Hello, friends!
This month was a doozy. Though my kids donโt go to Covenant, the school is a mile from our house and the shooting affected our entire community. Every night before he tucks in with his Corduroy teddy bear, my 9-year-old asks if I made sure to lock all the doors in case a murderer breaks into the house. That one gets me right in the guts.ย
I think we could all use some reassurance right now. So, in the spirit of distraction coping, Iโve loaded this Sundayโs post with links that lifted my spirits. And please, by all means, if you have any to add let us know in the comments!
Xo,
Toby
โขย Yay or nay to these airbubble shoes? Speaking of lifting my spirits, theyโll bring me to a whopping 5 ‘4 this summer but I also wonder if theyโll make me look like I have cartoon feet. (Ssense)
โขย And speaking of fashion camaraderie, hereโs Joyโs spring uniform + Doree Shafrirโs new advice column on what the heck we should all be wearing right now. (Joy the Baker, Substack)
โขย This convo with Janelle James is one of the most quote-worthy celebrity interviews Iโve read in a long while. I almost cut and pasted the whole thing for you. (Variety)
โขย A good reminder to take care of your future self. (Twitter)
โขย OK I thought I was done subscribing to newsletters because my inbox is stuffed, but then I found Laura Lippmanโs and Stephanie Danlerโs andโwellโnow Iโm looking forward to checking my email again. (Substack)
โขย Someone (sorry, canโt find it!) tweeted, โEvery year Jeff Weiss goes to Coachella and turns into Joan Didion.โ Accurate. (The Ringer)ย
โข Trinaโs Tiny Desk Concert is the best possible way to start your day. (YouTube)
โขย There was so much TV to consume this month (whatโs new?) and hereโs a rundown of what I enjoyed: Unstable, an immediately forgettable series with Rob Lowe and his son being cute + dumb; Beef, though not at all lighthearted, was deeply moving; the new season of Barry, if only for Noho Frankโs outfits; Pretty Baby, which will give you a newfound respect for Brooke Shields; and the Jason Isbellโs Music Box episode, swoon. (Netflix, HBOmax, Hulu)
โขย And you can bet Iโll be watching the Judy Blume documentary this weekend. Plus, thereโs also Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. We are experiencing a wealth of Blume.ย (Amazon Prime + Theaters)
โขย My secret to reading a lot is to stash books everywhere. My current car book is You Could Make This Place Beautiful, the new memoir from poet Maggie Smith. Itโs so perfect to dip into when Iโm early for appointments or just need to take a few minutes to soak up one of her exquisite sentences. (Bookshop.org)
โขย I canโt wait to make Joyโs Spring Strawberry Salad with Cucumber and Feta next week. Think Iโll serve it with a loaf of garlic bread or a side of buttery rigatoni in case my little food critics (aka kids) rebel against the feta cheese. (Joy the Baker)
โขย “Watching the 16-year-old, I couldnโt help but recognize in her the same hammy, poor-little-rich-girl magnetism that courses through her motherโs work.” Ariella Garmaise on the similarities between Romy Mars’s TikTok fiasca and “Life Without Zรถe,” which Iโm adding to my watchlist. (LA Review of Books)
โขย These pictures of Apo Whang-Od are captivating and I thoroughly endorse the campaign to raise her to a National Living Treasure. (VOGUE)
โขย Hereโs a modern day fairytale we can all get behind: A Midwestern mom accidentally killed it on Candy Crush and became one of the most successful esports athletes in the entire country. (Kotaku)
โขย And, finally, fellow lit nerds will love the Dracula Daily, which is starting up again in a couple of weeks. (Substack)
14 Responses
Oh, feta! Last night I made a dish that my son refused to eat because of feta. I burst into tears! He’s recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Between the state of the world and his new health issues, I feel completely out of control. Cooking is usually the one place I feel like I have some control, so for some reason his refusal just triggered all of my anxiety at once.
Thank you for the distractions- very much looking forward to them!
Colleen – so sorry to hear that you are going through this. You are stronger than you realize and more importantly, so is your son! You’ve got this.
i’m so sorry, colleen, and my heart is going out to you.
@Colleen – I have no idea if you’ll see this or if you’ll be notified of any responses. I just wanted to let you know that I’m a long-time Type 1 diabetic and it’s all going to be ok. It’s, unfortunately, probably not always going to be straightforward or easy, but IT WILL BE OK. The technology we have today is absolutely incredible and only getting better; your son will be more resilient than you can imagine; and there has never been a better time to have diabetes than right now. But, it’s also ok to feel everything that you are feeling and to be overwhelmed and angry mad at the world. For food: your son and you will figure out that he can eat ANYTHING; you just need to figure out how to cover for it with insulin. (FUdiabetes.org is a great organization if you’re interested) Just take baby steps to get there and be kind to both of you. I’ll be thinking of you. xoxo
Hi Toby, the fear your young son is feeling is so disturbing and I am so sorry he is having to process this at his young age. I am angry any child or family has to go through this. We, as a nation, do NOT have to tolerate or accept this senseless gun violence.
As for television, I watched Beef and found it exhausting and depressing. It was impossible for me to care about these characters who continued to make recklessly poor decisions. I wanted to like it, but it fell short for me.
i felt the same exact way, stella! and kept texting my group chat, “when is ali wong going to be funny???” but then i just kinda surrendered myself to the anger of the show and ended up loving it.
I love the idea of a car book! And I can’t wait for the Judy Blume doc. The “Margaret” movie was fantastic!
car book, kitchen book, laundry book…i have stashes everywhere!
You should get the shoes! So cute and chic!
OK fine you talked me into it :)
I’m so sorry, it’s heart breaking your son has to be in fear. The same for my g’son, age 8 he talks about it too. His parents try and reassure him, but I know it’s on their minds as well.
yeah, it’s a lot for anyone of any age to handle <3
Those shoes! You can definitely pull them off. This list is great! I am all in for watching the Judy Blume documentary this weekend.
loving all the JB content!