The plan was to write here weekly or, at least every other week. Something that becomes increasingly true every year that I’m alive is that, plans are often meaningless. Well-intentioned? Sure. Something you actually can control? Rarely. I used to think that sticking to plans, regardless of how they made me feel, was noble. Dragging myself to a party when I really need sleep. Getting married to my first husband because we already sent out save the dates. Finishing a book when I know four pages in that I (no shade) do not care about erotic fairies. Sticking to plans at the expense of your own health/sanity/joy isn’t noble, it’s a waste of time. I’m not encouraging being an unreliable friend, bailing on every commitment or waiting until the day of to buy airplane tickets (btw how do all those people in rom coms afford same-day flights? Also! Huge red flag if someone spent thousands of dollars just to run onto a plane and say “I love you.” Like, call me). I am just offering a reminder, mostly to myself, that sometimes plans change. Sometimes you change your mind. Sometimes life disrupts your agenda no matter how “noble” you try to be.
Much like motorcycle jackets, I couldn’t seem to make Substack work for me. In 2016 I bought the most perfect buttery black leather jacket in London. My plan was to recreate chic looks saved on my Stylin Pinterest board, but every time I wore the jacket I looked less like a fashionista and more like Fonzie. I absolutely love Henry Winkler. He’s a fantastic actor, kind soul and gave a beautiful commencement speech at my college graduation that my mom still quotes. However a juke-box hitting 20-something dude that exclusively hung out with high schoolers wasn’t the look I was going for.
Last week on Instagram I posted a video asking people if they’d be into me creating videos and/or a newsletter about breast cancer. Despite the positive response the next morning and deleted the video which, answered my own question. I do this often, post something to test the waters then remove it because the waters felt gross. I fully support whatever non-harmful things people want to do online, but for me sincere front-facing educational/inspirational videos ain’t it. I also realized a newsletter about being sensitive ain’t it. My drafts folder for Emotional Genius is filled with essays about everything wrong with the world, but I don’t think anyone is in need of more reminders. The main things I currently enjoy/feel authentic sharing are jokes on Threads (RIP Twitter) and videos of me high at Costco (RIP Target). I like being vulnerable and TMI online but I’m realizing that if I’m going to scream into the void, I have to either have a lot of fun screaming or make fun of myself for screaming. Social media is throwing spaghetti at a wall and seeing what sticks, not only what sticks for your audience but what sticks for yourself. That IG cancer video was spaghetti, the newsletter Emotional Genius was spaghetti, the leather jacket was spaghetti. And here’s a wild blasphemous fact about me, even though I am 1000% Italian, I don’t really like spaghetti. (No idea if that analogy made sense but it sounded good).
In an effort to make stuff that I like vs what I think other people will like, I’m changing the name and focus of this newsletter to see if I can make it stick to my wall. The new name is Highly Recommend! A newsletter about toking, thrifting and tasting.
Every other week or so I’ll share my recommendations of something that got me high, something I thrifted and something I ate (plus any fun news). It will be shorter than this post because, who has an attention span anymore? It will include my signature style of constant hilarious yet deep self-reflection (and lots of parenthesis). It might only last a few months before I change the plan, again. Let’s begin!
Toking: Exhilarate Edibles by Camino
I love an edible that I can enjoy whether I’m being social or on the sofa. These Camino Wild Cherry gummies don’t make me too speedy-chatty or too comatose. They make me feel, like Goldilocks in Baby Bear’s bed style, just right. I think I like them because of the combo of cannabinoids- a sentence I cannot believe I just typed. Just like when my accountant talks about annuities, every time a budtender says “cannabinoids” I shut down. I wonder if they do that on purpose: force you into a overwhelming lesson about phenolic compounds so that you buy even more weed to decompress. The gist I’ve gathered is CBC is a natural mood enhancement, CBG helps relieve tension and inflammation and THC gets you high.
Thrifting: Rattan table & chairs
Inspired by one of my favorite cafes Creature’s Plants & Coffee, I wanted to create a space where I can write, sip coffee and people watch while being surrounded by endorphin-inducing indoor and outdoor greenery. I used to be a notorious serial plant killer so having all these thriving green babies in my home is extremely exciting. I even used to murder succulents. Do you know hard it is to kill a succulent? My mom once suggested I get fake plants because they are “easier to take care of and look nice”. Uh, no thanks. I want my home to look like a rain forest not a Rain Forrest Cafe. This is the same woman that told me my stuffed animal puppy was just as good as getting a real dog. Last week when someone in a Facebook mom’s group put this beauty up for $200 I knew where it belonged.
Tasting: Wallflour Pizza
I know saying I love food isn’t very unique, but like, I love food. I go to bed thinking about breakfast. During breakfast I’m planning lunch. At lunch I’m asking what’s for dinner. Not sure if that makes me a foodie or just unfocused. Anyhoo, a month ago I had breast reconstruction using my lumbar artery perforator flaps, aka LAP Flap, aka my surgeon used my love handles to make breasts! This surgery is truly miraculous and recovery hasn’t been as bad as I feared. One of the hardest parts is having to wear a compression garment for at least six weeks. As someone that almost exclusively wears drawstring, elastic waist or mumus, a corset is my nightmare. It’s sweaty, itchy and because I’m still swollen from surgery, it’s Kim Kardashian at the 2024 Met Gala tight. Stomach cramps, gassy, tight. Gals on the flap surgery messages boards suggested eating smaller low-sodium veggie-filled meals but salty fat is my security blanket. As I heal from the trauma of having my parts rearranged like Mrs Potato Head for the third time in a year, I need savory and greasy. That was a very long way of saying: I went out for pizza.
Wallflour just opened in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles and it was totally worth the excruciating extra squeeze it gave my medical girdle. I had Cesar salad, the So Mush Love pizza and the classic cheese pie. I loved that the Cesar had real anchovies, as it should. The Mush Love was different and delightful. The cheese one though, PERFECTION. It was oily and sorta sweet reminiscent of my favorite childhood pizzeria: the now-closed European in Boston’s North End. (RIP personal jukeboxes at your table). The best part was my edible kicked in right when the salad arrived.
A few things to note about the Tasting part of this newsletter!
I won’t just talk about restaurants in Los Angeles. I’ll share places I eat when I travel, recipes I make and snacks I enjoy.
I will not be taking fancy photos of my restaurant meals. When the food comes to my table I want to eat it, not Herb Ritts it. People that take pics of the food from 37 different angles before anyone else at the table can chew are assholes. My food photos will be of half-eaten or fully eaten plates or just me digesting.
If anyone from Wallflour reads this, please feel free to contact me for a signed headshot to put on your wall. Having my signed headshot on the wall of a pizzeria is a career goal of mine and it’s tragic that it has yet to happen.
Thanks for reading!
Love it. As a pro spaghetti Italian I’d say front facing camera videos have never stuck for me. In this horrible time in the world and after what you’ve been thru finding joy in whatever you can sticks.
Rip target