The new Vampire Weekend album, Only God Was Above Us. Lots of bangers. “Mary Boone” and the latter half of “Hope” were really doing it for me today.
Living near Edina, Minnesota. Yes, Edina, as in “the most hated city in Minnesota,” home of the “cake-eaters.” I don’t love it for the posh spots. In fact, I often avoid the posh spots. What I love is that I can drive by AMC at Southdale (supposedly the first mall in America), where I went to see White Noise and The Ring 2 as an eighth grader and scream-cried though both of them. I love that I pass The Cheesecake Factory where Michael and I got a birthday lunch with his late grandparents. Grammie talked and talked and Grandpa sat silent, slowly, devotedly devouring an enormous plate of fettuccine alfredo. I love that I’ve got my Target, my Chuck and Don’s, and my weird seventies-esque library building all right there. Heck, I’ve even got a Joann Fabrics. It’s a weird little bubble of convenience, the soulless sprawl of capitalism unfurling before me as I drive down Xerxes. Intellectually, I know I should hate it. But it’s just so dang convenient. There are the chains and the franchises, and then there are the numerous retirement apartment complexes. Basically, I never have to move. I can live out the rest of my days in the un-posh quadrant of Edina. Oh! And there’s an Original Pancake House, too. As my father would say: Bingo!
Cerave. If you need a solid unscented and moisturizing lotion, may I suggest Cerave, recommended by dermatologists, Michael Cera, and me. I’ve been very into this lotion for over a decade now. It’s the one skin care product I use consistently. The tubes are nice, but I do love the tub. It feels a little cooler and moister when it’s in the tub.
The novels The Pursuit of Love and Love In a Cold Climate, by Nancy Mitford. On Instagram, novelist and bookstore owner Ann Patchett recommends “new to you” books every Friday. Sometimes, the recommendations slap. Other times, she pushes an Icelandic novel about sheep into my hands that I’m sure is incredible, but at least for right now, is over my head. I thought that these two books would be in the latter camp, but they were most definitely in the former. The characters are larger than life and absolutely delightful. You get the sense that Mitford was quietly snickering to herself as she wrote these books (many of the characters are based on people she knew). They take place in between the two World Wars, and Mitford, a well-connected society girl herself, writes parties and conversations and jokes with a keen observation and dry wit. I don’t know if, upon being seated next to her at a party, I would have been terribly enchanted or terribly terrified. Probably both.
Everything about Bob’s Red Mill. I love their organic all-purpose flour. Their granola. Their flax meal and flax seed. Their rye flour. Their wheat flour. I love that they’re employee-owned, that they are committed to people over profit, that Bob is wearing a cute little bow tie in almost every picture on their website. I urge you to read the entire about page on their website—it will make you smile.
What has been bringing you joy lately? I would love to hear.
With love from my kitchen table,
Kaia