed-Stuy, and just the nicest people.

• Appreciating this and this in the face of last week’s news.

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• Buying this for a beach-loving friend who exudes exactly as much cheer as it does.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Queueing ‘Em Up

A podcast binge list for ya:

• Ideal taco toppings, spray tans that don’t stink, and Suze Orman’s aspirational lifestyle.

• The spritz in a can that wants to be your summer romance.

• The woman sharing the stories of black motherhood.

• The author and the illustrator of a book that is really, really hard to explain and is all the more charming for it.

erica’s things

• Pre-ordering postage stamps. Excuse me: *scratch-and-sniff* postage stamps.

• Reading this one-topic newsletter top to bottom every day since I subscribed.

• Finding a reason to care about the Cronut®: its lawyer.

• Aspiring to do not one but two simple kitchen-storage D.I.Y.s. Let’s see how long it takes me to get it together to accomplish either, huh?

• Telling you what: That Kind of Mother deserves every last drop of hype it’s getting.

claire’s things

• Treating myself to straight-from-California cherries ℅ a shipment from Frog Hollow Farm...and now seriously contemplating a shipment of fresh apricots, too.

• Cracking up over a cat—again and again and again.

• Getting auction-addicted without the overwhelm of eBay via EBTH.

• Feeling very charmed by the indie-bookstore-meets-internet-vibes of reads.co—and getting psyched to gift it, especially to kiddos.

• Taking a sudden interest in beauty vlogging.

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• Budding up.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Feeling Fancy

You don’t have to buy anything from our new selection of fine jewelry in order to enjoy it—you just have to scroll through all of the pretty, sparkly pictures and gawk, which is exactly what we’ll be doing all day. 

erica’s things

• Finding it dang hard to believe that these photos were taken by moonlight.

• Making the very most of half a tub of cream cheese with these satisfying, lazy-weekend-friendly, two-ingredient crepes.

• Subscribing immediately to the new Bloomberg podcast about the gender pay gap.

• Beaming at the news that Molly Yeh, world’s most charming food blogger, is getting a Food Network show.

• Going wild for the casting of Clare Barron’s play Dance Nation: pre-teen girls played by women of all ages.

claire’s things

• Seriously sweating all of the badass women on Killing Eve.

• Feeling like I’m getting a legit education in interior design ℅ Basic Projects’ insta stories.

• Spending so much time scouring these limited-edition prints made from historical images. Current contenders for wall space include this and this.

• Not necessarily saying that Philly’s Walnut Street Cafe is worth the price of the Acela all on its own...but it is only a five-minute walk from the train station. Need someone to reverse-engineer the recipe for their chopped salad ASAP.

• Wanting ladies to keep on getting paid.

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• Wondering what took me so long to buy this, the ideal necklace for making any ol’ outfit look more sophistimacated.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Buttoning Up

Not to brag or anything (okay, to brag), but the waitlist for this shirt got WAY long while we were sold out of it. We finally restocked it, and now it’s just...flying out the door again. Go get yours! 

erica’s things

• Using toothpaste to get scratches out of a car. (Sorry that it came to this, Cam the Camry.)

• Booking this hotel for a trip to Kyoto and requesting all your best Japan recs because planning this is intimidating.

• Proclaiming that the short stories in You Think It, I’ll Say It are fantastic for any ol’ time—but especially for a hectic commute when you’re in desperate need of a distraction.

• Falling for this artist but struggling to put into words exactly why. Which is pretty much the story of me and art.

• Love, love, loving the concept of this Slate column: My Parents’ Work-Life Balance.

claire’s things

• Spending less time scrolling and more time reading thanks to this.

• Kind of living for this uncomfortable, emotional, and remarkably honest conversation between Jada Pinkett Smith and her husband’s ex-wife about co-mothering and blended families.

• Trying to make books free.

• Reminding you that even if you don’t have kids, you probably should have a will (but, um, especially if you have kids!)—so here’s a super-easy and free way to check that off your to-do list.

• Predicting (hoping?) that this’ll be soundtracking a lot of first dances on the wedding circuit this summer.

turn it up to 11 - from claire

• Getting so much feedback from house guests about this stuff.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Catching You Up

A handful of things we thought you might want to know about...

• We told the seven-minute version of the story of how Of a Kind came to be on Monocle’s Eureka podcast.

• The creator of the Chemex set a really high bar for how braggy you’re allowed to be about your dedication to the device.

• Of a Kind fan favorite Mary H.K. Choi came on the podcast to talk about her new YA novel that everrrybody’s reading.

• There’s a seriously impressive roster of speakers coming together in NYC this June, and it’s quite FOMO-inducing.

• Free domestic 2-day shipping on orders $150 and up through tomorrow! (What, with Mother’s Day and all.)

erica’s things

• Successfully crisping fish skin for the first time in my life; accepting any and all praise for this tremendous achievement.

• Coming to terms with just how much style inspo I’ve ripped from Sliding Doors.

• Turning this into a where-to-donate-money cheat sheet.

• Getting extra salty.

• Applauding this restaurant sexual harassment poster...while wishing it didn’t have to exist in the first place.

claire’s things

• Ordering this in bulk on the internet because god forbid the grocery store run out and I have to go a week without it.

• Getting on board with any tofu-cooking trick that doesn’t require you to press it first.

• Ogling a seriously beautiful mousepad that turned out to be $375 (LOL) and opting instead for this equally satisfying one that’s a tenth of the price.

• Looking forward to feelings of profound inadequacy courtesy of The New Yorker’s newly introduced crossword puzzles.

• Betting this one makes up her losses by selling her story to Hollywood.

turn it up to 11 - from erica

• Getting why seemingly everybody sweats this perfume so hard.

10 Things We're Doing Besides Catching You Up

Lately on the podcast….

• Erica reveals her up-and-at-‘em approach to mornings that involves 100% more conversation than Claire finds advisable.

• The interior designers who helped Claire solve her furniture-buying paralysis discuss all things home, including which white paints are the best white paints.

• The powerhouse responsible for one of our favorite recent movies—best described as Dazed and Confused if it was written and directed by a woman, was about women, and took place in 2018—shares her experience of making films while female.

• Claire details her morning routine, and it turns out she in no absolutely position whatsoever to judge how others choose to spend their AM hours.
  

erica’s things

• Charting the skillet-cookie renaissance: Evidence of the revival of one of my favorite (Midwestern?) childhood desserts can be found in this cookbook and this Trader Joe’s release.

• Falling for The Bold Type, which is fluff TV, for sure, but also delivers weirdly good career advice and top-notch bossing.

• Caring more about a string quartet than I ever thought possible.

• Expanding my dressing-making and jar-cleaning repertoire. Fig jam dregs, I’m coming for you…

• Thinking about setting up a Google Alert for Jia Tolentino so I can read her stories the second they post.

claire’s things

• Feeling pretty comfortable making the claim that this mouthwash is better than anything else you might be using.

• Yessing very hard to Genusee—eyeglasses made in Flint, Michigan, out of recycled water bottles.

• Embracing the pure poppiness of Twin Shadow. This song on repeat is my current running soundtrack.

• Using Instagram like a Pinterest board by finally getting hip to Collections. Helps make up for the fact that the search function on that app does not do what I want it to do.

• Struggling to remember the last time a book enticed me to read it as closely and carefully as Asymmetry did.

turn it up to 11 - from claire

• Trying to make “caftan” a verb.