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As a new weekly or monthly feature on Moxie I am going to catalogue some “current obsessions.” I think I may add this as an additional email for paying subscribers but I am also happy do to it on Fridays in leu of an essay (in which case it would be a monthly feature). If there’s anything else you’d like me to recommend I am happy to add categories. Some links are affiliate but I’ve linked what I want to link without concern for whether I’m making any commission, I promise. Please let me know if you like this post and would like it either as an occasional feature here or as a second weekly (or biweekly) email for paid subscribers!
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On another note- I mentioned on Instagram (I cheated on my social media break which is officially over on Tuesday!) that I’ve quit smoking again and I think it will stick this time (I was only smoking 5-6 cigarettes per day) and several people have asked how I quit. The short version!
I started smoking cigarettes to quit vaping in maybe February because I think vaping is so embarrassing I wanted to die whenever I pulled out my vape. With the cigarettes, I tried to quit a few times but it never really stuck because I never really wanted to quit. I liked smoking! And then, I lit one last week took two puffs and found it horrifying so I just stopped. The smell stated making me nauseous and I found the feeling in my throat really gross. I realize this isn’t particularly helpful advice! I am, however, allowing myself to smoke one or two if I want to if I’m at a party or bar and someone says “Want to go outside and smoke?” But I will not buy another pack. For me, personally, I’ve found that casual abstinence is more effective than strict abstention. That said, I’m so grossed out by the smell (which is strange! I always liked it, even as a kid!) that I doubt bar cigarettes will be a common occurrence.
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This week in things I liked!
Read:
My goal for the rest of this year is to read something literary, a memoir, and something more commercial every week. Whether I stick to three books a week is TBD but I will share the books I enjoyed here (it feels a little rude to share something I do not recommend?)
Memoir(ish): A Simple Passion by Annie Ernaux it’s short! It’s about an affair! It’s extremely honest! It won a Nobel Prize!
Literary (enough): Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh A first person account of a woman’s last week in her small New England town. It’s dark, funny, twisty, and the prose are uncomplicated.
Commercial (at least moreso): Yellowface by R.F. Kuang Written by a Chinese author, it’s the (fictional obviously) first person account of a white woman who witnesses her literary superstar best friend die in a freak accident and then steals her recently finished manuscript and sells it as her own work. I am dying to talk about this book with someone.
I am also about 2/3 of the way through an ARC of Taylor Lorenz’s upcoming Extremely Online and it’s worth the preorder. Lots of internet history and the amount of insane misogyny online is shocking (may we all light a candle for Julia Allison who was so mistreated it’s insane!). I’m interviewing her for Moxie (Taylor, not Julia) so if you have questions let me know!
Wear:
I am forever a summer girl (I am already tempted to sublet my apartment and fly south for the winter but I am committed to not doing that, it’s time to be in New York) but fall is upon us and I do not wear shoes in my apartment (except to take a quick outfit pic, which I agree may somewhat defeat the purpose of not allowing shoes but I do not care!) so I wear my favorite UGG moccasins at home. They always sell out so they’re worth buying now.
I’ve put on this J.Crew cardigan every single day since I bought it. Mine is the Ivory color and I purchased 1-2 sizes up.
Eating:
Sourdough toast with cream cheese (it also has protein and I have never had cottage cheese but it looks horrifying to me) and chili crunch. Should I start baking my own sourdough?
I am also obsessed with Chobani yogurt mixed with crunchy peanut butter. I either put berries on it or just buy the strawberry one.
Supplementing:
I thought Amara Colostrum must be a scam and now I am an evangelist. It’s reduced my post-meal bloat by like 80% (I know we’re not supposed to care about things like being bloated any more but I like my stomach (you know that, all the crop tops) and I hate being bloated!)
I started getting a few grey hairs after my divorce and my girls when I tell you I spiraled (I love getting older but I don’t want grey hair!) I panic ordered these European anti-grey supplements. I’ve taken them every day since late May (so for three months) and I have personally noticed a huge reduction in the number of grays. (I haven’t been able to find any! But since I haven’t noticed them (I was constantly noticing them!) I haven’t looked) Full disclosure, I did dye my hair about 3 days after I started taking these supplements but haven’t since. I think they silver wires would be poking through 12+ weeks later. I do not know if I can eventually stop taking them or if I am committed to paying $40 per month for vitamins for the rest of my life but I will certainly take them for at least a year or two!
Watching:
I watched You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah the other night and thought it was very cute. I generally don’t want much TV but I am excited to catch up on RHONY. Have you all been watching? Who do we love? Who do we love less?
Listening:
CMBC and Binchtopia are the only podcasts I listen to regularly.
As an aside: I once sent CMBC’s Clare a truly unhinged DM when she mentioned me in the context of being very “if you agree to a last minute date at a beer bar you’ll never end up together” (or something to that effect). It really hurt my feelings at the time and I was already kind of spiraling and anyway I sent her something very defensive and out of pocket! And I knew I should say something like, acknowledging I had embarrassed myself immediately but it was one of those things where I was like, no no, she gets it, she knows it wasn’t about her it was my own private existential crisis. Then several months later a guy asked me to meet him at Blind Tiger and I blocked his number. I have apologized to Clare in person but I tell you all of that to say: sometimes people know things about you that you don’t know about you. I’m sure you all already listen but it’s a great podcast.
Listening to Julia and Eliza feels like listening to a convo with your friends and they do a great job researching topics. I love their language and pod specific sayings and slang it feels like I’m in a little club!
In search of: (please send me your recs!)
A bar in New York that plays 80s, pop, and forever hits where I can go dance with friends!
A solution for my dry, damaged hair (just at the ends thank goodness!) that doesn’t involve cutting 4 inches off
A balance between domesticity and the joy of single life! I do not particularly want a serious boyfriend right now but I do want to make a Dutch Baby or a roast chicken for someone and strut around their apartment (no men in my apartment!) in my cute little pajamas.
Random thoughts:
Since soup season is regrettably almost here (I love soup but I have been cold enough times in my life!) and thinking about soup made the old 300 Sandwiches blog pop into my head. Do any of you remember this? A woman in Brooklyn started the blog after her boyfriend told her she was 300 sandwiches away from an engagement ring. Her now husband proposed after 257 sandwiches. Stephanie Smith walked so TradWife TikTok could run! Anyway, it looks like she still blogs occasionally and works as a ghostwriter.
I saw a poll online the other day that posed this question: “If your sister were cheating on her husband would you tell her husband?” and the overwhelming majority of people said that they would. And that result was SHOCKING to me. I would tell my sister to tell her husband, stop, or both but I would not SNITCH on my SISTER to a MAN. Am I in the wrong here?
I love you so much so very much I mean it!!!
Hannah
omg never in a million years would I snitch on my SISTER. that is my SISTER!!!! 😂
Hannah, my friend Stacey wrote a hilarious blog in response to the 300 sandwiches lady called "Ordering 300 Sandwiches"--as a fellow New Yorker, you'll appreciate this!! https://ordering300sandwiches.com/