The 📖📺🎧🔪🛍️ List

Succession struggles, "Hello Beautiful" thoughts, "Anatomy of a Fall" review, and more!

It’s my birthday week, therefore, you sort of have to forgive me for not sending this on Friday but waiting until today. Zac and I are heading to Chicago on my actual birthday day (Thursday) to spend the weekend with my sister and her family, so I have a few more letters up my sleeve to get ready before then.

What I’m trying to say is — I’ll make up for it. I swear.

Now let’s stop lolly gagging and get to the good stuff.

READING

I finally finished Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano and holy shit. I loved every single page and sentence of this book. My favorite genre is family drama, especially when it covers several years, and this is exactly that. I don’t want to give the plot away, but it’s about four sisters who are extremely close, a difficult mom, a beloved father, and how life shifts them apart but ultimately brings them back together in the end. It is so beautiful and well written, and is a true tribute to your first real love being your family. The main characters, I think, are extremely well developed and the main plot twist really makes for some interesting conversation. 10/10 for me. Again, if you enjoy familial dramas, you will love this.

I wasted no time in picking up my next book: The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. This is an absolute classic that was published in 1982, and I feel like it’s been on my list since then. It’s another familial drama. I started it last night in bed and blazed through the first 20 pages or so in no time. So far, it’s a lot of narrative writing and little dialogue, and my mind is already creating spaces and places and colors and imagery. I have a feeling I’m going to love it.

WATCHING

We watched the Oscar nominated Anatomy of a Fall over the weekend, and just wow — what a film. It’s half English, half French with subtitles depending on who’s talking, and the writing is fucking fantastic. I would say it’s a French courtroom drama involving a writer whose husband dies, and she is put on trial as the possible killer. The only witness is her severely vision-impaired son, and throughout the trial, you learn what was really going on in this family. It’s captivating, dramatic, and the acting is just beyond. This was my first time seeing Sandra Hüller in anything, and I was blown away. The movie is available on Prime and Hulu.

We’re still watching Succession, but I’ve gotta say… I’m getting bored? We’re a few episodes into season three, and I’m just sort of already over the whole “who’s it gonna be?” of it all. I lamented about this to my girlfriends at dinner this weekend, and they all assured me to stick with it and that the way they wrap the show is great. I’m just… weary. The pinball effect of RoyRomanShiv is so much, and Logan’s manipulative tactics are so predictable at this point, they’re laughable.

I’ve been hearing a lot about 3 Body Problem from the internets, so we fired up episode one last night and, we out. Halfway through, we were both looking at our phones, which is a high sign of indifference. It was very slow, and I didn’t have an immediate reaction to any of the main characters. I think it’s the kind of SciFi that may be way to over my head to care, so I’m gonna sit this one out.

LISTENING TO

You may not love everything Bari Weiss says or does, but her latest podcast episode with Jonathan Haidt should be required listening for all parents, parents-to-be, or parent hopefuls. Jonathan is a revered social psychologist who tackles the tough stuff and his latest book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, is no exception. It’s terrifying and true and important shit. I mean, shit — I’m an almost 37yo who just got a grip on her relationship with social media after being a slave to it for a decade or more. I know all too well the mental toll it can take on a person, and I thank my lucky stars every day that it wasn’t around until I was post-collegiate. It literally makes me shiver to think how I would’ve been if I had access to it in my teens. Anyway, you can listen to the episode here.

MAKING

I always see Grossy Pelosi eating his PB oats in the morning and decided I wanted them, but maybe something a little more *involved.* I found this actual recipe for PB oats, followed it to a T, and OMG — they are decadent and creamy and exactly what I was hoping for. So yummy.

For Easter, Z and I decided we wanted to go full summer grilling mode, so we made bratwurst, this grilled vegetable orzo salad with feta vinaigrette, and homemade sweet potato fries. The flavor on the fries was excellent, but they did not crisp up the way they should’ve. I’m not sure why because I followed instructions… I would suggest laying down some parchment paper. That might help. I raw-dogged it and I think that was my problem

SHOPPING

I tried this Free People skirt on at a local boutique, and fell in love instantly. It’s roomy, naturally oversized, and so comfortable. Something told me I’d be happy to own it this spring/summer, so for $78, it came home with me. I took a small, that’s how oversized it is!

This dress from Anthro is so vibrant in person, and I absolutely loved the fit, so I treated myself to it for my birthday (with my Anthro Perks 20% birthday discount!). I got the medium because of my boobs. Always because of my boobs. Other than that, it’s spacious, flowy, and stunning!

I also grabbed these black sandals with my birthday discount. I used to have a pair of slingback sandals very similar to these, but I wore them out and threw them out because of wearing them out years ago. I’ve been in need of a replacement for a while, and these fit the bill!

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Short and sweet today, but there will be more later this week for both free and paying members in the form of birthday lists and Sephora Sale things. Have a great start to your week, and I’ll see you back in your inbox soon!

— EGM