Links we sent our friends #55
Featuring Leslie Stephens, author of one of Substack's Top 10 culture newsletters: Morning Person
Hi friends, Aja here. Thank you for all the wonderful comments and messages in response to Aliza’s miscarriage story. This community is really special to us.
This week, we’ve got not one but two features lined up with someone we know you know…
writes Morning Person, the popular culture newsletter that’s packed with obsessively curated recommendations, ideas, and personal essays around living an intentional and well-entertained life. Her debut novel, You’re Safe Here, comes out tomorrow and explores wellness and social media in 2060 California through the perspectives of three women. We’re huge Morning Person fans (and we’re not alone — Leslie recently crossed the 30K subscriber mark!)
Leslie’s Links:
I’m a tinned fish gal and throw it on my salad most days for lunch. Trader Joe’s tinned smoked trout is as delicious as the $10 options at a third of the price.
Will McPhail’s Instagram distills the most complicated elements of being a human into a single square.
I’m still not over Challengers and am anticipating a major retro tennis short moment this summer. I’m trying to only buy five fashion items this year, but these may make the cut! (Aja: Lol, I see the connection between these and the shorts you linked a few weeks ago. Love watching a shopping quest unfold.)
Julia Louis-Dryfus’s Wiser Than Me is my current podcast obsession. I’m loving Season 2. (Aliza, are you still a fan too??) (Aliza: I adore it!)
I’m new to gardening and recently fell into a rabbit hole of square foot gardening, a method that yields more vegetables with less space. Eagerly awaiting my first harvest!
Subscribe to Morning Person for more excellent recs — and we’ll be back on Thursday with a peek into Leslie’s life and work.
Aja’s Links:
This was a delightful interview with Annie Clark, the musician known as St. Vincent. “Listen, if there’s champagne to be had, I’m having it. My favorite thing to do at a fancy party is point at the food or drink and ask people, ‘Is this free?!’”
Considering adding this cute and colorful striped shirt to my summer rotation. Or this beautiful Abercrombie dress, which would be really pretty with ballet flats… (Abercrombie’s latest arrivals have heavy Ref vibes, FYI.)
How to stop catastrophizing, according to experts.
These NYC lofts are jaw-dropping (and so are the rents, in a good way for once).
Ooh, excited for this book to come out.
Aliza’s Links:
Petition to make this the song of the summer? (h/t Margie — my best friend who helped me build up the courage to share last week’s essay. You’ll get the connection when you watch!)
Still not over this speech. Gosh, I love Broadway.
The tank I bought first in black… then had to go back for another color.
Has anyone visited this unique NYC bookshop?
I now understand why a water table is the toddler summer staple.
Newsletter we sent our friends:
Aliza and I both frequently reference A Thing or Two, a newsletter from the stylish, witty, and current Claire Mazur and Erica Cerulo. Every Monday, they send out ten things they’re excited about — from great books and cool furniture to unexpected jerky flavors and trippy posters. On their podcast (which is always exactly as long as it should be, no longer), they dive deeper into these recommendations. If you don’t already listen and love, I highly recommend.
Question we asked our friends:
I loved this Reddit post asking: What’s your “just” place that others travel long distances to see? For example, Aliza and I often “just” go to New York (a few pleasant hours on the Amtrak) or “just” drive to Cape Cod — something that neither of us could have imagined while growing up across the country (me in California, Aliza in Nashville). Meanwhile, my friends from Sydney talk about “hopping over” to Bali or Singapore, while my U.K. coworkers plan low-key trips to Amsterdam and Paris. What’s yours?
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I went to high school with Jon Groff and can confirm he was a lovely and kind individual with amazing talent even back then. I wish I could the VHS of a snl spoof video he did for a homecoming assembly one year. It was hilarious (for HS written / produced/ acted!)
As South Africans, we often “just” visit Cape Town or go on a safari trip for the weekend.