5 things i love right now

you know, aside from "old town road."

1. this new album by the drums, brutalism



more than any other musical element, a great, infectious melody can completely make a song for me. and the latest record from jonathan pierce aka the only remaining member of the drums is chock-full of 'em. its dreamy, surf-y vibe is totally perfect for spring. apparently, many longtime fans don't like the new sound...which, of course, means i do. :) my favorite tune so far is the breezy "626 bedford avenue."

2. this movie, the boy band con

as a bona fide "old millennial," the boy band craze was an integral, amazing, wonderful part of my life from ages 11 through 32. i mean, uh, 16. i loved backstreet (nick!), 'n sync (ehh, JC i guess), o-town (dan!), LFO (brad?)—basically everyone except 98 degrees because they were too vanilla for my edgier pop palate and by that i mean they had zero songs with bizarre, heavy-handed sexual innuendo. lame!

i digress. i obviously had to watch the tell-all about the man behind it all: the late, disgraced, ponzi-scheming mogul lou pearlman, so i signed up for a youtube premium trial and canceled it immediately after viewing. honestly, i can pinpoint the moment back in high school when my friend molly and i knew he was creepy as fuck: during a scene early on in making the band when he said "papa's here to protect." shudder. we started saying it apropos of nothing because we thought it was as funny as it was gross, but...ugh.

there wasn't much it revealed that i didn't know before, but the nostalgia of the TRL clips, ashley parker angel's surprisingly insightful commentary, and aaron carter looking ROUGH while defending lou made it worth watching, especially if you're a woman of my certain age.

3. this clothing company, stoned immaculate

okay, so this brand showed up in my instagram feed as a #sponsored post and i felt personally blessed and attacked at the same time. blessed because every single item of clothing is extreeeeemely my shit. their tagline is "vintage inspired woman’s clothing for the dazed & confused," for god's sake! attacked because big brother is clearly watching and because every single item of clothing is at least $100. blaaaah.

4. this now-defunct podcast, mystery show

the great poet lil uzi vert once said, "all my friends are dead." well, all my podcasts are dead. it never fails that my favorites always get canned after a short while (FOUND, why oh why) or, by the time i discover them, they're long gone. such is the case with this one, which came recommended by my friend sarah last week. i dug into the first episode on monday and binged all six by wednesday.

the premise is simple: host starlee kine solves kinda quirky human interest mysteries (i.e. a writer whose obscure book only sold 1,000 copies total sees a paparazzi picture of britney spears holding the book and confusion/intrigue ensues).

my favorite episode, however, was about this badass belt buckle a child found in the street—pictured above. yes, that's a toaster, and a frying pan with eggs, and the name "HANS JORDI." but who's hans jordi, and what was the deal with this belt buckle? you gotta listen to find out, folks. probably the most entertaining podcast episode i've listened to since the reply all "long distance" one. and really, all of the episodes are incredible.

5. this new chocolate-cherry cold brew from dunkin' donuts

i've explained before that i'm one of those weirdos that always tries new food and beverages born out of desperation for product innovation at corporate headquarters. they're almost always short-lived, being discontinued mere weeks or months after they arrive. so i've learned to act fast.

my latest foray is the chocolate-cherry cold brew from dunkin' DONUTS (i will never stop adding the donuts and nobody will stop me). it's basically just cold brew with some sort of "natural" syrup in it, but it is delicious, and the fact that i can drink it black is absolutely huge. now, i wouldn't say it necessarily tastes a ton like chocolate or cherries...it's subtle. refined, even. jk, that's a stretch. 

a sunday night survival guide

sunday, SUNDAY. i mostly love this day of the week—i've only really ever had the whole "sunday scaries" thing once, when i had an absolutely terrible job last year. and then i was freelancing for 5-ish months and had a completely neutral attitude toward sundays, because it was the same as any other day of the week for me. and now, i have a new full-time office job that i really like, and i'm adjusting back to the whole sunday night routine once again. i feel like i've gotten a pretty good handle on how to keep the scaries and blues at bay, so here are some of my must-haves. share yours in the comments, por favor!

1.  a good podcast

or a couple! i recently discovered the sunday scaries podcast, which is cute and fun. plus, the episodes typically fall under the 15-minute mark, so they're super easy to keep up with. now that i'm commuting by train, i've been trying to listen to more on my way to and from work, but i just tend to be able to pay better attention when i'm hanging around the house on a lazy sunday morning and making pancakes or making dinner at night; it's a nice little ritual. pop culture happy hour is another new favorite, but i know i'm probably late to the party on that.


2. something delicious

sure, it could be a cocktail, if you're in the mood. but i've found that having a little treat in the evening while i'm watching a movie or reading a book—whether it's a cup of my favorite tea, a piece (errr, 4) of dark chocolate, or a big oatmeal chocolate chip cookie is a very lovely, visceral, in-the-moment way to enjoy the last hours of my weekend. alternatively, if i'm feeling ambitious, sundays are typically my nights to make that awesome and super-involved dinner recipe i saved on pinterest like 6 months earlier.


3. time with friends or family

sometimes, the best way to distract yourself from the impending workweek is with some good old-fashioned socialization. not just talking about brunch, either. i love meeting a friend for the occasional sunday night dinner, or catching up over a late-afternoon coffee to shake up my routine a bit.

4. candles/soft lighting

y'all know i'm obsessed with candles, and little white lights, and my himalayan salt lamp. all of these things do the MOST to promote a chill and pleasant home environment with minimal little effort. of course, everyone has different candle preferences, but my personal favorites are the scentsational midnight woods and DW home warm tobacco pipe (both available at marshall's or tj maxx) and anthropologie's warm vanilla cinnamon. the rate i burn through all of these is genuinely frightening.

5. the right (preferably vinyl) soundtrack 

to quote trent from daria, "it's the warmth of vinyl, man." my vinyl collection isn't very large thus far because i'm not made of damn money, but i treasure the 12 or so records i do have so far, and it's just so much cozier than spotify in terms of setting a definitive mood. i scored elvis costello's greatest hits last weekend for $10 at in your ear in harvard square, and it was the perfect thing to dance to this evening while prepping overnight oats for tomorrow.

here are some sunday evening standbys that will treat you right, with or without a record player:

kurt vile - wakin' on a pretty daze (and smoke ring for my halo...and...okay, pretty much anything by kurt vile)
the neighbourhood - wiped out! 
the brian jonestown massacre - take it from the man! 
the lemonheads - it's a shame about ray
pernice brothers - overcome by happiness
pinback - summer in abaddon

6. a plan for the week

i feel like it's all too tempting to close your eyes and forget that monday is coming, but i've found that making a mini to-do list for each day of the week ahead can go a long way to make you feel in control, and it only takes like, 10 minutes tops.