Morning Brew - 🍸 Rejected

Hello! We’re stepping into the week feeling clearheaded and sun-kissed. Today’s newsletter includes a fresh take on rejection, late-summer reading recs from an LA bookstore owner, and a frozen pizza dinner prep list. 

—Maliah West, Rachel Cantor

Twitter is usually a hot spot for ~some personal news~, i.e. new job announcements. But last week, across a range of industries from journalism to engineering, people stopped being polite and started getting real about their job rejections. 

Take @SerenaEGolden, a deputy managing editor at The Washington Post, who said, “If it's a media outlet that has existed in the past 14 years and i don't work there it's safe to say they've turned me down likely multiple times.” #relatablecontent 

It’s even happened to Morning Brew’s Managing Editor, Neal Freyman. “When I first applied to be a writer at Morning Brew in the summer of 2017, I didn’t get the role,” he told us. “Cofounder Alex Lieberman sent me a very polite email letting me know that they were moving forward with someone else.” Freyman was disappointed, but he didn’t lose hope. And when the company couldn’t come to an agreement with their ill-fated first choice, Lieberman emailed Freyman again. “I’m still here, more than four years later,” said Freyman. We and Morning Brew’s 3+ million daily readers are grateful for it. 

Seeing Freyman and hundreds of others tweet out their rejection stories helped remind us that getting nixed from the short list is part of life. Some even make it a goal to hear “No” at least 100 times a year. So if you’re feeling disheartened by your job hunt or whatever it is you’re pursuing, let last week’s Twitter trend encourage you not to give up. The right thing will come. 

• We have a soft spot for the Barefoot Contessa...and her peach cobbler recipe from one of her best cookbooks, Cooking for Jeffrey. It’s hard to decide which is more delicious—the sweetened peach mixture or the topping itself. Luckily, we don’t have to. 
• Reparations Club, an LA-based concept bookstore, is a buzzy new hangout spot for West Coast bookworms and creatives. Ashritha Karuturi, Sidekick’s editorial intern, caught up with founder and owner Jazzi McGilbert to learn what it was like to put her entire operation online last year. Plus, McGilbert has stellar summer book recs. 
• No, we can’t hop on a Slack call right now. We’re too busy working on our Kid Pix masterpiece. Turn your volume up for maximum nostalgia.
• We’ll always get a kick out of Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett collabs, especially their latest single. Also, they’re dropping a second album soon. 

Securing a stunning antique is a worthy quest, but the hunt can be intimidating if you don’t know where to start. Instead of daydreaming about the perfect pièce de résistance for your space, we recently revisited Curbed’s tips for buying antique furniture.

Two tips we’re committing to memory: 1. Inspect every item closely for damage before purchasing. If you still want to buy it, use any flaws to help negotiate a better price. 2. Make sure you truly love anything you bring home. The items you pick up should be pieces you want to own for years to come (and ones you can resell easily if you change your mind).

If you’re looking for top spots to visit, check out The Strategist’s guide to the best IG vintage stores, and The Cut’s vintage store directory if you prefer to shop IRL. Our faves include @snugdepot (MA), which offers one-of-a-kind, ’70s- and ’80s-influenced furniture; @homeunion (NY) for gorgeous dining or living room pieces; and @ninefrtn (FL) for large mirrors, vanities, and dressers.

History. Culture. Fly looks.

Tracksmith makes running gear that celebrates the sport’s history, evolves its culture, and keeps you looking fly on the track.  

And the trail. And the pavement. And afterward, at the coffee shop or the bar.

Tracksmith’s stylish collections are optimized for performance and designed to be staples of your running wardrobe. So whether you’re building a base, racing a marathon, or logging some track laps, they’ve got you covered.

Pick up some gear here.

• Last week, Rachel ate Banza’s frozen chickpea za for dinner three nights in a row. It’s got more protein and fewer carbs than a cauli version, and the crust gets perfectly crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Crowning a flavor champion isn’t easy, but we’ll give it to the Roasted Veggie, with the Four Cheese as our runner-up. 
• A sturdy pizza cutter is like having a friend with a pool. You don’t think you need one until you realize how much better it makes summertime (and anytime). This KitchenAid pick is super sharp, stylish in pistachio, and dishwasher-safe.
• A rec from home chef and Brew writer Alex Hickey: “If you hear Mary Berry from The Great British Baking Show complaining about soggy bottoms when you pull a homemade pizza from the oven...it’s time to get a pizza stone. Ceramic, steel, or stone platters mimic the surface of a pro pizza oven.”