Okay, Let's Do This.

If you're ready, I'm ready. If you're ready, I'm ready...

What a week for The Weekly Digress. There are a lot of new members here, and a handful of paying members here now, too. I thank every single one of you for believing in me, hearing me, and supporting me as we venture into the next EMMASTHING phase a la this newsletter.

Over the next several weeks, I’m going to experiment with what content will live behind a paywall and what won’t. It’s going to be an adventure for all of us with a lot of shit-throwing at said wall (which, if you read Wednesday’s letter, you know I’m seasoned in), and you have a front row seat to the shit spectacle (and you didn’t even have to wait in a make believe line on Ticketmaster to get here).

I can tell you this with 100% certainty—

The Weekly Digress will hit your inbox every Friday as your guaranteed pre-weekend treat.

I’ve experimented with different publishing days over the years and have remained consistent exactly zero times, so take this as my word that Friday is the day—come hell, high water, rain, snow, ice, scheduling conflicts, a bad mood, a bad attitude, or illness.

I’ve been collecting little bits of content and links for the last week or so to share with you guys, so let’s get into it.

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READING 👀📚

Ahead of my first attempt at a podcast Book of the Month next week, I finished Carrie Soto Is Back last weekend. It’s Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest novel, and I’m very much looking forward to discussing it with my audience. If you take to strong, independent, blood-thirsty women and wouldn’t mind learning a little bit about tennis, I definitely recommend this book.

I’ve already started on my next read, which is The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand. I wasn’t familiar with this book or the author; it was a direct recommendation from my bookworm of a mother, Ellen. I don’t typically gravitate toward mystery novels, but I’m enticed from reading the first 100 pages and will be sticking around to find out what happens (also, one of the character’s names is Merritt, which is wild. How often do you hear that name outside of the one and only Merritt Beck?!).

WATCHING 📺

We’re late to the game on Bad Sisters, but we’re coming at it hard. The writing and acting are so good, you want to kill The Prick with your own bare hands. Right now they’re attempting and failing, but imminent death is around the corner, and I can’t wait to see how this satanic, sorry excuse for a man makes his exit. Available on Apple TV.

Who here is watching Shrinking? It’s nice to see Jason Segel back at it. I’ve loved him since Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but he hasn’t done much on-screen for a while. We love the premise and like the show, but Zac cannot get over how Harrison Ford seems “soulless.” That’s the word he keeps using over and over. Soulless. He feels he has no emotion behind his eyes, and while I don’t disagree, it doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it bothers him. Bottom line: We’re enjoying the show! Available on Apple TV.

For a more mindless watch, we’ve taken to Physical 100 on Netflix. This is a Korean competition show that involves 100 uniquely fit contestants completing “quests” to win a whole bunch of money. The subject matter revolves heavily around their fitness levels and general physique and is an interesting commentary on what “fit” looks like via all shapes and sizes. It’s very outside of our typical wheelhouse (see dramadies with a lot of dialogue), but it’s easy and fun to watch and everyone needs one of those in their repertoire. Available on Netflix.

LISTENING 🎧

I’m a big fan of Bari Weiss’s podcast, Honestly, and this week, she had a panel of guests discussing O-O-O-Ozempiccccc (if you sang that to the tune of O’Reily’s Auto Parts, you did it right). As always, everyone on the panel had varying backgrounds and varying thoughts, and it was a very interesting (and sometimes very heated) debate. Tune in to hear Dr. Chika Anekwe (an obesity medicine physician), Dr. Vinay Prasad (a hemotologist-oncologist), and Calley Means (former food and Pharma company consultant) discuss the pros and cons of this wildly popular weight loss drug.

MAKING 🔪

I made these dark chocolate walnut brownies as a decadent Valentine’s treat for my dad and Zac, and they were a HIT. A few notes: I used dark chocolate morsels instead of semi-sweet, and I also went nuts and did half pecans/half walnuts. Super easy to make and a guaranteed home run if you love chocolate and nuts.

The other week, I created a quick reel about how I make my very protein-forward, bulky ass smoothies and decided it needed a spot on the blog. If you’re a chocolate/peanut butter/banana fan, you’ll enjoy this smoothie.

Speaking of protein-forward, I’ve been messing with adding cottage cheese to my eggs this week and think I’m onto something. This isn’t innovative—cooks and chefs have been doing it for a while. It’s just new to me, so I thought I’d share my method.

Last thing: I made this honey mustard, pecan-panko crusted salmon last night for dinner and holy shit. It was restaurant-level quality and stupidly easy. It will absolutely be on the Miller dinner rotation going forward.

SHOPPING 🛒

I have next to no partnerships with brands anymore. Most of them have fallen by the wayside, and I’m saying no to pretty much everyone nowadays. However, Summersalt is one I won’t give up on. I have an ongoing discount code with them: EMMAJS10. It’s taken me a while to figure out what apparel of theirs looks genuinely good on me, and when I tell you I gasped at this one-piece swimsuit this week…

Please don’t mind my tiny socks or messy bedroom; rather, pay attention to the rouging and detail on this one-piece. It’s called the Sidestroke, and I got it in black (AKA Sea Urchin) in a size 8. I now want it in every color because I feel very confident in it and find it to be ultra-flattering on my figure. I also got…

…these really lovely lounge pants. They’re called the Palazzo Pant (with ties) and are almost a silky material, which makes them feel super luxe and incredibly comfortable. We head to Cabo in two weeks, and I can’t wait to wear these around the pool. I took them in a medium! Remember to use my code EMMAJS10 when you shop Summersalt for 10% off your order.

I thought I wanted to branch out and away from the NARS concealer I’ve been using forever, so I tried the Dior Forever Skin Correct concealer and holy heavy. I used the smallest amount when getting ready last weekend, and it looked like I was doing wedding makeup or something. It’s just extremely pigmented and a pea-size dot goes a long way, so if you want a full-coverage concealer, maybe check it out. Personally, I returned it and went back to my NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer with an updated color (I was using Macadamia, which is medium with warm undertones. I’m now using Ginger, which is medium with warm undertones + a golden tone). I love it and find it easy to manuver, layer, and blend.

My mom, Ellen, found a $9 lipstick that rivals designer lipstick and it’s amazing. e.l.f.’s O Face Stain lipsticks are bold, go on smooth, and stay on. She let me try No Regrets last weekend, which is a true red and OMG. It immediately reminded me of my beloved Jungle Red by NARS that’s no longer made. For $9, you can definitely afford a few different colors to play around with.

This is a bit specific, but for how much FaceTiming and talking to the camera I do, I realized I probably needed to get a cute little iPhone stand for my desk instead of propping it up wherever it will stay. This guy understood the assignment and is the best $12 I’ve spent in a minute.

I wore this look yesterday and want to break it down for those who are interested:

Coat: An investment piece from VINCE // Leggings: Girlfriend’s Ribbed High-Rise // Hoodie: Girlfriend’s Classic Hoodie (my color is old and no longer avail) // Sneaks: HOKA One Clifton 8 (my color is sold out but any color works because HOKA is the best) // Hat: Bought from a local boutique in Dallas but similar here and here // Bag: CALPAK Luka Belt Beg in Kale (sold out but they have so many amazing new colors. I want the sage!)

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This newsletter is over 1,400 words. That’s longer than 95% of blog posts I’ve written, and is full of every little thing I come across throughout each week that I’m too overwhelmed to share story-by-story on Instagram. Not to mention the joy I felt while writing this and sharing things with you guys was exhilarating. I plan to make every newsletter this content-rich and worth your while, so consider upgrading to a paid subscription over the next few newsletters so you don’t miss a beat when things start changing around here.

Have a good weekend! And if you can’t make it a good one, make it a great one.

—EGM