This weekend, Jonah and I dove into the initial phases of wedding planning-guest listing, venue searching, brainstorming-and realized something almost immediately: Outside of the people we know we want to be there, we just don't care thaaaat much. This may sound ridiculous, but as excited as I was to get engaged to Jonah and to eventually marry him, I completely forgot we also had to plan a wedding. After formulating our guest list, we ran out of steam and jumped the gun into dreaming up honeymoon destinations. I'd love to hear if any of you had the same feelings in planning your own weddings! And if so, what advice do you have? Here's what I'm loving this week:
I started watching The Politician, Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy's latest show, based on the billboards alone. Over the past month, Los Angeles has been taken over by images of the cast posing in front of vibrant millennial pink and mint green-hued backdrops, with punchy phrases (there's even one by USC that says "I bought their way in too."). Like Glee, it's campy and pushes the envelope on high school shows. Using a high school government race as its foundation, it pokes fun at the current political climate, Ivy League admissions, and out-of-touch, exorbitantly wealthy people (Gwenyth Paltrow is always shown either clipping roses in her garden, practicing Mandarin, or fiddling with her spread of diamond rings). It's quick, smart, and filled with twists that make it so, so engaging.
When the New Yorker's food correspondent Helen Rosner had a pre-flight cold, she came up with a genius strategy to pack some healing chicken stock, without breaking any TSA rules. First, she boiled chicken stock until it was reduced to fit into three two-ounce bottles (a perfect use for recycled ginger shot bottles), and packed it with pre-cut lemon wedges. After security, she added the stock to her Thermos, and had Starbucks pour boiling water over it. The step-by-step instructions are included in this Highlight, which are so simple I plan on replicating them on my next flight (cold or no cold!).
The new mindful podcast, Meditative Story, feels a bit like saying "Ommm" in a yoga class-self-conscious and awkward at first, then a necessary and welcome release. Each episode, which is about thirty minutes long, features an immersive story told in first-person. Throughout the episode "mindfulness guide," Rohan Gunatillake offers prompts, like "Take five deep breaths and think of a place that has restored you." The first episode features Lucy Kalanithi as she visits her late husband Paul Kalanithi's grave with her daughter. It's a welcome release for anyone who has trouble actually meditating (🙋♀️).
Angsty teenage me is losing her mind right now because twin hipster legends Tegan and Sara released a new album of re-recorded songs they originally wrote in high school. The resulting album, Hey, I'm Just Like You feels like what would happen if you took all the naive charm of 2005 Brie Larson and mixed it with the sophistication of Captain Marvel Brie Larson. Just listen to I'll Be Back Someday to see what I mean. As someone who jammed to So Jealous at the peak of my awkward tween years, this album makes me feel young again-without all the fights with my like totally unfair mom.
P.S., If you live in L.A.... I actually have an anti-rec! 😬 The promise I made to myself in April-to see more theater in L.A.-is alive and well, with an average of a show every two weeks. Every show has been at least good, and most have been great, but last week, I walked out of my first play ever at an intermission. A Play is a Poem by Ethan Coen at the Mark Taper Forum had all the makings of something I would love-I literally wrote my college essay about how much I love the Coen brothers' films-but it was so bad. At first, I was bored, then annoyed, and finally frustrated that I had wasted money on a play that was such a colossal waste of time. When the third act ended, Jonah and I booked it out of there-maybe I should have read the reviews first, which echo that sentiment! On a brighter note, I recently came across the Geffen Playhouse and bought tickets to the next few shows!
P.P.S., Don't forget to tune into our Live tonight from Emily's living room! We'll be chatting all about our Of The Month Club pick, The Testaments.
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