A Few Things With Claire And Erica

Can we spend a little time talking about creativity and exercise, including how our takes on both are feeling surprisingly similar these days? GREAT. Let’s get into.   For more on morning pages, we direct you to The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. And, a book that comes up a lot despite our mixed feelings about it: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.    A YouTube vid Erica followed to write a novel, as recommended by Mary HK Choi.   Some workout wardrobe staples include unitards—check out Girlfriend Collective and Héros—and the posture-correcting sports bra from Forme (more from Fast Company).   If you need a work-out pep talk, you can always count on Coach Bennett. (And while we’re here: Thanks for programming this ep, ​​Sarah.)   How do you keep going with exercise? Are you a morning-pages person? Let us know 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 advertisement

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

Sound your alarms! Today we’re rounding up alarm clock suggestions from our listeners, dedicating a much-needed 15 minutes to talk about gummy candy, and incorporating some new lingo into our (ever-evolving?) vocabs.   Alarm clocks suggested by our listeners include Lexon Cubissimo (shoutout to Sarah in our Geneva!) and Flip+ Travel. Also, how genius is having a NIGHT PHONE!?! (

For your consideration, we’re (re-)sharing some thoughts about buying things, including a letter of recommendation for shopping in person and takes on sourcing made-in-America products and acquiring things while traveling. One of our greatest-hit episodes of 2022!   If you’re interested in the idea of One Fit February (or the less alliterative One Fit April), score yourself some cool points and check out this installment of the Blackbird Spyplane’s newsletter by Jonah Weiner.   A rundown of some cool made-in-America brands here, and, if you’re looking for something specific, check out stillmadeinusa.com.   A couple standout MiA brands include the only whisk manufacturers in the U.S., Best Manufacturers based in Portland, Oregon, (more on them), and Libman mops and brooms based in Arcola, Illinois, since 1896 (the mayor Jesus Garza's story also!).     Do you have opinions about buying things? Share them with us at 833-632-5463, podcast@athingortwohq.com, or @athingortwohq. Grab a Secret Menu membership for mor

As the temps rise, we’re starting to think more and more about what to wear in *this weather* (and, while we’re at it, the celebs we love so much we’d like to give thim a daytime talk show).    Are you paying enough attention to Brandi Carlile? As in, are you watching her coach her daughter on how to use a drill? See also: The Highwomen and their songs "Crowded Table" and "Redesigning Women" specifically.    Onto summer dressing! (Shoutout to our last summer dressing ep, too.) And the never-ending search for summer dresses! In an effort to replicate the glory days of an old cotton Apiece Apart Josefina dress, Claire is trying out the Flore Flore Esme dress.    For denim shorts, Claire recommends Raey’s Rivet and Tahiti styles, andErica loves Agolde’s Parker take.    Summer shoes! On the sandal front, look to Message and Emme Parsons’s folded slides. For chipped-pedicure days, Repetto, Drogheria Crivellini, Martiniano (for The Row-ish look), and Rothy’s—they do a buzzed-about Mary Jane. Your open-toe mule fuel

Grabbing into a bag full of community-building opps, a fantastic celeb memoir, unhinged TikTok content, a hair-removal tool we’re into, tulip hacks, and….juice marketing?    Our adventure at Peoplehood—more on that here—has us adding Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert D. Putnam to our reading list and thinking long and hard (too long, too hard?) about Amanda Mull’s piece for The Atlantic on Bed Bath & Beyond’s closing.    File Tell Me Everything: A Memoir by Minka Kelly alongside Demi Moore’s Inside Out.    Check out the hashtag #Unhinged7thheaven on TikTok for a wild ride.    We endorse: Tweezerman’s Smooth Finish Facial Hair Remover, this trick that makes tulips stand tall, and the copywriting going on over at Eager.   Thoughts on sharing contacts…or anything at all? Hit us up 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 ad

Don’t zone out just yet! This week we’re talking about what we do during our “oblivion time” and fandoms of our past, present, and future. Some fandom-related content: “The Bethenny Clause,” the book Everything I Need I Get from You by Caitlin Tiffany, the article "‘It Made Me Believe That Love Wasn’t Real Anymore. And I Puked.’ Swifties on Cornelia Street take the Joe Alwyn breakup news as well as you’d expect" by Rachel Handler for Vulture, and the article "Psychologists Say That Belonging To A Fandom Is Amazing For Your Mental Health" by Brianna Wiest for Teen Vogue. Also: our past convo about this (and concert specifically).   Also relevant to our personal fandoms: The Baby-Sitters Club and the fact that the artist Hodges Soileau is selling the original paintings of the covers, Gudetama (and his NYT Dining section coverage), and the My Best Friend’s Wedding soundtrack.    We want to know: How are you filling your oblivion time? And do you have alarm clock recs?? Share them with us at 833-632-5463, podcast

We’re reminiscing about niche educational retail chains of our youth, making a case for pecans, and learning the rules of a hot girl walk (

Judy Blume forever!! A rallying cry and also the name of an incredible doc we need you to watch. And, let’s talk Thingies with Sue Chan, a tastemaker’s tastemaker—if you’ll allow it—who has all the event-hosting and condiment intel you need over at Care of Chan.   Plz watch the documentary Judy Blume Forever! And dig into Forever…, and Wifey with us?    For all your *entertaining needs*, check out Sue’s site Care of Chan, which launches Thurs., April 27, with guides, interviews, and essays from chefs, florists, and producers to help us all feel more confident and comfortable with any sort of event-hosting we’re taking on.   Sue’s Thingies include condiments from The Japanese Pantry (specifically togarashi—also love us some Cabi and The Mala Market!), dried fruits from Yun Hai, masa from Masienda (their La Chicharra bowls, too), produce from Cookbook Los Angeles and the Hollywood Farmers' Market, a donabe from Toiro Kitchen, and custom stationery from Pettinaroli in Milan (for more gifting: Flamingo Estate). S

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 ser

If you’re a new listener curious about our ~lore~, you’re in luck! But before we discuss us, let’s talk about you and some of the Thingies you’ve been evangelizing about on Instagram.   Moisturizing agents recommended by listeners include Dior Creme Abricot, Olive & June Overnight Hand Treatment, Dr. Hauschka Lip Care Stick, Weleda Skin Food, Everyday Oil, Brazilian BumBum Cream, Ouai Body Creme, Tubby Todd, Summer Solace Tallow, Lucas’ Pawpaw Ointment, and tinted ChapStick. (Wait, sorry, did we know about custom ChapStick??)    Also you all shared beauty products we’d never heard of before, like Kate McLeod Sex Stone, Nicole Caroline Facial Ice Sphere Kit, Londontown Kur Illuminating Nail Concealer, and The Ordinary Brow Serum.    Earrings you can sleep in! From Maison Muri and Hey June. Also: clear earring backs for napping!!   What else are you obsessing over? Keyboard-cleaning goo like this stuff from Kikkerland, stain removers like Savon de Marseille and Grandma’s Spot Remover, and salad dressings li

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 p

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 (

Karla Welch, celeb stylist and co-founder of The Period Company, is here to talk Thingies, from life-changing books to an L.A. bagel worth a one-hour wait. Also, we dig into distraction…and deleting social-media accounts.    Re: the impact of social media on our societies, ourselves: Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier (and Zach Baron’s GQ profile of Jaron), Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport (and David Marchese's NYT Mag interview with Cal, and (what’s new?) Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman.    Get your Karla Welch fix via her MasterClass on personal style and by shopping The Period Company, which now available at Walmart.   Karla’s Thingies include Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Marie Brown (which made us think about Saving Time by Jenny Odell), Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, her client Sarah Polley (see also: Sarah’s film Women Talking and her New Yorker profile), Rhode peptide lip treatment, the NYT Cooking app (follow this IG account

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, prepar

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

This week, we’re talking Thingies with Rachel Seville Tashjian Wise, fashion news director at Harper's Bazaar and creator of the coolest invite-only newsletter on the block, Opulent Tips. Also, we bring you more CRINGE.   To ride the cringe wave, check out this perfect Julie Houts post, Yasi Salek and the podcast Bandsplain (friends, the T-shirt), and the newsletter Club Leftist Tennis’s installment “Tennis is for Weirdos” by Kate Wagner. Also, NYT’s misread of cringe.   Rachel’s Thingies: hats (including ones from The Hat Shop, Amy Downs, and Gigi Burris), collections of strange objects (see also: Leanne Ford’s Feel Free mag), the weird Hitchcock movies like Vertigo (for more good blond wigs: Wong Kar Wai’s Chungking Express), designers who are creating wardrobes (including Toteme, Casey Casey, The Row, Sofie D'Hoore, Lauren Manoogian, 7115 by Szeki, Lafayette 148—read Rachel’s story for more on this!), and this profile of Judith Thurman along with her book, Isak Dinesen: The Life of a Storyteller.   Some ot

Hello, this is she! Today we’re reaching into a grab bag filled with TVs, social omnivores, room dividers, and favorite internet follows.    For more on the social omnivore, check out this Bon Appétit article by Ali Francis.    Room dividers have come a long way—see: Lichen, The Inside, Sarah Ellison's for DWR, and Sight Unseen’s round up.   Delightful follow number one: Emily Sundberg and her newsletter Feed Me. She wrote "Whole Milk Mounts its Triumphant Comeback" and "Welcome to the Shoppy Shop" and recently surfaced this 2019 interview with Kevin Systrom by Stella Bugbee, too. (Related-ish newsletters: After School by Casey Lewis and Public Announcement c/o Chris Black and James Ellis.)   Number two: Delia Cai, whose debut novel Central Places is out now—*please* see also: her IG for the book, her Twitter account, and her interview on this pod. (Other v specific IG follows: @smallbizmemez and @dankartdirectormemes.)   Number three: the financial-literacy TikToker Seema Sheth aka Bobeema and her financial

Break out the headphones because have recommendations for those looking for audio-based catharsis, starring revenge songs and an insightful podcast about grief. Also: We’re redefining our relationship with restaurants and asking men to start paying more attention to the parenting discourse.   Some ideas for your next revenge playlist: “BZRP” by Shakira, “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus, “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift, “good 4 u” by Olivia Rodrigo, “Gaslighter” by The Chicks, “Love Yourself” by Justin Beiber, “Cherry” by Harry Styles, “Irreplaceable” by Beyoncé, “You Oughta Know” by Alainis Morrisette, “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood, “Kerosene” by Miranda Lambert, and “I Hope” by Gabby Barrett.    We also highly recommend you check out the discography of Beverly Glenn-Copeland.    More for your ears: Anderson Cooper’s podcast All There Is. Start with the "Anticipatory Grief" and "Molly Shannon’s Unspeakable Loss" episodes.    If you’re in NYC and looking to redefine your restaurant experience, try Gjelina for

We have some follow-ups, ok?? Let’s revisit induction stoves, slipping rib syndrome, living with longing, being in touch with your younger self, and, of course, jibbitz—specifically ones featuring a grandpa’s face.    Oooh, has that induction cooktop convo heated up! Read this from the Public Interest Research Group on the Inflation Reduction Act (and $$$), this Bloomberg article “US Safety Agency to Consider Ban on Gas Stoves Amid Health Fears,” an installment of Michael Thomas’s Distilled newsletter “I Measured the Pollution From My Gas Stove. It Was Bad,” Alison Roman’s Twitter AMA, and Remodelista’s guide to compact induction cooktops/ranges.    To learn more about zankha, Lina Mounzer's Twitter thread (and the related Reddit post).    Speaking of dishware, Heller Vignelli’s is back at MaMA Design Store! Read more about it here.   Kate’s Butter, a Thingies award winner, changed its packaging :( :( :( More on the flattening of design from a Business of Fashion op-ed by John Whelan "The Revolution Will Not