Morning Brew - 🍬 Feeling meh

The word of the day...more like the word of this year: Languishing. It’s what organizational psychologist and author Adam Grant calls “the neglected middle child of mental health” or “the void between depression and flourishing—the absence of well-being.” Thanks to Grant’s most recent NYT piece, we finally know the technical term for “feeling meh” and a few strategies to combat it. 

Languishing isn’t necessarily a bad thing—more something to pay attention to. Grant says: “Part of the danger is that when you’re languishing, you might not notice the dulling of delight or the dwindling of drive. You don’t catch yourself slipping slowly into solitude; you’re indifferent to your indifference. When you can’t see your own suffering, you don’t seek help or even do much to help yourself.” 

To counteract it, start by practicing self-awareness. Whether you’re losing focus at work or you’re the only friend who isn’t excited for hot girl summer, acknowledge that and know that you’re not alone. Then, Grant suggests finding your flow (when you get lost in a project or activity and lose track of time). That can be completing the NYTimes daily mini or whisking your way through a new Pepper Teigen recipe. And reward yourself for those small wins. My suggestion: start a #smallwins group chat with your close friends. 

• Here’s how to make a simple charcuterie board, featuring the salami rose hack. 
• A handy recipe calculator, so you never have to google how many grams are in a cup again. 
• Spoilers ahead: Six screenwriters shared the hardest movie endings to write. Now every time I watch a Sofia Coppola film, I’ll be thinking about her go-to screenwriting template. 
• I’m planning on making myself a grilled cheese for lunch tomorrow (yes, I’m already thinking about tomorrow’s meals)...and maybe for the rest of the week. This pesto grilled cheese recipe isn’t just your average GC. It’s parmesan crusted.
• Step away from Gmail for a second and read this piece on the importance of reclaiming your weekends. 

When your fave pair of jeans starts to rip, first it looks kind of edgy, but then the hole gets much bigger (sometimes in the most inconvenient places), and it’s no longer cool. It’s What Not to Wear. Instead of trashing your go-to pair and heading over to your Levi’s shopping cart (I know, it’s tempting), how about fixing the hole yourself? 

Mending your clothes is a budget-friendly and fun way to repair and extend the life of your wardrobe. If sewing machines are too daunting, start with a needle and thread. Take your tips from Lily Fulop, mending expert and author of Wear, Repair, Repurpose: A Maker’s Guide to Mending and Upcycling Clothes (would highly recommend the book). You’ll learn basic techniques that’ll turn unwanted clothes into something you’ll actually want to wear.

I’m also a fan of her TikTok—watch this vid on how to cover up a stain with an embroidered flower or this one on how to fix a hole in a sweater. 

Coffee, we’ve got some feedback.

Coffee’s great and everything—we kinda named our company after it—but if coffee were our direct report, we’d say there are “areas of improvement” like anxiety, jitters, and the dreaded crash. 

MUD\WTR’s the new hire. It’s a coffee alternative that gives you the energy you want from coffee, but without those trembly, heart-racy downsides. 

MUD\WTR contains functional ingredients like Ayurvedic herbs and four adaptogenic mushrooms for added benefits. Cacao and chai give Mud its low dose of caffeine, lion’s mane helps support focus and memory, reishi helps support immune function, and turmeric helps with soreness. 

It’s time to restructure your coffee habits. Learn more about MUD\WTR here.

YouTube. Medium. Patreon. Twitch. With new platforms emerging at every turn, the creator economy is booming. The next TikTok star, Instagram influencer, and podcast host need these gifts to make it big. Check ’em out here. 

• Looking for a Mother’s Day gift for your double vaxxed mom who’s counting down the days till her next weekend getaway? Check out the Lo & Sons Catalina Deluxe Weekender. It’s spacious, includes a bottom zipper pocket to separate a pair of shoes or dirty clothes, and on sale right now (!!). Go in with your siblings, and Mom will love you all equally. 
• Instead of driving all over in search of seedless tamarind paste or orange blossom water, I recommend heading straight to Snuk Foods. It’s an online marketplace that sources high-quality ingredients and pantry items from all over the world. Two of my new favorite finds: Lavi Spicy Haitian Peanut Butter and Villa Jerada Dukkah (an Egyptian spice that I toss with my veggies). 
• I always carry around this Anker USB C Adapter. You never know when you’ll need it—if your wi-fi at home is spotty and you want to connect directly via Ethernet, or if your Airbnb has an HDMI cord but no adapter. It’s loaded with an HDMI, an Ethernet, and USB ports.