Welcome to The Simple Things, a newsletter inspired by one of my favorite Oscar Wilde quotes. Here’s where I list the things I want to buy but remind myself I have enough, thoughts that lead to more wishful thinking, and general existential dread.
I’ve always been more of a pool dumpling than an elegant swimmer. I’ve embraced it. After all, my true form has been and is always carb-related. But this dumpling believes in self-improvement, so a few months ago I signed up for a pool membership and adult swimming classes.
Let me just say, water is oppressive.
I panicked. I choked (figuratively and literally). Nancy kept waxing poetic about the therapeutic effects of swimming and all I could think is, “Is it supposed to be like trauma exposure therapy?” I’m being overdramatic, I know. But relearning how to swim properly was stressful. Every time I freestyled towards the deep end, my body tensed up. I felt like I was running out of air and my legs were too tired to keep going. I could not, for the life of me, stop sinking. I was fine during swim class with others, but when I practiced alone, I was scared. I didn’t trust the water and I didn’t trust me.
But I kept going to the pool. Instead of panicking when I started to sink, I learned to lean into it and adjust. I learned how to breathe under water. Slowly but surely, I started to sink a little less. My strokes became a little more powerful. I’m still not 100% comfortable in the water, but I’m getting there. All it took was a lot of sinking to teach me how to swim.
Things that floated my boat.
Happy 2022! We could let this be 2020 the redux, orrrr we can set some intentions that can guide/distract us away from this hellscape. More/Less lists are an old favorite. Here’s mine so far:
More:
Alone time to decompress
Reading
Cooking & baking
Swimming
Patience
Less:
Clothes shopping
Instagram
Resentment
Overscheduling
Snack hoarding
See the year at a glance with Crispin Finn’s year wall planner.
Plus makes dissolvable bath products with packaging that also melts away in the shower. During the holidays, they made dissolvable gift wrap which I hope they’ll make available year round.
In 1995, a group of students realized they had been duped into attending Warbourough College, which claimed to be part of Oxford but wasn’t. The breathtaking part of this whole thing is that IT’S STILL IN OPERATION. A decade later, I finally understand why I got weird comments about my Oxford program being a scam.1
When Kyoto’s Eizan railway passes through their famed momiji (maple tree) tunnel, the train operators slow down and turn their lights off at night for a truly stunning view.
This was described to me as “What would happen if a Croc and a Dansko fucked”. I personally recommend Sloggers for quick runs outside, gardening, and when you don’t feel like shoving your fat calf in a Wellie.
There was a time before I knew Baskin Robbins made a turkey-shaped ice cream cake and there’s a time after.
Look at this slug escaping a venus fly trap.
How immigrant parents tell you they love you and love in the shape of cut fruit.
30 shoppers got stranded in a Danish IKEA and it was sort of nice.
Did you know Hallmark commissioned Dali to design a series of Christmas cards in 1960?
Is there such a thing as owning too many blankets? Because these are beautiful. Her prints are also magnificent.
Very intrigued by this pie company in East Bay.
A walk with writer Min Jin Lee and the importance of kindness.
This fish pitcher by Ichendorf Milano.
Who doesn’t love a little storage box to store your bits and bobs? Or a handsome brass box for your most loved recipes?
A gut wrenching first-hand account of debt and a reminder to never judge what others are going through.
Sparing no expense for my fuzzy roommate, I got a Ruff & Tumble dog drying coat for Scotty in Sandringham Blue, along with matching drying mitts. Love that it continues to dry him after I’ve toweled him off and he looks like a well-heeled gentleman dog in a house coat. I also can’t get over the collar, which can be rolled up to dry his ears or rolled down to make him look even more handsome. Obsessed.
Inspired by SAS to take up riding again. Please send prayers and thoughts my way. If I happen to fall off and crack open my head, it was nice knowing you.
This list of anticipated hotel openings is making me want to travel again.
Got a pair of Tamara Mellon pillowtop heels as a Black Friday splurge, but they were so comfortable and gorgeous, I went back and got 2 more.
Did you know you can turn off the app rate and review pop-ups on your iPhone?
Mashable tells you how to set your Gmail to self destruct so your emails don’t outlive you.
No one had a better comeback than the QR code. Here’s how to turn your home wi-fi password into a QR code.
Things I watched recently and loved: Sanditon on PBS, The French Dispatch, Death at a Funeral (2007 version. A rewatch but laughed my ass off all the same.), The Lost Daughter on Netflix, Queer Eye S6 on Netflix, Succession S3 on HBO Max (THAT FINALE, WOW), Insecure S3 on HBO Max, Sort Of on HBO Max.
Things I made recently and enjoyed: Ina Garten’s balsamic beef tenderloin (looks impressive and so easy to make), Emily Blunt’s English roasted potatoes, Saffron orzo with chorizo (easy to make in one pot, I subbed broccolini for spinach and it was still delicious, garlicky pull apart rolls (I used Claire Saffitz’s sour cream and chive rolls recipe but subbed garlic butter in place of chives), mocha marscapone chocolate cake (used jet black cocoa for flavor and color, recommend cutting the amount of sugar used in the icing by half), and lots and lots of pancakes.2
Still one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in my blip of an existence. I was at Trinity College and studied postmodern British Literature, philosophy of language, and marketing. We wore gowns for dinner and kept off the grass because they were consecrated and dusted with the ashes of Prime Ministers past. Also I got extremely drunk off of mint mojitos during a series of bops and that’s why I can’t look at rum without gagging now.
The former recipe results in fluffy, thick pancakes and uses buttermilk. Buttermilk powder is a game changer. The latter is flatter but just as soft and delicious using sour cream.