A professional-grade Sharpie, a really good shampoo, and olive oil soft serve!
Plus, a whirlwind trip to Brooklyn to see old friends
I’m homeward bound on the train from Grand Central; this particular section of the train is humming with the happy noise of friends chatting and relaxed on a Saturday afternoon, all of us held in the whir of the AC. It’s chilly enough that I had to put on a cotton sweater. BLISS!
I was in the city for dinner with friends, one of whom was in town from LA for a night. My sister says, “You don’t get any more old friends,” and she’s right. We feasted on a Murray’s Cheese platter that I picked up at Grand Central Market, had cocktails at Titan, and ended the evening with ice cream at Oddfellows. Plus hours and hours of talk, talk, talk. The very best way to spend 24 hours.
A. I sent out the Design Circle (the highest level of paid supporters) limited-edition mailing this week; my favorite item in the box (which was full of all kinds of my favorite things) was the custom Born Under A Schlepping Sign baseball cap I made inspired by an enthusiastic commenter. I really enjoy putting together these boxes; the creative exercise of how to best engineer surprise and delight is a big small joy!
B. Last night I ordered the vanilla soft serve with olive oil and salt at Oddfellows; Tim and I first tasted this combo at the bar at Otto way back when. It’s as good now as it was then.
C. I bought this cheese crazy tote at Murray’s.
D. And I wanted but resisted the cheese crazy patch at checkout!
E. On the way home, I spotted this cute NYC teething toy - a good gift!
F. I love the intimacy of staying with friends (and getting to try their shampoo!). This Kiehl’s shampoo and conditioner wasn’t on my radar, but I really liked both - a light scent, and my fine hair didn’t feel weighed down after. Recommend!
G. The doorman at my old building introduced me to these Sharpie Pros as we caught up this morning.
H. I ordered these photo frames on a bit of a whim last week and have been pleasantly surprised by them. Note that the frames are not designed with glass to protect the photograph; otherwise, these are nice frames to give along with a great photo of friends or family.
I. These Chiaverini Jams have been winking at me from the shelf of my local grocery store for months, but I’ve resisted purchasing because sometimes aesthetically packaged food items are just that: pretty but don’t taste great. I was delighted when I spotted this jam in my friend’s fridge, and am even happier to report to you that it was straight-up delicious.
J. The whole train ride I’ve been thinking about how delicious the olive oil and sea salt were on that vanilla soft serve. I clicked around a bit and found these single-serve olive oil minis. Someone gave me a fancy travel sea salt, which I’ve never had a reason to carry - but now I can recreate the flavors at my local soft serve place. I can’t wait!
If you enjoyed this newsletter, consider clicking the ❤️ button — it really does help other like-minded readers discover my writing (oh, algorithms!).
I occasionally include affiliate links - typically to products from Etsy, Ebay, 1st Dibs, Bookshop, and yes, sometimes, Amazon. Affiliate links are bolded so you know when I’ve used one. Our most consistent political power comes from exercising our values via our wallets. I’m always thinking about cost, accessibility, and the planet. It’s a work in progress.
I include a few bonus finds here each week for paid subscribers as a small token of appreciation for making this newsletter possible.
A. Self-help books can be so alluring (just buy this book and your problems will be SOLVED!). This one I couldn’t resist, as the biggest problem I’m wrestling with these days is pacing - how to meet my obligations and not burn out. I’ll let you know if there’s a piece of wisdom or two in here.
B. We made this charred cabbage and chicken peanut chopped salad tonight for dinner! Yum!
C. I’ve been wanting to share my intense love for these crackers for weeks but keep feeling a little bit like everyone must already know and love them; just in case you haven’t discovered the crunchy goodness, now you know!
D. My dad had a birthday a few weeks back, and given that we’re a family of movie lovers, I sent this popcorn-palooza his way. A big hit: Butter Flavored Salt, Popcorn maker (I have this in red!), popcorn, and boxes.
Ack, so jealous you have access to Chiaverini! We got some when were in Italy and rationed it as long as we could ... so good, and so, so fruity!!!!
Wow! Sounds intriguing!!