Hiiiii. Let’s talk Halloween and avoid all thoughts of the election, shall we?

While I personally don’t think we’ll ever top our Halloween costumes from two years ago (see below), I am excited for this year’s, because Ozzie looks so unfathomably cute in his.

I ordered a little gray hoodie and sewed on some little tiny ears, and he looks soooooo cute with the hood up covering his own bat ears. Meanwhile, I thrifted mine and Jeffery’s costumes almost in their entirety, and they go along with Ozzie’s. Ours consist of khaki shirts, green cargo shorts, and ideally a bucket hat and pair of boots. Can you guess what we’re being???

If you guessed Moo Deng and her zookeepers, you are correct. I’ve had multiple people tell me I need to grease Ozzie up since Moo Deng always looks so slippery, but idk I just don’t feel like ruining my apartment for one night of slippery bulldog. So he will stick with a makeshift gray hoodie costume and he will like it!

On My Brain

Watching Baseball Makes Me Feel Smart

Listen, I am not a sports girl by any means. I do not follow any sports with any regularity, but I did grow up a Yankee fan, and in different stages of my life I’ve been vaguely aware of various Yankee players… depending on how hot they are. In 2013, for example, I was really into Yankees’ first basemen, Mark Teixeira, simply because his butt looked really good in baseball pants. I didn’t really know much about him beyond that, but a good butt is enough for me to tune in. If you’re wondering who I find visually appealing on this current team: Aaron Judge (but I liked his old little gap teeth better than his new ones), Anthony Rizzo, Anthony Volpe, and Austin Wells.

That said, I do know more about the game of baseball than any other sport. I played softball (mediocrely) for most of my childhood, and was even a ~stat girl~ for the varsity baseball team in high school one year. I know, how slutty right? Really it was just good for Rachel (one of my best friends) and I to get out of our shells a bit and it was admittedly really fun to travel with the team and keep the books. So yeah, I know my way around a backwards K. I also loved watching boys make fools of themselves when they took their high school sport too seriously and stomped around the dug out. Relax boys, I promise it’s not gonna affect your chances of going pro (because you’re not going pro).

Anyway, the Yankees’ run in this World Series started off pretty depressing (save for last night, thank GOD), but I do feel rather smug when I realize how much I actually know about baseball. It’s kinda like riding a bike… I haven’t kept up with the Yankees in a long time, but I do enjoy knowing exactly what’s going on in the game. Now, football? Jeffery has explained the concept of “downs” to me like, 8 times, and I just do not care enough to understand. But I love a halftime show! Go girls!

A Lecture Series on Medieval England Is… Pretty Good?

The other night I was looking for something to watch, and put this on on a whim. I thought it would be one of those docuseries with some dramatized scenes and talking heads, but it’s actually just one professor giving a lecture in 36 parts on the entire medieval period in England… lol. If that sounds horribly boring, I totally hear you. But I’ve actually been talking a lot lately about how I miss school and learning, and if I had lots of free time and disposable income, I would love to take a college class again. So in that way, it really appeals to me. Plus, I watch so much historical fiction about various time periods in England that it might behoove me to have a base understanding of the history of the empire. Something about the diva teaching this course has me hooked, idk!

In My Cart

Walkin’ Around Town Sneaks

If you follow my newsletter closely, you know that I just purchased a pair of Adidas Predators, which have a similar silhouette to Sambas. Of course, that’s not enough for me, and I’m already pining after a fresh pair of more supportive sneakers for real walking around town. Jeffery just got a pair of ASICS and has been raving about how cushy and bouncy they are. So what am I to do, I have to get a pair of ASICS too, right? During my exhaustive search I found that A. I have an uncanny ability to prefer the most expensive shoes on resale sites and B. I might actually want a pair of Salomons or a fresh pair of Newbies. These are the shoes in the running (ha) right now: Salomon XT-6 ‘Vanilla Ice Fired Brick,’ ASICS GEL-NYC 2055 ‘Pale Oak/Truffle Gray,’ and New Balance 1906 ‘Sea Salt True Red.’ Lmk if you have a fave pls :)

In My Belly

Warm Chicken & Dumplings for Cold Nights

This recipe (from Alison Roman) sounded really good because I love doughy things (read: the inside of a croissant, a dense biscuit, a slightly-soggy pie crust). But I was dubious that it would be anything special, and even upon first bite I was like… this is good not, great. But after I finished it I realized how warm and cozy it really was, and I ate the leftovers twice (a real compliment), and thoroughly enjoyed them both times. Next time I make this, though, I’ll skip the homemade stock step (sorry, it’s just not a weeknight priority) and sub bouillon. It would also be even easier with a rotisserie chicken, though I will say the chicken (I used skin-on, bone-in breasts) did come out extremely tender. Highly recommend if you love chicken noodle soup but want a heartier meal!

Ridiculously Easy Sheet Pan Japchae

Glass noodles are, hands down, one of my favorite types of noodles. I am endlessly entranced by their translucency and I love their chewy little bite. Japchae isn’t something I’ve made before, but when I came across this recipe from Eric Kim (my former coworker!) I had to try it. The vegetables are roasted on a sheet pan instead of stir frying them individually, so it’s a pretty hands-off process. The recipe calls for peppers, frozen spinach (trust), and shiitake mushrooms, and I added onions and carrots just for fun. I also ended up adding more soy sauce than the recipe suggests, but I was working with the low sodium variety and I generally over-soy sauce my food, lol. You can also add scrambled or fried egg if you want a lil protein.

You Ask, I Answer

Q: Date ideas! (Outside of dinner, obvs)

A: If you Google “date ideas” you’ll be met with a bunch of hokey, lame ideas like “go see a movie,” “go to a museum,” or “go on a picnic”… pretty sure no one needs to be told these things. And while I do love going out to dinner or seeing a movie, my favorite way to spend quality time is by running errands together. Getting coffee, going grocery shopping, hitting a thrift store—these are the things that really make me happy. That said, I love a planned activity, too! So I’m sharing some dates we’ve been on and ones I’d like to try:

Go on a Bagel Tour of New York

We recently went on a two-bagel bagel tour and while that sounds… lacking, it was actually perfect. We started with an everything bagel with cream cheese and ended with a bacon, egg, and cheese and had a nice long walk in between. Then we hopped on the train and went home for nap. It was a really nice day?? You can read about my favorite NYC bagels or take inspo from NYT’s recs here.

Have a Little Jaunt Through Chinatown

The wonders of Chinatown (in any city) never cease. There’s street carts, dim sum places, fake designer bags, jade jewelry stores, and so much more to absorb. I find myself gravitating toward Chinatown when I don’t know what to do or where to eat, because it’s so visually stimulating and basically impossible to go hungry with such an array of places to eat.

Go Swing Dancing

Disclaimer: I’ve never been! But my friend, Celeste, went recently and can’t say enough good things. She said it was truly lovely to see everyone dancing with everyone, and it felt like a very inclusive, inviting environment. I actually want to book a dance class or two before our nuptials so we don’t look too painful on the dance floor. A few moves and pointers will definitely help.

Get a Tattoo

If you’re someone who doesn’t put a lot of stock in what you put on your body forever (I see you, I am you), I personally think this is a great spontaneous date idea. For Valentine’s Day last year, Jeffery and I got silly little tattoos that say “Wald” for Oswald, and while mine actually looks like it was done by a blind person, I don’t regret the sentiment or the fact that it’s on my body. It’s a moment in time, it is what it is! I keep meaning to get it touched up but I honestly don’t even care enough. So yeah, get tattoos together! It’s fun!

Need a gift suggestion for your mother-in-law’s birthday? Stuck on how to rearrange the furniture in your living room? Want to know what to do with a jar of marinated artichokes? Come to mama. Hit me up with your questions, and I'll answer them in an upcoming letter.