Things I Bought Recently Because F*ck It (and the Tariffs Aren't Here Yet)
It's not a gift guide, but it's not NOT a gift guide. Plus, some non-shopping stuff, too.
Hi hi hi.
Happy Weekend!
‘Tis this damn season, that’s for sure…
Silly jobs asking us to do our jobs is tough this time of year, even when we really like our jobs (which I do!) But the sentiment of that tweet is one that’s a uniter not a divider in this messy ass country of ours. This I know.
It can also be a really insane and hectic time at a lot of jobs, so I hope yours is as chill as possible and that you can both do what needs to be done and dick around on the internet or socials a lil more than usual.
Let’s dive right into some pop culture happenings before we dissociate by participating in a bit of late stage capitalism with the money we earn from the aforementioned jobs.
No Good Deed
I’m already almost done with Netflix’s newest star-packed show—from Liz Feldman, who created the very excellent Dead To Me1. Honestly, all I needed to hear was “Lisa Kudrow”. I’ll watch her do anything and everything, even if she wasn’t always making fantastic and interesting choices.
Actually, it might be time for another rewatch of The Comeback, which I would love to come back.
Also, there is indeed a Romy + Michele sequel in the works and it’s apparently very close to getting greenlit. These are both fully-sanctioned (by me, a person who has no say in the matter) reboots.
No Good Deed’s also got Ray Romano2, Linda Cardellini, Abbi Jacobson, Poppy Liu, Luke Wilson, Denis Leary3, Linda Lavin, Anna Marie Horsford, Katherine Moennig, one of my most favorite parasocial besties I’ve never met, Matt Rodgers, and more. So yeah, a stacked cast.
I don’t want to say too much because there is a mystery at the core of what I guess I’d call a dramedy slash black comedy. To me, it’s nowhere near the level of Dead to Me, but it’s very easy to watch—especially as the eight episodes are usually around 30-35 minutes.
I believe I have two more episodes to go and overall I’m way more interested in the character dynamics and interactions than I am the larger mystery. There’s a lot of great scene work—unsurprising given a killer cast—even when the storytelling feels a bit thin or blah. And we know I live for show that tackles grief in interesting ways, which is obviously a thing for Liz Feldman, too.
Another thing I love is a well-executed coke scene. Matt and Ray have now been inducted into my personal Pantheon of ❄️ Excellence.4
Blondie’s Birthday
On December 13, 1989, unto us an angel was born and her parents named her Taylor Alison Swift.
(Yes, the Eras essay is coming. I actually might have cracked the code on how I want to frame it up last night and it just may involve some parallels to my first semester teaching, which also ended this week. So I’m not going to get into my tour and class feelings much right now, but they are big and involve much crying—in a cool way.)
Look at that curly-haired sweetie back in the “age of princesses and pirate ships and the Seven Dwarfs.”5
Anyway, what I did want to talk about was how the sweet girl spent Thursday: visiting sick kids at a Kansas City hospital. I don’t think you need to like a singular Taylor Swift song to warm your heart with some of these videos I’ve curated.
She didn’t bring any press. All the footage online was originally posted by the families or staff at the hospital. When a lady tried to get someone to put their camera down, Taylor was like, “It’s fine, it’s fine.”
She gave each kid their own special moment. The staff and the parents, too. She waited for one of the moms—a Swiftie—to race over from work. She did FaceTimes, filmed videos for their friends, signed books, chatted them up while pumping them up, danced, hugged, took selfies.
Oh, and made TikToks—all while being her extremely millennial, dorky, sweet, theatre kid self. Again, she may not be your cup of tea and, of course, many other people of note do such lovely acts (as Taylor has for her whole career)…but it doesn’t make it any less kind or wonderful.
I dare you not to mist up watching at least one. You can deep dive on TikTok to see the captions these parents and staff wrote about the impact those moments had—and that’s all that fucking matters anyway.
As the kids say, “We made the right person famous.”
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And the follow-up gift today for that lil sweetie…
Blake! We’re all cheering for YOU! Now you’ve got Taymagic sprinkled all over your life, too.
I have watched all of these a million times and am crying all over again as I upload them. Maybe we should just lean all the way in and listen to “Ronan”. I triple The Black Dog dare you.
Happy Birthday, Taylor. I’m extremely glad you were born. I am still (and forever) available if you would like a big sister.
Meanwhile, Us Weekly, you can STFU with this misogynistic drivel.
That tone shift plays nicely into this next bit…
Fuck you, Connections!!!!
While I am absolutely a person who loves the high levels of spontaneity my life allows, I am also very much a creature of habit. I can eat the same salad for lunch every day for years. I dig the yoga we don’t call Bikram anymore because it’s the same postures in the same order every single time. I am very much a fitness monogamist once I find a teacher or two I vibe with. I generally don’t like unannounced change—or phone calls, for that matter.
The same goes for my morning routine. I wake up. I go to the bathroom and brush my teeth. I put on the kettle for my hot water with lemon. I get my phone6 from the kitchen while there and get back into bed, turn on the Today show, and do my morning NYT Games, before checking the Co-Star app for my horoscope.
The order goes: Wordle, Connections, Strands. (I do the mini and the crossword at night when they drop. Also from bed.)
So, when I woke up on Thursday and saw this, I was immediately enraged. Stabby Abby was NOT PLEASED about this level of intense emotion before 8 am.
Nope. Absolutely not.
I had to take to the front-facing camera later in the day when I had still not calmed down. I knew from an early morning IG Stories post that many agreed with me. Connections is a WORD game.
I feel like if you preferred this Pictionary bullshit, you also preferred Geometry to Algebra. I cannot prove that, but I think the theory might hold up.
I don’t even care that some people liked it or if you solved it completely. You can’t just drop a bomb on us out of nowhere in this economy, New York Times. There is too much chaos and anger in this country. We need the order of our games rituals.
Instead…FLAMES ON THE SIDE OF MY FACE 🔥
If you want to do a picture game, do a picture game. This is like waking up and suddenly your dog is a cat and you’re just supposed to deal because it’s still a pet and some people like it. Nope. Or how new RHONY is called RHONY but isn’t really RHONY and should be branded something else.
Also, those drawings suck and are incredibly subjective. I actually think some of the groupings I guessed were fantastic and they absolutely could have worked. I’m a girl who would argue about the wording of a question that could have allowed for two correct answers in a multiple choice, even if I was already getting an A. Annoying to many a teacher? Surely. But they pretty much always had to begrudgingly agree.
As I suspected, it would seem the NYT was indeed doing some A/B testing because some people just got the words version. Meanwhile, I was mouthing “fuck you, forever” all day long.
It’s like they tried to make it up to me with Friday’s Strands…
but THE NORTH REMEMBERS.
Caitlin Was Named Athlete of the Year
Here’s the thing, I don’t really care about these Time honors outside of the fact that they sometimes bring me a new interview and/or photo shoot with someone I enjoy. You can just ignore the rest. I do.
She was shot by Cass Bird, fiancée of one Jenna Lyons, and a photographer I’ve long loved. You should definitely read the whole story if you haven’t yet.
I loooooooved the Prada dress she wore to the event. Simple, chic, sexy. No notes.
In the article, #22 mentions that Taylor wrote her a note and gave her a ton of merch during Indy Eras. (Caitlin went twice.) In it, Taylor said she and “Trav” were hoping to get to a Fever game and ahhhhhhhhhhh!
I mean, no excitement from me for #87, but obvs I’ll allow it. CC is a longtime Chiefs fan, so that helps me give my permission—to nobody but the voices inside my head. Again, I hate that damn team and have for ages. But I always have respect for true fans. CC has been in the trenches with a team that sucked and is now good. I feel that.
I have secured my dope ass seats again for 2025, natch. I’ll die dead if Blondie is ever in the house.
I love Shrinking, in general, and while I felt like this season was a bit uneven in the first few eps, it feels pretty locked in again. (And uneven Shrinking is better than a lot of shit anyway.) But the joy I felt seeing Cobie Smulders and Jason Segel in a scene together again—and a delightful one, at that—was so pure. I loved How I Met Your Mother very deeply and used to watch the reruns all the time too. I hope she will be returning in the not-too distant future.
Okay, onto spending money—one of my greatest skills.
Maybe these purchases will spark some inspo for a gift you need to figure out ASAP. Maybe you’ll get ideas for yourself. Or maybe you’ll be able to further build out my ever-evolving psychological profile. To possibly terrifying, defintely laughable, results.
These date back to anytime after the last post I did about shit I buy. But it must be said that the election sent me into a spending overdrive that shows no signs of slowing. There are also many gifties I’ve purchased for others lately. However many of those lovely people read this newsletter, so I cannot spoil the holiday season for them.
As I was pulling this together, some themes and patterns emerged revealing fixations I hadn’t even realized had popped up. That feels v. on brand. As ever, I am nothing if not consistent in my absurdity.
There’s Always Money in the Banana Stand
On any given day, you should almost always be able to find actual bananas, apples, and lemons in this apartment o’ mine. They are my fruit staples. Hot take: I love Red Delicious, though I eat all varietals.
But nanas, those are my girls. I’ve been thinking about this banana Old Fashioned I had in London every day since. I love artificial banana flavor, too. Banana Laffy Taffy, for example? The absolute superior flavor. Hands down.
This is yet another area where the British Fruit Witch and I align, aesthetically and flavorfully. (You may remember I was on a cherry fixation run a few months ago.)
I will always be sad that I didn’t have my own Gucci banana dick necklace.
God, he loved that thing.
Subconsciously I’m sure it was on my mind (along with my overall love of bananas) when I happened upon this candle at a Scandinavian store called Huset on Abbot Kinney in Venice. It’s from this super cute brand called 54 Celsius and you can get the Big Banana on their site..
It’s purely for decor. She is not getting burned.
My space just keeps getting quirkier and kookier and I couldn’t be more pleased about it.
When I got home from LA I was like, “OMG I totally forgot about the Boy Smells Banana Pudding candle I bought.” It’s a collab with Magnolia Bakery. I actually always got the pudding back in the day, never a cupcake. Now I’m craving it, with some Nilla wafers, natch.
Anyway, the candle doesn’t smell super banana-y and I very much recommend it. They’re on sale right now for…$31. Welp, that feels like a sign I should buy some more7.
Look at that dynamic duo.
Even better in the afterglow…
I was shopping with my friend Ruth in LA when I got the other candle, so when she sent me the link to this lil cutie, I bought it immediately. I guess it’s supposed to be a chip bowl, I’m actually now using it to hold rings in my bedroom.
It’s currently sold out at Urban Outfitters, but maybe they’ll restock.
Sidebar: Boy Smells is my go-to candle brand and there have been some great sales lately—which makes me happy, but also concerned about said go-to brand. Please don’t leave me. I need you. There’s a reason candles never flop as a gift. As Blondie says, “Just because something’s cliche doesn’t mean it’s not awesome.”
Big Child of Divorce8 Energy
Along with Friday being Taylor Alison Swift’s 35th birthday, it was also the 5th birthday of Fine Line. Or, more specifically, as described in my class syllabus:
Yes, her 30th was the day his album about “having sex and feeling sad” came out. It was a LOT for me.
But pink + blue forever 🩷🩵.
HSHQ posted this in honor of the big day. God, I cannot wait until we’re fully activated again. HS4, we’re gonna need you deeply in 2025.
I obviously listened to the album front-to-back today. As I did with Evermore for her 4th birthday earlier this week. Both of those albums matter so very much to me and certainly saw me through some dark pandemic days.
Picture it, Nashville, March 2023 and I’m finally getting “‘Tis the Damn Season” live in front of my face.
Picture it (stay with me on this Sophia Petrillo train), Milwaukee, November 2021 and I’m seeing “Fine Line” (the song) live for the second time in four days.
Obviously, these two monsters (complimentary) take my money all year and I’m happy to give it to them. But along with the $[redacted] I spent on Eras tickets in 2024, I have also procured various items from the Haylor Cinematic Universe that may be of interest to you and yours.
Taylor Swift Style by Sarah Chappell
Sarah is the absolute best resource on Taylor’s style, however you may feel about it lol.
Heartbreak Is the National Anthem by Rob Sheffield
Rob has long been one of my favorite writers and music journalists. He also loves Harry and Taylor and has profiled them both for Rolling Stone. He truly GETS their ethos, their music, and fandom, in general. I cannot wait to dive into this book over the break. (If you have not read his gorgeous memoir, Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time, do yourself a favor and grab a copy immediately. I bring up this often, but it’s that good.)
The Eras Tour Book by Taylor Swift
I absolutely did not wait in anybody’s line for this book on Black Friday. I waltzed into a Target and grabbed some copies with zero fanfare. I wish my friend Elizabeth and I had been the visual/copy creative team on this project. We will keep that dream alive for future Taylor idea to be named later.
Anyway, they’ve got plenty at Target.com and you can just order it like a normie. I really don’t know why people were acting the fool about this as if it was a limited edition. But you do you, fellow Swifties.
The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology Vinyl
I ordered this on Target.com like a normie, but on the day it became available online. Until now, the second surprise album had not been available in any physical form. It’s also currently exclusive at Target—and they totally have stock to ship as of Friday the 13th.
Now, this was a gift TO me and I had to share because it’s gorgeous and also such a lovely, thoughtful idea. My friend Ashleigh (who is extremely lovely and thoughtful) had this ornament made for me to commemorate the London Wembley shows. She has a tradition of doing a “travel tree” that holds an ornament they find in each place they go. I love everything about this so much.
The artist’s name is Sarah Hall and you can find her on IG or Etsy. She has pieces to sell, as well as taking custom orders.
Meanwhile, Harold decided to drop a Pleasing collab with JW Anderson, the eponymous line by Jonathan Anderson, one of my most favorite designers who is (for now9) also the creative director of Loewe.
I was driving to class in Bloomington when this was officially announced and a new photo dropped and like SIR you cannot do this shit to me when I cannot be scrolling and buying.
Jesus Christ, H.
He also posted on his Stories for the first time in AGES. Just seeing his circle lit up atop your feed can do wonders for a mood. Also, he’s so baby when he uses his beloved emojis.
Now, did I absolutely want the sweater they made as a nod to the famous JW Anderson patchwork cardigan? The one I just bought a baby version of for Tia’s lil Aksel.
YOU BET. It’s so good. But it’s JW Anderson so…it’s expensive. Like almost $900.
Never forget when he said this wearing the cardigan. I know I never will.
I also have this whole ballon thing with my work friends. If you know me IRL or have watched any video I’ve ever made, you know I talk with my hands. A LOT. Like I’m always the one who's going to accidentally knock into a poor server’s tray of drinks while animatedly telling a tale. But we never know exactly what I’ll do to make the balloons go off on our WebEx. It’s never the same gesture and it doesn’t happen super often. But it IS a delight. I will never turn off the feature for this reason.
Welp, it happened the day this shit dropped and we know how I feel about my signs.
However, for once in my life I wasn’t impulsive (or as I like to say, “decisive”) with a manic fangirl purchase and slept on it. I landed on: If I want to spend that much or a little more on a JW Anderson sweater, I should just get a proper JW Anderson sweater. I’m such a sucker for lore, though.
I settled for one of the v. cute balloon tees and it is, as of today, en route.
I think this is super cute too, but those mesh tops don’t look good on me, as much as I’d like them to.
You can check out the rest of the collection (including the nail polishes) here.
Now if anyone would like to gift me one of the expensive dick keychains I also refrained from buying, I’d love it. Either colorway is great 😉 🍆.
As my Libra moon is always seeking fairness, I must also share this gorgeous Harry gift my friend Amy brought me when she came up to go to see Stevie with me this summer10. It’s a super chic paint by numbers situation that I haven’t tried yet because I have a lot of insecurities about my arts abilities. But I’m thinking it’s a post-inauguration wintertime treat/challenge11 awaiting me.
It’s already on this fab canvas, which I love. Hopefully I don’t ruin it.
Check out the artist Sammy Gorin’s work here, where you can buy this as well as Taylor and Dolly sets, and other great gifties—for yourself or someone else. I’m actually keeping that tab open to place an order myself.
Brenda Walsh 4EVA
I’ve always been into menswear styles on women, whether it’s wearing actual men’s clothes or just cut that way. I absolutely know that Brenda Walsh heavily influenced me in this area and I feel like I honor her each time I pull that vibe into a look.
There are so many amazing trousers around right now, but I love these from Gap. You know I’ve been saying the Gap was making its way back for a couple years now, and this is still facts. Anyway, they’re a great way to dip in without spending a ton of money.
365 High Rise Brushed Twill Pleated Trousers, currently on sale for $49.
While you’re over there, you might want to pick up some simple sweaters. I have the v-necks in multiple colors and same goes for the cable knits. They look and feel GREAT for the prices, which are super low on Gap Factory at the moment.
Warming Extremities
I’m all over the Calzedonia site with extreme frequency these days. They constantly have deals, which are probably marketing bullshit when it comes to actual pricing and savings, but work on me all the same.
There’s a 50% off situation going on right now, in fact. The tights are great and I’m loving the mustard and burgundy. The patterned and the opaque. It’s also a great spot to grab some new black cashmere pairs for the season.
See also: Cashmere socks of varying lengths and colors which could also be a great gift for the right person.
I cannot stop buying mustard-colored everyone. No regrets, baby.
I also got these tattoo hose thingies, but I haven’t worn them yet.
My hands are always cold. I have Raynaud’s or what I call “dead fingers” and it can flare up in the blazing heat of summer, but for obvious reasons is worse in the winter. I’m also chronically online and attached to my phone and never find those type-friendly gloves to be effective or attractive.
I love this fingerless glove vibe though.
Once a Beauty Editor, Always a Beauty Editor
I feel like I’ve talked about my signature scent from Sarah Horowitz before. But long story short, when she launched the brand it was (I think) almost solely focused on a fragrance journey and creating fully custom scents. I created this one when I was at Jane, wrote about it, and wore it for quite a while.
Then I moved on, but a few years ago I got in touch with them to see if they still had my formula. They did and now it’s all I wear once more. I just got a fresh bottle, which always brings me joy. I actually love that I named it simply, “Abby”.
You can do the custom thing as a gift or for yourself, but Sarah also makes gorgeous ready-to-wear scents as well.
I’ve wanted to try this body lotion for a minute and unfortunately for my bank account, I’m very into it. I fear I’m now hooked after my Black Friday-adjacent sale purchase.
Nécessaire The Body Retinol, $55
I stocked up on Mara Roszak’s RŌZ hair products around Thanksgiving, too. She’s a brilliant celebrity stylist who really did the work to create this line and it shows. The scents and bottles are subtle and gorge and Mara truly knows what works. I bought solely for myself this go, but they do make amazing gifts.
The Willow Glen Treatment Oil came as a gift-with-purchase, but it regularly retails for $48.
This is an oldie but goodie that I like to keep around in the winter for my hands. The smell can sometimes take me right back to my desk in. the Jane offices on 7 W. 34th.
Weleda Skin Food Original Ultra Rich Cream, $13 for 1 fl. oz
I’m pretty much never not buying lipsticks. I use a ton of drugstore brands, but I will spend more when I think it’s worth it. Pat McGrath products are worth it. Sales always help, of course. Full price is still money well spent, in my opinion.
Lip Fetish Balm Divinyl Lip Shine in Temptress, $39
Lip Fetish Sheer Colour Balm in Wild Cherry, $20
MatteTrance™ Lipstick Marc Jacobs Edition in Forbidden Love, $39
This week there was a restock of one of my all-timer shades that became very difficult to get once the world learned Taylor Swift uses it. I haven’t had my hands on some in a minute and when it arrived Friday, I felt a rush.
LiquiLUST™: Legendary Wear Lipstick in Elson 4, $34
I’m counting these bevvies as a beauty product since they calm my brain down enough to get a modicum of beauty sleep. I also think they make a fab gift. Get a lil subscription or bundle for someone you know enjoys such things.
Cann Social Tonic, various packs and pricing available for versions that have 2 mg of THC or 5 mg of THC
It’s a Time Machine
I realized at some point earlier this year that I was actively trying to channel my ‘70s childhood home version 1.0—before my mom did some redecorating later in ‘80s.
Look at all those patterns! All those greens and yellows and browns!
Wish I had these boots from that era, in my size currently. I can’t remember if they were my mom’s or my aunt’s. This is also one of the few times in life I had a bang. My hair got proper ringlet curly during puberty and when you are as lazy about doing your hair as I am, committing to a curly bang is a lot.
I fully wear a version of this outfit on the regular in my daily life.
Thank god I’ve always loved a turtleneck because man Nora Ephron was not fucking kidding.
It sorta hits you out of the blue one day when you’re casually doing your thing in front of the bathroom mirror. I don’t love that I care about how it looks, but I sure do. Anyway, the Gap featherweight turtlenecks are fab. They’re light, so they also work for layering. I have them in myriad colors, including the green I can’t stop buying that also matches my childhood kitchen.
Green has always been my favorite color, but I went off the rails before I even realized how much of it I’d bought of late.
The turtleneck.
The shoes.
If you’re looking for the throwback sneaker vibe, but don’t want a Samba or Gazelle like everyone else these days, I love the Nike Cortez in suede. The leather ones are great also. It’s unisex and they have sizing conversions, but I did have to go up from my usual women’s 9 in this style. So mine are a M 7.5/W 10.
This oversize puffer. Also, Gap. Jesus, do you guys want to sponsor me???? It was on major sale during Black Friday times, so I scored this baby for under $100. But I just looked and it’s still marked down, just a bit less, at $124.
I. Love. It.
Now, did I seriously covet this version from The Row? Fuck yes. But your girl doesn’t have Row money…yet. This is currently marked down 50% at the Editorialist and still runs you $2450.
It’s stunning, though. I love the detailing.
But I bet it doesn’t have these built in12.
Hell, my nails are even this color right now.
Anyway, I’m ‘70s fixating when it comes to home things in a bigger way than usual. There could be shag rugs over here soon. Who the fuck knows what nesting holes I’ll get into during Trump Pt. 2.
I have taken to checking out these Etsy stores regularly to see what they get in. The names are…
…but I’ve found good treats.
Suggest other sellers or spots that you’ve found for vintage home stuff in the comments please. I love new places to digitally rummage.
We didn’t have this glassware growing up, but it fits the vibe.
I died over this and plan13 on doing a lot of reworking of my various wall aesthetics this winter.
Obviously, I need a vintage kettle for my morning lemon water and winter herbal teas.
We love a ‘shroom kitchen towel.
I barely even cook, and yet…I bought these on Amazon14.
Why did I need this? I have no idea. But I’m gonna put some files in there.
This sweatshirt is not technically ‘70s vintage, but it’s made to look that way. I love the worn collar. It’s from Stoned Immaculate which is one of my favorite brands out of LA. A lot of stuff feels a touch too expensive for me sometimes, but when they have a sale, I pounce.
I also finally pulled the trigger this red lip bag. Obsessed is an understatement.
It looks great with the La Vie Style House dress I bought in Nashville last weekend when I was there for a Kacey show. OOOOOOOOPS. However, I feel it was the universe’s way of telling me I made the right call about the Pleasing x JW Anderson sweater because that money was supposed to go to this beauty with velvet open lace detailing.
I did pull this tarot card that day, so15…
Speaking of Kacey and signs, this is actually one of my most beloved new treasures.
It’s a ceramic hand painted cardinal charm by an artist named Emilia Munoz-Bowman. Kacey did a collab collection with her when Deeper Well first dropped in the spring and I wasn’t able to get one before they sold out.
A day or so before my birthday, I got a text from my friend Jessica that they were back. I hadn’t seen the post because I’d been offline, but immediately hit that link and here we are.
“Cardinal” is the first song on the album and it’s about losing a friend and signs from the other side. I ordered the special Cardinal vinyl of the album, which is part of the inspiration for the piece Emilia designed.
There’s a whole thing with my mom and cardinals and Indiana so that’s why I wanted one so badly. When I was out-of-nowehere able to buy one, it felt like a birthday present from my mom. Then it arrived just after a dear friend’s mother died, which just felt like another message from the other side.
It’s beyond gorgeous and special. I now wear it every day, collecting many a compliment.
I just checked Emilia’s Etsy shop and it says a limited restock is happening on Monday if anyone’s interested.
I Got Got By the TikTok Shop
Yep, that tracks. Very on brand, Ab. I do have to say the user experience from purchase to delivery has been seamless both times I’ve bought something.
This portable, rerchargable air inflator is very handy and I now keep it in my car. I also had to buy tires recently and ugh what an annoyingly necessary thing to have to spend a decent chunk of money on. You can also get it on Amazon.
I have to have been stoned when I decided I absolutely had to have this motion sensor wastebasket. But it is currently in one of my bathrooms.
Are You Ready, Boots?
Yes, yes they are. One thing I’m always going to do is buy loads of shoes from my friend Charlotte Stone’s line. She’s brilliant. I feel seen every time she drops a new style. They’re comfy enough that many of them can be worn to a show. The dream.
I pre-ordered these red boots16 a while back and they arrived the day after the election, as if knowing I needed a pick-me-up and a reminder that those asshats don’t get to steal the color red from me along with my bodily autonomy.
They’re very versatile and comfy and also come in a pale lilac.
I highly recommend getting on Charlotte’s mailing list for many reasons, but especially because you don’t want to miss their sample sales. I snagged these babies and couldn’t be more obsessed. Yes, I realize they’re also the green.
You can still get them at full price if you’d like here.
In My Denim Era
Okay, so most of us have never been out of a denim era because jeans exist. But I’m talking about kicking things up a notch. For example, I can’t stop adding denim skirts to cart.
The Cult Gaia x Gap asymetrical skirt is featured above with my red boots. The jean jacket is also fantastic.
La Ligne had a big sale over Thanksgiving and I picked up two more skirts I don’t need. As I like to say, whatever past Abby has bought is none of my business. I will wear them endlessly, so there.
This shortie one reminds me of an old Marc by Marc I used to live in.
Actually, I often wore red boots with it. They were a production sample or something of these 2002 Marc Jacobs collection ones and I think I sold them on eBay at some point when I was broke-adjacent. Fuck me.
Already envisioning professor looks for next semester…
If you’re in the market for a wide-leg jean—and when am I not—check out Levi’s Ribcage Bell style. My friend Jessica also turned me onto these and they’re still on sale.
Oh, and…
AI could never. I loved this NY Mag Union send-up of The Power Issue (packed with truths that also make me so sad) … Is smoking back? … I love Nicole Kidman’s Days of Thunder hair in her Hollywood Reporter cover story shoot … I loooooooove this interview with Jane Pratt from Sari Botton’s Oldster Substack … I am very excited to see Maggie Rogers + others honor the Dead at the Kennedy Center Honors. Queen Latifah did “Shakedown Street”! … Jessica Bennett for NY Mag on The Perimenopause Gold Rush.
Until next week, here are the Haims DJ’ing and being charming at a Spotify event in LA. I am really hoping we get new music from these three in 2025, too.
xA
If you haven’t watched this one, get on that.
I was very much NOT an Everybody Loves Raymond person and only ever properly watched an ep when I used to fly back and forth between LA/NY during the Eye on American era when a bunch of CBS shows aired after whatever movie we all had to watch en masse. But I’ve really enjoyed him in things like Parenthood or as Zoe Kazan’s dad in The Big Sick.
Was anyone else super duper into Rescue Me back in the day? I def was for the first few seasons.
Oh look, a new ridiculous categorization I definitely need to better define, explain, and write about. I daresay nothing will ever top the “I want you to be my mom, Amber. Are you my mom?” scene from Boogie Nights for me, but I love to see the efforts—either comedic or dramatic.
Ope, and I’m crying again because all of “The Best Day” lyrics are flowing through my head now. She sang this mashed up with “Never Grow Up” on the penultimate night of the tour…for her family. We are still not okay. I don’t know how Andrea and Scott and Austin survived it.
There is a video I found
From back when I was three
You set up a paint set in the kitchen
And you're talking to me
It's the age of princesses and pirate ships
And the seven dwarfs
And Daddy's smart
And you're the prettiest lady in the whole wide world
No, I don’t sleep with it in my room. But lest you think I’m digitally healthy, once I make the call to put my phone away…my laptop is still in the bed.
This is why you shouldn’t come to me for financial advice, but should when you want to buy something and need a “good” rationale.
If you’re new to these parts and not the specific kind of fangirl insane I am, “child of divorce” is the way those who are both Harries and Swifties jokingly and lovingly describe themselves due to our mom and dad’s break over a decade ago. As I always add, it matters not if your “parents” are younger than you.
There’s a LOT of major fashion shuffling right now. JA is a hot commodity.
We both scored Stevie Barbies!
Yes, paint by numbers is challenging to me.
Don’t tell me if, in fact, it does.
I guess I have concepts of a plan and a Vyvanse prescription. Hopefully, we can actually get this done.
Do I have guilt about Amazon remaining in my life? Yes. Do I plan on changing right now? No. Judge away, but that’s my truth.
I also pulled this for my students on their last day of class, but we’ll get into that another time.
The style is named Agatha, which also felt appropriately witchy.
I LOVE YOUR STYLE!!! I’m not yelling; I just want you to know how strongly I feel 😉
Looooving the travel tree shoutout 🥹 also these round ups are so bad for my bank account but good thing money is a renewable resource 😘