Nonpareils - 6
Read:
India Maxwell’s Guide to Bozeman, Montana (Bon Appetit)
While this sounds like the title of a really great bildungsroman, it’s actually a literal food-forward itinerary on where to eat when visiting Bozeman, MT.
We went out west a couple of years ago visiting the Grand Canyon and the national parks in Utah and that awoke something inside of me. I really want to visit Yellowstone, hike the Mystic Falls trail and check out all of the amazing wildlife that lives there.
Also, Bozeman is home to an Indian restaurant with green chili and onion kulcha and paneer lababdar which is right up my alley.
The Saga of Streetlamp Le Moose (Reddit)
Probably my favorite story on Reddit. Bonus points for the Sterling Archer connection.
The Last Curious Man (GQ) - Drew Magary
I watched Roadrunner recently. Started weeping about fifteen minutes and didn’t stop sniffling. I knew Anthony Bourdain in the same way thousands of others did - through his books and his shows, his pictures and his tweets. I never met the man…and yet, ache at his loss.
Drew Magary is one of my favorite writers and this is a beautiful piece memorializing a man, the likes of whom we will not see again for a long while.
Listen:
Dustland - The Killers feat. Bruce Springsteen
I heard this song and texted my husband, “It sounds like crashing waves and salt, of howling baptismal wind and hope. It’s so fucking good.”
Sour - Olivia Rodrigo
This album is basically my Livejournal from high school.
A few years ago, I wrote about how teenage girls suffer from the reverse of the Dunning-Kruger effect where they are constantly underestimated. They’re not considered smart because they like make-up or because of the pop culture they consume. They’re not really allowed to be angry because what have you got to be angry about and honey, are you on your period?
So, teenage girls write. Scribble furiously in the college ruled pages of our journals or online in Livejournals, Tumblr or Instagram posts. And we smile and go to class and dream of getting the fuck out.
Sour is achingly relatable - all teenage dream angst, unrequited love, suburban melancholy and the infinite sadness of high school and excellent pop sensibilities.
I kinda wish I could tell Olivia that it gets better but let’s face it - adult life is just high school with more bills and bigger bullshit.
Watch:
I don’t love horror movies - the older I get, the less I can stomach gore - but I make an exception for the OG, Michael Myers and Jamie-Lee Curtis.
Also, Danny McBride might just be one of the most talented men in Hollywood.
See above. And then, watch this documentary and share a meal with someone you love.
Eat/Drink:
Espresso Tonic at Pumphouse Coffee Roasters
I don’t know why it took me so long to try this because I love espresso and I really love tonic water. Shoutout to the baristas at Pumphouse Roasters for convincing me to try my new favorite drink.
I’m looking forward to making them at home with shots of Bustelo and Fever Tree.
Fried Green Tomato Tacos and Cauliflower Tacos at Cholo Soy Cantina
If I could eat the cauliflower at Cholo Soy every day of my life, I would be a happy person. I don’t know exactly how they cook it but it is caramelized, tender and crunchy all at once. It’s basically brassica alchemy…covered in pickled onions which are the best of all things.
Oh and the fried green tomatoes? Holy shit. Enough to make your Southern mee-maw weep into her sweet tea.
Pizza at Satch Squared
Super controversial statement but the best pizza in the country isn’t in New York, New Jersey, Detroit or Chicago. It is in Gainesville, Florida and I will DIE on this hill.
I mean, look at that brown crust. That fresh tomato sauce. Those toppings. Y’all know they have hot honey and BBQ tempeh as options?
I could build a goddamn palace upon this pizza.
Misc:
They have an incredible scent called Madar whose scent profile is, “creamy Basmati rice pudding flavored with orange flower water, saffron, cinnamon, cardamom, dried rose petals, sugared pistachios.”
It’s kheer, guys. The best, most comforting delicious Indian dessert ever (with the exception of Shrikhand which is my jam).
Ever since Elizabeth and James discontinued their fragrance line, I’ve been searching for new scents to wear and I think I just found a whole bunch of them at Poesie (also recommended Hera, Infamous, Secret Boyfriend and Versailles)
Patio Makeover with Italian Courtyard Vibes (The Kitchn)
We’re in the process of renovating our home and we really want to create an outdoor living space that feels like an extension of our house. I love the outdoor pizza oven and bar featured here and would love to do something similar. Hmmm, I wonder if I can get John to build a tandoor….?
We visited an Argan Oil Collective in Morocco on our honeymoon and my life straight up changed.
I know that sounds like hyperbole but it’s not because I realized that after spending years and SO MANY American dollars on conditioners and moisturizers, I should have just been buying Argan oil all along.
Not to dislocate my shoulder patting myself on the back, but look at me.
Getting a non-blurry picture of my kid is proving to be more and more difficult because he is constantly moving and grooving.
I am thirty eight years old! I don’t sleep, my diet is trash punctuated by caffeine, I am beset by idiot anxieties and scrunch my brow so much that I don’t have elevens so much as I have a dilapidated church roof on the verge of collapse.
AND I LOOK LIKE I’M TWENTY TWO.
(In the face. My body is….you know what? Shut up. I had a baby. My body is the body of a woman who was pregnant during a global pandemic and gave birth a year ago).
And it’s because of Argan Oil.
Now, I walk around with glowing skin, smelling like jasmine, vanilla and kheer and it is GLORIOUS.
(No offense to the beloved coconut oil of my people. It’s just too heavy for me and never seems to come out of my hair. Seriously, how many times does a girl have to wash her hair before it comes out?)
