The DM | Issue Three
Or the one where Devon and Meg made, ahem, burnt orange slice garland
Crafts, much like life, can be hard. But as a wise newsletter once said, even our failures can be beautiful in the right lighting!
Issue #3 is best served with a good attitude, a good laugh, and a little good riddance to Pinterest perfection.
From Meg
Can we build it?
Ikea, a place where you can spend hours shopping for DIY bookshelves while also eating meatballs, has released their Vintersaga (Winter Story) collection where one can now drink Glögg (sweet mulled wine) whilst ALSO building gingerbread Ikea furniture.
IDK about you guys but when it comes to constructing furniture, this feels like a much sweeter experience than the Ikea bed I built in college. At least when these creations collapse suddenly in the middle of the night, I’m not sleeping on top of them.
…No, we can’t.
I typically get a crafty streak in me about 4 times a year. Usually it involves spray paint and my fiancé advising me to not cover our landscape in a fine layer of pink. Things I am not going to try to make myself? Ceramics. More specifically, my new addiction to the wonderful world of pottery porn. Oh, is that too salacious? Pothead, it is then.
ANYWAY, something I’ve noticed as a ceramics-super fan, is that makers are starting to release their own big art drops exclusively on their websites. Instead of selling through third party shops, they are gathering huge ‘pothead’ followings on their social pages, and then dropping pottery like it’s hot on a quarterly basis in a ‘web drop’ and selling out in literally minutes. This is a thing, y’all! Care to join me in this costly hobby? Not if I buy it first. 😇
Check out Not Work Related, Mimi Likey, Rachel Saunders Ceramics, and Summer School Shop to start and get on their email lists to beat the crowd (and actually be able to purchase something).
Just browsing
For those of you looking neither to build or buy and would rather just exist in a stupor of social media created scrolling, it is my humble and outspoken opinion that tiny cooking videos are one of Instagram’s greatest procrastination gifts. How do they do it? Where do they get those itty bitty baby spoons? Can there be a Stewart Little reprise? I’m ready for stools made of spools!
Anyway, @tinykitchentm, I see you, I love you and I dare you, dear reader, to not watch this entire adorable TINY CHRISTMAS BARK VIDEO and not be equally fascinated and amazed.
And on the subject of making spirits bright, here are three small ingredients to add a little cheer to your day…
Add a twist of home sweet home
Season it all with a sprinkle of fairy dust
From Devon
The unassuming star of soup season
Two friends and I recently did a "soup exchange,” for which we all made a different soup and then delivered a quart of it, along with toppings, to the others, leaving each of us with two new soups to eat or freeze (brilliant idea, Lauren!). However, my point here is not solely to wax poetic about the soup swap-o-rama (you should 100% do one of your own this winter, though) but rather, to praise the newest addition to my kitchen which made all of it possible: the Vitamix Immersion Blender.
While it’s nowhere near as fabulous as its beloved all-star appliance sibling (which is on sale, btw), I’m all in on this handheld version because it a) was/is better for my budget, b) cuts down on splatter cleanup, and c) made magic happen with my soup of choice, as well as with this vegan eggnog with bourbon.
So, you’re saying you don’t want a lot for Christmas
Fun fact: The first CD I ever bought was Mariah Carey’s OG ‘Merry Christmas’ album in 1994. Another fun fact: The ‘Queen of Christmas’ not only sings but also wrote and co-produced that little ditty “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” something I didn’t know until I listened to this podcast. Regardless of whether you hate the tune (whatever, you grinch!) or have it spinnin’ on repeat, give the episode a quick listen - at the very least, you’ll learn what it takes to help a song hit #1 26 years after it was released, among other nifty tidbits to drop on Zoom holiday parties.
Once you pop
Though I do love a Diet Coke (with lemon slice, please and thank you) on occasion, I rarely opt for a soda these days - until I saw this company’s take on the beverage. Admittedly, it was the rainbow of Pantone hues and witty copy that first drew me to these cans, but it’s the promise of organic sweeteners, 30 calories, and flavors like Lemon Verbena and Strawberry Basil that’ll make me order a few for my fridge. Plus, they are easy cocktail mixers, a bonus for these quarantine times.
Savoring Saveur’s 100
Yes, I’m sharing a list of links within a list of links, but let’s embrace this digital inception, shall we? Saveur’s annual celebration of their 100 favorite food-related people, places, and things is fascinating and will keep you clicking well past your COVID holiday boredom. TLDR: duck fat tortillas, a food business incubator for women of color, a well-designed Japanese barbecue sauce, the best airplane cocktail, and how you can quickly plunge your way into better mornings.
Such great heights
For those of you found yourself office-less this year and are still doing the work-from-the-table/desk/couch/bed dance, let me introduce you to this portable laptop stand. It’s not the fanciest or the sexiest thing in the home office game, but it does provides the option of five different heights to work from, including one for standing, along with the opportunity for better posture habits (paired with a little desk yoga flow) to boot.
And, before you go, a quick snapshot of what I’m currently:
Watching: the 15 best ‘SNL’ holiday skits
Listening to: this jazzy Christmas playlist and Khruangbin
Making: this onion galette and a spiced honey old fashioned (in honor of home mixologist Nathan’s birthday)
(Nerdily) thinking of buying: a button maker, for literally no real reason other than it seems fun
Well, we’ve got one week to go until Christmas, and there are still plenty of ways to make merry, feel festive, and most importantly, do good before this (very weird) holiday season comes to a close.
To guide you (not unlike Santa’s reindeer), we’ve collected some of ideas on how to give to those who need help the most, in this week’s Denver DM.