Writing this one in the presence of a cat
It’s well documented that I don’t like cats except for Libby, after I grew out of my childhood “Kit-Kat” phase, they are just not for me. But I am staying at my friend Maci’s house, and Maci is her most Maci when an animal is around, so she has a cat, and I am happy for her.
This intro is being written here in the quiet hours before we start getting ready for Elissa’s wedding. I love weddings, and I love my friends. Maybe I should make my friends thing number five, because right now I’ve only seen two episodes of Survivor. I’m excited for the covenant love of it all for Elissa, but I am excited for the hours of girl time for me. She could have said “we’re getting ready at 4am,” and I would have been like, “let me pop my under-eye masks in the fridge and let’s hit it.”
This sentence now has links to the my instagram, my Outdoor Voices referral link (I can only hope that when I get TikTok back after Easter, 5-inch inseam tok is alive and well), and old issues of the newsletter.
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Number One: Redhawk Coffee Subscription
Before Five Things, there was the Wednesday E-mail. I sent the Wednesday E-mail to my Pitt girlies, and the best thing about the Wednesday E-mail is that it’s still happening. The early days of the Wednesday E-mail included weekly updates on my Espresso A Mano crush, who would see me walk in on Wednesday mornings and would go ahead and start heating up a croissant. He was amazing, and then he disappeared, and then he reappeared with Redhawk Coffee. Turns out he was married the whole time.
Redhawk has a coffee subscription and it is beyond worth your money. It’s like getting a croissant heated up before you even order, a nice thing you don’t even have to ask for, but you know it’s coming. I get the single origin whole-bean washed. I make a french press six out of seven days a week, and the bag usually lasts me three weeks, and then I have back up beans until my next shipment comes. The back up beans are not as good.
Number Two: Choosing Dangerously
This piece from 538 captured a lot of how I’ve felt over the last year of uncertainty.
What counts as outdoor dining? Can I visit that friend? What kind of mask should I wear? Should my groceries be delivered? Does hand sanitizer matter? Should I open a window? Which vaccine should I get? Is my pod too big? We open tabs upon tabs of research we only partly understand. Our minds boggle at the choices of others. There is a bucket in our heads that is always at least partially filled with the flotsam of pandemic decision-making, and even when it’s only a couple inches deep, we are drowning in it.
It’s the kind of article where when I copied and pasted the link into my “for next week” e-mail draft, I thought, that was just good, and I will be thinking about it more, thank you.
Number Three: This funny little piece from the Irish Times
Here is a round up of my thoughts on the British Royal Family:
I still can’t believe we saw Prince Charles two years ago in Ireland.
I liked The Crown. Team Diana all the way.
I usually take James Corden things as an immediate no-thank-you (see: CATS), but his interview with Harry was charming.
I laughed out loud at this piece recapping the Oprah interview. After it slows on the snark, its actually quite insightful and wise.
Having a monarchy next door is a little like having a neighbour who’s really into clowns and has daubed their house with clown murals, displays clown dolls in each window and has an insatiable desire to hear about and discuss clown-related news stories. More specifically, for the Irish, it’s like having a neighbour who’s really into clowns and, also, your grandfather was murdered by a clown.
Number Four: Country Playlists to coast you into warmer weather
TruckYa is great for when you want to listen to Country Radio, but Kelsea Ballerini kind of wears you out.
Classic Country just an absolutely iconic playlist. Even though we’re still mad that Blake Shelton is a literal can of creamed corn, but was named “Sexiest Man Alive” in 2017, I always recommend starting with “Austin” and letting it take you from there.
Indigo is just a good listen. And if you listen more than once, you will find yourself knowing only 10% of the words to “Sawtooth Jericho,” but loving it still.
Number Five: Bombas Socks
In August, when Lilly came to Colorado with me, she and my mom had a conversation about how Bombas really are the best socks. And I quietly rolled my eyes because I’ve been a years-long Feetures girl.
Last month, when we were in Arkansas, I realized that I forgot my Target no-show socks, and was going to have to look major dorky in my chunky Feetures and Madewell tennies boppin around the art museum. Because Lilly is a great friend she let me borrow her no-show Bombas, I ended up wearing them the whole night and ordered two pairs before I went to bed. They really are the best socks.
I really do love my friends so much. And at last night’s rehearsal I got so excited for Lilly to get married even though she’s not even dating any one right now. I owe Lilly like 19 big favors, so if you know of any high-caliber, Jesus-loving but not corny, good credit score, cute single men in Dallas, do let me know. She has great taste in socks.
Would it be fun and funny to turn this newsletter into a matchmaking service? I’m willing to pilot it…