Recently Enjoyed Things | May 24, 2024

A few things I enjoyed in mild hysteria.

May 24, 2024

At press time, we’re only 10 more hours away from the long weekend and the unofficial kick-off to summer. Today is a good day, indeed! Happy Friday all!

In a panic last week, I took a 4-day weekend. Friday and Monday OOO, I told myself, was exactly what I needed to manage the mental health emergency I found myself in. Admittedly, that’s dramatic. I’m feeling a touch burned out, but it’s not an emergency. I just needed to chill out a little, that’s all.

Those four days were glorious. Friday I thought about work a lot, but by Monday, I was so disassociated, I couldn’t even remember that I was employed. See self, I say, because I talk to myself a lot actually. A little breaky-break was all you ever needed.

No further notes - I just want to set up my mindset before we get into this week’s dispatch of things I recently enjoyed. I was surviving for a couple days, so this edition is power packed with all my coping mechanisms. Oh and if you have PTO days, for God’s sake, use them (I shout this to myself).

But first, some housekeeping: there’s some affiliate links in here. But aren't they everywhere? Anyway, if you click on something and buy it, I might earn a commission at no cost to you.

Recently Enjoyed

Reading

I finished Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe. I’m tempted to say Vanderbilt was the stronger book, but I think I just found that family a bit more interesting. The Astor book was equally well written and enjoyable, narrative non-fiction. If you enjoy light New York history and also wondering how people with so much money and privilege can so epically fuck up and lose everything, this book is for you.
⭐ On the fiction front, I positively inhaled Call Your Daughter Home by Deb Spera. It took me 2 days to consume this book in full because I was willing to neglect my family, my appetite, and all the laundry to keep reading it. It’s 1924 and the early phases of the Depression are rolling into North Carolina. We follow Annie, Retta, and Gertrude, mothers in various seasons of parenthood, all making hard decisions to survive.

Eating

Rainbow Sherbet Sparkling Water // Target - $1.19:
My Sister Made Me Buy It
told me to, and she wasn’t wrong. It’s not sweet, but somehow tastes like rainbow sherbet. I don’t know, it’s witchcraft or something.
⭐ Anchovy Stuffed Green Olives // Amazon - $9: Okay this is a little niche, but it’s a marriage made in a very specific section of heaven, where people who like excessive salt and tiny fish get to go if they’re very very good. I stumbled on these by accident and will keep them stocked in my cupboard forever more. Just think of the dirtiest martini.

Shopping

Extra Salty Socks // Aerie - $7: My personality, my preferred flavor (please see anchovy stuffed olive rec above), the way I take my margarita rim. These socks feel like an apt name tag.
⭐ Pink Stripe Smocked Maxi Dress // Amazon - $26: Sure can’t beat the price. I got it in “watermelon” and while I’m waiting for it to arrive, the green version is also tempting me. Just a perfect summer dress.
4.5” Boxers // GAP - $8: I’m into the boxers-as-shorts trend and for $8 (!!!) now’s the time to go for it.
Striped Boxer Shorts // Amazon - $25: another option with a bunch of colors.
Red and White Striped Polo Sweater // GAP - $63: An immediate yes for me.
Taco Graphic T Shirt // J Crew - $16: Well, it was me or the IG algorithm that got tricked. This popped up on my ads and I clicked immediately, expecting to make an impulse purchase when - whoops - turns out it’s a kid’s shirt. And now I’m like, maybe I could fit in a boys XL?

Recent Saves

3 Things

Three interesting things I read on Substack this week -

A glitch in the matrix of online shopping from
Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends
- on the tomfoolery of internet shopping, brand names, and everyone selling the exact same item at varying price points.
All talk - no selling from
My Sister Made Me Buy It
- “things don’t always have to be wrapped up nicely to be enjoyed.”
I wouldn’t say I’ve bounced back from Aliza at
Platonic Love
- on feeling like yourself after pregnancy.

Sending You on Your Way (Interesting things I found on the Internet)

⭐ Misunderstood emojis - Ooh interesting. What do you think these emojis mean?

On using that PTO…or not. The rise of the “Quiet Vacation.”

Via

Julia @smarterinasec

: weird things siblings have in common. Nature vs nurture, baby.

PS -

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Here’s a few things I wrote about this week:

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