fantastic friday finds

things bringing me some kind of joy or excitement

Friends! A very heartfelt, warm and fuzzy thank you to those who commented and reached out personally about my reintroduction to this tiny internet realm - your comments are the literal driving force as to why I’ve found myself here writing to you this week. Overwhelmingly, many folks want a peek into my closet, advice on getting dressed after two years of pajama-core aesthetics, and inspiration in fine tuning their sartorial personalities. All things I would love to discuss ad nauseam lol. Stay tuned for more on those topics as I brainstorm ways to make it feel special, realistic, and unlike the millions of clickhole articles listing items you easily could have had the Google Shopping algorithm find for you.

To end the week, I’m sharing what I’ve been watching, reading, listening, and lurking on the world wide web. Let’s dive in.

W A T C H

Top to bottom: Severance, The Bear, Starstruck, Hacks

As a 90’s latchkey kid who was at least 75% raised by a television set, my enthusiasm for pop culture in all forms is an essential part of my personality (and my high school friend group text where we regularly discuss/recommend/share theories about the latest must watch hits.) Having been sick the last few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to catch up on various shows circulating the aforementioned group text, Twittersphere, and internet meme world.

1. Severance on Apple TV+ - Would you “sever” your brain to divide your work life from your personal life? While I am not one for anything scary, creepy or remotely horror adjacent, I do have a love for a good psychological dystopian thriller and this is exactly that. I still have two more episodes to watch but I cannot even begin to describe how unique the plot, the twists, and the set is (not to mention the fact it’s directed by Ben Stiller!) I am eagerly awaiting the Reddit rabbit hole regarding potential theories I will be falling into once I get to the finale.

2. The Bear on FX (Hulu) - If you are one of the few people confused about the “Yes, Chef” and “Thank you, Chef” memes floating around and no one has let you in on the secret, may I present to you, The Bear. Revealing the not-so-pretty realities of kitchen life to the mainstream, The Bear is about a lovable scumbag who leaves the world of fine dining to come back and run his family’s sandwich shop after the death of his brother. I will sum it up with the top comment on the above linked meme:

   

3. Starstruck on HBO Max - Millennial girl struggling with figuring out her life has a one night stand with someone she later discovers is a famous movie star. Hilarity, life lessons, and personal growth ensues. Rose Matafeo is a comedy genius and insanely charming as she re-writes what we know as the “rom-com.” It’s funny, filled with real emotion, and is approachable in ways we can all relate to.

4. Hacks on HBO Max - Of all the above shows, I watched this one first and literally binged it in two days and it was so good I felt a palpable depression when it was over. Cancelled LA writer is forced by her agent to go to Vegas and work with a legendary comedienne. I laughed, I cried, I mentally lived in Vegas - it was magical. The below scene I still think about daily.

   

   

R E A D

3.75/5 - The general plot: newly engaged doctor, Yasmin, the daughter of Muslim Indian immigrants, and her white upper class fiancé, Joe, navigate the culture clash that happens as they begin to plan their wedding. I’m almost done reading this and while the story is good, the character development hasn’t led me to feel really committed to anyone. I rarely think this, but I do believe this would be a great TV show if it was adapted correctly.

5/5 - The general plot: Martha is a 40 year old woman who moves back in with her parents after her husband, Patrick, leaves her after spending years dealing with the highs and lows of her mental illness. For being such a heavy topic, I cannot express to you how much I loved this book. It’s so well written, with lovable characters and the perfect amount of humor.

L I S T E N

Honestly, I should probably be mildly embarrassed by how much I have listened to Harry’s House over the last two months but it’s a wonderful summer album full of bops and if you’re like me and swore up and down you’d never be a fan, you just might want to listen.

I’m planning to publish some autumn inspired playlists next week so if you’re not following Junior Year on Spotify, consider this my shameless plug.

T H I N G S O N T H E I N T E R N E T

1. Sienna Miller’s picturesque cottage tour for AD. As if I wasn’t miserable enough in this 110 degree Austin weather, I have to see life in the whimsical English countryside where there is no shortage of overgrown greenery and chunky knit sweaters! My eyes are green with envy at how damn perfect this home is.

2. This adorable golf sweater on Etsy. Golfcore and tenniscore are the new ~cores~. Time to dust off the Lacoste polos you double-popped-collared in middle school. Need inspiration on how to wear it in 2022? Lurk their Creative Directors ‘gram.

3. Speaking of, while I’ve never considered myself one to embrace the east coast prep vibe life, I’ve been thinking a lot about this article since I read it last week. Brendon Babenzien is the new menswear Creative Director at J. Crew and there’s a lot of rumblings and mumblings on if he can revive the brand after it filed for bankruptcy in 2020. The fashion world’s general consensus seems to be a lot of resounding “no’s” but personally, I see his skater punk rock point of view (he used to design at Supreme/founded Noah) helping to shift the narrative into something we haven’t seen before that is at its core the most American J. Crew has been yet. After working for Madewell for years, I have many feels about this…maybe I should write more about this….

4. I’m not sure why it’s taken 31 years of my life to realize that fresh summer melons with salt, pepper, cheese and olive oil is so delightfully magical, but now that I’ve discovered this I will be overindulging while summer is still summering.

   marthastewart

   

   A post shared by Martha Stewart (@marthastewart)

5. I will leave you with the fabulous Monet X Change singing opera like the sweet, sweet baritone angel they are. Probably one of the best drag queen talents I’ve seen on RPDR.

Thus concludes this week’s collection of fantastic friday finds. What have you been watching, reading, listening and lurking? Let me know in the comments!

Until next week,

G