The Weekender // 018

Some insanely good new arrivals from Gap I had to model for you, the book I smashed pre-order on in seconds, and my week at an actual snack convention...

Welcome to THE WEEKENDER, your weekly dispatch full of ~Saturday spirit~! I fill you in briefly on the week, share a few Little Luxuries that make the mundane feel special and save the best for last with some Brain Food to mull over, expand your horizons, or discuss with your friends over a cappuccino. There are usually lots of links and pictures which perhaps will get clipped if you’re reading in your inbox— click here to read in browser!

Hey friends! I’ve been on a business trip this week, and I spent part of it at a snack convention in Anaheim. Not a joke, it’s called ExpoWest and tens of thousands of folks in the “natural products” industry descend upon a convention center— it was probably one of the nuttiest events I’ve attended in my life.

Some highlights:

• Trying a sickening amount of samples: Van Leeuwen’s Guinness partnership, a bedazzled Juicy Couture (!?) bottle of Saint James Peach & Passionfruit Iced Tea, churro-spiced New Mexican Pinon Cold Brew, pickleball shaped pasta (!?), protein and fiber EVERYTHING…

• Getting to see friends like Nate & Jenna at Express Checkout, my PR pals Delaney & Sarah

• A week of working alongside my boss & mentor Samantha Rose in sunny SoCal after a hideous East Coast winter

I say I’m an introvert and I don’t love events or on-site work as much, but I actually think that’s kind of BS I’m peddling. I get uncomfortable breaking my routine and sad to leave my house/partner/dog/life without knowing what to expect or when I can get some free time to recharge my batteries… but working with/around other people (while I’m VERY out of practice of it and it brought up A LOT of internal wonkiness) is healthy and good.

In other words, this has been a really challenging month and so escaping into my work and focusing just on one thing— instead of trying and failing to be good at 50 things in a day, all by myself— ended up being kind of a beautiful escape.

Enough about me, and into the weekend’s luxuries!

• The best luxury is having a fat ass TBR! So you should probably pre-order my bestie Becca Freeman’s fabulous new book, Back Where We Started. I have sneaked a peek at a few pages and it is EVERYTHING I want in a rom-com. Pre-order it and give future you something to look forward to!

• Some of the hero pants that I featured in my try-on and review marathon of comfy, not sloppy WFH pants are on big sale! These barrel-legged ones from Ruti are usually quite pricy, but 20% off through tomorrow (Sunday!).

• When I was really stressed out last weekend, I took my ass to the Gap. I bought this cotton pant and tee set and a really fun lace-edged skort and tank set that looks like Reformation. HIGHLY recommend looking at Gap right now, they’re kind of eating Reformation’s lunch!

• While we’re looking at their fine work, I might have to snag this relaxed eyelet jacket for Spring… since I am famously in my bridal era and I can’t wait for Spring to arrive so soon!

• ICYMI, I published my Magna Carta: a guide to a bunch of different pairs of comfortable but not sloppy pants to WFH in, complete with try-on photos and reviews!!

• Make of this what you will given what’s going on in the world right now…

• I so love Brightland founder Aishwarya Iyer for her logic, directness and rational way of thinking about stuff that’s usually really emotionally charged for founders— and also because she was a great mentor and panel leader in the cohort of current, aspiring and former founders I pulled together last year! Her advice column is a great read, particularly this one about how your business is pretty much a mirror for all your own internal messiness. Aish NAILED this one, I was nodding along with every sentence.

• Agree with pretty much all of Freya India’s takes about our society, this piece about modern dating advice was no exception! So much of the “advice” about dating that I hear online or on podcasts feels so… aggressive? If I’d taken pretty much any of it, I’d never have been in a longterm relationship, so…

• If you also have Wuthering Heights (the movie— not the book, lol) fever, I present you…