A Thing or Two We’re Doing Besides Giving You an Earful

We went to an Olivia Rodrigo concert! We screened the highly anticipated The Idea of You movie! We have a lot to say about both!

erica’s things

• Trying not to judge myself for liking a rosé sparkling water. It’s remarkably subtle and satisfying, okay???
   

• Imagining a 2024 Pee-wee’s Playhouse made up entirely of Aranza García’s designs. (Her strawberry vases for the very sick Tory Burch L.A. pop-up!)
   

• Having the Nobu black cod straight from my freezer.
   

• Going WILD now that I know the Apple keyboard shortcut for a checkmark: Option + v. √√√√√
   

• Seeing the DIY potential in all the bits ‘n bobs around my house thanks to this.

claire’s things

• Losing my ear mind over Mike Tyson’s weed gummies.
   

• Subscribing to the podcast everyone is talking about.
   

• Putting a lot of pressure on un petit mesh sac to make all of my summer outfits fun.
   

• Keeping an (excited) eye on the startups facilitating brand-specific resale—hi, Treet and Recurate.
   

• Getting relentlessly trolled by my loved ones for this deeply RWI phone accessory.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Putting Flowers Everywhere

This week, we’re treated to very specific and broad-ranging recs from Billy Cotton, whose interior-design work is one of Cindy Sherman’s Thingies. In other news: The Geneva is hopping! 

erica’s things

• Cooking with algae oil—algae oil!
   

• Requesting Demanding a profile of my favorite opera singer (<< words I never thought I’d type): the memorably named Ryan Speedo Green.
   

• Creating a will over a glass of wine.
   

• Knowing high design when I see it.
   

• Trying to entice you to read a restaurant review (slash bit of broader cultural criticism) with one line: “It felt as if I’d gone to an eccentric billionaire’s party for which he’d painstakingly recreated his last birthday from the summer before his parents’ divorce.”

claire’s things

• Getting meds for a yeast infection so quickly and easily you’d think I was a dude with ED!
   

• Entering whatever stage of parenthood is indicated by tearing up at an interview with Sandra Boynton.
   

• Appreciating the simple but highly functional event pages from Luma.
   

• Petitioning Mini Rodini to give us the violas in king size.
   

• Hoping this (free!) subscription will kickstart my resolution to teach Cam that Judaism is more than just eight nights of presents.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Pulling Up A (Bistro) Chair

We have the smart ‘n stylish Nikki Ogunnaike, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire, on the podcast this week—you get her newsletter, Self Checkout, right? If you’ve missed out on any recent episodes or need easy access to show notes, we’ve got you.

erica’s things

• Predicting that everyone is going to be talking about this novel (me especially!).
   

• Experiencing the distillation of friendship in a TikTok clip.
   

• Trying to convince myself that these pieces are really, truly carved from wood.
   

• Buying another jar of marinated cheese the second I finished my first one. 
   

• Putting on this album whenever I need something that’s both upbeat and calming. Turns out: often.

claire’s things

• Reminding you that punching up Rice Krispie treats is worth the very little additional effort it takes.
   

• Devouring this sexy, angsty, joyful book. (And inviting you to a fun event with its author at the Tory Burch store in L.A. See you there?)
   

• Crowning a new HG bronzer.
   

• Demanding to know who is going to write the second-chance romance novelization of this unforgettable tale.
   

• Indulging a soft spot for Parisian bistro chairs.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Breaking Out The Fancy Tablecloth

Up this week on the podcast: trending Thingies, straight from y’all’s shares/DMs/messages on all the platforms—including our Geneva, which, we know, is hard to find. Keep sharing, pals.

erica’s things

• Queuing up Priscilla Renea right after Beyoncé.
   

• Getting a head start on summer while still wearing my wool coat.
   

• Remembering how much easier Monday is if I do *just a little something* to prepare on Sunday, and, currently, throwing together this silly little chickpea salad is that.
   

• Describing this as “if Schiaparelli made a tablecloth.”
   

• Taking myself to a perfect afternoon movie.

claire’s things

• Feeling like these belong in an emergency-gift drawer.
   

• Seriously considering a pilgrimage to Kansas City, Missouri, for The Rabbit Hole.
   

• Keeping an eye on Table22, which helps buzzy restaurants—like Fish Cheeks, Il Buco, A.O.C., and Publican—sort out compelling home-delivery subscription programs.
   

• Giving Remi Wolf a permanent spot on the pop playlist.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Feeling Prickly

We’re making space for some harder stuff on the podcast this week. Head’s up that this one has a conversation about grief and loss starting at around 11:50, so if you’re not in a headspace for it, that’s your exit. As always, we welcome the resources that you think are worth sharing. 

erica’s things

• Starting a Saturday with (leftover) rice kheer—ideal for a chilly-but-sunny spring morning.
   

• Hoping these cacti find their way onto the Cowboy Carter tour.
   

• Layering emoji.
   

• Praying this novel—about art and friendship and the intersection of the two— gets the six-season TV adaptation it deserves.

claire’s things

• Seeing a lot of pysanky eggs popping up this Easter but promising you they are year-round decor.
   

• Marking the rare occurrence that I enjoy a poem.
   

• Moving through a big shrimp chip phase of my life.
   

• Coveting a friend’s work bag.
   

• Stashing some in-case-of-emergency coffee in my carry-on

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Leaning Into Lounge Storage

We have Jo Piazza talking Thingies this week—if you haven’t torn through one of her delightful books yet, may The Sicilian Inheritance be your first? If you want to keep up on what else we’re reading, head here.

erica’s things

• Tossing together Anna Jones’s radicchio pasta (with storebought pesto, friends).
   

• Respecting a textile that can keep a secret.
   

• Challenging you to find jewelry more FESTIVE than this.
   

• Gorging on food writing that’s as captivating as it is unhinged. A taste.
   

• Luxuriating in the furniture x loungewear collaboration I had no idea I needed.

claire’s things

• Inviting a crocodile to slide down my stairs.
   

• Watching All’Anticio Vinaio’s stateside expansion with delight—a destination sandwich for sure, only these days you don’t have to fly to Italy for it.
   

• Making sure everyone using a hoodless stove knows about this thing.
   

• Considering the generational impact of Adderall.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Organizing Organza

The omegaverse, cropped pants, and teen trends in Tokyo (oh, hi, Dean & Deluca bag—didn’t expect to see you there!) make an appearance on the podcast this week. If there are other topics you want us to cover, you can just reply to this email. Look at that.

erica’s things

• Asking if an organza bag warrants an exception to my current “no more bags!!” policy.
   

• Craving Sofreh’s tahdig and spicy tahini date salad; remembering there’s a way to get both even when I can’t land a reservation.
   

• Keeping the tab of this Patmos, Greece, home tour open for months. Months!
   

• Ogling *outrageous* leather-wrapped furniture.

claire’s things

• Getting photos off my phone and onto my walls and giving these people especially high marks for print quality.
   

• Nodding emphatically at Sam Youkilis doing fashion campaigns: nice work, Vivienne Westwood.
   

• Watching the choreographer Molly Long’s vids on repeat—so charming, distinctive, full of life.
   

• Thinking I couldn’t possibly love Cosmic Kids more…until we started doing their guided meditations. Long live Jamie.
   

• Feeling very Jo-March-on-women about Elena Gual’s art.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Raising A Glass

This week’s episode is the podcast equivalent of a grocery run, but to the type of store that stocks the niche chips, the good cottage cheese.

erica’s things

• Extolling “The Great Toilet Rebrand” (<< excellent headline).
   

• Finding the *fun* glassware.
   

• Making sure you all know about the Trader Joe’s GF English muffins—they’re a bit crumpet-y, really.
   

• Adding this reusable, erasable paper to my kid-gift stash.
   

• Trying all the search-term variations of “vintage Midwest of Cannon Falls” for a distinctly American take on the Limoges box: the Hershey’s Kiss, the Miller Lite, the McDonald’s fries *with ketchup packet*. 

claire’s things

• Welcoming Little Grenjai to the neighborhood. We are so glad you’re here.
   

• Knowing that with a good audiobook, all things are possible—and trusting this twisty whodunit featuring a hot podcast host and a dead best friend to get me through a massive amount of spring cleaning. #SPONSORED
   

• Keeping my eye fixed on Asmite Gherezgiher’s florals—she’s got a way with geometry.
   

• Bookmarking a clever space- and sanity-saving trick for dealing with piles of kid art.
   

• Announcing a new competitor in the category of “somehow you actually do need another canvas tote”—those furoshiki-style flaps proved clutch when trudging through the rain last week.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Mailing With Miffy

Good fortune cookies, bad search engines, and a whole bunch of other nonsense await all you Thingiemabobs on this week’s podcast episode! 

erica’s things

• Finding it impossible to describe this masterful little memoir. You’ll just have to trust me?
   

• Starting a love affair with smoked pickled radishes. Best served with, wait for it, mascarpone. 
   

• Stashing these in my carry-on to keep “did I pack enough socks and underwear?” dread at bay. 
   

• Praising Japan for its wholehearted embrace of Dutch-born Miffy, including bestowing her a place of high honor: postage. 
   

• Seeking—and finding—meaning in flower paintings.

claire’s things

• Copping a cooking trick worth sharing: Bathe chicken thighs in citrus and spices of your choosing, roast at 400° for an hour, turn off the heat, and leave in the oven for 30 minutes. That’s it. Rave reviews all around.
   

• Thanking the podcast gods for giving us an aspirational-besties chat show.
   

• Getting in the Passover spirit.
   

• Ogling the predictably delightful results when the force behind Somerset House gets to design a brownstone.
   

• Dipping a single toe into paranormal romance after years of resisting—this proved to be a good gateway drug.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Bearing It All

Are you treating your shower like a room? And should you be? A strong pitch and a whole lot more from this week’s guest, the delightful Emily Sundberg. For so many more Thingies, our Instagram awaits.

erica’s things

• Developing feelings for a doorknob. 
   

• Tasting adzuki bean soup; immediately wanting to make adzuki bean soup.
   

• Submitting further proof of adult stickering’s ascendance, c/o John Derian.
   

• Recognizing the vending machine as the beacon that it is.

claire’s things

• Urging Angelenos to get over to Deitch to see the Mr. Wash show. (His incredible story here.)
   

• Shopping in the kids’ section…for myself.
   

• Trusting you will share my enthusiasm for this particular pairing of words: Tajín tostadas.
   

• Getting hooked by a bear.
   

• Considering Christian sex-positivity.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Jumping For Jeans

We have a lot of little stuff to get into on the podcast this week—as in, miniatures, dollhouses, and, while we’re at it, millennial home-ownership. Thoughts? That’s what 833-632-5463 is for.

erica’s things

• Submitting an unsubstantiated claim: If you liked A Wrinkle in Time as a kid, you’ll love this as an adult.
   

• Devouring the best GF pizza in Brooklyn. (It’s too hyperbolic to say “in New York,” but I’m tempted.)
   

• Flipping through some 19th-century scrapbooks. 
   

• Considering banter.
   

• Proclaiming Chase Travaille’s shard amphora about as “art for our time” as it gets. 

claire’s things

• Enthusiastically backing the opening of a Black food bookstore in our neighborhood.
   

• Knowing you get too many newsletters and still making this rec because it’s that important: You gotta sign up for Nikki Ogunnaike’s, too.
   

• Telling everybody about how the Dutch traded Manhattan for nutmeg.
   

• Flagging that Babaa’s best style has been restocked at long last.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Showing Our Love

Trending (in our little corner of the universe, at least): alt winter squashes, cowboyfriends, and crafts you can do with a kid but maybe just want to do on your own. Much more on the podcast!

erica’s things

• Crowning the $4.50 tortilla española at Despaña the most low-key civilized lunch/snack/break from the elements in Soho.
   

• Asking if I may have one of these rugs for children.
   

• Deeming Sahara Longe’s color palette the best color palette.
   

• Celebrating the one-year anniversary of searching Etsy for glass tortoise tableware (first spotted at Bar Cecil in Palm Springs). A vase, tumblers, a bowl, for starters. 

claire’s things

• Riding out the rest of winter in a hoodie so good that my husband asked if he could have one too.
   

• Telling everybody how much joy I am getting out of (the new) Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
   

• Admitting I’ve become the type of parent who thinks it’s cute for their kid to wear a tee with his age on it.
   

• Being reminded of just how masterfully Kiley Reid does dialogue.
   

• Admiring the quilts of Coulter Fussell.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Saving Receipts

New uses for old tongs, this week on the podcast! If you aren’t sharing your Thingies with us on Instagram every Monday, are you even living?

erica’s things

• Regretting to inform you that this place is very much worth the trouble of the reservation. Upstairs involves something I can only describe as a funnel cake x mochi x Dorito dust mash-up.
   

• Spending the most zen hour of a stressful week in the headnotes of this cookbook.
   

• Taking in Martina Calvi’s collage journaling; feeling my neurons fire.
   

• Making “going to galleries on a whim” a more achievable goal thanks to this app.

claire’s things

• Cheering on this effort to fill the funding gap that exists between rich parents and venture capital.
   

• Spying what strikes me as a darling way to present an experiential gift.
   

• Thanking our IG followers for keeping us rich in delightful musical covers, from old faves and new ones, both. (While we’re here: Do not miss Rufus Wainwright doing Paul Simon.)
   

• Taking a moment to voice my appreciation for the long-running, consistently excellent, chaotic-good corner of the internet this is Read Receipts.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Imagining Paintings On The Walls

It’s Framing Week in ATOT land! (Is this our Shark Week? Discuss.) Thanks to the lovely team at Framebridge, we have the charismatic and winning Susan Tynan as our Thingies guest. She has thoughts on soup gifts, N/A beers, and how to handle your own bday. What range. Also: This Saturday in Brooklyn, we’re doing a very fun event with Susan and the Framebridge crew—details below! We’re all going to hold hands and knock this off our to-do lists together.

erica’s things

• Developing a sudden interest in tarot.
   

• Waiting impatiently for a full rundown on how this all-wool Alaïa collection came together.
   

• Rewatching videos of a friend’s kids dining from a sushi train.
   

• Going back to basics with brow gel. (Don’t sleep on the brush.)

claire’s things

• Delighting in vintage romance covers and smutty book reviews.
   

• Finding so much satisfaction in Marolize Southwood’s textural technique—how ‘bout them peaches?
   

• Awarding long-overdue MVP status to the cast-iron griddle that lives on our stove. Warming up tortillas, frying eggs, making pancakes, heating random things I don’t want to microwave—what can’t it do?
   

• Stalking Johan Van Loon for Rosenthal on eBay…and questioning why I’m inviting competition.
   

• Facing 5 p.m. Zoom calls on days with 4:30 sunsets with the help of this mighty little thing.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Downsizing Our Interior Aspirations

New year, new Thingies guest! This week, we have the wonderful Samhita Mukhopadhyay. Pre-order her book The Myth of Making It: A Workplace Reckoning to read later this year; follow all she’s up to in the meantime at The Meteor.

erica’s things

• Calling a pocket knife cute.
   

• Relating to a toddler’s impulse to try to touch Vanessa Prager’s paintings.
   

• Delegating my most annoying to-dos—and keeping tabs on all the special occasions—with this brilliance that also happens to be 50% off for the first two months with the code DBATOT50. #SPONSORED
   

• Wondering what it says about me that I have multiple friends who’d subscribe to a modern miniatures mag.
   

• Craving collard greens.

claire’s things

• Climbing on board with the aughts-ish return of the luxury monogram motif as long as it looks something like this.
   

• Becoming an unpaid brand ambassador for Target’s quite clever house line of party décor. I, very much not a professional, made a balloon arch!
   

• Reporting that gluing random bits and bobs all over these 99-cent frames makes a very fun and giftable kid-crafting activity.
   

• Finding one (1) good thing via TikTok aside from Taylor and Harry fan content, and her name is Jensen McRae. 

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Expanding Our Quilting Horizons

Hope you’re ready for us to get in your (single) ear about the one AirPod craze sweeping our DMs. We're here for all of your hot tips, always!

erica’s things

• Delighting in a New Orleans restaurant that commits to the bit in every way.
   

• Ignoring the Pantone powers that be: My color of the year is Matisse red.
   

• Loving love and, more specifically, this music video about it.
   

• Considering the charm beanie. (Should we be DIYing personalized ones??)
   

• Celebrating two iconic aesthetics at once: corner stores and quilting.

claire’s things

• Climbing on board with the aughts-ish return of the luxury monogram motif as long as it looks something like this.
   

• Becoming an unpaid brand ambassador for Target’s quite clever house line of party décor. I, very much not a professional, made a balloon arch!
   

• Reporting that gluing random bits and bobs all over these 99-cent frames makes a very fun and giftable kid-crafting activity.
   

• Finding one (1) good thing via TikTok aside from Taylor and Harry fan content, and her name is Jensen McRae. 

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Going Round And Round

If you’re getting a good, old-fashioned winter break—and how we hope you are!—we have a whole slew of book recs from the past year should you want/need them. Stay cozy over there.

erica’s things

• Daring someone to top this calendar. 
   

• Connecting with some comics.
   

• Subbing a revelatory rinse for shampoo + conditioner most days. Kind of can’t believe how well it works (and how satisfying that is).
   

• Landing the type of reaction to a kid present that earned this a spot in the gift drawer. 

claire’s things

• Never not relishing the discovery of a great tortilla chip.
   

• Gifting this sweet little starter kit to the person in my life who’s been wanting to try her hand at painting. Perhaps that person is also you, and this is your 2024 resolution gift-to-self?
   

• Combatting pre-5 p.m. sunsets with as much warm glow as possible care of these and these.
   

• Reminding you that the best cornbread has kernels in it—and involves minimal time and skill to make. 
   

• Prepping for the other big New Year festivities.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Sending Our Seasonings Greetings

We could have come up with a whole “Twelve Days of Christmas” spoof for our dozen *star* podcast eps of 2023…but we didn’t! No need to send a thank-you note.

erica’s things

• Struggling to explain why drinking Kate Moss’s tea while watching The Holiday just feels like The Right Thing to Do.
   

• Whipping up the easiest (and oddly pretty?) white bean soup.
   

• Redirecting my endless scroll energy.
   

• Fighting the temptation to start a collection of salt and pepper shakers.
   

• Kicking myself for not pointing you toward the National Mustard Museum—pride of Middleton, Wisconsin?!—for your holiday needs sooner. Thankfully, there’s no wrong time for a mystery mustard box.

claire’s things

• Getting at least one text every year at exactly this time asking what the best beanie is. The answer is always the same.
   

• Road-testing my TV-in-the-bedroom theory; avoiding the no-going-back commitment of a wall-mount with a sleek stand. (Not not related.)
   

• Inviting all my fellow (musical) cover junkies to delight in Tori Amos doing Kendrick Lamar.
   

• Suggesting that when you’ve run out of ideas…maybe mortadella soap is the answer?

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Saving The Cookie Tin

Not to brag, but we’ve got the perfect podcast episode for your cookie-baking: Thingies with Alison Roman! Exciting, WE KNOW. If you have noms for 2024 guests, how about replying to this email? 

erica’s things

• Reporting from the “store-bought is fine” trenches: Danish butter cookies are getting their due at last. 
   

• Saving multiple lines from this treatise on online dating.
   

• Cooking green beans then cooking them some more—holiday-meal energy without holiday-meal effort.
   

• Picturing this novel through Sofia Coppola’s lens.

claire’s things

• Embracing a family member’s newfound interest in knighthood. How great are these and these?
   

• Spotting the rarest of birds in Soho: a delicious, easy, and quick lunch/snack situation that is not a macaron or a $19 salad.
   

• Wondering if everyone else already knows about Kanopy. It’s like Libby for streaming: Watch movies for free via your local library.
   

• Losing it a little over this homewares launch—how about that chair cushion?!
   

• Alerting all Android users: You can stop dragging down the group chat now.

A Thing Or Two We’re Doing Besides Coming Up Roses

Weightlifting and whoopers, coming at you this week on the podcast. In other news, you know we save all your Thingies submissions, right? Our IG highlights = a rich text.

erica’s things

• Requesting an invite to any holiday party with a centerpiece o' pintxo skewers. 
   

• Directing anybody looking for an uptown museum day to the Dorothy Liebes exhibit at Cooper Hewitt. A textile icon—and Bonnie Cashin’s work wife to boot.
   

• Faking like I’m eating at my favorite Chicago restaurant.
   

• Swearing that this short film is even more compelling than its title: The Anne Frank Gift Shop.
   

• Missing the FESTIVE CHEER of buying gifts in person, getting my fix here, and maybe whipping up a wreath while I’m at it—who can say?

claire’s things

• Eagerly anticipating the opening of a theme park.
   

• Admitting that I maintain a FreshDirect account almost entirely for this.
   

• Noting that one of my very best purchases of 2023 is on sale.
   

• Inviting the oversized rosette trend to stick around as long as it would like.