11/26 - my hot take on gift guides

Tuesday’s Newsletter: chili core, a comedy show at lucali’s, and please god give me advice on wearing a beret

Here’s a list of things I’m thinking about this week:

1. How the hell do you wear a beret??? I attended a shindig hosted by Emilia Petrarca for Ganni’s UES opening and received a very adorable beret. I’ve put it on ~10 different times and it looks… not how it’s supposed to. Please send any tips!

2. Recently, I got to try Caffe Panna’s new Yes Apples! ice cream flavor and it is genuinely delicious. I love them because they always include massive chunks of baked goods in their ice cream and the bits of buttery, crunchy cobbler crust really make this flavor.

3. For Thanksgiving I’m staying in the city and our apartment is turning into the island of misfit toys for some of my friends who aren’t going home. We’ll start the day with coffee, homemade cinnamon rolls, and the Thanksgiving Day parade followed by the dog show. Then for dinner we’re all chipping in for an Italian feast. Finally, we’ll end the day with a Transformers marathon. We needed an action series but also something incredibly stupid that we could fall asleep watching as food comas overtake us.

4. I had this thought on the train last week: “I wrap culture around me like a blanket, even if I don’t understand it.” I still don’t fully know what this means but I like it.

5. I’m back on the Biotin/Vitamin D grind - life is stressful right now and my body loves to remind me that I am *in fact* stressed by losing hair. These vitamins really helped prevent hair loss when I was on Accutane. I get mine from Thorne.

6. Listening to Amber Mark’s recent EP, Loosies, on repeat. Her album 3:33am throws me back to the summer of 2017 and all of the new beginnings and loss that accompanied that time in my life. I still want to cry every time I hear Monsoon.

7. I’ve been asking everyone about their take on gift guides. Here’s the deal - people are pissed off and feel like monetized gift guides are being shoved down their throats this year. To be honest, I feel the same. Whenever I see a new gift guide dropped in my inbox, I shutter. Like many consumers, I get the ick when someone comes at me like a used car salesman telling me to “buy buy buy” and inferring that my loved one will be disappointed in me if I get the wrong gift. I don’t think the creators of these guides are intentionally doing this. I think they caught wind others were launching their guides earlier than ever this year and didn’t want to fall behind the curve. But we should take a step back when what we are creating crosses the line and moves from “calendar relevance” to taking advantage of your audience.

   It’s easy for gift guides to seem like bullshit. Harsh words, but I’m really turned off by insincerity. The whole reason I started this newsletter was in response to the deluge of affiliate links and paid recommendations. I wanted to elevate the brands that could never pay for that kind of marketing and also inject some weird realness that defied momentary trends. It’s not lost on me that I’m telling you about things you can buy twice a week but at least you know I’m only talking about the things that I think are worth talking about (and not getting paid by brands to do it).

   All that to say, last year I put together a gift guide and y’all loved it. The crazy thing is that everyone who told me they purchased something from the guide bought it for themselves (!!). So, that’s the theme for this year: The Selfish Gift Guide. No affiliate links, just chaotic vibes, coming to your inbox on Friday.

: )

Things to do

Lucali’s First Ever Comedy Show

When: December 10th, 7 pm

What: Underground Overground is hosting (as the title suggests) the first ever comedy show at Lucali’s - the Brooklyn pizza spot that celebs like Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, and Wishlist author, Devin Williams, love to dine at. Sign up for the mailing list below and they will send you instructions for purchasing tickets.

Ticket go live tomorrow (11/27) at 12 pm but get on the mailing list here!

Drink More Water EOY Party

When: December 14th, 10 pm - late

What: This is going to be a hot party. Drink More Water is an apparel brand/creative project/event series and they’ve got an incredible lineup of neo-indie sleaze royalty. They’re taking over Grotta Azzurra in Little Italy for this party 🍝

Buy tickets here

Products

Spicy Pin

*accessories*

I discovered this adorable pin at a craft fair I stumbled on this weekend. I love all of the ceramic food pieces on Bhuibhu’s website but this angry chili speaks to me because it reminds me of the pepper lights my mom and I used to hang up for Christmas. Which brings me to the second product…

What is it? Spicy Pin (red)

How much? $15

Chili Lights

*home decor*

Do yourself a favor and buy some chili lights. They will bring you so much joy and you can 100% leave them up longer than most decorations because food transcends the holiday season. These lights were popular in the 90’s and it’s time to bring them back.

What is it? Chili Pepper Lights

How much? $36.98