Links we sent our friends #25
Gift guides, how to find your next show, NYC neighborhoods, and the best TJ’s salad
On Friday, for the first time in many years, I threw a party. More accurately, Friend of the Newsletter Lacey and I (plus our respective partners) threw a party. The concept was ambitious: to celebrate our new places, which we coincidentally moved into at the same time and are mere minutes apart, we orchestrated a costume party house crawl, starting in Heaven (Lacey and Erich’s place) and culminating in Hell (mine and Sam’s.)
I typically get anxious to the point of picking fights before mere four-person dinner parties. When Friday morning dawned, alcohol and food not yet bought, place not yet decorated, playlist not yet chosen, Sam and I were both surprised when I was serene.
“Seriously, you’re not worried?” he said.
I wasn’t. All we really needed for a good time was great friends, drinks, and music, and I was confident we’d have all three.
And we did! The group, the theme, the walk from Heaven to Hell where Sam insisted everyone take a shot of fireball to enter — it was all perfect, and I didn’t have to pay for it in anxiety beforehand. I don’t know if this new calm is permanent, but I’m crossing my fingers.
Aja’s Links:
Love this guide to figuring out whether a trend works for you from Tibi co-founder and creative director (not to mention, extremely stylish person)
.How and why celebrity video startup Cameo fell apart. I will say, one of the best gifts I ever got Sam was a five-minute long serenade from infamous Survivor contestant Coach.
Trader Joe’s salad kits ranked from mediocre to excellent. Am I the only one who absolutely eats these food rankings up? (Also, I can’t say I saw the winner coming.)
SO extra and I love it. Reminding myself to consult link #1, lol.
This streaming service lets you search every streaming service you use in one place so you don’t need to hop from Netflix to Prime to Hulu back to Netflix just to choose a show… Aliza, I think you need this yesterday. (Aliza: Stop, is it free though..?)
Aliza’s Links:
If I did decide to get a head start on holiday shopping this year, I’d start with
’s gift guide with smart, creative themes like “nostalgia,” “abundance,” and “jokes.” (If you like this, Aja and I are working on a gift guide coming in a few weeks!) (Aja: I LOVE Mari’s guides — the last one you shared was so good too.)When temps finally dropped below 50 last week, my Target crewneck (that I adore) just wasn’t cutting it. I splurged on this BeyondYoga fleece pullover — and given how few hours I’ve taken it off, I’d say it was worth it!
I started following photographer Nicki Sebastian on Instagram after I stumbled across her raw and joyful motherhood portraits. I haven’t decided which print I’m going to buy (too hard to choose!), but Nicki, who is a Leukemia survivor, donates all proceeds to good causes.
I had fun clicking around this Extremely Detailed Map of New York City’s Neighborhoods.
- ’s mic drop Halloween moment for all the romcom fans.
Platonic Love is an entirely reader-supported, affiliate-free publication. We love pulling these roundups together each week — and as always, we want you to feel 100% confident in what we’re sharing. See you on Thursday for a very fun interview! Love, Aja & Aliza
The Heaven to Hell progressive Halloween party is a wonderful idea!
Justice for the Elote Salad Kit! That should be #1