shit i bought and liked no. 31: lame ass duck
Shiiiiiitters! We did it. We made it. The Election is OVER continuing each and every day as our LAME ASS DUCK does his delusional little tweets and we attempt to relax despite the fact that the fate of (arguably) the rest of our lives/world rests on two runoff elections in Georgia. Deep breaths.
We (the community of shitters) have not yet acknowledged the UNDENIABLE mandate secured by our lactose tolerant King (President-elect), Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. CONGRATS TO ALL OF US ON OUR SOON TO BE MUCH LESS DISASTROUS LIVES! It’s been a minute since I’ve owned aviators, but I’ll admit that I’ve been eyeing these Ray Bans to celebrate.
The work isn’t done, though. And if you, like me, want Joe to be able to do anything beyond providing a reprieve from the tyranny of the dumbest fucking people alive, we gotta flip the Senate. I’ve been donating here to help organizers on the ground in Georgia make it happen—feel free to join me!
Before I go full swing into Georgia though, I gotta take a minute to chiiiiiilllllll and do some care and keeping of me (yes, this is a reference to the American Girl book that taught every girl of a certain age about boobs). I figured, at this point inthis year of our Lord 2020, more than a few of you are probably in the same boat.
The following is a small collection of “shit I bought that helped me feel good” to aid in the above. Notice I didn’t say “made me”—I love buying shit more than most, but even I am acutely aware of the fact that lighting a candle or getting yourself something nice is not the same as taking care of yourself. These things help me set the mood to unwind, get closer to figuring out what I need, or just feel a little better, so here’s hoping that they can help do the same for you!
Candles: OBVIOUSLY candles. My favorites at a non-appalling price-point are Flores Lane. They’re made locally in LA, and I’ve given them to practically all of my friends at this point (Venice is my go-to, and Los Angeles is a very close second). If you’re willing to get pricier, Maison Louis Marie No. 3 is absolutely diviiiiiine in the winter and perhaps my all time fave. I know buying candles in-person is so much better than online, but trust me on these ones—I vouch for all three wholeheartedly.
Notebooks: Holy shit. My life got so much better once I started putting all the thoughts that were rattling aimlessly around my brain onto paper. (Well, I use my iPad + this little guy to journal because I am obsessed with the idea of having one diary for the REST OF MY LIFE, so in my case fake screen paper, but real paper works just the same). You can kick it off with a nice new notebook, or just use one you have lying around. Doesn’t matter. It’s such a nice process to parse your thoughts, especially when you’re feeling overwhelmed, but tbh I find it so helpful that I try to do it every day.
Body Oil: This is one of those things that makes me wonder wtf I’ve been doing up until now. Moisturizing with lotion—that’s what. This summer I started moisturizing with a combo of jojoba and Vitamin E oil post-shower. I still use lotion half the time (it’s faster), but my skin has been soooo much happier and more hydrated. Highly recommend, especially during winter. These are generic ones from Amazon, but if you have a small-biz suggestion I’m all ears!
Cozy socks: Y’all. You need to wear socks. That’s not even my new-ish interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine talking, it’s your FROZEN FUCKING FEET. I picked these ones up at the start of quar, and they’re warm/cheap (though they do pill), but THESE from Free People are my Amazon alt and are a SWEATER FOR YOUR FEET.
Sakara Metabolism Super Powder: Spoiler alert, I’m gonna do a full newsletter on this at some point because I’m OBSESSED. It’s chocolatey, but not at all sweet, and I drink it like a warm latte, though you can mix it into smoothies, oatmeal, water, etc. I find that it really helps reset my tastebuds, which is great if you’re hopping off a sugar rollercoaster like myself. I toss it into my milk frother with nut milk and I look forward to it every morning. Plus, it’s on big-time sale right now, as is everything else from Sakara, so now’s the time to try! Code BF-PRIYANKA2020 gets you 25% off everything until 11/30.
Crystals: Ok, if I haven’t lost you yet, I’m assuming you’re along for the ride. I got a few crystals as gifts recently and I have THOUGHTS. 1) They’re a really good gift—you might not buy them for yourself, but they’re fun to get/learn more about, and 2) whether or not you do things with them or believe that they “work,” they’re nice to have around. Now that I know the qualities mine are associated with, seeing/holding them is like a quick reminder of that thing. My neighbor Luciana sources high-quality crystals and puts them together in beautiful gift sets on Etsy. This is the one she gave me and between the price/what you get, I feel like it’s a perfect starter kit. She also has some bigger, more specifically curated gift sets, and you can always reach out to her for recommendations. She’s (oh god, I hate myself) a gem.
Whether you’re a crystal person, in need of classic R&R, or would simply benefit from 10 uninterrupted minutes without your phone, I hope things calm down enough for all of you to take a beat however you need at some point this next week. I’m sure I’ll be back in your inboxes for BF/CM (subscribe here to get this sent straight to your inbox), but even so, I want to take a min now to say THANK YOU for being here! This newsletter is so much fun for me to write and it’s wild and amazing that people read it. THANKFUL for you and your feedback and our little community of shitters!!! Who would’ve ever thought?! Ok, meet back here on Friday to raid some online retailers together (I’m looking at you, Shopbop).