Curious Minds
ChatGPT, smoking, mahjong and work-life balance.
A few weeks ago I had to use ChatGPT (something that I rarely, if ever, do) and just for fun I asked it to give constructive criticism on my substack. Aside from cadence (DUH!) it reported back that the theme of my Stack seems to be curiousity — which is something that never really occured to me, but now seems so obvious. So, I guess now I can rationalize all my online shopping and random sidequests and adventures less as ADHD and more as an extremely curious mind (new title?).
As for cadence… I dont know what to say other than: work. For those who don’t know, I recently helped launch a print magazine (Print is dead; Long live print.) for the lovely Paradise Island in The Bahamas (capital T) which you can read online here. It was a lot of fun, but also very, very time consuming and didn’t leave me with a lot of down time in which I was inspired to write.
Anyway - as per my friend Chat, here’s what I’ve been curious about / learned about over the last few weeks:
Smoking
Let’s talk about how everyone is smoking again. My friend Jessica and I have been tracking this trend for a while now, but it seems that it has caught on to the mainstream. Is it CBK? The allure of the 90s? The state of the world? All I know is that smoking is back. Do with that information what you will. (Also, just leaving this here and don’t say I didn’t call this out a year ago NYT!)
Mahjong
Why is everyone obsessed with Mahj? I have no idea, but they are. In the spirit of investigative journalism I did take a month of classes and then myself became obsessed. Then I went on spring break and didn’t play for 10 days, and then I got my 2026 card and now I am back into it. I’m not quite ready to spring for a $500 set, but if I were I think these collabs are so cute (and these too for $250)! For now I am sticking with my Amazon set and Mahj4friends to practice. Just read this piece about the history of the game from VF. Did you know it has roots in both Chinese and Jewish culture? Interesting stuff.
Work-Life Balance
This will never cease to interest me. It’s a daily struggle. Every day I wake up and I’m thankful that I get to make money doing the thing that I love (writing and making magazines) but it’s not easy — especially when you work from home — to separate work and home life. My office is literally in the middle of Ithe kitchen. But I have one kid going away to college in less than 6 months and one going in 2 years, so I’m constantly trying to get as much time in as possible, while also doing the best possible job for my clients. Being a mom will literally melt your brain. 🫠
This spring break I actually took an ENTIRE WEEK off of work. Something I have not done in a long time. I’ve taken vacation, but usually I’m still answering emails and working at night. This time, nothing. There was a day in Colorado that my husband and younger daughter went skiing and my older daughter and I took a mental health day. We slept in, got dressed, had a 2-hour brunch and then just sat outside in the beautiful weather. We laughed because it was the first time in probably 2 years that neither of us had anything to do. No work, no college applications, no emails, no paperwork… It was really, really nice. I would encourage everyone to give it a try if possible. I checked out and it was totally fine; Nothing fell apart. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. :)
Denim
It should surprise no one that I have bought some new denim and it’s all good. First I got these Mother Reifler’s (on sale!!) which are a very perfect and true mid-rise. Sometimes brands (I’m talking to you Zara) will call a pair of jeans “mid-rise” but truly they are still high. These are not. They will hit right under your belly button and have a really nice, straight leg. Somewhat hot take: I like that the Mother jeans are usually a lighter-weight denim. It’s so soft.
I bought my older daughter these new Free People low-rise twisted denim and they are really good. They have a little bit of a barrel feel but it’s subtle and the twisted seam is really cute. She likes them loose so luckily I can borrow them. They are also not SUPER low on me but they are on her. So size up or down accordingly. I also bought my younger daughter the Free People Tennessee and she loves them. She sized up one size to make them baggy like the model and they look amazing on her.
Zara is killing it right now. I got these two-tone that I have been living in as well as these brown cargos that I wore about 500 times on spring break.
I also bought these but I returned them because prints usually sit in my closet.
Also I got these amazing hangers for jeans and it’s been a game changer in my closet.
Tees & Jackets
Tops have been really annoying lately. I can’t find anything good other than tees. That being said — I have gotten some GREAT tees lately. This Rails cashmere tee is in my weekly rotation now (this Madewell one looks similar and comes in more colors, but it’s 100% cashmere rather than cotton/cashmere… and the Rails is washable). As is this Madewell tee (size up) and this Free People tee (size down). I have been in some cooler weather lately for trips and realized my jacket game is lacking, so I ordered three jackets from Zara to see what I liked… and ended up keeping all three. This one I kept because it’s reversible and I have nothing this weight; kept this one because the shape is SUPER cute and it was so cheap and — ignore the name — it’s light enough for Florida all year round; and this one I kept because my younger daughter decided she wanted it, but then I wore it a million times in Colorado. Oh - and this henley is really cute and was stolen by my kids right away —- but I will be taking this one back.
Miscellaneous
These sweatpants are AMAZING. The softest I have found if you need a good pair of classic, comfortable sweatpants. The hoodie is cute too (it has thumbholes!) and was immediately stolen by my kids, as was this under-$125 studded tote. I saw this zip-up sweater on a girl on Instagram and did a Google image search to find it. My brother sent me a pic of this Miu Miu baseball hat and now I am obsessed with it. And also this Prada bag for summer. Bought my older one these Sambas in the giraffe print and then my mom saw them and got the leopard. Also kind of into this glittery fun bag. And this very chic laptop sleeve for the new laptop I had to unexpectedly buy in the middle of deadline when my old one zonked out. Oh and I am into these cool slides/moccasins.
Also I bought the Armani skin tint and it’s a solid ok. If you want something with light coverage it’s fine, but it’s not rocking my world. This serum, however, is. As are these glow drop dupes I got at Target.
Finally, I did the Soduku packing method thing and it works, so 10/10 Instagram idea.
xoxo
RECIPE OF THE WEEK: I have made this pasta salad twice in two weeks. We are all obsessed. You’re welcome…
Love the Zara knit bomber 🚬