Last week, Jonah and I spent our first overnight apart in nearly two years (…thank you, COVID), when he had to head on a work trip. Yeah, yeah I missed him—but also, it was incredible. Toast, Meesh, and I had a party. By that I mean, I put my vinyl of “Lover” on the turntable, fed my neighbor’s chickens, styled shelves of our (almost!) complete fireplace, then proceeded to devour a new reality show and instant Mac ‘n’ Cheese with a Negroni because I really couldn’t be bothered to make anything else. I love spending time with Jonah, but had also forgotten how much I love spending time with myself! Here are a few things I loved this week:
At 32, Nina is among the last of her single friends living in London. Along with her friend “poor old Lola,” who, unlike Nina, is desperate to meet someone, Nina attends bachelorette parties, baby showers, and all of the traditions that accompany her happily coupled-off friends. After Lola convinces Nina to sign up for a dating app, she meets Max—who feels like “the one” until he promptly ghosts her.
Dolly Alderton’s humor emerges in spot-on social observations, like when Nina watches Lola deftly converse in “this back-and-forth of empty phrases purpose-built for a female vocabulary to make everyone feel comfortable.” Alderton writes:
Lola was so skilled at it—it never made her feel silly. When there was an awkward pause in conversation in the pub, she could state, “There’s nothing like a cold beer,” without irony. I once her her say to my mother, “Photos are such a great way of capturing memories, aren’t they?” at a family party and Mum positively shone from the effort of this banality[…] I didn’t know whether this was learn behaviour as little girls, or whether it was in our DNA[…] The Nothing Like A Cold Beer gene.
If you liked Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, I highly recommend buying Ghosts here!
Somehow I made it through the 2000s and ’10s without watching a single episode of “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” (a fact made all the more surprising by my high school love of reality shows—I was one of five people who immediately recognized Ke$ha as “that girl on ‘The Simple Life'”). When Jonah was out of town last week, I started Netflix’s “My Unorthodox Life” (a clear response to “The Kardashians'” last season, right?), and quickly rediscovered my passion for family drama played out on a small screen. The show follows the exceedingly impressive CEO of Elite World Group, Julia Haart, who lived in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community for years. The drama is clearly fabricated, which doesn’t make the show any less watchable—it took me one evening to zoom through three episodes.
Since high school, I’ve listened to Rachel Portman soundtracks… most days of my life. First it was the ‘Chocolat’ CD (sans summer salad), which morphed into literally thousands of plays on my iTunes. Now, in my “Spotify In Review,” it tells me, unsurprisingly each year, that I’m in the .01% of her top fans, which, also unsurprisingly, never fails to make Jonah laugh. I love it for deep focus—and may have listened to it in perpetuity if the newsletter Flow State hadn’t saved me. Every weekday, the newsletter shares two hours of music that’s perfect for working (brilliant!). It’s already introduced me to several artists, like Ki Oni, that have temporarily succeeded in usurping the Portman reign.
Like most people, I hate wasting food, and I get a weird satisfaction from turning weird-ish leftovers—soggy panzanella, old carrots, limp beet greens—into delicious, inspiring meals. I recently started a series on my Instagram, where I upcycle leftovers, in an effort to help you cut back on food waste too (really, the secret is never not butter). Soggy panzanella is one of my favorite leftovers because it’s so easy to turn into a delicious breakfast that feels like a supercharged egg-in-a-hole. Here’s how to make it:
1. Add 1-2 tablespoons butter to a pan. Once it starts to bubble, add the leftover panzanella and form it into a little mound. Cook over medium heat until bread is toasted, about 6 minutes.
2. Create a small divot and crack eggs into the center, lower heat and cover until the whites are just firm.
3. Flip, then remove from heat (the eggs will continue to cook and you want soft yolks!) and dust with some Parmesan. Serve with your favorite hot sauce.
1. Just a heartwarming dog video for your morning.
2. Accurate.
3. Reformation is having a 40% off sale!
4. Elizabeth Van Lierde, who contributed for us wayyy back (we met when she food-styled one of our first Shop shoots), just came out with her first cookbook. Congrats!
5. L.A. style trends.
6. First time listening to Tim Ferriss, but really enjoyed his conversation with Anne Lamott.
