A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Playing Catch-Up

Something we’re thankful for: the many *innovations* you all introduce us to—most recently the wondrous, inspired, and sometimes over-the-top ways you use your Notes App. More on the podcast. Keep all your thoughts and feelings coming!

erica’s things

• “Wowowow”-ing the moment the lights came up for intermission.
   

• Recognizing that too many things are being cacio-e-pepe’d…and recommending these chickpeas in the same breath. 
   

• Witnessing nail-art innovation ℅ these press-ons. The Hyesu Lee ones!!
   

• Shelving this smack between Fleishman Is in Trouble and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.

claire’s things

• Living for Sylvanian Drama.
   

• Waiting patiently for Adidas to produce Caroline Hú’s take: here, here, here, and here.
   

• Being headscarf-fluenced by Syd from The Bear. 
   

• Announcing that there’s a new hinoki hand wash on the scene, and it’s quite nice.
   

• Revising last week’s stance: Adult fashion should also strive to be this funny.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Asking You To Bear With Us

More, more, more gift guidance coming at you! The best place for all the linkage: our site. The best place for your follow-up questions: our Geneva.

erica’s things

• Rustling up one of the greatest works of Ye Olde Good Internet.
   

• Acquiring stracciatella and persimmons within 24 hours of eating this to recreate it at home. 
   

• Visiting Eduardo Lugo Reyes's tissue-paper art whenever I need to brighten my mood.
   

• Saving this embarrassment of “how to fix your stuff” riches.
   

• Reeling over Feast of the Seven Fishes jewelry.

claire’s things

• Feeling like Ferm Living doesn’t get enough credit for being so good. See: If you love Hay, Menu, etc.
   

• Insisting that all children’s clothes should at least strive to be this funny.
   

• Popping off at the balloon museum. Quite, quite fun!
   

• Knowing you’ve seen it all over the internet, but this André 3000 video interview really is delightful.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Picking Up Stitches

Welcome to our fourth-annual tour of highly, highly specific present-hunting: Our first gift-guide podcast ep of the season has landed! If you can’t wait ‘til the second installment drops next week, a rich (cough, nine-episode) backlog awaits.

erica’s things

• Agrodolce-ing all the squash.
   

• Asking whether there’s such a thing as a dreidel for Harry Styles fans.
   

• Zoom-zoom-zooming in on these Annie Morris pieces, which are stitched not painted, I repeat, stitched not painted! Best to see them in person.
   

• Trying and failing to imagine a more epic book reading. More events like this, please.

claire’s things

• Hoping we can all band together to make artichoke tea happen. (Rooibos, it’s been a good run, etc.)
   

• Understanding, intuitively, the type of person for whom this tool will be legitimately life-changing.
   

• Watching a friend use this and, after doling out the requisite amount of ribbing, conceding that I wish I’d had one during the tiny-tyke stage.
   

• Owning a proper dopp kit for the first time in a long time—and, wow, what a revelation.
   

• Clocking a top-notch (and new-to-me) Christmas-decor source. (Hot tip from Lauren S. in our Geneva!)

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Bedding Down

Biz rizz and friends-in-law—heard of ‘em? There’s more where that came from on our latest podcast episode, and if you could use some escapism at any point, we’ll point you toward the backlog.

erica’s things

• Doing mochi muffins.
   

• Wondering why it took so long for the design gods to grant us a cute sticky hook.
   

• Tracking the spike in volleyball generally and LOVB specifically.
   

• Digging into nineties computer-chip robberies, the digitization of crime, and quite the cast of characters.
   

• Spying an unbeatable (and under-$5) Thanksgiving hostess gift.

claire’s things

• Insisting that as long as we’re doing nineties sleek minimalism, we also bring wrap headbands along for the ride.
   

• Seeking more sherry-based cocktails in my life, especially if they are half as good as this one.
   

• Sharing a next-level pet bed. (Or is it technically a pet cot?)
   

• Applauding because of course our queen Sonoko Sakai wrote an absolutely delightful, instant-classic children’s book.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Decorating Our Lockers

Oh, look: a treat! We have Karah Preiss, half of Belletrist, on the podcast today, and she has some Thingies gems—did you know there was a Rosie O’Donnell Friend of Barbie doll?? Also, have we told you we’re on TikTok? We’ll never dance, promise.

erica’s things

• Treating malaise—and, uh, a general inability to focus—with satire.
   

• Seeing something oh-so-new in old flowers.
   

• Refusing to make aesthetic sacrifices with my storage now that I know about these beauties. 25% off everything through November 6! #SPONSORED
   

• Taking pride in my browser tabs—“my personal internet.”
   

• Kicking off fall grilling with this ridiculously satisfying Marcella recipe. (Props to Dena for the Geneva share!)

claire’s things

• Simply losing it over the work of Sophie Inard.
   

• Seeking praise, admiration, and respect for having made fairy wings out of wire hangers and tights.
   

• Alerting you that someone has finally made a less-ugly version of those blue-light fruit-fly traps.
   

• Coming into possession of an aptly named beauty product.
   

• Crushing on Vietri’s Campagna collection—dare you to build a whole registry around it?

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Feeling Flush

A moment this week on the podcast for Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and ribbon-around-the-neck girlies! And, it’s last call for gift-guide submissions. WBASAP with details on your someone special who is also someone tricky.

erica’s things

• Introducing a design innovation: a toilet seat with a built-in drawer for matches.
   

• Visualizing the data.
   

• Having a real fun-for-the-whole-family afternoon in Charlotte, NC—but one that’s replicable in eight other cities, too.
   

• Shocking myself by revisiting track pants. Does it help that they’re wide-leg?
   

• Picturing a version of my life that features a disco mirror. Or, wait, a disco solar system!

claire’s things

• Getting very Goldilocks in my pursuit of new bath towels  and landing in a soft-but-hefty place. (Apologies to my UPS pal for all the returns.)
   

• Insisting that as long as we’re discussing linens, I also surface these beauties.
   

• Applauding theft.
   

• Suspecting we’re going to be hearing a lot more from—and about—Lillian Fishman after I devoured Acts of Service.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Tapping In

We’ve got shopping at gas stations and singing Sandra Boynton books this week on the podcast. And you know what’s coming up? Our gift-guide episodes. It’s the time of year when we ask you to share (in wackiest detail, please) who's on your holiday shopping list so we can figure out what to get them. WB to this email, DM us on IG, leave us a voicemail at 833-632-5463. The lines are open!

erica’s things

• Spending hours BTS with Nora Ephron. Impeccable fall-in-NYC companion reading!
   

• Going crazy for a (destination) miso soup.
   

• Warning you: Watching this one is a wild, sometimes debauched ride, and I now relish buckling up.
   

• Curling my hair with a silk scarf and a couple of scrunchies.

claire’s things

• Handing it to the geniuses who put extremely good wine in a format readymade for picnics, beaches, or bleachers—this feels like the next big thing in soccer-momming, no?
   

• Brushing up on my French. (Il fait chaud.)
   

• Admitting, begrudgingly, to feeling targeted by the tagline “fancy cooking tools made in Japan.”
   

• Subscribing to anything and everything Courtney Martin puts out into the world.
   

• Diving into one of the OG bonkbusters—and, you know, I’m having a great time.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Setting The Mood

Join us parasocially to chat about (pizza) rats, rain clogs, and romance. Join us IRL in NYC at The Meteor’s Work Shift this Thursday, October 12, to talk about women’s allyship, with Aminatou Sow and Dee Poku—free to RSVP!

erica’s things

• Waiting for this Mary Beth Barone bit to become the next “how often do you think about the Roman Empire?”
   

• Kvelling: When’s the last time you saw a logo as good as this one?! No one dare give it the Kate’s Butter update.
   

• Searching this newsletter for every twist on “tofu” and “curry” and “stew” to deduce whether I’ve included this deeply satisfying recipe before…and, if not, what's wrong with me?
   

• Discovering that I’ve peaked, or at least my name has.
   

• Having an ideal tweet–to–Grubstreet Diet experience. No notes, as they say

claire’s things

• Playing all of Vagabon’s new album on repeat but especially this track.
   

• Proclaiming the peak of fancy playing cards.
   

• Urging Chicagoans not to miss out on my funniest friend doing her funniest bits. (As she puts it, CW: puns.)
   

• Relishing the thrill of living in the era of luxury yogurt.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Downsizing Our Drinks

Well, kids, it’s fall, which (we’ve just learned) means tattoo season. If you’d like a primer on that or how to navigate the Luke-filled world of country music, this week’s podcast has both.

erica’s things

• Begging for a Travis Kelce sit-down with this Taylor.
   

• Submitting my contribution to spooky season: Who wants to start a Practical Magic book club?
   

• Waiting for an AD home tour to bring back the stool pit.
   

• Experiencing the joy of a mini cocktail, especially when it has a name as good as the snaquiri. (Can I nominate the marteeny for a drink menu, any drink menu?)

claire’s things

• Daring you not to dance.
   

• Declaring victory in a long-running pants war thanks to some rainbow polka dots.
   

• Hearing that this is the solution for a home-office chair that’s not ugly, uncomfortable, or a thousand dollars. (Related: I finally got a chair mat and can’t believe it took me this long—maybe you, too, need a nudge?)
   

• Leaning into hair oil these days—this one is never too greasy, no matter how heavy-handed I get.
   

• Road-testing these at a monster truck rally—quite impressive!

A Thing or Two We’re Doing Besides Sticking Out Our Necks

Nyming, labor musicals, autograph books—where else are you getting this content? If the answer is nowhere, leave us a nice review on Apple podcasts! (If you have other answers, we want to know. WBASAP. We’re actually getting all your emails now.)

erica’s things

• Considering all the fall festivities that warrant this *delicious* corn mochi cake.
   

• Having a week of baseball-hat wins in my household: I landed my customizable, nothing-on-the-front ideal, and my husband made his Pizza Rat dreams come true.
   

• Encouraging all y’all relishing our going-to-the-movies renaissance to get a load of The Cinema Sorority.
   

• Getting back on liquid liner, and it’s all thanks to this refillable one.
   

• Applauding a delightful, ridiculous tribute to catalog culture of yore.

claire’s things

• Remembering what an absolute MVP an everyday statement necklace can be.
   

• Filing this under: cozy, funny, filled with great references, reads like a romance but isn’t really, will get you out of a reading rut, the list goes on…
   

• Increasing my likelihood of becoming a better penpal by at least 50%.
   

• Acting as if my sparkling water addiction isn’t insufferable enough on its own and adding sparkling iced tea to the mix. 

A Thing or Two We’re Doing Besides Noodling on Noodles

We have quite the Guest Thingies ep for you—it’s been a minute, and Priya Rao, doyenne (ok, executive editor) of Business of Beauty, sure delivers. Also, we present our contribution to fashion week coverage, featuring llamas and alpacas.

erica’s things

• Soundtracking my mornings with the jazzy musical stylings of Laufey.
   

• Filing away the intel from an eye-opening explainer on tennis players and $$. (Sidenote: We stan Taylor Townsend.)
   

• Discovering chair blankies; wanting to encounter more, more, more chair blankies.
   

• Vouching that the contents of this book are as satisfying as its premise. Prepare for me not to shut up about it!

claire’s things

• Placing the term “mother’s revenge” in my back pocket. (For the record, I do not think this experience is exclusive to people who become mothers!)
   

• Gauging by our DMs that people are interested in collapsible laundry baskets, as they should be: love this one, own two of them.
   

• Adding pasta designer to the list of jobs I wish I’d known were an option.
   

• Giving my kid a good reason to help me pick up litter on the sidewalk.
   

• Relishing the chance to get up close and personal with Emilia Petrarca’s delightful, unfiltered POV. 

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Rethinking Our Home Offices

What’s wrong with mood boards, what’s right with clam dip: introducing a podcast episode that’ll keep you guessing. 

erica’s things

• Dabbing my eyes over a Home for Retired Playground Animals.
  

• Stealing sips of this Iranian-American beer.
  

• Getting my When Harry Met Sally-but-for-2023 fix.
   

• Standing up for burrata—and honeydew, for that matter.
   

• Holding a flame for a COTC candle *set*. 

claire’s things

• Announcing my loyalty to an A+ mocassin maker that’s nailing it all the way from baby booties to big-people slippers.
   

• Alerting fellow Sandra Boynton superfans about a more adult way to engage with her work.
   

• Hearing that all the kids are using Feeld to find a date these days.
   

• Wondering at what point I’ll stop thinking about Danielle Steel’s desk.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Making The Most Of All The Squash

Have you heard of morning baths, butter money, or kale phones? Well, we have quite the podcast episode for you. To suggest your own discussion topics, the Thingies submissions are open on our Instagram account today. As usual, it promises to be quite a ride.

erica’s things

• Taking something from all three Q&As in this advice column.
   

• Throwing together this grilled zucchini side at least once a week for the last month. I’ve been using chubby squash cut steak-thick and cooked until it’s squishy, but dealer’s choice, ya know?
   

• Considering changing my personal style to just “floral basketball shorts.”
   

• Having one of my best hotel stays in recent memory at this seven-room Minneapolis spot. You know when you can tell a place just *cares*?

claire’s things

• Accepting this as an endorsement of my decision to purchase every gas-station keychain with my kid’s name on it I could find along Highway 1.
   

• …and discovering a whole corner of the internet dedicated to replacing lost stuffies that may or may not also be somewhere along Highway 1.
   

• Recognizing that while Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce has been getting all the love, her also-excellent (also-buttery) pesto has been waiting to be noticed.
   

• Letting this convince me that the natural toothpaste market is edging out the natural deodorant one in terms of efficacy.
   

• Celebrating fresh backpack season.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Revving Our Engines

Let’s discuss driving (and that one time we flooded a car), shall we? GREAT.

erica’s things

• Unlocking the creative potential of a door chain lock—the Etsy version, the DIY!
   

• Switching up my abundance-of-tomatoes lunch.
   

• Commemorating a Minneapolis visit with a perfect (and personal) Prince podcast.
   

• Howling over a purse that holds a hot dog…or a Coke or a mustard bottle. Talk about versatility.
   

• Worrying that I might need this dishy fishy.

claire’s things

• Having the truly horrifying realization that replies to this newsletter have been going into an internet blackhole that we only opened up now. If we’ve owed you a response for the last, um, 3 years…thanks for your patience? And, geez, SORRY.
   

• Discovering new-to-me music without the help of an algorithm. Not to brag.
   

• Prepping for the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow Party. (See you there?)
   

• Hoping this Post-it compact brings as much joy to you as it did to me.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Reading And Reading Some More

Vintage Ryan Gosling and old-school stickers coming at you on the podcast this week. If you have any topics you need us to cover or guests you want to hear from, go ahead and reply to this email. We know: so easy.

erica’s things

• Saying “wow, it’s so good” after each bite of this (regeneratively farmed, zero-waste) salami.
   

• Calling all y’all morning-pagers: Do you need a junque journal? (I’ve tried to hate that spelling, but I unfortunately cannot.)
   

• Trying to imagine a better Manhattan morning than one starring a steamed rice roll from this cart, consumed on a nearby bench.
   

• Thanking goddess for the hardy dose of California mysticism this gripping novel delivers.

claire’s things

• Nodding along to all the Normal People comparisons this is eliciting. (Get ahead of it!)
   

• Watching everyone at a pizza party lose their mind over an oil (which, yes, is also the subject of the most hilariously niche DTC-meets-LinkedIn drama).
   

• Alerting @depthsofwikipedia to the term “bonkbuster.”
   

• Extending the length of our toddler-accompanied stay at any dining establishment with a rather zen plaything.
   

• Demanding to know why a slideshow of a twin convention made me all teary-eyed.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Adjusting Our Lighting

Is corn trending? (You know, like olives and whole milk?) Is there a way to brush off a kid who won’t stop asking for stuff? How did “checking out cookbooks from the library” become a canon Thingies submission? These pressing questions and more—answered!

erica’s things

• Three-two-one-ing until clam dip is all over menus.
   

• Presenting an expertly crafted argument that “there’s just something about Michel Cera.”
   

• Giving this place the award for best use of task lamps.
   

• Tip-toeing toward fall with the perfect brick lip color. Dare I say! 
   

• Begging you to guess what a Fondoodler is.

claire’s things

• Coming through with a late-in-the-season rec for the pool float everyone in our family competes for.
   

• Promising the time you set aside to read this entire bonkers thing will be worth it.
   

• Moving on from overthinking Season 2 of The Bear to overthinking the soundtrack of Season 2 of The Bear.
   

• Telling Frank’s to watch their back—this stuff is extremely good. 

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Filling Our Lockers

PMS! Joy! What a podcast episode we have for you, brought to you by Jubilance. (Psst, if you or somebody you know is interested in A Thing or Two sponsorship, why, just email us at partnerships@athingortwohq.com.) 

erica’s things

• Manifesting the perfect fashion headline: “A Case For Dressing Like The Boys Of The Sandlot” (with the addendum that it applies to girls, too).
   

• Guffawing at how easy it was to pack up this almost-too-charming camping grill.
   

• Planning a visit to a textile library.
   

• Experiencing the magic that happens when bralettes and underwires join forces.

claire’s things

• Calling all garlic-heads.
   

• Imagining a kid’s room (or a home office!) full of these.
   

• Chasing more of that Barbie-induced high with the dreamy, giddy work of Stella Blackmon, who makes everything from Harry Styles to breakups to summer boredom better.
   

• Departing any event hosted by these folks with (at least) a little buzz and a lot of joy. Also: genius idea for a team-building or bachelorette.
   

• Wondering if everybody else also missed the fact that Baggu published a coffee-table book? With choose-your-own-print fabric covers?!

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Working On Our Plating

Covered-wagon core, friendship ambition, and the summer movie we’re obsessed with that isn’t Barbie (though: that too) all get their due on the podcast this week. Also on today’s agenda: our Instagram call for *your* Thingies. Are you following along at home? Oh, and a P.S. for our Secret Menu subscribers, ICYMI: Next week’s installment is our last one—thanks for coming along for the ride and keep an eye out for your refund. XO!

erica’s things

• Craving a bean dip.
   

• Speculating that Michelle Kim’s brand of maximalism is making its way onto lots of mood boards. Is this what gets me back into decoupage??
   

• Clearing space in my brain for all the gems in this piece—Indiana Jeans, “the Fyre Festival of vintage,” and “mine-found” denim, holy moly.
   

• Appreciating running’s artistic potential.
   

• Calling it: This is the song of my summer, not sure about all of you.

claire’s things

• Doing the whole “simply will not shut up about” thing with this show—act fast, runs through mid-August.
   

• Declaring that these folks have truly cracked the code on cutting down scroll time.
   

• Slow-clapping for antique-lace collar sun prints.
   

• Making sure everyone knows how good AIGA’s design blog is: Perhaps you’re looking for answers to why all ads look the same now, or why so many mid-century designers made kids’ books, or what exactly copi is??

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Taking A Good Look In The Mirror

On the podcast this week, it’s the battle of cottage cheese and pimento cheese! Just kidding, they are both victors—immune to the trend cycle, if you ask us. But if you’d like to share your take, head right on over to our Geneva. 

erica’s things

• Eating the yolkiest when-in-Rome carbonara in NYC. 
   

• Handing it to a 2017 novel for capturing 2023 so well. (How does five years feel so long ago??)
   

• Getting a rave FaceTime review of these from my friend Cam.
   

• Introducing Teddy Grahams’ salty, sassy kin. 
   

• Demanding that someone start a collection of Milton Glaser’s Temple University Music Festival posters. This and this and this, I mean.

claire’s things

• Looking on as leather does things I hadn’t realized it was capable of.
   

• Offering up an A+ solution for your tomato bounty. (See also: feeding a crowd, feeding vegans.)
   

• Soaking up some small-space inspo.
   

• Placing a bulk reorder of an ideal to-do list notebook.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Outfoxing ‘Em

Laura Ingalls Wilder, rain clogs, electric flossers that somehow make good gifts—WHAT a podcast ep we have for you. Also: This quarter, Secret Menu new-subscriber money is headed to National Birth Equity Collaborative, which is tackling the horrific Black maternal health and infant mortality crises.

erica’s things

• Considering a whole garden of these. A tomato, a tulip, a pear!
   

• Watching what feels like the entire internet go ga-ga over this book galley.
   

• Tossing a bunch of these in the beach cooler. The Glow flavor is *especially* appropriate for a sunny, sandy afternoon, and any of them are 20% off with the code ATHINGORTWO. #SPONSORED
   

• Trying to put my finger on whether thumbprint jewelry’s gonna be the new initial jewelry.
   

• Wishing I had a baby to name for this reason and this reason only.

claire’s things

• Alerting all flat-pillow lovers: They finally made one for us. (And now we can throw away the ones we’ve been cultivating for decades.)
   

• Thanking the sympathetic listener who passed along the Ephron guide to not overhosting. (Pod discussion here.)
   

• Making sure everyone knows about the digital green Birkenstocks. The coveted matching sole!
   

• Going on a James Marshall deep-dive—the man was so much more than George and Martha and Miss Nelson. Can we talk about the fashion in the Fox series?
   

• Remembering that you can pick your own fruit in the summer, and it’s way less of a zoo than during apple season.