Issue #69: Nice!
THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
I broke the seal on pumpkin spice season last weekend with some despair baking, whipping up order a chocolate chip pumpkin counter cake (I strongly encourage you to get into the counter cake lifestyle, it’s the stuff dreams are made of) and then a meringue-topped pumpkin pie to share with friends. I’m mad at the despair, but not the baked gourd goods. Don’t tell the hordes of riding boot enthusiasts, but I’m planning a trip to a pumpkin patch near you soon. Might even get some apple cider, just to make it cozy.
How are you coping these days? We wanna know.
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Kase + Maggie
Wearing a mask has not been great for my face. You won’t catch me outside without one, but my sensitive skin is suffering. As temperatures drop and the steam heat in my apartment kicks on, I’m trying my hardest to keep this mug looking somewhat normal. Enter the most genius product I have come across this week: Masque Bar’s Shield & Soothe Hydrogel PPE Facial Under Mask ($3.99). It’s designed to target the very area irritated by wearing a mask and it’ll fit right under one. It’s got hyaluronic acid, aloe vera and calendula, the holy trinity of moisture, to hydrate and calm skin. Brilliant, if you ask me. About time, if you ask my pores. —MC
I feel weird about acknowledging that the pandemic has gone on long enough that I’m contemplating public health-themed art, but here we are. I feel weirdly drawn to this vintage movie poster-themed screenprint with a pro-mask message, and can’t decide if it would be depressing or bold to hang it up to commemorate this long, strange time that I ... assume has to end someday? Right? —KW
For as long as I can remember, my friend Autumn and I have been in hot pursuit of the perfect pair of black and white sneakers. The specifications have evolved over the years, but as of late, we’ve honed in on what our go-to shoe should look like. Our requirements are as follows: They have to complement, not compete with, our leather jackets, they’ve gotta be comfortable (absolutely no little toe rubbing!) and they should exude a vibe mastered solely by teenage girls smoking in the bathroom when they’re meant to be at a tennis lesson. In other words, it’s a feeling, not just a shoe! It’s taken me years, but I may have found our holy grail: The Nike Court Royale AC ($60). Black leather, clean lines and an oversized swoosh? The 8th grader in me is thrilled. —MC
I am a woman of many crafts and, admittedly, even more craft supplies. After all, how are you supposed to make something if you have nothing on hand? Sometimes the project dictates the materials, but sometimes the materials are the inspiration for the project. I’m a perpetual hoarder of yarn and fabric, but thought I’d outsmarted the system by getting a set of interchangeable knitting needles, allowing me to have every size I needed on hand for any project. It was the perfect plan — until I threw myself on the couch yesterday, heedless of the knitting project that sat there, snapping the delicate size 8 bamboo needle at the joint. Oops, and just as I was getting into the groove. Looks like it’s time for a trip to the craft store! —KW
I am flying through Luster by Raven Leilani. This novel is so hard to describe and so good. Youth, sex, race, trying to make sense of it all; Leilani’s words just rattle through your bones. There’s one line in particular that I read over and over again until I caught myself saying it aloud: “No one wants what no one wants.” It’s become an earworm of sorts — I think of it when I’m running, writing, editing, cooking, trying (and failing) to listen to the audiobook of The 48 Laws of Power. The sentiment’s become like a smell I can’t get off my skin, an open cut in my mouth I keep tonguing. In other words, a story that’ll stay with me long after I’ve devoured it. —MC
Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU
We know we’re not alone that the news of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing last week felt like an absolute sucker punch. She was not perfect, but no revolution is. She founded the Women’s Rights Project at the ACLU, one of her many contributions to women and the world. Please consider donating in her memory.
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