Issue #221: breads, spreads, and everything in between 🥖

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our best recommendations for your downtime
issue 221 ~ week of May 21, 2021

how I've been waking up lately

editor's note

Hi there and happy Friday,

My spark of happy this week came from seeing Joy Cho of Oh Joy! gracing the cover of Domino magazine. It’s huge and uplifting to see an Asian woman creative on the cover. Seeing someone like me represented in this way is the little dose of hope I needed. Also, her home is SUCH a fun reflection of her vibrant and colorful design work.

On that note, and in honor of Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, I’ve rounded up this list of items that I have and love, all from AAPI-owned brands. To build the list, all I had to do was take a walk around my kitchen, beauty cabinet, and bedroom and take note of the products that are my daily, go-to favorites.

That includes this minimalist yearly planner (seriously, how did I organize myself before this?!), this cute reusable bag that magically transforms into a tiny square so you can carry it with you everywhere, and more. Check out my full list here and I hope you’ll find a new daily favorite, too.

Until Next Week,
Alisha Ramos, CEO + Founder at Girls' Night In

P.S. Also, thanks to everyone who responded to Zeniya's editor's note from last week about nostalgic rituals. We had so much fun reading them that we rounded them all up here. (Shoutout to the reader who wrote a love letter to Twilight!)

weekly picks

ideas for unwinding this weekend

baggu and crocs 4ever 😍 (via @baggu)

Adding to our TRO (to-read-outside) under a tree list... Pop Song by Larissa Pham (out now), Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala (out now), God Spare the Girls by Kelsey McKinney, One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, Change Everything by Ruth Wilson Gilmore, and Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley Ford (these four are coming in June!). 📚
Because 30 under 30 lists are overrated... Meet 70 over 70, a new podcast which is quite literally the wholesome feel-good opposite of that. 🥺
Paging everybody with a vulva... Dame's taking your next night in plans to new heights with products that are developed and tested by real people with vaginas — because you deserve pleasure. In honor of Masturbation Month (May!), you can get 10% off your order when you use code GIRLSNIGHTIN at checkout. ✨ Sponsor
A new hobby to try... "Amigurumi — crocheting 3D things, like little whales or Harry Potter characters, or even flowers. To me it's more fun than crocheting hats or blankets, and I find it a lot easier than knitting! - Meghan C. 🐳 Reader Rec
An A+ way to reunite with friends and loved ones... "This past weekend, I hosted a 'breads & spreads' brunch (crowd fave: pea not-quite-pesto with cured sumac. Runner up: ricotta with seared mushrooms). Just don't forget to provide serving spoons so everyone can DIY their plate. This is no time for double dipping." - Carey, Content Team 🍿 Overheard from HQ
Speaking of which... please watch this so-true-it-hurts TikTok about learning to navigate awkward social interactions all over again. 😭
A newsletter we love to love... Wake-Up Call by Katie Couric serves a morning dose of news you should know, plus just-for-fun features like how to DIY sustainable candles or how to revamp your home on a budget (two words: ceiling paint!). Read it all here. 🤓
Three foods we immediately added to the list for next week... this fried feta with pistachios and hot honey, Hetty McKinnon's okonomiyaki, and the adana kebabs in Yasmin Khan's Ripe Figs (along with an array of sauces, of course). 🤤

Bonus rec: Some Zoom backgrounds for plant-lovers to brighten up your WFH setup if you're still at home. 🌸

👋 Have something that's been helping you unwind lately? Tell us about it and you could be featured in an upcoming Reader Rec.

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weekly reads

share these with the group chat

a very good dog and a very good bed (via @ohjoy)

Bet you never thought you'd miss small talk. Here's what a world without it did to our brains this past year. (The Walrus) 🧠

Holy Kathy Najimy! This is not a drill — we have waited almost thirty years, and Hocus Pocus 2 is officially happening!! Here's how long you have to wait for it. (Variety)

Trying to make friends now that you're allowed to leave the house? Why not hang out with some octogenarians? This is a good reminder of the power of intergenerational friendships. (The Sunday Edit) 👵

Read this if you watched the final season of Shrill. One of the best parts of the whole season? Fran getting the queer joy she deserved!! (Autostraddle) 😍

Waking up with anxiety? Here are some tips from therapists, including how starting the day with an old-school alarm clock can help slow things down a bit. (Glamour) ⏰

Never not inspired by Joy Cho. The colors! The textures! Now here's a work-from-home setup we can get behind. (Domino) 🎨

Do you and your family have your very own made up language? It's called familect, and you're not alone. Here's why how you speak behind closed doors reflects an intimacy that only a select few get to see. (The Atlantic) 👩‍👩‍👧‍👦

Bonus read: Martha Stewart set the record straight about her peacocks. 🦚

take action and take care

Ways to take action this week... Learn about the upcoming Supreme Court hearing (source: Vox) that could threaten abortion rights. Volunteer with the Texas Equal Access Fund or donate to the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund to support places especially impacted by anti-abortion legislation.

Ways to take care… Connect with a movement organizing for reproductive justice. Visit Sister Song’s directory of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color birth workers to access reproductive health support that centers marginalized communities.

heading into the weekend like...

Basically!! (via @mytherapistsays)

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Issue #221: breads, spreads, and everything in between 🥖

weekly picks

weekly reads

heading into the weekend like...

Older messages

Question of the day: Which puzzle are you? 🧩

Issue #220: how nostalgia became the highlight of my week 📺

Issue #219: getting uncomfortable, staying accountable 📬

Issue #218: a walk on the whiled side 🐌

An app that's worth the screen time ✨

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