We love it, we hate it

Happy Friday the 13th, Haters! Didn’t expect to see me twice in one week, did you? I’m here with the first edition of What’s IN/OUT This Week.

IN: Seasonal baking. I love a June strawberry, a late summer peach, and putting it all in a pie/cake/crumble. I finally got myself to a farmer’s market last weekend and bought a big ol’ bunch of rhubarb ($300). I cracked open Alison Roman’s Sweet Enough and made whatever I could with the ingredients I already had on hand: seasonal almond cake (sub rhubarb for figs). OUT: Sharing your seasonal baking with boys. Why do they eat so fast? Why can’t they savor the season? Why aren’t they telling me how well it pairs with the wine?? If you inhale it and say, “that was good,” you hate me and you hate my baking.

IN: Shameless self promotion while I launch this newsletter! What a rush Tuesday was — even if Beehiiv (this newsletter platform) decided to shit the bed a few times that morning. But we still made it happen and now I have a small but gorgeous and brilliant group of subscribers. Could you guys be any better? (Yes, if you forward this to everyone you’ve ever met.) OUT: Being weird about LinkedIn. Apparently people really do like it when you promote your stuff there. I can’t wait to start sharing tips for my daily mindset/grindset with some guy I interviewed about marketing automation in 2017 who still follows me there. You know who you are, Aaron.

IN: Any music venue that lets you wander outside for a little bit during the show. I went to the Hideout on Tuesday and bopped outside to stare at the full moon whenever the music got a little too snoozy (someone was playing the saw, which is cool for like three sappy folk songs. After that you better bring out the K&B Boys). It’s nice when a concert feels a little like a house party! OUT: High ticket prices. I am all in for shows at small venues like the Hideout where I spend about $20 to probably show up late and not feel like I was scammed if I don’t love the concert. I am breaking up with shows where you’re shelling out upwards of $80 for a ticket. As Samantha Jones once said as she cut ties with Jerrod: “I love you, but I love me more.” (How could she not break it off? Her hot boyfriend came home wearing a fedora.) Speaking of Sex and the City…

IN: And Just Like That. OUT: And Just Like That. I finally watched the first couple of episodes of the new season and I won’t bother adding to the existing cultural commentary out there. It’s bad! I’ll watch it! Although I did physically leave the room for the Aiden/Carrie phone sex scene — which apparently also deeply upset Howard Stern. I caught a clip of Stern’s interview with Sarah Jessica Parker, where the real epiphany came when Parker said she doesn’t watch the show. LMAO. No wonder she’s able to continue to produce and perform in this trainwreck.

IN: Cheap or free activities. Having a great time and not wrecking your bank account is thrilling. OUT: Whatever this list is. I got too excited too fast and sent it to my boyfriend before scanning it, then asked him to ignore the article once I read No. 7 (“Walk across a bridge and back — take pictures, people-watch, enjoy the view and each other.” OK, Rachael Ray’s 10-minute dates.) I was a bit suspicious that the headline claimed these ideas weren’t “cringe.” It was even more suspect when the writer suggested in the lede that “dating is fun.” But I clicked out of the article entirely when they recommended that couples “Go to Ikea and just spend hours wandering.” Was this AI-generated? Do any functioning humans think memories are made in Ikea? Do you not know how many relationships have been tested in front of a GRÅFJÄLLET nightstand?

Tell me what you hated this week!