The DM | Issue Fourteen
Or the one where we’re sponsored by, just kidding no one is sponsoring us
Live from Denver, it’s Friday morning!
Something Devon and I have been talking about a lot this week is PLANS and all the adventures we’re scheduled to have over the course of the next year. It feels so nice to have plans again, plans that we can hopefully keep, plans that we can look forward to, things we’re doing with our friends and family that aren’t attached to guilt or distrust. Isn’t it nice to order up some social closeness with no shame on the side? Make that a double for the gal in the back! (That’s me, FTR).
Anyway, here’s hoping you have something fun in the books for this weekend/week/month/year. If you don’t… What are you waiting for? Get on that pony and ride off into your planned sunset.
In other news, this song felt right. Some things shouldn’t be planned.
From Meg
Just heating up
I’m very excited to share that I am participating in this hot girl summer just by my temperature alone because nothing says steamy quite like a perpetual glistening on one’s forehead.
In an effort to keep my cool, I invested in a very adorable inflatable pool last year only to be informed by the internet that we’ve since moved onto stock tank pools and now I’m both hot and irrelevant (like a bachelor contestant from 2 years ago amiright).
ANYWAY, as they say, if you can’t beat ‘em, join' em. And as being hot is super cool this summer, I found this hot sauce for your coffee (please someone try this!), these tiny packets of to-go Cholula, and dare I declare the statement candle of summer? (Sorry for those Boy Smell ads in advance, y’all).
I’m a fan
Not to throw shade on your fire summer, but if you’re team cool for the season, I got some hot recs for you too. I’ve been eyeing Sunday Supply Co. for their well, everything but mostly for their umbrellas which are like a well-shadowed vacation in octagon formation. Also, did you know they make cute a/c units now? Tell me this isn’t the coolest air conditioning brand (pun intended) you’ve ever seen. I also am a fan of this mid-mod looking guy and speaking of fans, I guess everyone is wearing them around their neck now, so I found one of those for you too because I’m chill like that.
One bowl of porridge please
Oh, you thought I wasn’t going to bring up Goldilocks when referencing being too hot or too cold? How very wrong you are. There’s nothing I love talking about more than something that is just right! Like that just right car song. That just right tuna salad. That just right camp chair. When it comes to the golden ratio of being right, I don’t want to be wrong.
Three hot tipz
The Brand behind THE PAN (you know the one) just came out with something new…
The sponge of your dreams (Has this sentence ever been written before?)
And two cool trickz
Pairs well with this v chill station
From Devon
I had a salad joke, but I tossed it
Is this a whole section about salads? Yes, dear reader, it is, and I make no apologies because it’s early June, it’s not even officially summer yet (June 20, mark your cal), and it’s been 90+ degrees pretty almost day for the past week here in Denver #help. And - jokes aside - in a season as sweltering as this, there’s nothing better or easier to make for lunch/dinner than a big ass salad.
I love me a salad any time of year (*preferably* with a side of fries and a cold glass of dry rosé, but alas, it can’t be an everyday move) - however, summer salads are unbiasedly the best, thanks to the bounty of produce at our farmer’s market-going fingertips. So, to help us all on our healthyish warm-weather way, here are some recipes and resources to help you achieve summer salad bliss: Sohla’s tips for making goodness-packed salads v. sad salads / a v good colorful strawberry salad / a Cava-inspired Med chicken salad / and a shredded chicken and arugula salad (this one is REAL good). Going back into the office or just a meal prepper? This Tupperware sitch is legit.
One in a melon
For as relatively simple a task as it is, shopping for a good watermelon is still quite daunting because you (aka me) really have no idea what the fruit will be like when you crack it open. Well, luckily, Black Girls Cook Inc. posted the incredibly helpful guide below to help us live our best watermelon-eating lives this summer. PSA for when you find the right ripe one: this juice is a real treat.
Coupe shoop a loop
In the wide world of cocktail glasses, I’ve always been partial to coupes (and I’m defs not the only one in the fan club). Maybe it’s the glam Gatsby-like vibes that ensue when you drink bubbles from one, or perhaps it’s the fact that I’ve sloshed way too many drinks out of standard v-shaped martini glasses - whatever the reason, I finally ordered some of my very own, at $4 a pop to boot(!), and I’m stoked. Some at-home happy hours, complete with said coupes filled with gimlets and maybe daiquiris, paired with snacks (duh), will soon be added to my Google cal.
Sound it out for me
I was today (or really, yesterday) years old when I learned that the people responsible for making and/or re-creating most of the sounds we hear in movies and TV shows are called ‘foley artists.’ This newfound knowledge is all thanks to the short documentary featured below, which is a fascinating watch; plus, it might just provide you with the perfect kind of fodder to save up for all the post-COVID party convos to come.
Text someone that you love them today
On a more somber note, a good friend's father passed away earlier this week, and then, a photographer whom I’d been a (very distant) fan of, also lost her battle to cancer. Her husband posted an incredibly touching Instagram post, and I share some of his words below in the hopes that we're all reminded to celebrate the lives we get to live (pop open that fancy bottle tonight), and to hold on tight to the people whom you love, be it romantic, familial, or platonic. Bonus points for telling them this often, with a text, call, DM, or a *not-super-sappy* card.
Even if we had lived to be a million years old, Jesse’s passing would still be much much too soon. Our life was a constant conversation and a building toward a more perfect future. Our joke was, even when we were a human pile on top of each other, “I just want to figure out how to sit a little closer to you.”
Jesse will be every sunrise, every flower field, every swim in calm waters, and every laugh shared between our family and friends. Her love surrounds us and we will carry her spirit on forever and ever until our very last breaths.
And, before you go, a snapshot of what I’m currently:
Cooking: Alison Roman’s ‘The Dip’ recipe and this entire NYT summer cooking package
Listening to: Calvin Harris’ Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1, a summer 2017 solid gold throwback (thanks for the reminder, Jeff!), and Ina’s Dance Party for some classic bops
Thinking it’s time to buy: a Glou Glou magnum
Reading: this awesome guide to help me decide what my summer reads will be
Considering adding: yet another button Oxford shirt to my wardrobe, with an awesome color name
Devon - Rubbermaid added to the cart!