The DM | Issue Thirty
Or the one where we shift the vibe
Greetings from the internet! Imma let you read the DM but first must share this very important video Devon gifted me via Instagram direct message on Wednesday. Collectively, we’ve watched it 25 times. You may @us but only if you have a better video. Which you do not.
Anyway, is anyone else watching as Kanye slowly rips apart the internet while wondering if we’re just watching a live production of Keeping up with the Kardashians? I feel like Pete’s goal is to piss off at least 12 musicians so he can make his own album featuring songs about him. I’d buy it.
Alright, enough small talk. Let’s talk about the big shit.
From Meg
I’m just saying there’s a chance
To know me is to know that I do not camp nor I do not like the cold but to love me is to know that I will consider enduring both if I have the cute merchandise to match.
Which is why I will happily go to what I lovingly referred to as Recreational Row (The corner of Walnut and 26th in Denver, let’s make it A THING) where all the hip new outdoor brands are like do it, but do it in a cute way. There’s Halfdays from ex-pro skier, Ariana Ferwerda. There’s Outdoor Voices from Boulder native, Tyler Haney. There’s mainstays like Patagonia, Burton, and Volcom.
… And that’s all fun and swell but if you want the real niche off-the-grid, not in-store stuff, you go to the internet where DTC brands like The Get Out (can tents be cute? These tents are cute.) and We Drifters (Anti-insect clothing, whatever that means), The James Brand (regularly collabs with Topo Designs) are all staking out their land and playing the field. Me personally? I still just want this beach chair/umbrella combo and a beach to go with it.
This giant shell
I want it. That’s all.
PSA: Maude Apatow is a VIBE
Not one to historically recommend actual humans but I’ll make an exception for Maude because the girl is a blessing on your television and if you’re not watching, you will be soon enough. Speaking of watching, If you’re not following along with Euphoria, what are you even doing? (If you said watching Love is Blind, you may leave).
This past week, Maude had her moment in the sun and my god, did we just watch a star get born? The daughter of legendary (IMO) writer, director, producer Judd Apatow, and the equally funny, way cuter Leslie Mann has hit planet earth in a Birdman meets Bridget Jones Diary kind of way (Let’s meet in person and I’ll explain) and I’m sohereforit. Maude forever.
In other news:
Powerpoint karaoke: a team-building activity I can get behind.
A French phrase I’m secretly sticking in sentences to sound like a sophisticated spy
Can I be a feminist and own a corset? An internal shopping cart debate that I recently lost.
From Devon
A juicy story
I’m a big citrus season fan (you can take the girl out of California…) but, after juicing about ten blood oranges by hand and having dark pink juice spray everywhere in my kitchen last Friday, mimicking a mediocre murder scene, I caved and bought an electric juicer. And, naturally, in a pathetically practical way, I love it. No disrespect to the trusty ol’ handheld version, but - bada bing, bada boom, my ability to make tried and true faves like blood orange upside-down cake and skinny blood orange margaritas (yes, I have a thing for blood orange) has skyrocketed.
Disclaimer: to be clear, when making said margaritas in batches, there’s also zero shame in some store-bought lime juice, because it still does take a lot of time even with an electric boost, and, as our girl Ina would say - it’s fine.
Bright plates
If you and your tableware need pre-spring pick-me-up, you’re in luck thanks to Helenita, a home collection curated by Helen, offering gorgeous handmade ceramics crafted by Mexican artisans. I bought the ‘Caroline’ small dinner plates (pictured below) in a boldly beautiful yellow that - no joke - makes me very happy every time I pull them out of the cupboard. Next up on my list are a pitcher in green, the Madeline plates, and then, most likely, everything else. Reach out via Insta to place your order ASAP because we both know you and all of your forthcoming al fresco dinner parties *needed* some new plates like these yesterday.
Sure, therapy is cool - but have you tried crying during savasana at the end of a yoga class?
Last week, I read the essay ‘Power of a Good Cry’ in the New York Times and it was just so good. The writer, Wesley Morris, sucks you in at the beginning with an ode to crying at movies, noting how we applaud actors for their ‘professional tears’ and that ‘in the relative anonymity of a darkened theater, their crying frees us to let go.’ Yet, at the same time, we don’t handle public or private displays of emotion from “normal people” (i.e. strangers, loved ones, or even ourselves) very well at all. The top-level TLDR of the rest (but, I really hope you do read it) is more or less that we shouldn’t be brushing off our emotions with an ‘it’s fine’ when it really isn’t, and instead, stop numbing ourselves, lean in, and just weep a little already.
Reading the essay sparked a memory of another article from 2014 about a *sudden* trend where women found themselves breaking down while working out - not necessarily in a worrisome way, but more in a cathartic release way. It resonated with me then, and apparently, still does, because, for the first time in a long time, I cried in yoga on Monday night.
The exact reason I was more or less quietly sobbing alone on my mat, in the dark, next to strangers, was due to a muddled mess of many things, including some freshly broken emotional invisible strings, general being-an-adult-in-2022 problems, and the state of our Tilt-a-Whirl world. However, afterward, in all my sweaty, teary, snotty-nosed, mascara-running (forgot the waterproof, my bad) glory, two things were clear: 1. I looked not unlike an extra from the Walking Dead set and 2. I felt pretty fucking great.
So, friends, if you’re going through something, or frankly just anything - parenthood, grief, overwhelm, rage - consider this your empathetically-fueled reminder to cry on (but, also, like, talk to your therapist, too).
Hits of joy
Phew. Well now that we’ve cried it out, may I offer you: my favorite video of Jon Hamm aka Don Draper / not a regular marine biologist, but a cool marine biologist / ASMR at its finest / and some v fun wallpaper-in-a-small-space inspo.
Boring people
I recently ordered Eloise as a gift and since I hadn’t read it in a solid two decades, I forgot how hilariously wonderful the inside cover is. Do with it what you will.
And, before you go, here’s what I’m currently:
Listening to: ‘Angel de Los Muertos’ and a new EP by The Dip / ‘Rome’ by Dojo Cuts / and ‘Next to Normal’ by Lucius
Coveting: these colorful shoes that are begging to go on vacation
Watching: The Gilded Age and Somebody, Somewhere on HBO Max (and please tell me you are too because I need people I can talk to about them with!)
Making: these breakfast tacos with this hot sauce
Reupping: on some actually *cute* disposable face masks