What's IN/OUT this week

It’s August 1, which means it’s time we all talk about how quickly summer has gone (it isn’t over! I promise!). I’m looking forward to dodging Lollapalooza concert-goers all weekend, who can always be spotted taking photos or videos in Chicago’s alleyways. May our current poor air quality give their Instagrams or TikToks the grunge-y, vintage haze they desire.

IN: Detroit. Dave and I spent last weekend bopping around the city — his first time! — and it was great. We hit a Tigers game, saw some very cool murals, and avoided any unnecessary Eminem references. We created our own little wine bar crawl on Saturday that included a pet nat party at Ladder 4 (beautiful bar inside of an old firehouse), made new friends at The Royce, and had a truly stellar Detroit-style-ish pizza at the hidden 10-seat Bar Chenin. The trip was too quick and very worth it; a top-three rust belt city. OUT: This recent Midwest heatwave. While we were wandering around the Eastern Market in Detroit, I truly started to feel sick — despite all of my hydrating. I adore summer but at a certain point the heat and humidity will just destroy you. Fun fact: I learned this recent wave was largely because of corn sweat. Heat causes the corn to release water vapor into the air, which raises the humidity. Because the Midwest is roughly 86% cornfields (I realize this isn’t true but 3 of the 3 Midwesterners in my group chat today reported growing up near corn so I have to assume I’m not far off??), it amplifies the humidity in the summer.

IN: Tinned fish platters. While I was trying to escape the aforementioned heat, we wandered into Tocororo. I just wanted something simple to munch on and the menu wasn’t really hitting — until I flipped it over. They had a substantial list of tinned fishes, and each order came with crackers, a variety of hot sauces, pickles, jam, deviled egg, and an olive spread. It was incredible, and exactly what I wanted. Every restaurant should offer this! The bonus was that it came with one of those Fortune Teller Fish, which — depending on how it curls in your palm — indicates how you feel. The fish’s head and tail moved in my hand (“In Love”) and it turned over entirely in Dave’s hand (“False”). I called him a liar all weekend! OUT: Our soup poll results. Speaking of being false/wrong, 66.7% of respondents to my Tuesday survey, “Is soup OK to eat in the summer?” said YES. You people are freaks.

IN: Linen and cotton. As George Costanza wished he could drape himself in velvet, I wish to ensconce myself in linen and cotton. After Dottie brought a tragic end to our previous duvet cover, I bought a cotton set from Ikea to go with our linen sheets. Everything is off-white (“natural”) and I feel like I’m in a big, fat cloud. We could certainly use some color in the bedroom, but I am not at all mad at the bedding having a sort of chic, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest vibe: A lobotomy and an uninterrupted night’s sleep, please. OUT: Skims. I haven’t returned to bras with underwire since the pandemic, and after stumbling upon the Skims crossover bralette at Nordstrom a few years ago, it’s become my go-to bra. While not cotton, it’s still incredibly wearable in the summer. THAT SAID, I recently became aware of Skims selling whatever the fuck this is. It’s shapewear for your face, I guess? The Kardashians love to enforce unrealistic body standards, so this isn’t exactly shocking. But they’re now insinuating that our FACES are the wrong shape — in addition to our butts, boobs, thighs, whatever — and it somehow went a step too far for me. This would, however, fit well with my Cuckoo’s Nest bedroom decor, neatly folded next to my pills from Nurse Ratched.

IN: Time with your lady friends. I adore my guys, but sometimes you need 3-5 women talking over one another and only pausing to see if anyone understands whether you’re supposed to put dates in the fridge. My friend Abbie had a few of us over Thursday night and she made a gorgeous meal and we all blabbed without pause. We took a little tour of her nearby garden plot where we pelted one another with plant facts, because — as far as I can tell — many of the best female friendships revolve around spilling your guts as an offering to the other person: Here’s what I know about TOMATOES and also an anecdote about MY CHILDHOOD. Did you know raspberry leaves are good for female reproductive health and that Lindsey would pick raspberries with her brother so their dad could sell them for $5 a pint?? Truly, what a pleasure to have evenings like this. OUT: The pressure to put work first. I’ll be writing a future newsletter on the topic, but for now I’ll just say that it’s time for some new boundaries. My friend once told me, after his mom asked why he was going out so often during the week, that he responded by saying he would never look back on his life and remember the days he made it to work on time and felt refreshed. 

Tell me what you hated this week!