Clean Your Fridge

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but clean up your refrigerator. Not the inside – though if that needs a scrub down, by all means – but the outside. We had wedding invitations, thank you notes, grocery lists, and recipes strewn across our refrigerator for so long, it didn’t only need a pare-down, but a full cleaning. I’m talking Clorox and Magic Erasers to clean up the inevitable grease and grime that seems omnipresent in a well-used kitchen.

Save-the-dates and postcards went into a keepsake box and old receipts were thrown away. One quick swipe revealed how bright-white that door was supposed to be, and wow, it feels great to see it now!

Because we had so many layers of memorabilia and ephemera, we didn’t notice how gosh dang dirty the refrigerator door had become.

There’s breathing room between favorite magnets (linked here) and keepsake items and more room to make words and notes with our magnetic Scrabble tiles (link to similar but slightly different).

So as silly as it may sounds, if you need to, clean up your refrigerator.

Moody Shopping

When I’ve got the itch for an unfeasible shopping spree – either due to budget or physical space – I like to make myself a little wish list. Sometimes there is rhyme and reason to the list, full of items that look nice together or are meant to be used for similar purposes. Other times they’re just nice little objects that have tickled my fancy.

This works well for me for two reasons:

1. If I still want the item and I’m still thinking about the item however many months later, I must really want it. Making the purchase would, at that point, likely be well thought out and no longer impulsive.

2. Assuming I still want the item, I can take my time setting money aside for it or making space for it in my life.

These are some of the things that I’m admiring (but not currently up for purchasing) right now.

1. For any other Wes Anderson fans… Hotel Chevalier Dressing Gown via The Society of the Crossed Keys

2. A fabulous summer bag to go with everything via ALTICASTORE on Etsy

3. Werner's Nomenclature of Colours: Adapted to Zoology, Botany, Chemistry, Mineralogy, Anatomy, and the Arts by Patrick Syme because it just looks like a neat book to flip through

4. Like I need another mug to squeeze into my overflowing cabinet, this one from MoMA Design Store is just great

5. I’ve been admiring this Bodum coffee maker from MoMA Design Store for more than six months

Lists, lists, lists

I am a List Person™.

I make lists for pretty much everything - to-do lists, wish lists, grocery lists, pro/con lists - if there’s a thing that could be put in list form, you bet I’ve probably made it.

I also love having a sneak peek into other peoples’ lists. I follow #foundlists on Instagram (love a grocery list abandoned in a stray cart or left on shelf between cereal boxes). When people I admire share lists, offering a little glimpse into their real life, I sometimes save them for “future inspiration”. Some of these include Joy the Baker’s grocery list (via bon appétit), Joanna Goddard’s 40 forever ingredients (via Ali Slagle’s substack), and Joan Didion’s packing list (as written in her book The White Album*). Some I keep a digital copy bookmarked, others I will write down in my own personal notebook or planner for future reference.

* I highly recommend this book.

While reading The White Album, I read Joan Didion’s packing list thinking,

‘I love this, it’s so realistic - toothbrush and toothpaste, basis soap, razor, deodorant. But it also has a certain level of luxury and class - bourbon, mohair throw… unmistakeably Joan Didion.’

Joy the Baker’s grocery list includes details like “pink wine - anything in the $11-15 range, I’m not picky” and “Impulse Buys!” which include extra-large green pimento olives “for martinis”. So very relatable!

As I plan to pack for an upcoming trip to Savannah next month, I found myself considering Joan’s packing list, and as I wrote my short grocery list in preparation for the week ahead, I thought about the dozens of grocery lists I’ve read from other people. I haven’t planned much for my mini-vacation, but I thought I’d share my little grocery list and some of the things I plan to prepare this afternoon to make my week a little bit easier.

Today was a bit of a re-stock on shelf-stable/cabinet staples like capers, jam, tin fish, and coconut aminos.

From the things I plan to prepare today - quick pickle red onions, hard (or soft) boiled eggs, potatoes, vinaigrette, chicken - you might be able to get an idea of how I prepare my lunches for the week. Ingredients that I forgot to include on this list (but did pick up) include tomatoes and green beans.

I pack my lunch for work every day, in part due to my dietary restrictions, but also because it’s budget-friendly. I love to pack salads because they’re so easy for me to prep in the morning if need be, especially when half the toppings (like potatoes, boiled eggs, and pickled red onions) are already prepared.

This applies to sandwiches as well - if I cook the chicken ahead of time, I can either use it in a salad or on a sandwich.

I also happened to make a totally slamming dill yogurt dip to snack on later today and this week, it doesn’t get any easier to make:

• plain greek yogurt

  • (I used a whole 16 oz container of 0% fat Fage, but sometimes I also get the full-fat or 2% or whatever… I’m not devoted to any particular brand or fat content)

• chopped dill

  • (I use a heavy hand here… I think for the 16 oz of yogurt I used somewhere around 2/3 of a cup, give or take)

• hidden valley ranch seasoning powder

  • (This is a lazy move… you could use actual spices to your taste, but I wanted quick and easy and already had this in the cabinet, use as much or as little as you’d like.)

• dill pickle brine

  • (I get the fresh kind of dill pickles from the refrigerator section, my favorite is grillos but I’m sure that bubbies or mclures would be awesome as well… again, use as much or as little as you’d like both to thin the yogurt a bit and to get that cucumbery, briny flavor. I used a hefty splash.)

And mix! The end. I think it tastes better with time as it sits, and I like to eat it with potato chips or sliced radishes.

2023's Style Transition

Over the past several months I’ve been thinking about how my personal style has changed and transitioned over the past ten years. I felt like in my mid twenties I really started to experiment a bit more with different colors and prints, mixing and matching a lot more high end-low end pieces and finding cuts that were flattering on me.

In June I will be entering my mid-thirties and I find myself re-evaluating what style I like and what styles I want to emulate, and reflecting on how that has changed over the past decade. Even down to the clothes I wear to work - a medical laboratory where scrubs are optional, but not required - I find myself leaning towards a wardrobe that can potentially be transitioned out of the wet lab and into every day life. I am in the process of going through all of my clothes and cutting down on things that I no longer reach for. Some of them are going into storage, but many are being either sold, donated, or gifted to someone who will get more wear out of them.

To better visualize these changes, I want to take pictures of outfits that I feel good in and like wearing. I want to see the things that make me feel more confident, so that I can really lean into that style. This will be a major challenge for me, as I am historically awful at remembering to take pictures of myself, and even worse at asking others to take pictures of me. I am determined to turn that around, though!

All that being said, I wore this faux leather pencil skirt to an improv show last night. It was a very different look for me, but I loved it! I’ve been giving tights a fair shot as well, starting with Sheertex, as they claim to be indestructible. So far I have ripped both pairs that I tried, so jury is still out on that one.

More to follow on this adventure…