A Thing or Two with Claire and Erica (Claire Mazur & Erica Cerulo)

We’re wise enough to know it’s about time for a ~wisdom~ ep. We share our feelings about feeling our age and some excellent advice we caught about living with a little longing.  

Some readings that impacted how we’ve been navigating aging include Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, Casey Johnston’s Swole Woman program, Cheryl Wischover’s “What Changed When I Started Lifting Weights” in the Gloria newsletter, and Kayleen Schaefer’s “How 50 Pushups A Day Helped Me Cope In An Uncertain World” for Elle. 

If you have thoughts on longing or musings about aging share them with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. And try out a Secret Menu membership for more recommendations.

Try professional counseling with BetterHelp and take 10% off your first month with our link.

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Produced by Dear Media

It’s that sneaky second gifting season of the year (dads, grads, retirements, anniversaries…you get it!), and we’re here to answer your calls for help. Ooh, speaking of calls: Want to leave us a voicemail at 833-632-5463 and share any thoughts/feelings that demand our podcasting attention?

If it’s time to gift someone a watch: Max Bill for Junghans and Baume & Mercier Classima are classics and about $1k. Uniform Wares has minimalist vibes and top out around $500. Check out Fewer Finer for some vintage options! We also recommend looking into a sporty/casual vintage watch from Casio or Seiko—Foundwell and eBay are great places to explore (this one, this one!). Also: Swatch does custom. If you’re looking for a watch for a little, Flik Flak’s still got it (see: their recent Hodinkee collaboration), and Parchie and Mini Kyomo are cute for kids, too. For true watch experts, turn to Hodinkee and Dimepiece.

For men turning 40 whose watch taste is too $$$: We love the idea of a signet ring, and Kathryn Bentley does great ones. We also recommend a record player (and personally endorse Plus Audio and Technics by Panasonic Direct Drive Player System via eBay). To add to the record collection, maybe gift a subscription to Vinyl Me Please or round-up albums that came out during their birth year. Related gift: fancy speakers like the ones by Oda. Nice luggage is also a good call—we love Want Les Essentiels, Porter-Yoshida, and classics like Rimowa, Tumi, and Calpak. For hobby gifts, how about a surfboard, a film camera from Photodom, ceramics classes (s/o to Artshack near us!), or pickleball gear from Recess or Nettie (on the topic of pickleball, this New York mag profile of Connor Pardoe). Last but not least, NORMALIZE GIVING MEN FLOWERS! 

For retirement gifts: Ask close coworkers to participate in something personal—maybe use Tribute or Padlet or go old-school and collect pictures and letters to make a scrapbook. We also love Storyworth! Or how’s about helping them get oriented with a new hobby: For the dad in our VM, maybe a Backroads Bike Tour or a Bianchi bike (find them and other snazzy bikes used on Bike Exchange). There’s also personal training: For a virtual option, check out Future (a good review). 

When someone’s having a baby but not their first one: Set the parent up with a massage (maybe an at-home one through Zeel) or food delivery from Ipsa, Three Owls, or The Culinistas. Treat them to a robe, slippers, a weighted blanket from Bearaby, or a bed tray (Chairish and 1stdibs for cool vintage ones and West Elm, and Offi for new ones) Or: Get something to keep the sibling busy! Non-messy craft projects like needlepoint/sewing kits (love Unwind Studio and LittleExplorersPlay) or a subscription to The Picture Book Club. For the new baby, what about a not-hand-me-down, home-from-the-hospital look from Makie or Lewis? Or something keepsake that second (and third and fourth) kids tend to get less of like a handknit blankie or a puzzle name stool from Damhorst Toys.

What to maybe, possibly ask for when you move into a new home: A return-address stamp from Paper Source or custom house numbers from House Number Lab or Casson. Outdoor stuff can be pricier than expected, so ask for plants from Fast Growing Trees, Plant Gem, and David Austin Roses, a local-nursery gift card, or gardening tools from The Floral Society or Terrain. What about a Solo Stove or a Barebones Living Portable 30" Fire Pit? Or a grill! We like the Weber Spirit II E-210 LP and the Lodge Sportsman’s Pro Cast Iron Grill. Get into composting with an indoor bin from Bamboozle. Entertaining stuff is a good call—think an Insalata Serving Bowl or platters from Conran Shop, Bitossi Home, Christian Lacroix, Farmhouse Pottery, vintage spongeware from The Six Bells, and vintage Limoges on Etsy. Ooh, and framing, c/o your local frame shop or Framebridge! Finally, stools: Artek, TipToe, Bed Bath & Beyond, Metal Lab, and ChezRai ones specifically. For other relevant recs, check out our Secret Menu wedding-registry guide.

Share your gift ideas or quandries with us at ​​833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. For many more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership.

Produced by Dear Media

Today we’re answering a listener question that we’ve been asking ourselves our whole lives: How TF does one get dressed (and, you know, feel good about what they’re wearing)? Also: We grapple with the big challenges we’re having with small talk.

For those looking for a tailor in NYC, Mend Tailoring and Alteration Specialists do house calls, and Silhouettes & Profiles on the UWS is great. In L.A., it’s all about Elias in Santa Monica.

Check out Amy Smilovic, Katie Sturino, and Jenna Lyons-era J.Crew for styling tips. Another stellar rec from our editor Maddie: Allison Bornstein’s TikTok. 

If you have any small-talk tips (and advice for what to wear with Issey Miyake Pleats Please pants) we want them at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. For more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership.

Support a business with Shopify. Dig in with a free 14-day trial with our link.

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Get better sleep with Beam Dream and get up to 35% with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Try Thinx and get $10 off your first order when you visit rethinkyourcycyle.com and use the code ATHINGORTWO.

Upgrade your piercing and earring experience with Studs and take 20% off your first order when you use our link.

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Produced by Dear Media

This week, we talk Thingies with the writer, creative consultant, and theorist behind the 3 p.m. outfit expiration, Harling Ross Anton. She also breaks down her rubric for what makes a good recommendation. All this to say: Everything is nice in here.

Harling’s Thingies! Fleece-lined black tights (all of them, really), Merit's The Minimalist Perfecting Complexion Foundation and Concealer Stick (Harling uses the shade bisque.), Chinya’s milk frother, Mighty Sesame Co.’s Tahini in a Squeeze Bottle, a made-just-for-her button-down shirt from Chava, DGL licorice extract for heartburn, D-Mannose for UTIs, and fantasy novels like A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Plz, plz follow Harling for so many more recs! She’s extremely good at them.

Share your favorite thingies at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq.

For more of our favorites, get yourself a Secret Menu membership.

Produced by Dear Media

What’s on Claire and Erica’s minds right now? Favorite recipes and food-freezing qualms, the Instagram accounts they can’t stop thinking about, and so many more juicy highlights from their weekly 10 Things newsletter. Get into it all below. P.S. These gorge vases by Heather Stewart Harvey practically arrange flowers for you. Get yours for 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS.

Not to get ahead of ourselves, but, well, we’re totally getting ahead of ourselves: Is anyone else a little clenchy about having social lives again...sometime soon? Another topic of discussion: the beauty products Erica has on rotation—top threes instead of HGs!—from sunscreens to deep conditioners.

“Late-Stage Pandemic Is Messing With Your Brain”—or ours, at least.

The energy we’re seeking: John Jannuzzi’s dance compilation videos.

Sunscreens: Coola Sun Silk Drops, EleVen by Venus Unrivaled Sun Serum (related: a must-see trophy room), and Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint.

Body moisturizers: Tata Harper Revitalizing Body Oil (related: this ep of The Glossy Beauty Podcast), Weleda Skin Food Body Butter, and classic ol’ coconut oil.

Deep conditioners: IGK Offline 3-Minute Hydration Hair Mask (a Harling Ross rec) and Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Strengthening Treatment Oil (while doing the Tata Harper Resurfacing Mask).

Nail things: the Bare Hands kit and Olive & June polishes (EC, CV, and SC) along with the Poppy.

We’re here for your thoughts on socializing, personal-caring, and anything else at @athingortwohq, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and 833-632-5463.

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Produced by Dear Media

If you’re starved for a dose of our trademark randomness, WELCOME. There’s so much to reflect on today, including Marissa Cooper, paleo puffs, Amazon avoidance, and something *vaguely mysterious* called buccal massage.

The linkage:

The O.C. has us thinking a lot about Seth Cohen and Judaism (see also: Tommy Pickles and Judaism)...and low-rise jeans. 

A whole lotta healthy-ish cheese curls/balls are having a moment, including Lesser Evil Paleo Puffs "No Cheese" Cheesiness, Lesser Evil Egg White Curls in Huevos Rancheros, and Pipcorn Cheese Balls (in Broccoli Cheddar, too). Oh, and please do read this wonderful New York mag story about Grace Church School that has a LOLZ-y Pirate’s Booty shout-out.

Other food things on our minds: Magic Spoon and Skyline Chili (which have probably never appeared side-by-side before).

For some Amazon long reads, check out The New Yorker piece by Charles Duhigg (author of The Power of Habit) and the NYT piece by Jodi Kantor (co-author of She Said).

To download Kindle books for free, it’s all about the Libby app.

Jaw/buccal massage—we suspect it’s going to trend. Noy Skincare in NYC does it, as does Take Care in NYC and LA.

Get Acuity Scheduling for free for 45 days!

Try the InfinitiPRO by Conair Texture Styling Hair Dryer!

Visit Lamps Plus for up to 50% off their holiday sale (through December 24th)

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We’ve loved us some Grace Bonney for a long while (see: this A Few Things ep featuring her and her lovely and talented wife Julia Turshen). So Claire and Erica were especially thrilled to get to talk to the Design*Sponge founder about her new magazine Good Company, the ever-changing world of blogging, and how to deal with critics sliding into your DMs. P.S. This Tamaki Niime scarf might be the softest thing to touch your neck. Get yours for 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS. P.P.S. Be the gem that you are and leave us a review on iTunes? We’ll love you either way, but we’d really appreciate it!

Perhaps you’ve noticed that we won’t shut up about romance novels? Well, this week we’re chatting it up with Talia Hibbert, one of our favorite writers of the genre, about telling diverse stories, shaping conversations about consent, and writing good sex. But first: Does Erica have too many coffee devices? You be the judge.

The coffeemakers in Erica’s rotation: Bodum French press, Nespresso Pixie (with Woken pods—but Nespresso ones are recyclable in NYC now. See also from the NYT on recycling legislation!), Gemini Espresso Maker (or a single-serving alt from GSI), and Copper Cow Coffee pour-overs. 

DM, email, or call us!! At @athingortwohq, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and 833-632-5463.

We’re all about Talia Hibbert’s Brown Sisters trilogy: Get a Life, Chloe Brown (her first traditionally published book), Take a Hint, Dani Brown, and Act Your Age, Eve Brown. Here for more, more, more of her writing.  

To dive into the conversation around the lack of representation in the romance-novel world: this NYT article, this initiative and reporting from The Ripped Bodice, and a big blow-up re: Romance Writers of America (who were accused of racism) last year.

Other romance recs from Talia: Nalini Singh’s Psy/Changeling series, Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers, the upcoming Kennedy Ryan release Reel, the work of KJ Charles, A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby by Vanessa Riley and its next installment, and The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri.  

One movie romance rec: the latest Emma adaptation—pretty and funny, both! 

More recs coming your way over at Secret Menu…

Try all the Lesser Evil snacks—you won’t be disappointed. 25% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Perk up your face! Get 10% off with purchase of Clarins Total Eye Lift—using the code ATHINGORTWO.

Find clothes you’ll love to wear with Stitch Fix and use our link for 25% off when you keep everything in your Fix.

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Produced by Dear Media

It’s total mid-February vibes around here, as evidenced by the fact that we’re entertaining ourselves with new egg preparations and spending our weekend nights getting our jewelry in order. And when we do leave the house? Well, we’re pulling on the tallest, warmest socks we can come by.

The linkage:

It’s all about tall socks for wide-leg pants in the winter, especially ones from Richer Poorer and Raey.

Alert, alert: Weleda Skin Food now comes in body-butter form.

We’re living in a peak organization era. Shout out to The Container Store (for Elfa, of course, and also linen drawer dividers), Yamazaki (see: this TP stand, this side table trash can, this towel rack, this leaning coat rack, and whole slew of jewelry organizers), Muji (see: more jewelry organizers), Marie Kondo’s shop, Hay (very into these plastic crates), Kept (this excellent laundry hamper), Open Spaces (especially nice-looking shelf risers), and Food52 (we won’t shut up about them, we know).

Dims furniture is real cute. Claire has their bar cart, and we both want their vanity.

The latest in (our) egg prep: cooked in cream, Julia Turshen’s fried eggs with yogurt method, and a French omelet via this Bon App video (start at 17:07).

Are trendy egg brands a thing? Happy Egg Co. and Vital Farms make us think so. (Sidenote: Kate’s Homemade Butter—try it.)

Give Biossance Squalane + Lactic Acid Resurfacing Night Serum a go. It’s 20% off with the code ATHINGORTWO20.

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Produced by Dear Media

Ope! We’re back with a grab bag of questions: What does “After Dark” mean to you? How does one explain what consulting is? Are you signed up for Dua Lipa’s newsletter? What does it mean to actually *build* a bear? All this and more in your ears now!

For some discomfitting Build-a-Bear products for adults, enter The Bear Cave. For other “but what does it MEAN?” After Dark content, check out National Parks After Dark and this edition of Emily Henry’s Book Lovers. 

Check out this YouTube video from Charlie Berens for on ope usage and Midwest vs. Everybody’s great ope merch. Also: on the rise of the Midwestern vibe.

Takeaways re: "A ‘Landmark’ as Women Will Coach Against Each Other in Men’s Soccer," which also made us think about this episode of Throwing Fits.

Join us in subscribing to Dua Lipa’s newsletter Service95 and listening to her podcast At Your Service. 

Share your thoughts on all of this at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq—or join our Geneva! And try out a Secret Menu membership for a whole lot more recommendations. 

Get into professional counseling with BetterHelp and take 10% off your first month with our link.

Visit Noihsaf Bazaar to buy, sell, and even make new friends.

Feel great in Honeylove and get 20% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Dig into your business’s numbers with Netsuite.

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We’ve got Mateo Askaripour, author of the extremely buzzy novel Black Buck, with us today—and, hey, we also showed up with our best going-away gift ideas for a stellar boss who perhaps deserves a travel mug thingy emblazoned with his catchphrase.

Gifting Q: Boss going-away gift. Best boss I ever had. Mentor. Mid-fifties. Male. Already gave booze. Our thoughts: Leatherology modern round coaster set, custom Yeti bottle, knives from Opinel or Laguiole, Souda business card holder, or flowers (always).

You gotta read Mateo Askaripour’s debut novel Black Buck! Tell you what!

Sales books that got Mateo started: Jeffrey Gitomer’s The Little Red Book of Selling and Sales Bible. 

Books Mateo would say are in conversation with his own: The Spook Who Sat by the Door by Sam Greenlee, The Sellout by Paul Beatty, and Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires.

We want your thoughts over at @athingortwohq, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and 833-632-5463. If you want more from us, sign up for Secret Menu.

Slather on COOLA’s sunscreen and organic skincare, both. They’re 10% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Try Right Wellness for the latest transformative hemp ingredient, CBN, and take 20% off with the code RIGHTFORYOU.

Munch on Lesser Evil’s incredible snacks and get 25% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Take Modern Fertility’s fertility test for $20 off when you use our link.

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Here we are, asking the important questions, including “What’s it like to start a record label and run it for 20 years?” and “Who in their right mind decided to eat an artichoke for the first time?” Sam Valenti IV, behind the very compelling Ghostly International, has all the answers to our first query, and we don’t think we’ll ever really get to the heart (heh) of our second.

Best use of an Instant Pot: cookin’ artichokes. 

Oddly enthusiastic endorsement: vintage Majorcan and Portuguese artichoke plates.

A couple good ways to put a can/jar of artichokes to good use: sardine pasta and back-pocket canned salad. 

Dig into Sam Valenti’s Ghostly International—both the musical artists (including the label’s very first, Matthew Dear) and the products. Also, follow Ghostly’s playlists—their “At Work” one in particular.

A few Brooklyn record stores worthy of Sam’s fandom: Rough Trade, Academy Records, and Captured Tracks Shop. 

When Sam’s looking to discover new music, he can always count on Buy Music Club, Blackbandcamp.info, and Numero Group to deliver.

AND! A handful of other things we talked about: Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes, That Thing You Do!, The Last Dance, and the podcast How Long Gone.

If you haven’t signed up for Secret Menu...well!

We love to hear your thoughts! Send ‘em all to us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and/or @athingortwohq. 

Get all of your holiday shopping done with our MoMA Design Store gift picks.

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What bras, tahini, and shaving cream do we swear by? WELL! You’ve come to the right place. Before we get into our Thingies winners: a discussion of the absolute insanity of sprinkles in 2021. 

We want to hear from you! You can get us at @athingortwohq, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and 833-632-5463.

Some sprinkles context: a 2016 NYT funfetti article and the 2019 The Power of Sprinkles: A Cake Book by the Founder of Flour Shop.

Some sprinkles resources: Sweets Indeed Sprinklefetti (lightning bolts!), Supernatural (Field Day!), Fancy Sprinkles (Hey Jude—lolz!), Williams Sonoma Sprinkles, 1985, and Cakes by Kristi (Chips n' Guac Sprinkle Mix AND Poker Face) and Etsy just in general. 

Round two Thingies winners!!! Negative Underwear non-wire bras (specifically in sieve mesh) and Chantelle underwire demi bras (read also: this rave from The Cut), Soom tahini (more on this podcast ep), Patagonia Down Sweater Hoody, RiseWell toothpaste, Gossamer CBD Dusk and Dawn (tune into this pod ep), Cremo shave cream, the prescription delivery service Capsule, Holy Schmitt’s horseradish (try the cocktail sauce and/or horseradish mustard, too), and the Thermapen Mk4. 

For the inaugural Thingies recipients, head this way.

If you’re a super-fan of this podcast, Secret Menu is just for you.

Scoop up COOLA’s sunscreen and organic skincare. Get 10% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Get a quick boost with Clarins Total Eye Lift—10% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Shop Imperfect Foods and get 20% off your first order and free shipping with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Try Function of Beauty for custom, just-for-you haircare and body care. Use our link for 20% off your order.

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It’s baaack—and we’re not just talking about crisp weather. This week, Claire and Erica are bringing you another round of highlights from their weekly 10 Things newsletter. Read on for all sorts of easy and delicious ways to upgrade your life. P.S. These fancy Strawberry Link Earrings will look great on you all year ‘round, and you can pocket a pair for 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS.

It’s testing central ‘round these parts. First, we dig into snacks (and fall hard for a fancy GF pop-tart comp), and then Claire shares the beauty products that have won her over recently. Obviously both sunless tanner and deep conditioner make a showing.

What are we munching? Well! Wild Fruits Jam Tarts, 12tides Puffed Kelp Chips, and Pipcorn Jalapeño Cheddar Crunchies, since you asked.

Claire’s latest hair favorites: Bread Beauty Supply Hair Mask Deep Conditioner, Hairstory New Wash, Christophe Robin Brightening Shampoo, and Briogeo Scalp Revival Stimulating Massager.

Her new go-to skin stuff: Muri Lelu Mauvaise Herbe Indica Oil, Sunday Riley Good Genes, Consonant Hydrextreme Sheet Mask, St. Tropez Self Tan Purity Bronzing Water Face Mist, Tata Harper Creme Riche Moisturizer, and Diana Ralys Melt Away Oil Cleanser.

And two make-up things that made the cut: Artis Brush (Oval 6) and KVD Beauty Tattoo Liner.

Send your thoughts on any ‘n all of this to @athingortwohq, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and 833-632-5463. For a whole lot more where this came from, check out Secret Menu.

Get away with Dipsea’s sexy audio stories—a free 30-day trial is yours when you use our link.

Scope out the online life insurance agency Haven Life and get a quote.

Achieve supreme comfiness with American Giant’s Classic Full Zip Hoodie and take 15% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

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Our two new favorite terms and a bunch of thoughts on what to eat (such a conundrum, always, why?), coming at you on this week’s episode. Dig in!

Ok, food things: We’re big fans of the the Food52 Simply Genius cookbook (and Food52 Genius Desserts, too) by Kristen Miglore. To start, try the 5-minute tomato sauce from Heidi Swanson (which reminded Claire of this slightly more complicated sauce she had last summer) and Canal House’s chicken thighs.

Some other cooking wins: this polenta soup recipe from Christopher Kimball, oven-fried artichokes, Ali Slagle’s cheesy white bean tomato bake, and Toro Bravo's radicchio salad with manchego vinaigrette.  

This Eater story by Jaya Saxena speaks to our love of tiny spoons and brought this amazing T-shirt to our attention.

Let us know your tiny spoon stance at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq—or join our Geneva! And for more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership. 

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Level-up your bread with Hero Bread—10% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Get that MBA with The Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business.

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Produced by Dear Media

If you’ve been asking “Why aren’t more podcasts talking about Magic Mike’s Last Dance and Girl Scouts?” you’ve come to the right place. Shall we??

What do the critics have to say about Magic Mike? Here’s Shirley Li at The Atlantic, Emma Specter at Vogue, A.O. Scott at the NYT, Richard Brody at The New Yorker, Bob Mondello at NPR, and Kyle Smith at the Wall Street Journal. 

Channing’s look right now! Specifically this Met Gala pic and this Variety cover! He and Zoë Kravitz share a stylist, Andrew Mukamal (who was featured on Kell on Earth—see also: this Interview interview with Kelly Cutrone).  

If you’re into the business side of Magic Mike, check out WSJ’s story “For Magic Mike, Channing Tatum Looked for Strippers Moms Could Love.” As for Channing’s other creative projects: Sparkella, Born & Bred Vodka (more from BonApp), and the much-hyped romance novel he’s writing with Roxane Gay. (Unrelated but also totally related, Tessa Bailey’s reverse-harem romance Happenstance.)  

Oh, Girl Scouts, preparing girls to meet the world with courage, confidence, and character since 1912! We love the logo redesign by Collins, and if you need a cookie source, buy them from Troop 6000, a first-of-its-kind program designed to serve families living in temporary housing in the New York City shelter system, or from trans girls around the country. 

Another scouting org we love: Radical Monarchs, which creates opportunities for girls and  gender-expansive youth of color—this doc is great.

Share your Magic Mike reviews with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq—or join our Geneva! And for more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Try out professional counseling with BetterHelp and take 10% off your first month with our link.

Help your hair with Nutrafol. Take $15 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Get more out of your bread with Hero Bread—10% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Sleep well with Boll & Branch—get 15% off your first set of sheets when you use the promo code ATHINGORTWO.

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​​You know what we have a lot to say about in this best-of-2011 ep? A lot of things, from high praise for neighborhood restaurants and actually useful apps to sharing weddings FAQs and advocating for yourself at the doctor’s office.

If you want to sell others on the Michigan Star restaurant, maybe send them this quickie podcast pitch we did on The Best Advice Show. 

Behold, the Covid wedding template of our dreams:

Our beloved friends & family,

It's only 30 days until our wedding! We're so glad that you are coming and celebrating this special day with us. 

A few announcements regarding the wedding: 

Serious stuff

• You must be fully vaccinated to attend the event. Please send your proof of vaccination to EMAIL ADDRESS.
• For children and adults with underlying medical conditions preventing them from getting vaccinated, we ask that you obtain a negative PCR Covid-19 test result within 48 hours prior to the event.
• Your health is of utmost importance to us, and we have therefore decided to cancel ANY CHANGES TO EVENT SCHEDULE.

Fun stuff

• X, Y, Z!

Apps worth your limited phone storage space: Weather Strip, Libby, and PictureThis (related-ish: Merlin Bird ID). 

We’re here for your feedback!  Share it with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. And for more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership.

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Produced by Dear Media

Today in mishmashes: We’re sharing some of the tricks and treats we’ve discovered recently, featuring Claire’s flower-wrapping upgrade, Erica’s brunch cookout recipes, and what to wear when it's hot, hot, hot. 

Erica’s rooftop brunch agenda included ordering donuts (from Doughnut Plant if you’re in NYC), finding a reliable friend to be in charge of grilling sausages (or, um, sausage strips!), and  whipping up two frittatas: the mustard-asparagus one from Cookie + Kate and the mushroom-ricotta one Julia Turshen’s Now & Again cookbook. 

And for dinner, Erica’s favorite canned cherry tomatoes from Mutti are great for many things, including her go-to summer tomato sauce c/o Alison Roman.

Claire’s revisiting this Mo Willems interview often, and on the diaper-bag front, she recommends Longchamp's Le Pliage (or any flat bag like it!). 

As we slip back into shorts, we like these knit guys from Kordal, a pleated linen pair from Alex Mill, grown-up cut-offs from Agolde, and these rolled jorts from Raey. 

Some options on our quest for a great summer dress include ones from Mille, Mirth, Sunspel, Organic by John Patrick, Kule, Falke, Loup Charmant, and Anaak. 

And on the topic of summer jeans, we like these from Agolde, and these from Roucha Pala. But also, these Jenni Kayne trousers!

Finally, if you’re looking for a dopamine hit, we highly recommend you search #sheldonshrimp to see the wonderful world of Sheldon Shrimp the Jellycat stuffed animal and his friends Herman Hermit, Crispin Crab (and, course, Bashful Bunny). 

Have anything related to this grab bag you’d like to share with us? Please do at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. And for more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership!

Treat yourself to professional counseling with BetterHelp and take 10% off your first month with our link.

Download Best Fiends—for free—on the App Store or Google Play.

Support thicker, healthier hair with Nutrafol. Take $15 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO.

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We are nothing if not (professional) enthusiasts, and we figured it was ‘bout time that we shared some products we think are best in category—from brow pencils to baby bouncers, dental floss to pasta. Join us for the Thingies! In the future, we hope our awards programming includes a red-carpet pre-show.

Give us that feedback—we know you have it. 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and/or @athingortwohq. 

So many more recs available over at Secret Menu! 

Welks!!!!! What Urban Dictionary and Mindy Kaling have to contribute.

The divisive Danny Meyer tweet about Häagen-Dazs vanilla. (Sir did write the book Setting the Table that we like a lot.)

The Grub Street bucatini shortage article by Rachel Handler—the sort of coverage HDVB deserves.

The inaugural Thingies winners!!! Hellman’s, Heinz, HDVB (duh, duh, duh). The Stutterheim raincoat. Dr. Tung’s Smart Floss. BabyBjörn bouncer. Marvy Uchida Le Pen. Uniqlo HeatTech (the regular and ultra-warm leggings, the turtlenecks). Sania’s Brow Bar pencil (and service!). Garofalo gluten-free pasta (casarecce specifically). Feetures running socks. Artifact Uprising (see: the baby board book, the layflat photo album, the baby book). Soapwalla deodorant (original or sensitive skin). 

Try both of Hilma’s Immune Support products with 20% off an Immune Sampler pack. Just use the code ATHINGORTWO

Download the Caviar app and get 20% off your order with the code ATHINGORTWO2021.

Fight food waste with Imperfect Foods and get 20% off your first order and free shipping with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Treat that skin barrier right with COOLA’s new Organic Skincare line—10% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

YAY.

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Ooh, what a joy it is to talk Thingies with Véronique Hyland, the fashion features director at Elle who coined the term millennial pink and has a brilliant new book, Dress Code: Unlocking Fashion from the New Look to Millennial Pink, that checks so many boxes for us. But first, can we discuss cooking motivation…or lack thereof?

A smattering of dinner-making inspo if you need some too: 1) Brothy soup recipes—vegetarian lemon rice soup, beans and greens soup with harissa, and Helen Rosner’s Roberto specifically 2) The Magic of Tinned Fish: Elevate Your Cooking with Canned Anchovies, Sardines, Mackerel, Crab, and Other Amazing Seafood by Chris McDade 3) @glucosegoddess.

Véronique’s Thingies, coming through! Joe Iconis & Family, beach noir films + TV shows (including but not limited to Inherent Vice, Night Moves, Cutter’s Way, Veronica Mars, Terriers, and Moonlighting), and entertainment podcasts like I Saw What You Did, Junk Filter, and Nostalgia Trap. Key Twitter follows: @the_80s_man and this one account that recaps Paul Schrader’s Facebook posts. Her music recs: atmospheric YouTube videos (see: Music in an Empty Mall) and Mother Earth’s Plantasia. And when it comes to fashion, she needs you to know about Dauphinette by Olivia Cheng—amazing coats and other incredibleness also.

You can find Véronique at @niquepeeks,  veroniquehyland.com, and, of course, in the pages of Dress Code: Unlocking Fashion from the New Look to Millennial Pink

Book events—something we love and have missed! See Véronique in conversation with Robin Givhan in D.C. on March 19 and chatting it up with Marisa Meltzer in NYC on March 25.

Share your Thingies at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq.

Get all the recs, all the weeks with a Secret Menu membership!

Download the free Zocdoc app and book that doctor’s appointment today.

Feel oh-so-fresh with Native and get 20% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

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We’re dipping our toes back into going places, and there’s been a real learning curve, tell you what. We’re talking toddlers ‘n travel and unpacking our packing lessons. Now to just remember to put this stuff in a carry-on next time…

Our forever packing list: Birkenstock EVAs (the Madrid style especially) and ‘tween pants like the Outdoor Voices jogger, a multi-functional kanga/wrap/scarf, a chambray shirt, a Baggu tote, a flat clutch (Clare V. and Madewell make some good ones), an umbrella, the Jade Yoga Voyager mat, an OXO on-the-go lint brush, a paper fan, a Patagonia Down Sweater Hoody for the winter, a Patagonia Houdini in the summer, and bedside-comforts bag (featuring Zicam, Advil, Pepto Bismol, allergy meds, and Band-Aids).

For the journey, we love a Muji plane pillow, a separate cords pouch, packing cubes (rec Baggu, Muji, and Paravel!), a fold-up bag (great ones from Muji in-store and Paravel), and Comrad compression socks, possibly tucked into a Thingies-winning Lo & Sons The O.G. 2 carry-on.

Seven minutes of great content: the “Rachel Jacobson Tries to Act Like She's on Vacation All the Time” ep of The Best Advice Show.

Share your travel-planning tactics and queries at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. And for more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership.

Try BetterHelp for professional counseling and take 10% off your first month with our link.

Download Best Fiends—for free!—on the App Store or Google Play.

Book that doctor’s appointment right now: Download the free Zocdoc app.

Swap your paper towels with Papaya Reusables and get 20% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO20.

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 When Nikki Ogunnaike got a new job as GQ’s deputy fashion director, we were immediately all, “What’s it like?!” So we took this opportunity to ask her about making the move from women’s fashion to men’s...and where she gets the bags she couldn’t afford when she was starting out. Oh, and while we’re at it, we’re sharing a three-minute exercise another friend used to make a tough decision, too.

The linkage:

Voicemails: We love ‘em. You can get us at 833-632-5463.

Our pal Eliza Bent, who recently made a big move and whose decision-making tactic we co-opted.

Follow Nikki Ogunnaike and her #bathroombigfit looks...and maybe subscribe to GQ, which is what we’re doing? See: this Keanu Reeves profile, this Larry David cover story, and this story about how a wide range of dudes are eating in 2020. 

Two menswear brands Nikki is v. into: Alex Mill and Brandon Maxwell.

To source the bags she couldn’t get as an assistant, Nikki turns to The RealReal, Fashionphile, and Threads Styling.

Nikki bought multiple colors of a pair of Maison Kitsuné pants, and Erica did the same with these Ganni jeans.

Feel free to reach out to Qai Qai—via Twitter or Instagram—and tell her you want to hear her on our pod.

For all of our advertiser coupon codes and episode notes, get your butt to claireanderica.com.

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HEY, we’re back from hiatus! And like everyone else, we’re stressing (spiraling?) about the election constantly. This week, we’re talking to Adair Ford Boroughs about what it’s like to actually be on the ticket—she’s the very impressive and overqualified Democratic candidate running for Congress in South Carolina’s Second District—and our big plans for election day (spoiler: bein’ poll workers).

Gah, we’ve missed you! Have you missed us? KIT with voicemails (833-632-5463) and IG direct messages (@athingortwohq), huh? And join Secret Menu even.

We’re volunteering to be poll workers. Do you wanna do it, too?! Check out some stats about the typical poll-worker demo (spoiler: high Covid risk!) via NPR and a very useful IG story from Helen Rosner about her experience doing this in past years. 

Snuffleupagus getting nosy in the voting booth during a 1957 episode of Sesame Street. (And, bless, he is still on the show!)

Dig into all of the many ways you can support Adair Ford Boroughs and her run for Congress. Donate! Phone or text bank! Share her campaign videos! Whether or not you’re in South Carolina! 

Another big South Carolina race to watch and support: Jaime Harrison for Senate.

Give the Caviar app a go and get $10 off your food order of $20 or more with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Try Inner Workout for some genuine self-care—the code ATHINGORTWO gets you 15% off.

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However many months in, we’ve found our fitnessing-at-home rhythms (which, no, do not involve dance cardio). Also! We’ve landed on a way to keep our very clean hands moisturized: shea butter, specifically the stuff from Eu’Genia Shea, and we clearly needed to talk to the company’s founder Naa-Sakle Akuete for the inside scoop.

The linkage:

Have thoughts? We want your DMs and VMs! Get us at @athingortwohq or 833-632-5463.

Online fitness stuff we’re now in long-term relationships with: the Peloton app, Melissa Wood Health (which you can try out on her IGTV), Revolution Motherhood, Exercise Snacks, Sky Ting Live & TV, and Kate Posch’s streaming yoga classes.

Home equipment worth the investment (in money and space!): Bala Bangles, Manduka cork yoga blocks, the Exercise Snacks Snack Pack, and a Jade Yoga Harmony mat.   

We’re so very into Naa-Sakle Akuete’s company Eu’Genia Shea and its stocked-at-Target spinoff, Mother’s Shea.

More info on the Target Takeoff Accelerator program Naa-Sakle went through. 

Other beauty brands Naa-Sakle wholeheartedly endorses: Sahajan, One Love Organics, True Moringa, Kreyòl Essence, and Thrive Causemetics.  

If you want more from us, let us direct you to Secret Menu, which, for four bucks a month, gets you a members-only newsletter every dang week.

Dig into details on Succession Strength. For 20% any of their business-planning products, use the code ATHINGOR20.

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Why haven’t we been talking about JLo more here? Well, we’re about to remedy that—and fill ya in on more, more, more design trends that are speaking to us right now.

The women artist biographies/books Claire will be picking up include Ninth Street Women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: Five PaAnne Truittinters and the Movement by Mary Gabriel, Daybook: The Journal of an Artist by Anne Truitt, and Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa by Marilyn Chase.

If you’re also looking to do a JLo deep-dive, we recommend reading How to Fake It in Hollywood by Ava Wilder, Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman, the story of the full-page ad Ben took out back when, Vulture’s Peoria, Illinois, analysis re: Marry Me, and this GQ article about THE dress. Also, listen to Just Like Us: The Tabloids that Changed America hosted by Clare Malone and watch the music video that Ben made to “On My Way To You” for Jen for Valentine’s Day.

In the home-design realm, some inspiration comes from two incredible New Orleans hotels, Hotel St. Vincent and Hotel Peter and Paul. 

Fellow lovers of yellow furniture should bask in Billy Cotton space for Grace Morton, Sophie Ashby’s giant yellow velvet couch, and this kid’s room. 

If you’re thinking of doing some furniture-painting on your own (inspiration: Matilda Goad’s London home!), see Erin Boyle of Reading My Tea Leaves make-over a dresser on IG and read her guides for refreshing trim and kitchen cabinets. 

Wood paneling—SO COOL. See: Sound View Hotel, ​​Les Arcs ski resort, Jane Hallworth for Tinder co-founder Sean Rad and his Wife Lizzie Grover Rad, and Wall for Apricots. 

On the Swedish tile stove front, we love painter Mary Nelson Sinclair’s dining room, Victor Hugo’s fireplace, Lindholm Kakelugnar, and this explainer from Messy Nessy Chic.

Your favorite niche JLo stories need an audience! Share ‘em at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq.

So many more recs coming at you with a Secret Menu membership!

Get professional counseling with BetterHelp and take 10% off your first month with our link.

Download Best Fiends—it’s free!—on the App Store or Google Play.

Grow hair that’s thicker and healthier with Nutrafol. Your first month’s subscription is $15 off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Help those muscles chill: Try Theragun for 30 days.

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You know what we have a lot to say about today? A lot of things, from high praise for neighborhood restaurants and actually useful apps to sharing weddings FAQs and advocating for yourself at the doctor’s office. 

Behold, the Covid wedding template of our dreams:

Our beloved friends & family,

It's only 30 days until our wedding! We're so glad that you are coming and celebrating this special day with us. 

A few announcements regarding the wedding: 

Serious stuff

• You must be fully vaccinated to attend the event. Please send your proof of vaccination to EMAIL ADDRESS.
• For children and adults with underlying medical conditions preventing them from getting vaccinated, we ask that you obtain a negative PCR Covid-19 test result within 48 hours prior to the event.
• Your health is of utmost importance to us, and we have therefore decided to cancel ANY CHANGES TO EVENT SCHEDULE.

Fun stuff

• X, Y, Z!

Apps worth your limited phone storage space: Weather Strip, Libby, and PictureThis (related-ish: Merlin Bird ID). 

Whip up dinner with Made In’s professional-grade cookware. 15% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Listen to How To Do the Pot for practical advice about weed for women by women. Tune in wherever you get your podcasts!

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We love hot industry intel and gossip! Of all industries, really! And when it comes to the land of hyaluronic acid, celeb makeup lines, and derm backlash, no one gives it better than Jill Dunn and Carlene Higgins of the Breaking Beauty Podcast. But before we go deeeeeep down that rabbithole, we need to answer one pressing question: What looks will Cam be working for fall 2020?!

What’s Cam wearing this fall?! Some combination of babyGap (beware of baby vanity sizing!!!), Petit Bateau, Búho, Emile et Ida, Bobo Choses, Oeuf, Poudre Organic, Lewis, Tinycottons, and Patagonia (this vest!). For these brands and lots more, Claire’s all about scraping the sale sections on Smallable, Scandiborn, and Melijoe. And when it comes to shoes: Native, AF1s, Air Jordans, and Timberlands, scuffed-up ideally.

To get so much more of Jill and Carlene, subscribe to the Breaking Beauty Podcast.

Scientists giving their clean-beauty takes: Dr. Michelle Wong (@labmuffinbeautyscience), Stephen Ko (@kindofstephen), and Jen Novakovich (@theecowell).

Some makeup/beauty things having a pandemic moment: LoveSeen fake lashes, Foreo microcurrent bear, root cover-up powders from Color Wow and Clairol, and Christophe Robin temporary hair color.

Splashy new launches: Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez, Makeup by Mario, One/Size by Patrick Starrr, and Forvr Mood by Jackie Aina.

Skincare ingredients in masks! But of course! Check out The HydraFacial Company's FaceLife copper-infused masks and YoRo Naturals' zinc masks and Masque Bar’s hydrogel masks specifically to wear under PPE.

WOC-owned brands to watch (and founders to follow!): Uoma Beauty, founded by Sharon Chuter, who started #PullUpForChange; Cheekbone Beauty, from the Canadian Indigenous 

founder Jenn Harper; Ami Colé, which is pre-launch and founded by the Glossier and L'Oréal alum Diarrha N'Diaye. Oh, and the derm Dr. Alexis Stephens, too. 

For more on colorism and skin-lightening, check out Priya Rao’s Unfair podcast for Glossy.

Affordable and efficacious skincare: Maelove, Good (Skin) Days, Inn Beauty Project, Everyday Humans, and Versed.

Waterless beauty—COOL. OWA Haircare and aN-Hydra Skincare are making big moves, and we’re big fans of the Odacité Green Ceremony Cleanser.

Companies doing good stuff around refillable packaging and recycling: Terracycle, Tata Harper and their new Waterlock Moisturizer, Kjaer Weis, Clé de Peau Beauté, Charlotte Tilbury, and Native.

The 2020 ingredient: Niacinamide.

Skinfluencers worth following: Caroline Hirons, Skincare by Hyram, DermAngelo, and, but of course, Dr. Sandra Lee (aka Dr. Pimple Popper).

Call us! 833-632-5463! DM us! @athingortwohq! KIT, basically.

Get online migraine relief—and 50% off your first month of medication—with Cove.

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This week, Claire’s talking about the highs and lows of getting workouts in while expecting, and then we dive into all sorts of other great finds that aren’t fresh enough to make into 10 Things but that are still very much worth knowing about. P.S. This black checked dress is a year-round winner (hey, looks great with tights!), and you can snag yours for 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS.

Aaand we’re back! In this first post-hiatus episode, we’re talking tech with Taylor Lorenz, an incoming reporter for The New York Times whose byline has been synonymous with “ooh, this is going to be good!” for us for years. Listen in to hear how Tumblr (throwback, huh?) literally changed her career path and how she always gets the digital-world goss before the rest of us do. P.S. Follow Claire and Erica’s lead and let this chic Zoka Ceramics Pierced Cylindrical Vase scratch your itch for a new piercing—now 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS. P.P.S: If you simply cannot wait for another ep of this podcast next week, pick up a copy of Work Wife to hold you over!

How do we wrap up vacation? How do we shop for clothes on the internet? Well! 

The Atlantic also says you should come home from vacation a day early in this piece about 8 rules for a happy vacation. 

Hit us with your online shopping hacks at @athingortwohq, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and 833-632-5463. And get more of ours from Secret Menu.

Find out where to get your COVID-19 vaccine near you at vaccines.gov.

Learn about your body with Base and take 20% off of your first month of membership with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Get good at doing your nails with Olive & June's tremendous Mani System and take 20% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Try BetterHelp for professional counseling and get 10% off your first month with our link.

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You know, this episode from last year is an all-time classic—a real Bobs smörgåsbord if you will. We welcome your updates on all of this! Especially how you’re footwearing for summer rain.

Our rain-clog conversation has reached new heights! As in: We have a Calzuro review for you. 

Holiday shopping season is starting early because the Staten Island Pizza Rat hats are back in stock. 

Now onto romance! For an IRL one, try Julia Allison and Noah Feldman. Fictional romances we love include You, Again by Kate Goldbeck (bonus read: this Vulture story about fanfics-turned-bestsellers by Elizabeth Held), The Art of Scandal by Regina Black, Tessa Bailey’s books including It Happened One Summer, Hook, Line, and Sinker, Fix Her Up, and Chase Me, and Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan. Re: sports romances, see Icebreaker by Hannah Grace, The Deal by Elle Kennedy, Kennedy Ryan in general, and this GQ interview with Phillies player Bryce Harper. Also! Let’s talk about Danielle Steel’s desk—Samantha Leach did a good profile of the icon for Glamour—and Rachel Antonoff’s fall fashion campaign (completely unrelated but we love her email roundups to her vet).  

Share the romances you’re into with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, @athingortwohq, or our Geneva!

YAY.

You know what we love? When someone makes a thing we’re really desparate to use. Which means we can’t wait for the launch of Postcard, a tool to help us share our travel recommendations in an intuitive and aesthetically pleasing way. We’ll let David Cho tell ya all about it...and share his Thingies. That’s right: a guest Thingies ep. Tell us how you feel about that??

Two relevant celebrity memoirs: Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling and Yearbook by Seth Rogen.

Oh, the joy of a website called findcelebrityjobs.com.

Be Postcard guinea pigs! Make some lists! Send them to us!

David’s Thingies! Orion Turtle Chips Choco Churros Flavor (and Sweet Corn if you’re us), Rose Delights, therapy!!!, Golden Fertile Eggs, Sun Ha Jang in L.A., and “A Home Movies Thanksgiving Special with Alison Roman” (also her spring chicken with crispy leeks recipe).

Do you have Thingies noms? Hit us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq.

For so many more of our favorites, get yourself a Secret Menu subscription.

Scoop up Ana Luisa jewelry during their biggest sale of the year. 

Keep that coffee and tea at the perfect temp with Ember. It’s 10% off for first-time purchasers with our link.

Grab tickets for Redeeming Love and get your romance-movie fix.

Snag Printfresh’s perfect-for-gifting sleepwear—and get 15% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

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We’re revisiting some of our favorite episodes from the archive! Originally aired 8.20.15 In 2015, just fifteen episodes into A Few Things, one of our all time favorite guests, Cup of Jo's Joanna Goddard, stopped by for a timeless chat about starting the blog that since become a community for women across the world. Tune in for our hang sesh. P.S. If you haven’t picked up a copy of Work Wife yet, what are you doing?

On this episode of A Few Things, Claire and Erica are having another food moment. As Claire puts it, 70 to 80% of these podcasts are 90% about food, and this week’s show features yummy things like Jon & Vinny’s (which Erica was craving before Hailey and Justin ordered it for date night, ok?). Tune in to hear how to amp up both your laptop security and your caramelized onion game (maybe not in that order). P.S. Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses is out, and it’s awesome. P.P.S. Our no-nonsense summer sale is currently in action, and all the scores in it are up to 70% off!

Are black tights getting you down? Are you looking to investigate your alcohol consumption? Are you searching for some new places to shop? This is not an infomercial—it’s just an intro to all that awaits you in this week’s grab bag of an ep.

The linkage:

Our fave stores, for fashion and accessories: Idun, Kick Pleat, Noodle Stories, Love Adorned, Esqueleto, Lizzie Fortunato (don’t sleep on the Fortune Finds home goods either!), Lisa Says Gah, Garmentory, Concrete + Water, and Ban.do.

Shops we love, for home and gifty stuff: Food52, Collyer’s Mansion, Primary Essentials, Coming Soon, Homecoming, Hawkins New York, and Leif.

Tall (definitely investment) boots: Stuart Weitzman’s Lowland and Loeffler Randall's Gia ones.

Sheer tights! Wolford Individual 10s are just great.

Some drinking stuff: Omission GF beer and madeira, beloved by George Washington.

Some non-drinking stuff: Curious Elixirs, Kin Euphorics, Recess, Proteau, Zero Proof dinner series, The Goods article on how 2019 changed the way we drink, Tempest, and a NYT opinion column on A.A. and women (that came out after we recorded and is too relevant not to include!).

Betterhelp.com/ATHINGORTWO for 10% off your first month!

HelloNoemie.com/ATHINGORTWO for $50 off your first purchase!

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Let’s talk Thingies with Monica Khemsurov & Jill Singer! They’re the masterminds behind Sight Unseen, our go-to design resource since 2009, and the authors of the new book How to Live with Objects that has helpful tips aplenty (along with ample inspiration). Plus: a hate-gift idea and a belated love letter to Normal People. 

How about a donation to Moms for Moms, pitched to us as an A+ hate-gift by a listener?

Monica and Jill’s book How to Live with Objects is out now! Wow, is it great—and what an ideal present for the “person who has everything” type.

Their Thingies, coming through: oversize decor, miniature fountains (Monica’s is from Lily Clark.), only buying the best version of a consumable something (Jill loves the Marie Veronique Barrier Lipid Complex, rice from The Rice Factory New York, and Glaser Organic Farms Almond Butter.), microwaves (David Chang Cooking at Home and Anyday cookware fans unite!), and saved search terms when exploring vintage objects. 

Are there entertainment-y things you’re SHOCKED we haven’t talked about on this show? Leave us a voicemail at 833-632-5463, email us at podcast@athingortwohq.com, DM us at @athingortwohq —or join our Geneva and share! 

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Care for your hair with Nutrafol. Take $15 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Check out Noihsaf Bazaar to buy, sell, and even make new friends.

Download the free Zocdoc app and book that doctor’s appointment.

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As two married gals getting older by the day, this ep feels like a real throwback. We’re talking babysitting and dating—the latter with Lindsey Metselaar, the savvy host of the We Met at Acme podcast who knows much more about the topic than we do at this point. Something we’re obviously NOT talking about: inviting the person you’re dating to the house you’re babysitting at without permission.

The linkage:

Do you know about our Secret Menu? It’s our new thingy where, for $4 a month, you get access to a weekly members-only newsletters.

You’ve heard about The Baby-Sitters Club Netflix reboot? Course you have.

Further BSC reading: Michelle Ruiz for Vogue.com, Gal Beckerman for NYT, Katie Baker for The Ringer, and The Hollywood Reporter interview with the showrunner Rachel Shukert. Further listening: The Baby-Sitters Club Club podcast! 

Tune into Lindsey’s podcast We Met at Acme to get your regular dating updates and intel.

Add The Newsette to your morning routine.

Snag the latest issue of the health-and-arts mag Womanly.

YAY.

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Updates AND new topics? Wow, this episode really has it all. We issue a correction about Jibbitz, share some third-birthday gift recommendations, and present some alts for words like “affordable” and “expensive,” which are loaded (<< money pun).

PSAs! Secret Menu subscribers now have access to searchable archives: You can now dig into the back issues of our Monday newsletter and each ‘n every installment of What Are the Cute. Also, we received so many amazing responses to our second-kid conversation that we saved a bunch to an Instagram highlight.

Our sources re: the backstory of Jibbitz: NBC News, Business News Daily, and The Times. 

Molly Young’s article “The Cookie Jar Grows Up” in The New York Times that’s about so much more than a locked box for your phone. Also, we still think about Shonda Rimes's Year of Yes…and have starting thinking more about Brandy & Whitney’s Cinderella.

Our recs for a gift for a three year old include a Yoto Player, a karaoke mic, a Loog guitar or this Kid’s Concept one, a DJ Mixer, Magnatiles, a custom coloring poster with the kid’s name, costumes like this firefighter one or a customized superhero cape, If there’s room and it’s in the budget: Haus. And something we should all know: USPS now makes Buzz Lightyear stamps. 

If you have recommendations for kid-friendly space movies—beyond Muppets from Space— or substitutes for “affordable,” “expensive,” and the like, let us know at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. And for more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership.

Get your ecomm business going with Shopify. Try a free 14-day trial with our link.

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Big day, team! We’re catching up with our very favorite photographer, Jamie Beck, who moved to Provence, France, longer ago than we like to acknowledge and who has been creating all kinds of greatness recently—much of which you can even purchase for the first time. Friends, let’s dive in.

The linkage:

Ok, you have to follow Jamie Beck on Instagram for the full behind-the-scenes.

Jamie’s incredible #IsolationCreation project, which she invited her community to contribute to (and, whoa, did people!).

Lucky us! Jamie started selling her work, in the form art posters featuring her isolation creations—and there’s a signed, limited-edition finale poster coming, too (along with phone cases, camera straps, fine art, stationery, journals, a couple books…).

You know about our Secret Menu? Joining will get you a ~bonus~ members-only newsletter once a week.

Our DMs and voicemails are open! Get us at @athingortwohq or 833-632-5463.  

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So, you may have heard: Of a Kind is no more. What’s it been like for us to step away from the business we built and ran for nine years? How are we doing over here? What are we still processing? Oh, so very many thoughts and feeeeeeelings ahead…

The linkage:

Go to the gyno! In NYC, Erica’s a fan of Pure OBGYN, and Claire loves Vanessa Pena. Also, Claire’s doula, if you’re looking.

Jenny Odell’s book How to Do Nothing feels so right for our transition.

Erica is planning on using this time to deep-dive into some cookbooks—Cannelle et Vanille, Lucky Peach Presents 101 Easy Asian Recipes, and Nothing Fancy in particular.

If you want more on Of a Kind’s run, Callia Hargrove wrote a piece for Fashionista that definitely made us cry.

Better Help for 10% off your first month

Acuity Scheduling for 45 days FREE

Cove for your first month FREE

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Geez, does Marisa Meltzer know how to get the wheels turning. We talk to her about her shiny new book This Is Big, which digs deep into dieting, wellness, feminism, body positivity, and the intersection of those topics—and also about friendship and snacks. Much to discuss, you see. But first! A truly odd (if entertaining) NYC campaign we didn’t want you to miss.

The linkage:

If you somehow want more on the Billy Never Idles campaign, well, here you go.

Read Marisa’s book, This Is Big: How the Founder of Weight Watchers Changed the World (and Me)! Do it!

Jean Nidetch’s NYT obit from 2015—and the whole Overlooked No More obit project.

A wonderful article Marisa wrote a while back for Elle about diets + feminism.

We enthusiastically endorse Katie Sturino’s Boob Sweat podcast. Marisa shouts-out this interview with CeCe Olisa in particular.

Let’s talk about SNACKS real quick: Graham crackers (with cream cheese, covered in chocolate, or as part of an #indoorsmore situation), The Daily Crave smoked gouda lentil chips, and Tapatio Doritos.

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Let’s talk about signing your name (hello, strange custom) and dig into Val Monroe’s Thingies! This genius woman—the former beauty director of O, The Oprah Magazine—writes the extremely thoughtful and epically named newsletter How Not to F*ck Up Your Face, and we’re fairly obsessed.

Sign up for Val’s newsletter at valeriemonroe.substack.com immediately. This is the moving installment on Facetiming with her granddaughter.

Val had a bunch of reading (and audiobook-listening) recommendations: the Wolf Hall trilogy by Hilary Mantel, How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan, Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Tom Stoppard: A Life by Hermione Lee, Mike Nichols: A Life by Mark Harris (see also: Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood by Mark Harris and Rewrites: A Memoir by Neil Simon), The News Sorority by Sheila Weller, The Overstory by Richard Powers, The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal, and All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

For a companion newsletter to Val’s, subscribe to Jessica DeFino’s The Unpublishable. 

Beauty-ish things Val raves about: her aminolevulinic acid treatment experience, Colorescience Sunforgettable Total Protection Brush-On Shield SPF 50, the French perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, Laura Geller Baked Foundation, and Tocca Florence Laundry Delicate.

Share your favorite Thingies at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. Please!

If you’re in the mood for many more recs, there’s a Secret Menu membership for that.

Download the Zocdoc app for free and book that doctor’s appointment already.

Get your birth control online with The Pill Club, which will make a $10 donation to Bedsider.org when you use our link.

Feel fresh all day with Native and get 20% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

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May we discuss manicures, messes, and the intersection between manicures and messes and the social pressure to present as *having it all together*? Let’s go.

On gel manicures: Uché Blackstock is going to keep getting them, and Claire is too—but now with Maniglovz to protect her hands from those UV lights (and with CND Shellac whenever she can).

For a one-coat at-home mani, Olive & June Cosmic, Pleasing Pearly Tops, and Dior Glow deliver a shimmery, sheer finish. A listener said Dazzle Dry is one of their Thingies, and multiple of y’all have called-out Londontown Kur Nail Concealer (<< the name!). For growth (and nail-biting-prevention), try Nailtiques. For setting yourself up for DIY success, arm yourself with  Olive & June dry drops and the brand’s clean up brush. 

We have a lot of thoughts about mess, and so do some other people. Dig into For Scale’s “Exquisite Chaos” installment, "Girl Clutter" by Molly Soda, “What If You Just Didn’t Clean That Up?” by Kathryn Jezer-Morton for The Cut, and “This Trend Is a Mess” by Callie Holtermann for NYT. For a listen, check out "How to Keep House While Drowning" on Terrible, Thanks for Asking with guest KC Davis, the author of How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing. 

Our convo also reminded us of the books All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood by Jennifer Senior and In My Room: Teenagers in Their Bedrooms by Adrienne Salinger (a sampling of some of those pics here). 

And a retaliation to the white-box era we’ve been living in can be found on @officialsadbeige.

For a clustercore explainer, we’ve got Better Homes & Gardens. For primo examples, we always think of friend-of-the-pod Rumaan Alam and David Land’s collection of George Washington paintings in their dining room, and dip into Catherine Newman’s home tour on A Cup of Jo. 

Two messfluencers to know: Alix Earle and Julia Fox. 

On the topic of digital messiness, how many tabs do you have open right now? Let us know at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq—or join our Geneva! For more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Try Shopify, the trustiest ecomm platform around, and get a free 14-day trial with our link.

Level-up your sandwich with Hero Bread—10% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

YAY.

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Buckle in, folks! This week, we’re talking about our garden-curator journeys, second-kid thoughts, and the slacker–to–chaos goblin line cook pipeline. 

Looking for Fast-Growing Trees? Thank goodness there’s a company that sells exactly those.  Love the Bloomerang lilac shrub, and you clearly need to know about the smoothie kit. If you wanna grow the ~cool~ flowers, check out Plantgem. A few faves they sell: ProCut plum sunflower, crocus saffron bulbs, and Irene Parrot tulip bulbs. Peony fans should investigate Styer’s, David Austin is as good at roses as at customer service, and for regional wildflower seed mixes, look to Wildseed Farms. 

How’s you decide whether or not to have a second kid? Please share any and all thoughts you have on this topic with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq.  An article related to this conversation: Emily Gould’s NYT piece "More Kids? After the Last Two Years? No Thanks.”

For thoughts about the present-day incarnation of the slacker, check out this tremendous tweet by @yeehaw_meg. (Of course, we’re thinking about it in the context of The Bear.) 

Any plants you’re obsessed with? Have theories about slackers? Share them with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. And for more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership.

Download Best Fiends—for free—on the App Store or Google Play.

Get that thicker, healthier hair with Nutrafol. Take $15 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Jazz up your wardrobe with Nuuly. Get $10 off your first month when you sign up with the code ATHINGORTWO10.

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We’ve been following the career of Alisha Ramos since she was in college—so, um before she technically had a career. If you haven’t spotted her two businesses Girls’ Night In, a newsletter ‘n community for women who love to stay in, and Whiled, a line of cheery, artsy puzzles, everywhere you turn recently, then your pandemic experience has been very different from ours. But before we get into it all with her: Let us discuss how dumplings (the sweatpants of food?) became such a vibe.

DUMPLINGS. In handbag form from Simon Miller, Elleme, and Emily Levine. In cartoon form thanks to Wonton in a Million. As sculpture in porcelain by Stephanie H. Shih and felt by Dumpling Mart. As a light, an ornament, and, hey, a potsticker pipe.

Alisha Ramos is up to so very much—she’s the founder of Girls’ Night In and Whiled, and she’s a very committed Swiftie and gardener on IG.

Speaking of Swifties: a conspiracy rabbithole for you—feel free to search Swiftgron on Tumblr.

The still-very-relevant Stay Home, Take Care resource the GNI team put together at the beginning of quarantine. 

For some TikTok ~curation~, follow Aminatou Sow and Zara Rahim...on Instagram.

“Our Shared Unsharing” by Stella Bugbee for The Cut. 

A few of Alisha’s head-clearing recs: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, Floret, Monty Don, and The Gardens of Bunny Mellon. Plus one gardening-related one from Erica: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

All of our inboxes are open! Contact us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and/or @athingortwohq. 

For more of everything, get that Secret Menu—subscribe (or even give a gift).

Visit www.Hilma.co/ATHINGORWO to get the starter set with both a free gift, a beautiful tote bag designed by an amazing female artist, AND 20% off.

Slip into our new favorite workout gear, the Sweaty Betty Power Legging, for 20% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

YAY.

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The two of us think and talk a lot about ~the state of media~, and we figured it was about time we discussed it with a genuine expert. Enter stage left: the thoughtful and incredibly incisive Delia Cai, who writes the newsletter we always open Deez Links (and is a growth and trends editor at BuzzFeed by day—so clearly she’s on top of all the things.) We also figured it was ‘bout time to discuss Claire’s experience with Whole30, at least as it relates to their insurrection content.

You can find the Whole30 insurrection statement right over here (the Jan. 7 post).

The BuzzFeed article titled “The Small-Town America I Love Is The One I See At Football Games” that first led Erica to Delia (shout-out Dunlap High School—go eagles!).

You gotta, gotta sign for Delia’s newsletter Deez Links if you care about media (or good TikToks) at all. An adjacent, relevant newsletter: Today in Tabs.

For more on Substack, dive into Clio Chang’s “The Substackerati” piece for CJR (and its discussion of Patrice Peck’s Coronavirus News for Black Folks newletter) as well as Anna Wiener’s “Is Substack the Media Future We Want?” for The New Yorker.

Writers Delia always reads: Taylor Lorenz, Doreen St. Félix, and Hua Hsu.

Two Deez Links installments we discuss: Delia's piece about a profile of Nick Quah and Hot Pod and a very LOLZy one about fantasy media men beefs.

You know about Secret Menu, yah? And how to get your feedback to us? That’s 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and/or @athingortwohq. 

Give COOLA and its excellent new Organic Skincare line a go and take 10% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Play Best Fiends today—you can download it for free on the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Get creative with Skillshare and sign up for a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Design something cool with Projector. It’s totally free to sign up.

YAY.

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If you just CAN’T with the gifting stress, drama, and intrigue this year and are looking to do some one-stop shopping, well, welcome to our second gift guide of the season, in partnership with the glorious, aesthetically driven team over at MoMA Design Store. Use the code ATHINGORTWO online or in store for 10% off your purchase now through November 24 (fine print below)—and know that every purchase supports the museum's collection and education programs. Talk about a GWP!

Heyo: Dig into all of our MoMA Design Store gifting picks.

Healthcare practitioners who I see regularly but don't know on a personal level

• 2022 Stendig Poster Calendar or 2022 Jumping Point Calendar 
  
• Yoshitomo Nara Bandages
  
• Italian Ball Candle
  
• MoMA Monet and Ed Ruscha artist masks
  

My new colleagues who I want to love me. Something cheap, cute, and maybe useful.

• Extendable Phone Stand
  
• Denis Guidone Milano Times Hourglasses
  
• Twist Cable Protector - Set of 3
  
• MoMA Touchscreen Mist Cleaner
  

I have to buy gifts for approximately eight thousand kids.  Is there anything that I could buy that all of them would like?  They are various ages between 0-10 years old.

• The Great New York Subway Map 
  
• Coloring books! Coloring Book Henri Matisse, Keith Haring Coloring Book, Keith Haring: My First Coloring Book, To the Moon: The Longest Fold-Out Coloring Book in the World
  
• Making with MoMA Smush Crayon
  
• Art out of the Box 
  
• Small Night Light - Miffy, Boris, Lion or Miffy and Friends Silicone Rechargeable Lights 
  
• The Hoptimist
  

Dating for 3 mo by the time xmas is here. Wants to ride tandem bike. Dairy & nut free.

• Gemini Express Espresso Set
  
• Happy Socks for MoMA Set (3)
  
• Vince Kurr Tabletop Shuffleboard Game
  
• Julian F. Bond Corknet Ping Pong Set
  

My husband who loves fancy Japanese mugs, Swedish menswear, and guitar pedals

• Design books: Structured Lineages: Learning from Japanese Structural Design, From Postwar to Postmodern: Art in Japan, 1945–1989, Primary Documents, and JUDD
  
• HAY Coffee Pot
  
• Man Ray: Chess Pieces
  
• Japanese Maekake Workshop Cotton Apron
  

90 year old Grandma who lives in Scottsdale. She loves golf, crafting, playing cards, shopping, and hot weather. She has a condo full of tons of stuff - she collects trinkets and has multiple collections of China, glassware, etc. so I avoid giving her something that's just an item that will sit on a shelf. She is sometimes lonely and really likes activities but is easily intimidated by things that seem too hard. I gave her a 500 piece puzzle last year and at first she thought she could never do it but she ended up finishing it and got it framed. She's the absolute cutest but also very set in her ways. I like to give her something that can be consumed or created so I don't add to clutter but she is very thrifty as a depression era woman and will savor things forever. Sometimes things like lotions or candles never end up getting used. She also loves jewlery and clothing. She walks to church every day in a sensible heel.

• Glass Coffee Ornament Set 
  
• Wildlife Garden Birdhouse and Feeder 
  
• DIY Rainbow Needlepoint Kit
  
• Andrew Wyeth Jigsaw Puzzle
  

65+ crowd that have everything! Bring in the MOMA recs!

• Bodum Breadbox with Cutting Board
  
• HAY George Sowden Toaster
  
• Michele De Lucchi Plissé Electric Kettle
  
• Larq UV Purifying Pitcher
  
• Self-Watering Wet Pots 
  
• Avocado Vase and Acorn Vase
  
• Bala Fitness Weight Bangles - Set of 2
  

My brother and his stylist boyfriend who has intimidatingly good taste

• Fenestra Bookends and House Bookends
  
• Cloudnola Flipping Out Text Clock
  
• Renee Vedrig Textime Clock
  
• Pond Mirror
  
• Ester & Erik Cone Candles
  

FIL loves smoking meats, nice wine, and mansplaining the weather.

• Meater+ Thermometer
  
• Microwave Grill
  
• Multi-ccino Mug 
  
• Weather, Weather by Maira Kalman and Daniel Handler
  
• Baggu Recycled Nylon Wine Totes - Set of 3
  
• George Nelson™ Fireplace Tool Set
  

Dad who loves gadgets and has a home theatre with a projector

• Solo Stove Fire Pit with Stand
  
• TEAC TN-400BTSEWA Bluetooth Turntable
  
• Toyo ST-350 Tool Box
  
• Keith Haring Edition Polaroid Now Camera
  
• Scrabble Luxe Edition Game 
  
• Automania
  
• MoMA Annual Membership
  

MIL likes soft things, needs for nothing

• Dusen Dusen Striped Bathrobe
  
• Margo Selby Halley Scarf
  
• Subu Indoor/Outdoor Slippers
  
• Big Love Ice Cream Spoon Set
  
• Bicolore Tissue Box
  

My mother who likes luxe things but doesn't like it when we overspend.

• Estelle Colored Glass Cake Stand
  
• Hinoki Wood Bath Mat
  
• Raawii Strøm Collection
  
• Burgon & Ball Steel Watering Can 
  

My veteran sister who only wears zip off pants & carves wood in her free time. 

• Verloop Balaclava Ski Mask
  
• MoMA Champion Sports Bra
  
• Sophie Monet Pine Wood Huggie Earrings
  
• Tivoli Model One Bluetooth Radio
  
• Welly Adventure First Aid Kit
  
• LED Lantern Speaker
  

13-year old girl who's very creative and into music 

• KAWS THE THINGS THAT COMFORT Jigsaw Puzzle 
  
• Kids’ MoMA Champion Hoodie
  
• Double Rainbow Maker
  
• 1 Page at a Time: A Daily Creative Companion
  
• 3D Origami Construction Kit
  
• Lexon Mino+ Wireless Charging Speaker
  
• Artiphon Orba Musical Instrument 
  
• Stylophone S1 Pocket Synthesizer
  

The code ATHINGORTWO gets you 10% off your purchase online or in store now through November 24, 2021. The fine print: Cannot be combined with membership discount or other offers. Not valid on the purchase of memberships, past purchases, and select products. Redeemable at store.moma.org and at US MoMA Design Store locations. 

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Our doctor visits are your doctor visits! Or something! Kidding aside-ish, we figured sharing our recent mammogram and colonoscopy experiences might make them at least a smidge less anxiety-inducing for you, and we’re very here for that. Join us on our healthcare journeys, won’t you? 

We love voicemails (833-632-5463)! We love DMs (@athingortwohq)! We love reviews! About milk pouches, gallon challenges, or anything at all!

Some guidance on when to start getting mammograms: 40 per the Mayo Clinic, 45 per the American Cancer Society, and 50 per the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. So: a real talk-to-your-doctor type of situation!

Some guidance on when to start getting colorectal screenings: 45 per the American Cancer Society. (But ya know: Ask your dr.)

Fancy Brodo bone broth for colonoscopy prep or just, like, life!  

Colonics: still having a moment (we guess?).

Breast self-exams! The "Touch Your Tits" vid from Mae Ryan and Mona Chalabi is a great how-to

If you like what you heard here and want more, Secret Menu is for you.

Check out Erin Williams Art for prints that start at $35.

Try out the shea-butter-based products from Overlooked Beauty.

YAY.

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Longtime hero and first-time guest Atoosa Rubenstein is our plus-one today, and, whoa, is she delivering SO MUCH wisdom—you know, exactly the sort of stuff she was known for as the editor of CosmoGIRL! And Seventeen, but now built for adults. (Related: You’ve gotta sign up for her newsletter Atoosa Unedited.) Before we get into it, though, we need to talk about a term that’s as useful as it is aspirational: public affluence.

Public affluence further reading: “Every Child on Their Own Trampoline” by Jeremy Williams and the 1958 book The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith.

More on the Buy Nothing Project. See also: this post and this one from Reading My Tea Leaves. 

Sign up for Atoosa Unedited, Atoosa Rubenstein’s newsletter—you want in on this!—and read the breakup installment we reference. Oh, follow the Atoosa Unedited Instagram, too.

Tiny, baby Erica interviewing Atoosa in 2004 for Roadtrip Nation.

Some Atoosa go-tos: It Didn’t Start With You by Mark Wolynn, Goop, Armchair Expert, SmartLess, Tara Brach, and Page Six.

Direct your feedback to @athingortwohq, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and 833-632-5463. 

Um, are you signed up for Secret Menu?!

Download the (free!) Zocdoc app and schedule the doctor’s appointment you’ve been putting off.

Get a handle on your fertility with Modern Fertility’s finger-prick test. It’s $20 off when you use our link.

Try Nutrafol for thicker, healthier hair. Your first month’s subscription is 20% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

YAY.

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What’s this? A holiday gift guide?! You bet. We solicited your Qs for hard-to-shop-for loved ones on Instagram, and we have so very many thoughts. If you don’t find exactly what you’re looking for here, tune in next Monday for the second half, huh?

The linkage:

For pretty/cool playing cards: Look to Fredericks and Mae, Joe Doucet for Areaware, Parks Project, Frank Lloyd Wright, or Woman Cards (there’s a women-in-tech deck, too)    

For coworkers (like, $10-$15!): Alpaca keychain, Areaware Little Puzzle Thing, R.P.S pencil case, or Wary Meyers soap   

For bosses (like, under $25!): A plant from a nursery or The Sill or a Fort Standard for Areaware totem candle

For employees ($50-ish): Tortuga bookends, Poketo glass straws, or a gift certificate—think a manicure (Tenoverten in NYC, LA, Austin), a massage (The Now in LA), a facial (Heyday in Philly, NYC, LA), or food/drink (Sweetgreen, Blue Bottle, etc.!)

For (but of course) work wives: An experience for you two to do OOO, like a concert, a flower-arranging class, or a workout adventure

For dads, brothers, and men in your life with no hobbies: Snake River Farms wagyu beef, Oceanbox seafood, a leather belt that you get monogrammed by your local cobbler, Glerups slippers, Kingston Wine Co. subscription, Patagonia Houdini or Action Works donation, or a digital subscription—specifically crosswords (NYT or The Inkubator), The Athletic, or Audm.

For the families of significant others when you’re not sure if you need to get them something: holiday bread! We like panettone from From Roy, babka from Breads Bakery, and stollen from Big Sur Bakery.

For a new significant other: A ~fun date~. Sporting event tix! Pottery class! What have you!

For the sig other who loves natty wine, cooking, and the REI sale (under $50, plz): Snowpeak camping dishes/utensils, Pok Pok Som drinking vinegars, Mama O’s kimchi kit, or Victoria tortilla press  

For the professor husband jealous of his fashionable Brooklyn friends but wears mostly sweats: Well, then, nice sweats, like ones from Saturdays (reverse fleece in particular), Norse Projects, Entireworld, and Todd Snyder x Champion. Or Taylor Stitch or Alex Mill clothes.

For Alice Waters–adjacent moms: Alice Waters Masterclass, Hudson Valley Seed Co. seeds, Permanent Collection something, The Floral Society market tote, or a citrus tree   

For fancy stepmoms: Hill House Home monogrammed washcloths (or anything from this brand, really), Caroline Z. Hurley cloth napkins, or Brown Parcel Press calendar 

For cooler, younger sisters-in-law: Hysteria by Happy Socks socks, Lunya silk scrunchie, Piecework puzzle, Thompson Street Studio coasters, Machete anything, Hay jug   

For suburban sisters-in-law not into too-cool Brooklyn-y stuff: The Floral Society flower frog, Leah Goren pet portrait, Illustrated Bookshelf art (or mug!), Book of the Month club (or books sourced with NPR’s Book Concierge), Parachute or Eberjey robe, Creekside Farms herb wreath

Get 50% off your first Feals order!

Try 45 days of Acuity Scheduling for free!

Give the InfinitiPRO by Conair Texture Styling Hair Dryer a go!

YAY.

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One thing we’re newly obsessed with: the wide, weird world of FamousBirthdays.com. Nine finds we’re oldly obsessed with and very ready to discuss: Welcome to the latest installment of Thingies, our unstoppable, un-top-able category faves.

Do you know FamousBirthdays.com? Do you know Courier magazine?! Well, there’s a great story about the former in the latter.

Today’s Thingies!!! New Skin Liquid Bandage, Chef’s Choice Diamond Hone Knife Sharpener, Temp Tee Whipped Cream Cheese, D.S. & Durga Auto Fragrances (sold as a set too—and, related, ones from P. F. Candle Co.), Norma Kamali Super Low Back Mio, Hollywood Fashion Secrets Silicone Coverups, Nailtiques Formula 2, Jade Yoga Harmony Mat, and (bonus?) Bug Bite Thing (plus, somehow related, Oh Crap! Potty Training).   

Previous Thingies eps one and two should you want to catch up.

KIT at @athingortwohq, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and 833-632-5463, and sign up for Secret Menu if you want more, more, more.

Try Olive & June's tremendous Mani System and take 20% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Download the Zocdoc app (for free) and schedule a doctor’s appointment—it’s time.

Give Nutrafol a shot for thicker, healthier hair. Your first month’s subscription is $15 off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Pack American Giant’s Classic Full Zip Hoodie for any of your summer travel—15% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

YAY.

We’re in need of things to enjoy—no, relish: Bring on the comfort content! Please! If you have recs, share ‘em with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq.

Read more about CUNY’s anonymous cash donor in the New York Times.

Check out Lewis Miller’s Flower Flash book, his Instagram, all of it.

To watch All That Jazz (not on a Delta flight), it’s all about the Criterion Collection.

Listen to  Once Upon a Time…at Bennington College podcast for all the hot 1980s undergrad goss about literary icons. (Check out the oral history that inspired the podcast, too.)

Everything Mindy Kailing touches is gold, and we’re especially sweating The Sex Lives of College Girls (what a name).

As for things we’re excited for in the future? Season 2 of Starstruck, Season 2 of White Lotus, and a Marcel the Shell with Shoes On movie!

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This week’s grab bag includes clearing a path for love, the country-music equivalent of The Great British Bake Off, beige rice, and, ya know, lots more. 

Are you watching My Kind of Country? Start with Dhruv Visvanath’s cover of “Ring of Fire."

Shout out to Chalo cowboy boots and this Brie Larson cover story for Harper’s Bazaar for styling inspo. 

Sam Youkilis’s Instagram brought the topic of cutting citrus back to the podcast. See also: Priya Krishna and Connie Wang’s essays about cut fruit as a culturally Asian love language. 

An idea: Joe Holder’s one-week-a-month reboot. 

Cosigning a Jill Singers Thingie, The Rice Factory New York.

Liana Satenstein’s piece in Vogue about Donna Karan gave us the Y2k fashion we want to embrace. 

Share your thoughts about today’s ep with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq—or join our Geneva! For more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Level-up your underwear with SKIMS Fits Everybody and get free shipping on orders over $75.

Drink water like never before thanks to air up. Get the best of both worlds, tasty flavors, and all the benefits of water today at https://airup.link/3nNRCZ7.

Make that garden grow with Fast Growing Trees and get 15% off your entire order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

YAY.

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We’re back with a banner best of 10 things week, featuring the cream of Claire and Erica’s recent 10 Things newsletter picks. If you love Diane Keaton, planking, and cool new ways to mend your jeans, this is truly the episode for you. P.S. And if you love great books, then Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses is the buy for you! P.P.S. Are they culottes? Are they shorts? These dreamy Devlyn Van Loon Culotte Shorts have all the answers, and they’re 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS.

Two very important (and very different) topics coming at you hard this week: pelvic-floor strength and the power of putting women in charge of venture capital. Anu Duggal and Sutian Dong are the brilliant minds behind Female Founders Fund, an early-stage investment firm created to identify women-led companies that old-school (cough, male) venture capitalists often overlook. Clearly, you need to know more, right? P.S. This Binu Binu Seshin Korean Scrub Mitt will get you polished and smooth without leaving weird grit in the bottom of your shower. It’s also 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS. P.P.S. Do you know about Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses? Because you should!

What would we register for if we were getting married sometime soon? What would we buy if we just really wanted a tablecloth or new drinking glasses? Oh, we have thoughts. And, speaking of wish lists, how exactly do we get our hands on Flea’s Bees honey from the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist?

For more on Flea (because who doesn’t want more on Flea?): Dave Grohl’s doc What Drives Us, this GQ article about his relationship with the streetwear designer Melody Ehsani, his memoir Acid for the Children, a video of him playing guitar with Koko, a really moving essay for TIME about his opioid addiction, the org he started Silverlake Conservatory of Music, and, finally, Flea’s Bees. Also, of course, his Instagram and Twitter.

Picks for wedding registries—and just, like, living our best dining lives—coming right up! For the master, master list, sign up for Secret Menu and dive on in.

Flatware: Almoco Flatware, Mono Ring Cutlery, Sabre Bistrot Flatware, and Georg Jensen New York.

Dishes: Heath Ceramics, Dansk, Jono Pandolfi, and Pomelo Casa.

Cloth napkins, tablecloths, and placemats: Society of Wanderers, Lewis, Thompson Street Studio, and Ames for Goodee.

Wine glasses: Fferrone and Estelle Colored Glass.

Drinking glasses: Borosil Simple Glass Tumblers, Bormioli Rocco Stackable Bodega Glasses, and Duralex Picardie Glasses in clear or color or with the carafe.

Cutting and serving boards: Farmhouse Pottery Dipped Clay Plate, Fort Standard Walnut Plank, and Le Regal French Oak Serving Boards.

You know we want to hear from you. Get us at @athingortwohq, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and 833-632-5463. 

For our baby registry ep, head here. 

Secret Menu members can get access to the wedding-registry deep-dive over here.

Try BetterHelp for professional counseling and get 10% off your first month with our link.

Listen to Dipsea’s sexy audio stories—a free 30-day trial is yours when you use our link.

Get a quote for term life insurance from Haven Life.

YAY.

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What an episode we have in store! We’re going deep on some of our favorite recent discoveries from our Monday newsletter—which: If you aren’t signed up for that thing, now's your chance to fix that.

The usefulness of the term bitch eating crackers (BEC) (for context: Someecards).

Celebrity memoirs as audiobooks: Inside Out by Demi Moore, Acid for the Children by Flea, and Yearbook by Seth Rogen (see also: this profile by Jonah Weiner for NYT Magazine). Next up: My Life So Far by Jane Fonda, Faithfull by Marianne Faithful,  The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish. Oh, and: the podcast Celebrity Book Club with Steven & Lily. Also: Please read Open by Andre Agassi and J.R. Moehringer!

Important breaking news: There is now Spelling Bee merch.   

Let’s hear Claire’s QVC pitch for the Pattern mist spray bottle!! Somewhat related: Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater...as a hair product?

Erica’s 11 a.m. tea go-to: Soul Chai. Another (slightly sweetened rec): Dona.

A workspace-changing Philips Hue light strip. You may also like: Gorilla mounting tape, Storage Theory Power Perch, and the Pretty Handy Girl video for changing your doorknobs.

Jewelry renovation with Spur = talk about amazing.

You know we love to hear from you! Get us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq.

Didya know we do six-month or one-year Secret Menu subscriptions? Ideal for gifting, tell you what.

Find your body skin type with Esker and get 20% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Control your coffee and tea temp with Ember. It’s 10% off for first-time purchasers with our link.

Snuggle up with Printfresh’s perfect-for-gifting sleepwear—and get 15% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Score Ana Luisa jewelry during their biggest sale of the year—60% off on the second item you purchase with our link. 

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Revisiting a crowd fave from last year! Happy Memorial Day!

Has perfectionism jumped the shark? And how do we remember names when we start meeting new people again?! Clearly, we have a lot of questions (and some answers).

 If you like this, you’ll probably really like Secret Menu.

A couple books that made us ponder perfectionism: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi, and Drop the Ball by Tiffany Dufu.

Related convos: our ambition ep, this episode of Jam Session, and the Wit & Delight posts here and here.

Come and get us at @athingortwohq, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and 833-632-5463! 

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We’ve been graced with Thingies from Mattie Kahn, the author of wonderful new book Young and Restless, all about the teenage girls who have fueled America’s biggest-deal social movements. But first: bugs. 

Some great bug-repelling options include Gardner FlyWeb Fly Light Classic, LIV by Thermacell, Neepa Huts, Lygfzf screens, Bluefeel Kruca Camping Fan, and incense c/o Fredericks & Mae, Rinnesha (put it in a kayari buta!), and Madison James.

Young and Restless—the perfect read for right now…or any time.

Mattie’s Thingies include Sunday-morning newsletter review time (ft. Lauren Sherman’s Line Sheet, Becky Malinsky’s 5 Things You Should Buy, Hunter Harris’s Hung Up, Eater’s Add To Cart, and Rachel Tashjian Wise's Opulent Tips), Frog Hollow Farm (um, a Battle of the Peaches Box!), Salt & Straw ice cream deliveries, the Forsyth skirt by Kallmayer, and Saie Glowy Super Gel.

Have Thingies you NEED to tell us about? Share them with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq—or join our Geneva! Grab a Secret Menu membership for more, more recommendations.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Try professional counseling with BetterHelp and take 10% off your first month with our link.

Tackle PMS with Jubilance and get $10 off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Stock up on groceries with Thrive Market and get 30% off your first order plus a free $60 gift when you use our link.

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This week, we’re thrilled to sit down with Rachel DeLoache Williams, whose new book, My Friend Anna—the BTS story of how the fake heiress Anna Delvey scammed her out of $62,000—you probably preordered the second you heard about it. Rachel has so much to say about the trials (quite literally!) and tribulations of being one-time friends with Anna, how this experience has affected her take on trust, and how she’s doing her best to make lemonade outta the whole thing. P.S. If you’ve been on the hunt for the perfect support system for your reads, these Tortuga bookends are 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS. P.P.S. If you haven’t picked up a copy of Work Wife yet, what are you doing?

Yeah, so, it’s gonna be a real week, and if you’re interested in escaping the tweets, push alerts, and polling data for a few, we have some celeb gossip, book recs, and sweaters to cozy up to.

You can support us by 1) leaving a jazzy ol’ review 2) subscribing to Secret Menu. Wheeeeee.

We’re offering free ads to Black-owned businesses. Get in touch at podcast@athingortwohq.com. 

The very best celeb gossip sources, if you ask us: E! News IG stories, Jam Session, Deux Moi, Gossip Time, The Shade Room, Who? Weekly, Bossip, and Just Jared Jr. 

The couple Claire’s shipping: Harry Styles and Tracee Ellis Ross. This pic + this clip. Believe what you want. And just read The Idea of You already if you haven’t.

And, now for beliebing: Erica is intrigued with Justin and Hailey Bieber’s domestic life. This post and this post and a Facebook Watch thing called Baking with the Biebers. Somehow related: Levain Bakery cookies.

Two books that are distracting and immersive (but not light!): The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi and Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (hear Rumaan on a 2018 ep of our pod, too!).

Gang, it’s sweater weather. Brands we love: Demylee, Jenni Kayne, Alex Mill, Acme Studios, Babaà, Ply-Knits, Leret Leret, Ryan Roche, Sézane, Mijeong Park, and Atelier Delphine.     

Have something to share? Call us: 833-632-5463. Love those VMs.

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What a pleasure it is to bring you all Dr. Ben Michaelis, who we think of as ⅓ management coach, ⅓ therapist, and ⅓ couples counselor (at least in our case). We’ve been seeing this guy—together!—for five-ish years, and he’s helped us to navigate much in our lives, professional and personal. Speaking of navigating, we’re kicking-off the episode by answering an age-old question: “What sort of thank-you gift do I get my snake-sitter?!” 

Oooh, boy, did we get a good gifting request: “Thank you for your friend who fed your pet snake weekly for 6 weeks. They like Phish.” Here’s where we landed: Fishman Donut Round Jigsaw Puzzle, Island Bamboo spoon sets and salt cellars, Na Nin incense cones, Boy Smells Kush candle, Debbie Carlos Curl Pipe (from Tetra), Edie Parker Flower stash case, Areaware Snake Block, Lorien Stern snake wall-hanging ceramic or plush snake sculpture (or bucket hat or hoodie), Ferm Living Mr. Snake cushion or fruiticana snake, Chen Chen and Kai Williams serpent lighter keychain, and Willa Heart snake prints and placemats.

Here’s that snake opening a door video you were hoping for.

Check out more on Dr. Ben Michaelis and his work and dig into his book Your Next Big Thing: Ten Small Steps to Get Moving and Get Happy.

Try COOLA, your go-to for sunscreen and organic skincare. Get 10% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Cut down on food waste with Imperfect Foods and get 20% off your first order and free shipping with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Customize your shampoo, conditioner, and so much more with Function of Beauty. Use our link for 20% off your order.

Download the Caviar app and get $10 off your food order of $20 or more with the code ATHINGORTWO.

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Gillian Laub’s photography makes us cry. And laugh! What we’re saying is, it’s magical, and just wait until you hear about her latest project Family Matters, a book and an exhibit exploring family (hers, specifically) in a politically divided America. Something we need to address first, though: racing hot dogs (vegan ones, specifically).

Courtesy of Eater: “PETA wants the big hot dog costumes at baseball games to be vegan, but surprise! They already are.”

Let’s please examine The Famous Racing Sausages at Milwaukee Brewers games and the racing pierogies at Pittsburgh Pirates games.

We’ll take any opportunity to give a little love to Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo.

Pick up Gillian Laub’s outrageously compelling book Family Matters! See her show at the International Center of Photography in NYC from September 24, 2021, to January 10, 2022!

For more of Gillian’s work, check out her site and IG.

More on Pop-Up Magazine, where Gillian workshopped this project.

Another relevant book that Gillian loves (um, same): Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob. Listen also: our interview with Mira about said book.

Gillian’s photos of Cindy Adams for New York mag...and her behind-the-scenes content.

Lovin’ your voicemails, friends! Keep ‘em coming at 833-632-5463. 

If you’re a fan of this show and haven’t subscribed to Secret Menu...

Give Nutrafol a try for thicker, healthier hair. Your first month’s subscription is $15 off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Tune into Dipsea’s sexy audio stories—a free 30-day trial is yours when you use our link.

Download the Zocdoc app (for free!) and schedule a doctor’s appointment you’ve been putting off.

Use Modern Fertility’s finger-prick test to get a handle on your fertility. It’s $20 off when you use our link.

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Here we are again, talking about stuff no one else is talking about (and we hope that’s a good thing?). Today, we’re digging into a surprisingly handy word and plenty o’ business insights from the bonafide retail legend Mickey Drexler, who’s lived through plenty of ups and downs.

The linkage:

Introducing a weirdly useful term: webonair.

Have you listened to the podcast Bad on Paper? ‘Cause ya should.

If you didn’t catch our first chat with Mickey Drexler, you can do that right over here.

Alex Mill is Mickey’s latest undertaking with his son...and we have been talking about too much on this podcast, we’re aware.

Here’s the Agnès B. cardigan Erica was wearing that you couldn’t see through your headphones. It got a nice send-up from The Cut recently, too.

Reminder that you can sign up for our newsletter, get coupon codes, etc., etc. on claireanderica.com. 

Produced by Dear Media

It’s time to soothe your mind about summer (salad) dressing stress! Also, we talk the ideal American sporting event and overhosting, a term that speaks to us more than we’d like. 

Some dressings for summer and really whenever: Via Carota’s, Toro Bravo's, and Kewpie’s BUT FROM JAPAN. Both Mark Bittman and Samin Nosrat do a strong miso-mustard, and our no-recipe recipes are a honey-mustard (just honey, French’s yellow, red-wine vinegar, and olive oil) and the never-fail combo of ketchup, mayo, Old Bay, lemon, and salt. 

Re: minor-league (and G league) sports, more on the short-lived Pizza Rats c/o the New York Post. 

If you’re magnesium-curious, look into the ones from Moon Juice, Calm, and ReMag. 

What makes a summer dressing to you? Let us know at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq—or join our Geneva! Grab a Secret Menu membership for all the recommendations.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Trust Shopify with all your ecomm needs and get a free 14-day trial with our link.

Try SKIMS Fits Everybody and get free shipping on orders over $75.

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This week, we’re covering pressing and important moments in culture (the Scandoval), products of innovation (seam rippers), gifting strategies, a revelatory cookbook all about leftovers, and a topic we can not let sit any longer: cute postage stamps.  

If you’re new to the Vanderpump Rules Cinematic Universe, we highly suggest Sexy Unique Podcast as a viewing companion. 

Message Monsters stamps by Elise Gravel, a children’s book author, are available on foreverstamps.net.

Museum Gel will secure breakables from gentle earthquakes (toddlers running around the house included). 

To have your leftovers world rocked, we recommend The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A-Z by Tamar Adler, which is a companion to Love An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace.

Do you have a gifting plan? Thoughts on the Scandoval? Share with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq—or join our Geneva! For more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Try out professional counseling with BetterHelp and take 10% off your first month with our link.

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Produced by Dear Media

You can only comfort yourself with so many baked goods, it seems, but we’ve found a workaround: We’re putting them in our ears instead of our mouths. What a joy it was to sit down with Lani Halliday, who is making the best inclusive pastries around and unveiled her first physical outpost of Brutus Bakeshop during the pandemic. Yes: She’s very bold, and we’re very obsessed.

If you’re in NYC, grab Lani Halliday’s baked goods at Brutus Bakeshop in Crown Heights (and get some amazing New Mexican food from Eric See’s Ursula while you’re there!). If you’re anywhere else, buy her (vegan, GF, soy-free) miso chocolate chip cookies on the internet and keep your eyes peeled for her pop tarts and more, more, more.

More on the Independent Restaurant Coalition—um, 11 million people in the U.S. are independent restaurant employees!

Friends, KIT. You can get us at 833-632-5463 and @athingortwohq any ol’ time.

Find migraine relief online—and get 50% off your first month of medication—thanks to Cove.

Shop our MoMA Design Store gift picks and take 10% off with the code ATHINGORTWO through November 23 (exclusions apply).

Try out the plumping, hydrating magic of City Lips. 30% off your order of two or more with the code ATHINGORTWO.

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Something we’re quite sure of: what makes a good in-app workout instructor. Something we’re quite unsure about: what our thirties are meant to look like in this day ‘n age. Kayleen Schaefer has many, many thoughts on the latter. Tune in and then dig into her new book But You’re Still So Young (yes, incredible title).

The on-demand fitness instructors who leap over the ridiculously high bar we’ve set: Melissa Wood of Melissa Wood Health, Coach Chris Bennett of the Nike Run Club app (a previous podcast guest!), Adriene Mishler of Yoga with Adriene (see also: this NYT Mag profile and this Reductress post about Benji the dog), and Robin Arzon and Matty Maggiacomo of the Peloton app.

Read Kayleen Schaefer’s wonderful But You’re Still So Young! And if you haven’t already gobbled up Text Me When You Get Home, maybe it’s your next book-club pick?

A few of Kayleen’s “You May Also Like” recs: The New Better Off by Courtney E. Martin, Anne Helen Petersen’s Buzzfeed piece on burnout and her book Can’t Even, and Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (also endorsed by Bad on Paper).

Joining Secret Menu is a sure-fire way to make sure you get all our biggest and best finds.

KIT at @athingortwohq, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and 833-632-5463, ok?

Dab on that Clarins Total Eye Lift for a boost in 60 seconds—10% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Get custom, just-for-you shampoo, conditioner, and so much more with Function of Beauty. Use our link for 20% off your order.

Download the Caviar app! You’ll get 20% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO2021.

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Produced by Dear Media

This episode is all about the pressures we feel on our lives and our time (and, to a lesser extent, our necks and our tailbones). Don’t sleep on this one, is what we’re saying.

Live that ComfiLife! Side-sleep with a Hullo pillow!

The “Things We Want to Leave Behind and How to Start a Running Routine” ep we reference.

The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin—there’s also a quiz for that. 

A handful of reads related to parenting (and, sigh, house work): All Joy and No Fun by Jennifer Senior, Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes, Drop the Ball by Tiffany Dufu, and More Work For Mother by Ruth Schwartz Cowan.

An enthusiastic endorsement of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman.

Dirt’s “The season of tabs” newsletter by Alex Aciman. WE RELATE.

"The Myth of the Productive Commute" installment of Anne Helen Petersen’s Culture Study newsletter.

Talking about protecting your time with Mimi O Chun and “what happens if you don’t?” with Caroline Moss.

For last-min. presents, might we suggest Secret Menu gift subscriptions? 

Please share your obligation feeeeeelings! 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq!

Try professional counseling with BetterHelp—10% off your first month with our link.
Sleep cozy in Printfresh—and get 15% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.
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This ~bonus Thursday ep~ is brought to you by the heroes at Nyssa, a company providing products that support women through the most transformative times of life, from puberty to post-menopause. (Hit their site and use the code ATHINGORTWO for 15% off everything, including absolutely ideal postpartum gifts for a friend who had no idea she might need this stuff!) We’re diving into a discussion of “unmentionables” and, duh, Thingies with two of Nyssa’s charming and game-changing cofounders Mia Clarke and Eden Laurin. Oh, and just a quick note: Miscarriage and pregnancy loss come up at the end, in case those are topics  you want to skip today. 

The one that started it all: Nyssa FourthWear Postpartum Recovery Underwear.

Mia and Eden’s Thingies: Betty’s Co., which kicks off women’s healthcare at a young age, Nyssa VieWear Period Comfort Underwear and Nyssa VieVision Between Legs Mirror, Dame (see also: “Sexual Wellness Brand Dame Settles Lawsuit With MTA, Debuts First Subway Campaign” from Adweek), the book Designing Motherhood by Michelle Millar Fisher and Amber Winick that features the story of Margaret Crane (who invented the first pregancy test!), the menopause-care hub Elektra Health, "My Miscarriage, in Photos" by Becca Leitman with photographs by Casey Kelbaugh for The Cut.

How great is this free, downloadable teen period guide-slash-checklist?!

Share your Thingies at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. If you’re looking for more recommendations and more fun, a Secret Menu membership is for you.

Head on over to Nyssacare.com and use the code ATHINGORTWO for 15% off. 

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We’re giving you the styling and Thingies scoop with our special guest Lakyn Carlton! Bonus scoop: the pros and cons of scooped-out foods.

Introducing the scooped-out pizza, ℅ Minnesota’s Hazelwood Food & Drink. And leave it to the New York Post to provide scooped-out bagel commentary in 2010 and 2016.

Get more Lakyn via her fantastic newsletter True Style and her virtual and in-person styling sessions.

Lakyn’s Thingies include Muddy Paw Coffee in L.A. for a dog-friendly coffee experience (and proximity to one of her go-to vintage shops, The Curatorial Department), her Bown of London robe (additional robe content: ones from Block Shop and Ulysses and the romance novel Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn), and a custom doormat from TheDoormatory on Etsy.

Share your take on pizza with salad and/or personal style at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq—or join our Geneva! Try out a Secret Menu membership for more recommendations.

Do ecomm right with Shopify. Get a free 14-day trial with our link.

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Produced by Dear Media

If your sex ed was more than a little lacking, you’re not alone—but Erica Chidi Cohen and Quinn Lundberg are firm believers in a better-late-than-never mantra when it comes to learning more about their sexual and reproductive health. The pair runs Loom, a Los Angeles center that offers everything from doula services to period coaching, and just hearing them talk about that on this ep will make you feel like you know your body a little better. P.S. For even more empowering female duos, pick up a copy of Claire and Erica’s new book, Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses, out now! P.P.S. Scope out our Permanent Collection by Of a Kind Short-Sleeve Oxford Shirt, which is 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS just in time for summer.

A couple of months ago, we went deep on what it felt like to shut down our company Of a Kind (dig into that episode here), and now, with more distance, we have plenty of fresh new takeaways to share. Spoiler alert: We have no idea what our professional futures hold, and we’re cool with that.

The linkage:

For further listening on brushing scams, try this Planet Money ep and/or this Reply All one.

Here's Wendy Macnaughton’s IG post that made us feel seen.

Check out Zola and get 50% off wedding save the dates!

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Geez, does Marisa Meltzer know how to get the wheels turning. We talk to her about her shiny new book This Is Big, which digs deep into dieting, wellness, feminism, body positivity, and the intersection of those topics—and also about friendship and snacks. Much to discuss, you see. But first! A truly odd (if entertaining) NYC campaign we didn’t want you to miss.

The linkage:

If you somehow want more on the Billy Never Idles campaign, well, here you go.

Read Marisa’s book, This Is Big: How the Founder of Weight Watchers Changed the World (and Me)! Do it!

Jean Nidetch’s NYT obit from 2015—and the whole Overlooked No More obit project.

A wonderful article Marisa wrote a while back for Elle about diets + feminism.

We enthusiastically endorse Katie Sturino’s Boob Sweat podcast. Marisa shouts-out this interview with CeCe Olisa in particular.

Let’s talk about SNACKS real quick: Graham crackers (with cream cheese, covered in chocolate, or as part of an #indoorsmore situation), The Daily Crave smoked gouda lentil chips, and Tapatio Doritos.

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You know who wrote the book on socks (and started one of the best Tumblrs and bakes internet-famous cookies)? John Jannuzzi, and he’s here to share his creative side-hustle tips (but not any of the burnt malted milk and Kit-Kat cookies—he’s keeping those for himself). Before we dive in, though, can we discuss long-distance collaboration between two people who live four blocks apart? Yes, we’re talking about us.

Visit www.DailyHarvest.com and use code ATHINGORTWO for $25 off your first Box!

Also, visit www.nyssacare.com and use code ATHINGORTWO for 15% off your order!

The linkage:

We’ve picked up some good work habits from the book Making Ideas Happen.

Breaking snack news: The Daily Crave smoked gouda lentil chips might be a wise bulk purchase (as they have been for Claire), and the makers of Pretzel Perfection are donating party mix to school districts and food banks.

How to Wear Socks! It’s John Jannuzzi’s new book. Feels very appropriate for dads ‘n grads, no?

Classic white Bombas! John’s favorite socks.

Bring on the crazy glasses, fun socks, and nutty shoes: Per The Strategist, Strawberry Crocs are having moment.

John’s other creative undertakings: 1) his v. popular early-days Tumblr Textbook 2) his dance compilations 3) Jannuzzi’s Cookies, batches of which go on sale every Sunday at 8 p.m. ET (set a reminder!).

Oh, also: John is very active on both Twitter and Instagram.

Two people John looks to for creativity guidance: Amanda Mull (who is a staff writer at The Atlantic) and Mary H.K. Choi (the author of Permanent Record and Emergency Contact and host of the minipod Hey, Cool Life!).

You know we love our voicemails. 833-632-5463!

For anything else you might be looking for related to all of this, head over to claireanderica.com.

Stock your fridge with Daily Harvest—$25 off your first box with the code ATHINGORTWO.

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If you’ve ever had questions about our (19 years of!) friendship, wade on into this episode, which was sparked by the heartwarmingly genius Summer of Friendship series from Call Your Girlfriend. And if you’ve ever wondered about our thoughts on making The Idea of You book into a movie...well, that too!

More on The Idea of You’s rabid following ℅ Michelle Ruiz for Vogue.

People, watch Friends with Kids! Somehow related: It was Patrick Dempsey who was (at one point) married to the makeup artist, Jillian Fink.

Do you want access to TIOY Facebook group? Have at it.

The author Robinne Lee cites her original inspiration for Solene as Leticia Herrera, the founder of Casa Tua hotels.

Jenna Wortham’s New York Times Magazine piece about the movie Zola and recasting pressure via Twitter.

Tune into the Summer of Friendship eps of Call Your Girlfriend! Our chat about our relationship is part of that joyful series.

Send all of your thoughts and feelings to @athingortwohq, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and 833-632-5463. We’ll send you more of ours if you sign up for Secret Menu.

Try Modern Fertility’s finger-prick test to get a handle on your fertility. It’s $20 off when you use our link.

Heat things up with Made In’s professional-grade cookware—15% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Turn to BetterHelp for professional counseling and get 10% off your first month with our link.

Find out where to get your COVID-19 vaccine near you at vaccines.gov.

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Get ready to take a trip down (your nose’s) memory lane because we’re talking about the scents of our youth. Oh, and: We’re making a plan to prevent contingency-planning from becoming a full-blown hobby.

Scent-sational reading: this 1988 New York Times article, written during the dawn of the age of the perfume ad, the book The End of Fashion by Teri Agins on how perfume and stockings became luxury-brand cash cows, and this BBC article about the heyday of celebrity fragrances. 

Scentmatchers.com—go for the URL, stay for the extensive dropdown menu. 

Check out our near-obsession Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman for a welcome perspective on time-management. 

Did you have a signature scent? Is there some discontinued fragrance you’re sniffing around for? We need to know—@athingortwohq, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and 833-632-5463! 

Sign up for Secret Menu for more, more, more where this came from.

Give professional counseling a try with BetterHelp—10% off your first month with our link.

Support your business (big or small) with Shopify. Get a free 14-day trial with our link.

Better understand your reproductive health with Modern Fertility—$20 off your test with our link.

Try Honeylove for bras and underwear you can feel great about. 20% off your second item and 10% off your whole order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

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Produced by Dear Media

Breaking news: Erica is still not having kids—but she does have some fresh thoughts on the subject, especially as many of her pals tackle parenthood. And! If you’d like a shot before your chaser, let us tell you all about The Roommate, porny and praise-worthy. 

Ooh, do we have so much more to share. If you want in on that, perhaps you’re interested in joining Secret Menu.

If you need some STEAM, get yourself a copy of The Roommate by Rosie Dannan (and it’s spinoff The Intimacy Experiment, out in April).

Relevant having-kids eps of this very podcast: Our original “On Choosing—and Not Choosing—Motherhood” convo and Claire’s take on new mom life and motherhood, one year in.

The piece Erica wrote for Refinery29 about deciding not to have kids and the one Grace Atwood wrote for her site The Stripe.

The installment of Anne Helen Petersen’s Culture Study newsletter that we reference (so good in general, this newsletter).

Our DMs, inboxes, and voicemail boxes are open: @athingortwohq, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and 833-632-5463!

Pat on Clarins Total Eye Lift for a boost in 60 seconds—10% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Flex your creativity muscles with Skillshare and sign up for a free trial of their Premium Membership.

Try Stitch Fix to find clothes you’ll love to wear. Use our link for 25% off when you keep everything in your Fix.

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Pals, it’s a friendship grab bag! We’re chatting with Katie Seaver, a deep-thinker looking for a deep friendship who placed a classified ad in our newsletter seeking one, and then we’re diving into friendship age gaps and group chat dynamics (a whole thing!).

Yes, you want to know Katie Seaver, who ran a classified ad in our newsletter that linked to a Google doc titled “Wanted: A deep + meaningful friendship in Northeast Los Angeles.” She’s also a life coach with a newsletter that touches on, yup, friendship.

Shasta Nelson’s book Frientimacy: How to Deepen Friendships for Lifelong Health and Happiness.

A shout-out to Bumble BFF.

The story of the rude TikTok and the woman who deserved (and found) new friends.

An interview with Lakshmi Rengarajan, host of the podcast Paired by the People, about asking intentional questions on romantic or friend dates.

A timeline of Kourtney Kardashian and Addison Rae’s friendship.

“I Want What They Have, Friendship Edition: Tilda Swinton and Timothée Chalamet.”

"Why Befriending People of Different Ages is Vital in an Ageist Society" from the Sunday Riley blog.

From 2001: “GroupMe and the rise of group everything.”

Ahhh, group emails. Please see the book Hey Ladies!: The Story of 8 Best Friends, 1 Year, and Way, Way Too Many Emails.

Chris Black’s 2018 GQ piece “The Group Chat Saved My Life.”

“Sending Smiley Emojis? They Now Mean Different Things to Different People” from The Wall Street Journal.

Got friendship thoughts? Other thoughts? Share them at @athingortwohq, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and 833-632-5463. 

Want more? That’s where Secret Menu comes in.

Make stunning digital stuff with the free online graphic-design platform Projector.

Tune into How To Do the Pot for practical advice about weed for women by women.

Do your nails—and well—with Olive & June's Mani System and take 20% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Get dreamy, chill waves with Conair’s Double Ceramic Triple Barrel Waver.

YAY.

Produced by Dear Media

Two content powerhouses we just can’t seem to get enough of these days: The Sesame Street crew on social media (looking at you, Count Von Count) and A.J. Daulerio in his newsletter The Small Bow and podcast Really Good Shares, both of which address recovery in really thoughtful, nuanced ways that speak to us as people who aren’t in recovery.

An Adweek story from 2010 about Sesame Street’s social-media presence when the strategy was run by Dan Lewis, the guy behind the Now I Know newsletter.

A few Sesame Street things you need to see: Count Von Count on Twitter, Big Bird x Oscar from 2018, Oscar the Grouch on #MetGala.

We’re such massive fans of A.J. Daulerio’s work—subscribe to The Small Bow! Listen to Really Good Shares!

“My Years in the Florida Shuffle of Drug Addiction” by Colton Wooten for The New Yorker. 

The Really Good Shares ep with former Jezebel and Hairpin editor Emma Carmichael about a truly terrible year.

Our crossover moment: A.J.’s newsletter about Sesame Street.

Another pitch for When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön. And The Pocket Pema Chödrön, too.

If you want more of A.J.’s backstory, there’s an Esquire profile for that.

Download the Zocdoc app (for free!) and schedule a doctor’s appointment already.

Take a break with Dipsea’s hot ‘n heavy audio stories—you get a free 30-day trial when you use our link.

Access professional counseling with BetterHelp—10% off your first month with our link!

Move around in Girlfriend Collective’s sustainable, ethically made activewear. $25 off your first purchase of $100 or more when you use our link.

YAY.

Produced by Dear Media

We’ve got some real dirt today—or, rather, we have ways to clean it up (including a stick vac that’s maybe falling out of favor?) and a guest who’s dishing it on his Stories, which we consider must-see IG. Tune in and then hit up @heyphilchang to see what we mean...

The linkage:

You can find our show notes over at claireanderica.com now. Look at us.

Our robot vacuum endorsements: Neato XV-21 Pet & Allergy Automatic Vacuum Cleaner and iRobot Roomba 960.

A somewhat controversial hand vac rec: Black & Decker Pivot Vac.

Everybody’s favorite, the Dyson Stick Vac—Claire has the V10, and Erica has the V8—but, wait, should Consumer Reports have us reconsidering?

Cam is a Miele fan and will someday be the proud owner of this toy one. Should his brand loyalty change, he could also get a Dyson.

Follow Phil Chang’s WILD Instagram. It’s all about his Stories.

Further reading from the L.A. Times on Tommy Le, an unarmed Vietnamese-American 20 year old who was shot and killed by a Seattle police officer.

To get all that news, Phil uses the RSS reader Feedly and follows ProPublica, FAIR, Southern Poverty Law Center, Nieman Lab, The Intercept, and The Guardian.

Also, podcasts! Phil heartily endorses Deconstructed with Mehdi Hasan, America Dissected with Abdul El-Sayed, Why Is This Happening? with Chris Hayes, The Guardian’s Audio Long Reads, and Stay Tuned with Preet.

Do a deep-dive into Sharon Choi, Parasite director Bong Joon-ho’s translator, starting with this Guardian article. And for more on female translators in general, check out this episode of Call Your Girlfriend.

A book that will have you wanting to book the next flight to Seoul: The Birth of Korean Cool.

Get a whole $50 off some cool Noemie fine jewelry with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Try BetterHelp online counseling—use ATHINGORTWO for 10% off your first month.

YAY.

Produced by Dear Media

It’s that time of year: the unveiling of the best gift guide in the podcast multiverse (we like to think). Part 1 stars your most charming—and trickiest—partners, parents, and grandparents. Next week, tune in for part 2, and, in the meantime, dig into the ol’ present-paralysis back catalogue.

For the full episode recap—with ALL THE LINKS!—head to the A Thing or Two site.

• Get the ecomm support you need with Shopify. Get a free 14-day trial with our link.
• Shop our favorite MoMA Design Store finds—so many holiday crowd-pleasers!
• Feel your best in Honeylove and get 20% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.
• Book that doctor’s appointment already by downloading the free Zocdoc app.

Husbands and Boyfriends!

42-year-old male. Recently started dating. Lawyer. Dad. World traveler. Cyclist. Just bought a new house. Moved back to the area (Philly) from upstate new york. photographer. reader. avid home cook. knows a Parisian knot. loves a good meal out. linen shirt wearer. loafers/boat shoes with shorts kind of guy. Enjoys wine and cocktails. catholic raised. city dweller. nerdy and thoughtful.

• Linoto linen boxers
• Artemis loafers
• Stranger’s Guide Fellow Travelers Club
• Arabica coffee plant
• Photodom photography-themed Croc Jibbitz (Or really anything from Photodom—they have a cute gift guide on their site.)
• Ghiaia cashmere 
• La Salumina Amatriciana kit
• Rapha cycling backpack
• Tiptop cocktails
• Depths of Wikipedia tickets—NYC live show on 12/14 or Pittsburgh show on 12/16—or mug
• Donation to TILT Institute for the Contemporary Image’s teen photo program in Philly

Husband who thinks he's outdoorsy but hasn't been camping in decades.

• Bluefeel Kruca camping fan
• Gramicci gadget shorts or pants 
• Battenwear bouldering pants
• 1733 duffle
• An actual camping weekend for next summer for him—a lot of places book a year or 9 months in advance. Recs: Hither Hills State Park and Assateague Island.
• Getaway House gift certificate
• Wildsam National Parks or Road Trip guides
• Donation to a local preservation organization, like, say, Save the Boundary Waters in MN 
• REI outdoor skills classes

Husband who owns a ceramics company and has an eye for design.

• Courier mag subscription
• Dusen Dusen for MoMA Subu slippers
• Quark pegboard for his office or studio
• Carson Converse small-format quilts
• Glass-blowing or leather-working class
• Sight Unseen book How to Live With Objects
• Donation to People’s Pottery Project
  
  

Wives and Girlfriends!

Chronically ill wife with long-covid 2.5 years, doesn't like surprises, and in bed most days. loves sports, her friends, sitting in the park, and a great deal.

• Nocs Provisions binoculars—they did a cool collab with the Native artist Amelia Winger-Bearskin that includes a strap
• Cliq portable chairs 
• Vintage Masters golf gear, like this eighties ringer tee or this nineties hat)
• WNBA custom jersey
• Offhours home coat

Grandparents!

My 90-year-old grandma who refuses hearing aides because we don't visit enough and lives off of chipotle and chips.

• Liberty London 2-in-1 game set - ludo and backgammon
• Quilted Snakes & Ladders set
• Frontera Grill carnitas taco kit
• Fancy chip clips + chips & salsa of the month club subscription

My mostly home-bound grandma. Loves her tomato plants, vitamins, and Bob Barker.

• Flamingo Estate roma heirloom tomato candle
• Nonna’s Grocer tomato famiglia candle set
• Bordallo Pinheiro tomate apertifs plate—or lamp!
• If you have kids who she can share it with: Tomatoes for Neela by Padma Lakshmi
• 1986 Price Is Right board game
• Come on Down sweatshirt
• Chronically Chic pill organizer for her vitamins

Moms, Stepmoms, and Mothers-In-Law!

My mom is my white whale: needs nothing, no guilt in buying herself things she wants. Hates Christmas but derives joy from getting to complain about it. Good cook with a global palette (has all the gadgets she approves of and a long list of gadgets she does not endorse), news junkie, reads a lot. 61, both of my parents are retired, lives in the Pacific Northwest. Has taste but no style, hates clutter. Buys her clothes at Costco. Drinks nice wine that she also buys at Costco. Thinks art is stupid (I am an artist). She's very funny but she really leans into her brand of "antisocial curmudgeon." Successful gifts in the past were an NYtimes subscription and a fancy amaryllis bulb that she can text me about and shame it for blooming the wrong time of year. I try to veer towards consumables. She can also appreciate a handmade ceramic (functional, not decorative).

• Masienda tortilla starter kit (with Dona Rosa tortilla press) and the companion Masa cookbook 
• Diaspora Co. chai kit
• Talbott and Arding cheese club subscription
• Yun Hai dried fruit—there’s a gift set
• Omsom IYKYK shaker set
• NYT Spelling Bee hat
• Hadley & Bennett apron
• Roz Chast books, like What I Hate from A to Z, or Roz Chast wall art
• Rachael Pots functional ceramics 
• Ikebana bowl & bulb from Utility Objects (could pair with fancy Japanese floral scissors)

My mom: She always asks for electronics and then ends up not being able to figure them out - or just doesn't use them. Want to get her something meaningful she will use.

• 1Password membership
• Lomi composter
• M0de electric toothbrush
• Aarke water purifier
  
  

Stepmother-in-law who is a spiritual counselor in Colorado. Obviously vegan.

• Vegan JapanEasy by Tim Anderson, with Moromi soy sauces
• Rebel Cheese club membership 
• Yellow Leaf hammock
• Esalen Institute merch or gift cert 
• Nora McInerny books 
• Esker gift sets

Mother In Law - has more clothes than Nordstrom. Lives alone but her party line is always ringing.

• Bitossi set of 6 wineglasses
• Gohar World bottle apron
• Casa Velasquez bolero apron
• Gossamer Happy Hour hemp pre-rolls
• Conserva Culture tinned fish gift set
• Snacks for Dinner: Small Bites, Full Plates, Can't Lose by Lukas Volger 
• McNally Jackson seminar 
• Custom sweater mending from Repair Shop 
• “Come Over” hat from Big Night 
• Dress for Success donation

This one is for my five-foot-tall Italian American mother in law who has the thickest New York accent I've ever heard and could be described as "a tiny tank" in both stature and personality. she lives on Long Island and has access to everything; also tends to buy herself whatever she wants. so she's extremely hard to gift for. Whatever we give should probably be a physical gift vs. an experience. she is very judgmental and critical and not warm and fuzzy - but she has also had the difficult task of being a single parent to two kids, one of whom, my SIL, is living at home with significant physical and intellectual disabilities and who my MIL devotes all her time to - my SIL is so well taken care of. Looking for a gift that somehow recognizes/responds to all of this.

• Unspun gift kit
• Ipsa, depending on part of Long Island
• House cleaning from We Can Do It! – Si Se Puede Women's Cooperative (only operates in the five boroughs) 
• Missoni Home blanket
• Roscioli Italian wine club
• Marcella’s favorites gift set from Gustiamo

Mom and her husband just bought a boat. So something nautical or for small space living.

• Year of Knots by Windy Chien
• Malaika hand-printed beach towels
• Personalized life saver buoy (U.S. Coast Guard-approved!) 
• Salty Home tide clock
• Framed nautical flags
• Haptic Lab sailing ship kite 
• Petit Kouraj x SVNR tote fishnet seashell tote
• Issimo inflatable mini terrycloth pillow 
• Ingredients for a session dark ‘n stormy
• Donation to The Ocean Cleanup 

Mother-in-law who is the solo living grandparent to our 4-year-old and Buddhist priest who wants nothing but time with us. However, she is always a generous and thoughtful gift-giver so I can't just give her time. She is a tea lover but you can imagine how much tea I've already given her. She has a dog, loves the color periwinkle, and spends a lot of time on Zoom with her Sangha. She's forever 'writing a book' and loves getting on board with a system (for writing, for organizing, whatever). Help!

• Joyoung soy milk machine
• Daruma doll holding a dog
• Dog ball launcher
• MQuan Bell
• Rice xax candles for meditation
• Mountain Valley Seed Company seed starter kit medicinal & herbal tea
• Books to read with the grandkid: Jon J. Muth’s The Three Questions and Zen Shorts and Thich Nat Hanh’s Where is the Buddha? and A Handful of Quiet
• Lena Corwin peace towel + matching kid-size one for the grandkid
• Scrivener subscription

Dads, Step-Dads, and Fathers-in-Law!

My dad, who is a retired chef (he still has knives from 40 years ago that he painstakingly cares for and finds most home kitchens to be very pretentious), can build/fix anything, loves to read non-fiction, and was suspended from Twitter frequently for tweeting insults at Donald Trump

• The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber and David Wengrow
• Peeko oysters
• Sitka Salmon Share
• Cabi original trio
• Vintage RAADVAD bread slicer
• Manufacture de Digoin vinegar jar to make his own vinegar
• Milk Street Turkish közmatik
• Donation to his local food bank

Mid 60's Frenchman who lives in Alsace with his wife and they travel a lot in their RV. they are also coming to the states next spring on a cross-country RV trip so I really think it should revolve around that. but more about him- he doesn't drink or smoke (some Frenchman he is) when we would drive to Florida once a year he would always be so excited to get to put on Latin American music on the radio. last year we got him a record player and records that I am 100% sure he doesn't use. he loves scrabble and card games, and he builds these badass card holders out of wood that he then does wood-burning personalized deco on. he has everything he wants and he wears lee jeans.

• Neepa Hut food tent
• Camping chair from Cliq, Woods, or Blue Ridge Chair Works
• Penco box tote
• Papier travel journal
• National Parks pass
• Personalized leatherbound America: National Parks Atlas (from PBS shop)

Dad who enjoys perfecting logistics and explaining credit card point strategy.

• Scott’s Cheap Flights premium membership
• Timeshifter app
• Solgaard carry-on closet suitcase (there’s a MoMA collab!)
• “Clipper Club” 1950 Pan Am membership lounge rocks glass
• Bug-out bag from Judy
• Portable phone charger
• iPad keyboard + Valerie Constance monogrammed keyboard case 

Former CIA and green beret but loves appletinis and bubble baths.

• Straightaway Cocktails 
• Bathing Culture body wash
• Sophie Lou Jacobsen martini glasses
• Esker bath board
• Avec x Atelier Saucier bundle of cocktail napkins + drink mixers + garnishes + recipes

I need help finding a gift for my picky and hard-working lawyer Dad. He loves outdoor adventures, Neil Young, doing puzzles with my Mom, and reading. My parents recently became part-time New Yorkers and keep buying art museum memberships. He loves to do research before purchasing anything and tends to buy whatever he wants. My Mom is a chronic shopper, so he usually has multiples of whatever he confesses to liking - Ugg slippers, Jack Black face wash, William Henry knives. He is a big guy and doesn’t fit into standard S-L sizes. He also doesn’t drink alcohol or coffee. In the past, he has disliked gifts that involve more labor (i.e. a smoker, a drone). I am not opposed to making a donation in his name, but my family’s love language is gifts and I would need to accompany a donation with something for him to unwrap. Per Claire’s request for dental records, he lost his front teeth as a kid playing Pee Wee football. He broke his fake set in a fight the day of his junior prom and attended the dance sans front teeth. He is so fun and deserves a great gift. Last year, I got him a Storyworth membership and he loved it (thanks for the recommendation!) I am hoping for a repeat success. Also, he is a January birthday, so I could use multiple ideas. Please help!

• Birding Bob walk in Central Park, plus a donation or membership to Wild Bird Fund
• Tickets to a Happy Medium art class 
• Day at the spa at Governor’s Island
• Joyce Gold tour
• Fancy pajamas from P. Le Moult
• Todd Snyder x New Era nubby Yankees cap (see also:Dodgers, Cubs, and Red Sox hats)
• MoMA Design Store has great puzzle selection. Also: this Neil Young jigsaw puzzle and Different Puzzles, which are fun and *challenging*

Wisconsin Father in Law who likes sports. End of list.

• Lambeau Field stadium tours
• Depending on his teams, gear from a previous stadium—signs and even seats that go up for sale
• ChamberlainMade keyboard sticker
• Wisconsin hoodie ornament
• MLB Validation Pass-Port
• Wisconsin tri logo tee/sweatshirt
• Donation to Special Olympics Wisconsin

YAY.

Produced by Dear Media

Per a listener request—which: We welcome them!—we’re talking about weddings. Specifically, our weddings, from our favorite and least favorite parts of the planning process to how it all went down day-of. Plus: a stand-out dining experience (two, if we’re rounding up).

Check out Dept of Culture Brooklyn for excellent Nigerian food and the opportunity to talk to strangers! Also, when in Joshua Tree: La Copine.

If you’re considering an NYC City Hall wedding, Fox Fodder Farm has the flowers. 

If you have wedding questions ‘n thoughts to share, let us know at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. For more recs, sign up for Secret Menu.

Try professional counseling with BetterHelp and take 10% off your first month with our link.

Get your sunscreen and skincare at once: Shop Murad to save 20% and get free shipping with your $60 purchase when you use the code ATHINGORTWO.

Replace your paper towels with Papaya Reusables and get 20% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO20.

Dramatically improve your piercing and earring experience with Studs and take 20% off your first order when you use our link.

YAY.

Produced by Dear Media

We’re so excited about this week’s Guest Thingies with Ellen Van Dusen of Dusen Dusen—great recommendations await! But first, some nuggets of wisdom from famously creative famous dudes.

We’re definitely taking inspiration from Rod Stewart’s model railway side project and Tom Hanks's advice to Austin Butler. 

Ellen’s Thingies include being comfortable inside and outside the home (please see: her delightful robes…and brand-new slippers!!), @Favetiktoks420 on Instagram, and cool silverware (especially David Tisdale’s Picnic Flatware, which makes us think of Ahimsa dinnerware for kids). She also loves tile right now—see: Heath Ceramics, her collab with Concrete Collaborative, Fireclay, and Oasis—and you have to, have to check out her backyard mosaic. Last but not least: Her love of bird-watching has us asking when she’s going to start selling the birdhouse she designed for Brooklyn Botanic Garden (in the meantime, the MoMA one we’re all into). Ooh, and as we told Ellen, Where'd You Go, Bernadette is a great book and a much better movie than it gets credit for being.

Share your dream Thingies guests with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. And for more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership.

Give professional counseling a shot with BetterHelp and take 10% off your first month with our link.

Help your curly hair look its best with LUS and get 15% off your first purchase of $50 or more with the code ATHINGORTWO.

YAY.

Produced by Dear Media

This week, we muse on cross-body phone holders—time will tell if the trend wins us over—and talk Thingies with Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind, That Kind of Mother, and Rich and Pretty…books that are Thingies in their own right.  

His Thingies: The Fitbod app, audiobooks of dad books via Libro.fm, uniform dressing, Cate Le Bon, and some real page-turners including Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson, Luster by Raven Leilani, Last Resort by Andrew Lipstein, and Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor. 

Share your Thingies guest noms! 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq.

A dose of our recs coming to your inbox weekly with a Secret Menu membership.

Try Nutrafol for thicker, healthier hair. Your first month’s subscription is $15 off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Give professional counseling a shot with BetterHelp—10% off your first month with our link.

Slip into Honeylove, bras and underwear you can feel great about. 20% off your second item and 10% off your whole order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Download Best Fiends—for free—on the App Store or Google Play.

YAY.

Produced by Dear Media

Today’s ep features our very first live taping, coming to you from sunny L.A.! Our guests kicked off their relationship on the job when Drybar co-founder Alli Webb hired Brittany Driscoll to work as the brand’s head of marketing. Fast forward to now, and the pair have co-created a whole new biz called Squeeze, a just-opened massage shop that aims to do for massages what Drybar did for blowouts. Listen in as they break down the evolution of their personal-professional bond. P.S. Alli and Brittany are all about that work-wife life—and so are the other amazing female partners featured in Claire and Erica’s new book, Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses, which you can buy now!

In which we reveal that our ideal meal might involve grilled oysters, McDonald’s fries, and a Dairy Queen Blizzard. Hey, they’re all tastes of summer, ok?

A case for oysters from Well+Good: “The More Oysters You Eat, the Better the Oceans Get” 

An oyster-heavy cookbook: Mosquito Supper Club: Cajun Recipes from a Disappearing Bayou.

Erica has low-key shucking gloves from Little Creek Oysters in Greenport on the North Fork of Long Island (a lovely place to learn to shuck if you’re in the neck of the woods).

Grilled oysters! A revelation! Hama Hama has a great guide and sells “grillers.” Eat ‘em with this NYT hot-sauce butter recipe.

We do need you to know about the copywriting happening over at Long John Silver’s.

The original Arby’s sign! And Rolando Pujol’s whole Instagram account, really.

“Letter of Recommendation: Why the Filet-O-Fish Is My Gold Standard for Fast Food”

Eater on the rise and fall of the Arch Deluxe.

The late Roger Ebert on his love of Steak 'n Shake (and David Letterman’s too).

Learn about your body with Base and take 20% off of your first month of membership with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Try the free online graphic-design platform Projector (that we use most days).

Listen to How To Do the Pot for practical advice about weed for women by women.

Get unfussy hair with Conair’s Double Ceramic Triple Barrel Waver.

YAY.

Produced by Dear Media

This week’s conversation knows no bounds! We’ve got key limes, medical answers via TikTok, makeup-buying IRL, a photo-minded Instagram follow, induction stoves, and a solution to the silicone storage bags issue (because there is one).

Have you made Alison Roman’s take on key lime pie? It involves yogurt/sour cream, a win if you ask us. Related-ish: Leaked Recipes: The Cookbook: A Collection of Over 50 Recipes Found in the World's Biggest Email Leaks and the Stories Behind Them, Neiman Marcus’s “leaked” cookie recipe, and Bill Smith's Atlantic Beach Pie.

Um, medical updates, coming through! Thanks to @roseytimestwo for bringing slipping rib syndrome to our attention. Also: Our pitch for Capsule for your prescription needs still stands (and check out Alto Pharmacy if Capsule doesn’t serve your city). 

Shopping in-person brought the impressive Westman Atelier Vital Skincare Complexion Drops into Erica’s life (paired with a brush from Vapour).

If you’re over storage bags soaking up the scent of your dish soap, try HoldOn for compostable kitchen (and garbage!) bags.

For an incredible lens into imagery’s impact on society, Emily Keegin and her IG is blowing Claire away. 

To learn more about induction stoves, dig into this Fast Company article and Melissa Clark’s NYT story and follow what Copper (thanks for sharing, Sofia!) and Impulse are up to. 

Have thoughts on any and all of this to share? Reach out to us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq—or join ur Geneva! For a whole lot more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Try professional counseling with BetterHelp—now’s the time!—and take 10% off your first month with our link.

YAY.

Produced by Dear Media

We're coming to you fresh from our high-school reunions, and there are lots of reflections ahead. On old friendships, yes…and also on dips, chips, and the controversial baby carrot.

Some condiments we’re excited about include Cabi sweet yuzu vinegar, umami dashi soy sauce, and zesty sansho peppercorn miso. We’re also loving Chicas tortilla chips, Burlap & Barrel black lime and Reem’s spice blends, Gjusta Goods marinated olive oil and herbed salt, Ella’s Flats, Zingerman’s pimento cheese, Gotham Greens pesto, McClure’s little pickles, and Breadblok almond thins. For more tremendous munching, head to Portugalia Marketplace in Fall River, Massachusetts (or, you know, online).

An iconic book of our teen years: Swell: A Girl's Guide to the Good Life by Ilene Rosenzweig and Cynthia Rowley. 

Do you have thoughts on reunions (or hot snack tips)? Let us know at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. And for more recommendations, try out a Secret Menu membership.

Give professional counseling a chance with BetterHelp and take 10% off your first month with our link.

Help your hair with Nutrafol. Take $15 off your first month’s subscription with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Book that doctor’s appointment—today! Download the free Zocdoc app.

YAY.

Produced by Dear Media

This week, Claire and Erica talk all things running with Coach Bennett, motivational guide and total athletic powerhouse (his résumé includes a four-minute mile!). On the docket: how meditation practice plays into his running philosophy, who should run a marathon, and hot tips for newbies that might just motivate you to lace up your shoes and go for a jog. P.S. The perfect slouchy beanie can be hard to find, but don’t worry, this cashmere stunner has you covered juuust in time. Get yours for 10% off with the code AFEWTHINGS.

If you’ve been alive on this earth for the past few years, chances are you’ve heard of a little movie called Pitch Perfect. Well, you can thank today’s guest, Mickey Rapkin, for that—he wrote the original book the blockbuster series was based on. He also just wrote his first children’s book, It’s Not a Bed, It’s a Time Machine, to help nervous kids chill out (and to take his shot at making the hashtag #bossofbedtime happen). P.S. For grocery runs, gym trips, and everything between, look no further than these Net Baggus, 10% with the code AFEWTHINGS. P.P.S. Did you know that Claire and Erica also wrote a book? It’s called Work Wife: The Power of Female Friendship to Drive Successful Businesses, and it rocks.

Welcome to the second half of our very enthusiastic, mildly frantic gift guide! If you’re still trying to track down something for that cool teen ya know, your nana, or anyone who demands practicality, we’ve got you. And hit up last week’s ep if you need more ideas, too. While we’re here, two reminders: 1) Donations are great gifts. 2) Don’t buy junk!! 

The linkage:

For teens: Japanese watercolor markers, luggage (check out North Face rolling duffles, Baggu weekenders, and Herschel carry-ons), Olive & June nail polish or manicure kit, gift cert for Nike by You or Miadidas, Katie Kimmel hats/tees/bags, or Ban.do swag

For an eight-month-old baby: Donation to National Diaper Bank Network or RAICES Texas, an ornament (start a tradition!), Lovevery play kit or subscription, or Artifact Uprising board book

For nieces, ages seven and one: Dumye dolls and doll-making kit, Entireworld sweatsuits, Fanny at Chez Panisse cookbook, book-club subscription (Books Are Magic does YA, middle grade, and picture books, and The Picture Book Club customizes the picks), personalized Radio Flyer wagon/scooter/bike, or Crate & Barrel playhouse

For a 94-year-old grandmother: Storycorps recording or flower subscription—we are into Bouqs, Farmgirl Flowers, and Flowers for Dreams

For couples (how ‘bout under $50?): W&P Games or Wolfum backgammon or domino sets (though the latter are a little more $), a restaurant gift cert, or a hotel gift cert (think: Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Airbnb, etc.)

For in-laws: FOOOOOOD. Goldbelly and Mouth are good resources, and we also feel strongly about Alioto-Lazio Fish Company crabs, Zingerman’s clubs for bacon or coffee cake or olive oil, Sqirl jams, Russ & Daughters smoked fish, Joe’s Stone Crab crab claws, and Jeni’s ice cream.

For best girlfriends (under $50!): Massage brush, fancy brush/comb, The Floral Society Edible Seed Kit, Hortense black friendship bracelet with pearl beads, Sunnies Face Fluffmatte lipstick, Hawkins candlesticks, or Boy Smells candle set

For people who value utility over luxury: Shhhowercap, Food52 cutting board (or anything from their Five Two line, really), Thermapen, a booklamp (Wirecutter has a pick), Google Home Mini, mini steamer, Dyson stick vac, Joseph Joseph kitchen scale, Muji travel neck pillow, Uniqlo HeatTech, or Benriner mandoline

For stockings: Noto Botanics lip and cheek stains, Baggu reusable bags, Hibi matches, Le Pen set, Clary balm, MT washi tape, cool postage stamps (these, these, these!), Stasher bags, Stojo cup, Acuballs, Moglea and Society6 phone cases, Helen Levi salt and pepper shakers, or Wit & Delight portable phone chargers

For a nanny or caregiver: Slippers (maybe Ugg or Ariana Bohling?), Zeel or Soothe in-home massage, or AMC gift card

For a Peorian pharmacist named Bob: Gift cert to Bushwacker (fave local store!) or to The Aviary/The Office in Chicago or tickets to see The Book of Mormon at the Peoria Civic Center in January

Try Cove if you get migraines—and get a month of meds for free.

Grab the InfinitiPRO by Conair Texture Styling Hair Dryer.
Give Acuity Scheduling a go with 45 days totally free.

YAY.

Produced by Dear Media

You know what’s a grab bag? An episode on nineties screensavers, long breakfasts, box cutters, and recipes we’re embarrassed to share. Join us!

Just a short film of 281 After Dark modules and a very timely tweet.

The tools we wear by: box cutters, measuring tapes (see also: this ep of Gee Thanks, Just Bought It), kitchen scales (the Joseph Joseph TriScale one specifically), dough scrapers, kitchen spiders, and fish spatulas.

Claire’s (embarrassing) buffalo chicken chowder, her favorite coconut yogurt Cocojune, and the bfast tacos she wants to try.

We welcome—cherish!—your feedback. Send it on over to @athingortwohq, podcast@athingortwohq.com, and 833-632-5463. Or leave us a review! OOH, and sign up for Secret Menu.

Gobble up Lesser Evil’s A++ snacks. 25% off your first order with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Shop Ana Luisa for sustainable and v. cool jewelry, and get 10% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Check out Right Wellness for the latest transformative hemp ingredient, CBN, and take 20% off with the code RIGHTFORYOU.

Try COOLA for sunscreen and organic skincare, both. Get 10% off with the code ATHINGORTWO.

Produced by Dear Media