The Weekly Digress | 4.14

My new favorite bra, a sandal extravaganza, and a podcast about the Boy Crisis that everyone should listen to it

Ya girl’s been shopping. Like… a lot. A lot a lot. I guess I felt like I needed (deserved?) a few new things since pregnancy, postpartum, and my recent closet purge. So today’s TWD is heavy on shopping and links, and lighter on content consumption. Light but impactful, I think. Like a protein drink.

Let’s get right into it.

READING/WATCHING/LISTENING TO/MAKING

📖: Going hard on The Bird Hotel and loving it so, so much. I’m halfway through and if I had a free day with literally no responsibilities, I would probably finish it in one sitting. I’m really enjoying Joyce Maynard’s writing style (heavy on narrative, light on dialogue) and the story itself. A very quick plot synopsis: A woman suffers devastating loss and ends up in a small, off-the-map, somewhat magical village in Central America to escape her life and work through her grief. She ultimately becomes the owner of the hotel she lands at and, along the way, meets a wide variety of local villagers and hotel guests who share their own colorful stories with her. It’s so well-written, and I can’t wait to see how it ends.

📺: Love on the Spectrum is breathing humanity back into me with each episode. To be honest, I almost didn’t want to keep watching after James didn’t get any speed dating matches because it made me so incredibly sad, but I powered through and thank God because Madison and Connor/Georgie are giving me life. That’s all I’ll say because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone; however, if C & G don’t end up together forever, I’ll KMS.

The Studio is a new comedy featuring Seth Rogen, and it’s pretty fucking good. It’s about working for a movie studio in Hollywood with Rogen starring as the newly crowned Big Boss with a true passion for “film” but being forced to make “movies” (there’s a huge difference between the two). The writing is so good thanks to the undefeated Rogen/Goldberg team, and moves at a very fast-paced, Hollywood insider kind of speed. There are SO MANY cameos, too. Like BIG ones. It’s really good - I recommend. It’s available on both Apple TV and Prime (with subscription).

🎧: Marc Rebillet on Neal Brennan’s podcast. It’s an older episode but I am a Marc stan because he’s from Dallas and I “discovered” him at a small bar downtown before he was anything and we were sort of buddies for a minute. He’s such a character and so talented, it was fun to hear him on the mic just talking.

Pia Baroncini’s latest episode. I don’t listen to her podcast religiously at all, but I do stan her in general because I find her and her life gorgeous, interesting, and aspirational. She has an autistic almost 4yo daughter and a neurotypical almost 1yo son, and in her latest solo episode, she talks about how hard it is to raise both while witnessing how vastly different they are. She also talks about the California pressure to keep up with the Joneses re: being innovative, entrepreneurial, always hustling, and making the most money. IDK — I just found the episode an interesting listen. She also has her own clothing line, and I can vouch for how good it is.

Diary of a CEO is another pod I don’t listen to regularly, only if the guest piques my interest. However, Zac and I listened to this episode about the Boy Crisis on our drive to Choctaw the other weekend (LOL we’re so fun), and holy fuck. The episode features Scott Galloway and Logan Ury (a woman and Director of Relationship Science at Hinge), and it’s so wildly eye-opening. Now, listen: I know a lot of women are like “Boo-hoo. Are men not doing well? ☹️ Build a bridge, fuckers” but that is exactly why they’re not doing well. Dating has always been bleak, but it’s gotten exponentially more so over the last 5 or so years, and this episode is full of reasons why. I wish I could make everyone in the world listen to it. Alas, I can only suggest. But I was so moved by this episode that I’m going to write a much longer essay on it because I have things to say. Please listen.

🍽️: I’ve been mostly sticking to

Caroline Chambers

’ recipes. I can link them but most of them aren’t free. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it 100 more times: If you’re going to pay for anyone’s Substack, make it hers. I made this creamy chicken/leek/sun dried tomato orzo this weekend and IT WAS FUCKING INCREDIBLE.

SHOPPING

Ok. Here we go. Strap in.

SPRINGTIME UTILITY JACKET: I saw a tweet the other day that said something along the lines of “ahh, springtime. the perfect excuse to wear all my silly little jackets.” It was funnier than that, but I don’t remember. Anyway, this silly little jacket is so fucking cute on. I got the neutral color and it’s just so perfect for a light Spring layer. It’s 61% cotton but feels like 100%. It runs large, so I’d size down one from your usual.

CONVERTIBLE SLING PURSE: In going through my closet, I realized I have a lot of fanny packs and like tiny purses for spring/summer, but not an actual normal-sized, normal-looking purse. Enter this girlie from Anthro. I love her SO much. You can adjust the strap to make it longer or shorter depending on how you prefer to wear your handbag (crossbody or on the shoulder), it’s soft as can be, and super spacious without being big. I’m obsessed.

MULE SLIDE SANDALS: I am not a heels girl. Never have been and, at 38, probably never will be. However, I recognize I need some sort of something for dressier occasions, and these are literal perfection. They’re SO FUCKING CUTE, I love the slide-on feature, the block heel is the exact right height, and they are so comfortable. They come in a ton of colors and patterns, but I went with the Honey. So good. TTS.

ROTHY’S SLIDES: I’ve steered clear of Rothy’s because they feel very working-woman to me, and I sit at my desk at home all day in sweats and no shoes. However, I came across their Weekend Slides and was intrigued, so ordered a pair. GIRL. They are spectacular. SO comfortable and very very cute. I can easily see them as a pool shoe that converts into a casual date night shoe, too. Very true to size! (I got the Toffee Stripe pattern).

REFORMATION LAKE FLAT SANDALS: I have a love/hate relationship with Reformation because they mostly make clothes for ants, but I’ve found a handful of things from them that I like and feel good in. Their shoes, however, are a different story. These sandals are fantastic. I couldn’t decide on a color, but ended up going with Almond because I get so tan during the summer, it makes sense for my skin tone. They are extremely true to size and just really pretty, versatile sandals.

LINEN DRESS: THIS IS SO FLATTERING ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love love love it so much. It also runs a little big because it’s flowy and roomy, so I’d suggest sizing down one. I had to, anyway.

PLEATED-SLEEVE BUTTON UP: The cut of this shirt is just so good on. IDK what about the cut makes it so great because I’m not a fashion designer; all I know is that, when I tried it on, I caught my breath a little because I loved it so much. I’m also a total slut for white button downs. They’re just so incredibly versatile, especially when you have curves and a bigger chest. It’s oversized on purpose, so I sized down one.

SCOOP-NECK RIBBED TEE: I want every color of this, but I’m trying to go slow. It’s such a good, high-quality basic and super flattering on the chest. I got the white… for now. Fitted, so it’s true to size!

THE PERFECT BRA: My mom has been trying to tell me for a while now that when I wear bralettes or sports bras, they do nothing for my boobs. This was before they were as big as are they now (here’s looking at you, 36G), so it’s even more true in this moment. I finally caved and went to Nordstrom to get properly fitted and walked away with this very perfect Chantelle bra. It’s expensive as fuck, but worth it because it’s a) comfortable, b) light as air, c) has no padding or molding, d) looks great under clothes and makes my boobs look perky as hell, e) the kind of bra you can/will wear every day with everything. I can’t recommend it enough.

HONORABLE MENTION

This little Madewell bag is perfect for spring/summer date nights, but I didn’t let myself buy it because I felt I didn’t need it. Plus, it’s $88 for a tiny ass little bag. I want it so bad, but I’m gonna wait and see if I truly need it (i.e. I get dressed for something and think “Damn, I really need that perfect little handbag right now. Nothing else feels right.”). Maybe if there’s a sale.

Okay, we’re all caught up. Here’s to this week being better than last week.

xox,

EGM