Hi there,
So it’s March! What do you know. I turned 35 last week, which felt like a good, solid milestone. I celebrated with plenty of tasty things, of course. Two highlights: dinner with Rob at Hart’s, a teeny Bed-Stuy restaurant that made Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurant list for its unpretentious yet ambitious food and fun natural wines; and this insane rainbow cake that Hayley and Rachel got me from Flour Shop—I have never laughed so hard while cutting a cake and it was as delicious as it was over-the-top. As I head into the other half of my 30’s, here’s what I’m up to:
Pep talking: I saw this illustration by Mari Andrew on Cup of Jo and immediately texted it to my sister and a couple friends. It’s so true and a nice reminder to be as good to ourselves as we are to the important people in our lives.
Reading and taking notes: There are plenty of email newsletters out there (hand raise) but Clover Letter, which is ostensibly for teenage girls, is doing everything right. Started by two former mag editors, it’s a daily email with a smart and succinct recap of the top headlines, plus a first-person essay from a member of their community—like this one on gun control. The content is excellent, and I can’t wait to see what they do with events and brand collaborations.
Not showering: I’ve figured out that if I want to fit in Lilly time, meetings, and exercise, something has to give, which is why I often end up skipping a post-workout shower in favor of face wipes and dry shampoo. I didn’t even know what dry shampoo was before we started Birchbox and now I’ve sampled dozens. My latest favorite is Ouai Dry Shampoo, which feels really light and doesn’t give me any residue; it’s also great for adding volume to clean hair, and is paraben-free to boot.
Feeding new parents: This weekend, Rob made a giant batch of turkey-ricotta meatballs from Julia Turshen’s wonderful Small Victories cookbook for friends who just had a baby. If you follow Julia on Instagram, you know she’s an incredible community activist and general love-spreader so it’s fitting that she has the perfect dish to give to new parents; and since we still count as new parents, we made extra to keep in our freezer.
Listening solo: I recently caught up on my friend Julia’s podcast, The Lonely Hour, where she brings on interesting, self-aware people—musicians, private chefs, writers—to talk about loneliness. It’s not sad, promise (though there are melancholy moments). It’s about exploring the feelings that arise when we are, or feel, alone.
Macro eating: Whenever we overindulge, my first impulse is to swear off everything. The problem is that I inevitably cheat, feel bad, and go back to overindexing on cookies, cocktails, whatever. My new approach is “clean eating” rather than detox, focusing on whole grains, vegetables, and healthy fats in order to feel more balanced. Last night we made our version of macro bowls, which is a fancy way of saying a balanced plate of whole ingredients. Here’s a primer but feel free to adapt depending on what you have lying around. Our go-to combo is: brown rice; vegetables (ex: roasted sweet potato or squash in the winter, grilled broccoli in the summer); steamed spinach or kale; beans (another reason to keep extras in the freezer!); and sauerkraut. We top it with crumbled nori strips and tahini-garlic sauce. It sounds like a lot of components but if you batch cook vegetables, rice, and beans then you can easily put together a macro bowl and have extra building blocks for the week.
Packing it: My friend Geraldine gave me this genius cooler, which is perfect for toting around snacks and milk. You can toss the whole thing in the freezer, which eliminates the need for freezer packs, and it comes in cute patterns. Our nanny Jocelyn is thrilled because she plans to be at the park every day this spring and summer.
And finally! I’m a giant The Good Wife fan—if you haven’t seen it, go binge-watch immediately—and was pleasantly surprised that The Good Fight spinoff lived up to the original. There’s no Julianna Margulies but Christine Baranski and Cush Jumbo more than make up for it. To give you a sense for how excellent it is, know that we signed up for CBS All-Access just so we could watch it.
Hugs,
Mollie