everyday upgrades from hand soap to shower heads and salads
some of my hyperfixations du jour
before we get into the fun, this edition of The Sunday Series is too long for email, so I’d recommend clicking out to read in browser or even better, in the Substack app, where you can like and comment! your engagement on Substack means so much to me 💌
hi, lovers!
what a gorgeous week it’s been. I’m still riding the high of hosting our first-ever Literary Salon on Wednesday, not to mention motivated by a bit of a health and wellness kick (the candy and cake I ate for dinner last night while rewatching Babygirl with friends notwithstanding). this focus is fueled both by a post-marathon recalibration of my fitness routine and counting down the days until my sister and I go to St. Lucia next month. in that realm, I’ll be sharing some of my hyperfixations du jour, plus recs for creators like who I look to for inspo. additionally, paid readers will have access to a curated list of the content I’ve consumed and loved this week.
speaking of my Sunday Squad (if you’re a paid subscriber, you’re a part of my Sunday Squad!!!!), I’m literally *FREAKING OUT* over the giveaway that’s going live next weekend just for you…I’ve got an incredible lineup in place to celebrate International Women’s Day in partnership with some of the female founders behind some very buzzy brands. so stay tuned on that! but for now, let’s get into this Sunday’s fun…
The Sunday Series [2.23.25 edition] includes:
book club things: a recap of our first event, plus how to win a goodie bag stuffed with $160+ of skincare and an advance reader copy of our WVBC April pick, Summer in the City
current hyperfixations: the strength workout I’m hooked on, the best salad in NYC/Miami, designer hand soap, and a bathroom upgrade I’ve waited too long to make!
paid subscriber exclusive: content I’ve consumed and loved lately. I’m sharing recommendations for NYC museum tidbits, TV recs, podcasts, articles and Substacks of note…think of these snippets as intel to make you not only entrenched in the cultural zeitgeist but a more well-rounded conversationalist
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recapping our first West Village Book Club event
in my wildest dreams, when I assembled a handful of friends in my living room in October 2022 for our first meeting, I never thought it would evolve into hosting sold-out events in our neighborhood. but that was exactly what I was up to this Wednesday at Bedford Studio with my girlies!!!!
thank you so much to everyone who joined us and made our Literary Salon so special. we were able to gift attendees an advanced copy of our WVBC April book, Summer in the City, thanks to author @alexaster and our friends at @harpercollins, @innbeautyproject extreme cream, @dieuxskin forever eye masks, @korres greek yogurt foaming cleanser eye serum, and @tula protect + glow SPF ($160+ value!).
if you weren’t able to attend but want a chance to win the book and products, we’re doing a giveaway over on our IG, linked here. of course, you have to be subscribed to our Substack to win—we’ll be announcing the winner in our March 1st send.
current hyper fixations: strength training at LIFTONIC, Jen’s herb salad from Pura Vida, the shift toward designer handsoap, and the Jolie shower head
the facts about how beneficial strength training is for women are practically inescapable: it’s good for the immune system, reduces water retention, decreases cardiovascular risks (including diabetes, high blood pressure, and lipid metabolism disorders), assists with balance and strength, and on, and on, and on…
but as someone who hasn’t had a gym membership since 2015, the idea of beginning a weightlifting regime has felt out of reach for a while. since college, I’ve run three marathons (and several half marathons), gotten a SoulCycle bike in my apartment, and have gone to more yoga, barre, and sculpt classes than I could ever count. but I’ve avoided lifting heavy weights like the plague…
that all changed last Sunday when I did something so far out of my usual routine that I shocked myself. for starters, I never usually work out on Sundays. second, I rarely, if ever, do evening workout classes. third, I’m incredibly intimidated by weightlifting gyms. but despite all those factors and stories I tell myself about why I can’t, before heading to a White Lotus screening party dinner, I found myself in a LIFTONIC class picking up a 30-lb set of weights and setting them next to my benchpress.
the craziest part? I loved it. LIFTONIC classes are for everyone, from complete beginners like me to those with established weight training regimes. the class maxes out at 25 people, and the instructor walks you through all the moves. I’ve already been three times (!!) this week in addition to my usual yoga, sculpt, and The Class sessions. I started an unlimited membership for a bit to really dive in and mix up my routine! if you’re in the city, they have studios in the West Village and East Village.
and even if you’re not in New York, this is my reminder to you that if I can do it, so can you! and if you’re like me and equally intimidated by the gym but don’t have access to a class like LIFTONIC, both the Equinox and Peloton apps offer strength training classes you can do at home! plus, the Substack from my fave comfort creators, @juliaberolzheimer and her husband Thomas talks about their weight training routine specifics if you want to get more in the depths of technique.
and on that topic, below, I’ve linked a podcast I listened to this week from another one of my favorite creators whose videos with her trainer (the guest on this episode) were another huge factor in me getting the urge to try strength training. if you’re not following Kelly Grace Mae, this is me telling you to start! as a certified esthetician, she’s one of my go-to's for skincare and lifestyle content.
best DM I got this week: a love note from the owner of Pura Vida
a couple of years ago, when I was being shown around Miami by my friend Daniela, who lives there, she got me hooked on one of the city’s most beloved healthy, fast-casual spots: Pura Vida. so it was exciting news for me when announced they were opening in New York last year. we’ve been absolutely hooked on it at the office lately, so I posted to my Instagram Story how I’ve ordered “Jen’s Herb Salad” with salmon five times in one week. a few days later, I got this DM from one of the owners…now it makes sense why the salad has that name!
I love it when Instagram works its magic, and this was such a fun example of marketing at its finest to me. as someone who is obsessed with customer experience, this small interaction means the world! also, Jen has now become one of my newest IG obsessions. she and I were DMing a bit, and I got the INSIDE SCOOP that Pura Vida is opening its second NY location soon at the corner of Bleecker and Broadway next to This Bowl. you’re welcome!!!!
the bar is no longer Aesop hand soap…
nearly four years ago, I remember moving into my West Village studio apartment and proudly buying Aesop hand soap for my kitchen and bathroom. at the time, it seemed like a splurge. I’ve since backfilled them and, up until recently, never second-guessed that I’d continue to do so. but that was until I found myself CACKLING at this video back in September about the pipeline from growing up using Softsoap to thinking you now need Loewe hand soap.
“I honestly don’t know how I got on this hedonic treadmill of hand soaps, but to be honest with you, I was never really unhappy with Soft Soap. there was nothing wrong with Soft Soap. how the f*ck did I end up here?” – Chris Zou
and this cultural trend isn’t just a TikTok phenomenon. wrote about it for The Strategist this week which left me feeling all too validated. she says, “…Aesop has proliferated across countertops — to the point that the tan-and-black bottle doesn’t quite signify ‘cool’ in the way it used to (and the once-splurgey $40-ish price tag doesn’t seem too high compared to other nice soaps on the market). And so: The time had come to find Aesop’s successor.”
Loewe seems to be the winner, and I’m not surprised in the least. after going into their flagship store last summer in Madrid and being absolutely enamored by the tomato leaf candle (we were picking up some gifts), it seems like the natural progression that the hand soap of the same scent carries a cultural cachet. funny enough, I happened to be opening a box in our office, not realizing it contained this very soap this week, and was so impressed by the packaging—despite that the soaps were shipped, Loewe placed a crisp white shopping bag on top, plus a fragrance sample, nearly emulating the in-store experience.
Druckman’s “research” yielded the same result: all roads lead not to Rome in this case but to Madrid, where the Spanish brand is based. she goes on to write…
“After clocking that early Loewe soap shoutout, I started to notice it popping up more and more. It turns out that the soap has become a mainstay at buzzy restaurants, like Zimmi’s, and my colleague Matthew Schneier tipped me off to the soap’s presence at Coqodaq, the upscale fried-chicken restaurant where diners begin their meal by washing their hands at a multi-soap station. With $1,000 worth of soap at their disposal, the guests can choose between the likes of Diptyque, Byredo, Trudon, L’Objet, and Hermès, but Simon Kim, the CEO and founder of Gracious Hospitality Management, which owns Coqodaq, says Loewe’s is by far the most popular. It’s his personal favorite too.”
I happen to love that topics like this are being reported on, from The New York Mag set to Domino, which did a piece in May last year titled, “Don’t Hate Me: I Re-created This Buzzy Restaurant’s $500 Luxury Handwashing Station at Home and It’s Fabulous” for which Belle Morizio photographed the below setup. it’s silly, but the world is also seemingly on fire, so can we overthink what soap we’re going to put on our bathroom counters instead of swirling in existential dread??
last but not least, swooning over my Jolie showerhead
if you saw last week’s edition of The Sunday Series, you know that I went HARD on some apartment upgrades. I’m writing to you while cozied up in bed on the very Boll & Branch sheets I was losing it over!! but one thing I didn’t mention was that I finally pulled the trigger on was the Jolie filtered showerhead. I’ve been getting marketing from them for well over a year and finally decided I was down to spend $165 on ensuring the water I’m showering in is free of chlorine, heavy metals, and other contaminants.
but the unintended side effect I wasn’t expecting was that the water pressure improved exponentially!!!! perhaps a direct correlation of all of the sediment built up in my pipes (ew!), I had chalked my poor water flow up to a building problem. but it turns out that I just needed a new showerhead. I’m aghast that it took me as long as it did to address this, but here’s me encouraging you not to wait like I did!
content I’ve consumed and loved this week: a cultural curation
NYC museum news
if you’re looking for an excuse to get dressed up and give back to the art community in NY, MoMA’s March Party is looking so chic! a dear reader and colleague, Hailey, is on the host committee and kindly shared the invite
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