Hi friends, how we feelin?? Like you just fell out of a coconut tree? Same.

I’m recovering from the wedding weekend of my longtime best friend, Rachel, and since I was the maid of honor (humble brag), I’m both depressed that it’s over and very relieved that my speech is done. I also felt physically sore the morning after? Which I realize now is likely due to all the squats I did to fluff her dress out, and if you saw my pinky toes you’d think they’d been stung by a thousand bees. But look how pretty she—and the venue—looked! 

Back to reality this week, and I’m itching to get to Trader Joe’s and the farmer’s market to replenish our stores. We spent the last week running errands and ordering takeout, and idk about you, but too much takeout makes my body feel like a sodium-swollen dumpster. I need vegetables like the dickens. Onward!

On My Brain 

The Spots Florists Don’t Want You to Know About 

Those based in and around NYC: You gotttttaaaaa hit the flower district one morning this summer (or any season, really). I’ve been twice in the past week during prep for Rachel’s wedding, and to say I was gobsmacked by the selection is putting it mildly. I like to think I’m pretty ~in the know~ about cut florals and all the usual varieties you can find in the tristate, but it’s always helpful to be humbled, and humbled I was by the sheer biodiversity, if you will. 

It’s on 28th street between 6th and 7th ave, and there’s a whole bunch of wholesale shops that have fresh cut flowers, plants, silk flowers, and all manner of vases and vessels. Apparently some of the flower shops start to pack up between 10:30 am and noon, so we arrived at 9 and seemed to have plenty of time to get what we needed. But I will say that the pickings started to get slim at the end when certain types of flowers started to get snapped up entirely.

There are a bunch of fresh wholesale flower places but the main one we bought from was Associated Cut Flower Co. They have cubbies of sorts in the back by the register where you can stack all your selections up to see how they hang together (and so you don’t have to hold them all while shopping) and this is apparently standard across these stores. According to their site, they don’t sell to the public, but we had no issue. We stopped into J Rose as well, and they had a great selection of dried florals in particular. We also picked up bud vases and some low, squat vases from Jamali Floral & Garden, which is a hot spot for all the cool girl NYC prop stylists. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a shoot where the prop stylist didn’t bring stuff from Jamali, and I could spend HOURS looking at all the urns, candlestick holders, faux flowers, and little trinket-y things. 

In My Cart 

A Denim Trench Coat I Didn’t Know I Needed? 

Old Navy stays killing it. There are very few stores that I can walk into these days that I always find something in, but somehow the brand synonymous with early 2000’s 4th of July T-shirts has pivoted and become the mecca of closet staples. Button downs, tank tops, T-shirts, linen pants—why would I go anywhere other than Old Navy? The other day I came across a denim trench, of all things, on their site and I’m SMITTEN. It has the same structure and details of a classic khaki trench but it’s made from 100% cotton… love. 

Fishy, Fishy Things 

The fish motif might be a fad on its way out, but like bows on everything, I’m hoping we can cherry pick some fishy things from the hypersonic trend cycle and keep them in our everyday. I blame the Lisa Says Gah buon appetito collection, Fish Wife’s alluring packaging, and the chick who does tinned fish date nights with her husband on TikTok for the oversaturation of fishy things…but I’m a pisces, so fish apply to me all the time, okay? (Even if the only tinned fish I eat are tuna and anchovies.) Some fave new fishies here: 

How friggin cute are these mini fish clips?? If I worked in an office that dealt in paper and not Google docs, I’d be using these little guys on everything. They’d also be perfect as chip clips, and if you super glue a magnet on the back, imagine them holding save the dates and grocery lists on the fridge? Kill me. 

This little guy has made the internet rounds, but I still think this fish citrus squeezer is an adorable gift along with some lemons and limes, particularly if you’re looking for a small, affordable host gift. Imagine it sitting on a bar cart as part of a martini station or on the dining table so you can re-up on lemon for your chicken schnitzel without your hands getting all sticky? FUN! 

Last fishy thing for now: This chrome PopSocket. I cannot live without a PopSocket on my phone, because my hands are just soooo small and dainty that I couldn’t dream of holding it up on my own. But fr my hand cramps trying to hold up my iPhone of the “Pro Max” variety, so I’m always rocking with a PopSocket, and this one is possibly the cutest iteration I’ve seen yet. 

Ozzie’s Favorite Bed 

A while ago Ozzie and I tested 7+ different dog beds that ranged in price from $29 to $379 for a big Forbes Vetted story, and wouldn’t you know it, he preferred the cheapest one. He definitely loves that it’s a donut shape because it makes his little body feel cuddled and safe, and unlike some of the other beds he tried, he sinks in just the right amount so that he’s not perched on the top of too-firm memory foam. But unfortunately, his beloved bed has retained such a foul stench that I must chuck it and replace it with one that has a removable cover. The good news: The same bed he loves is now available in a fun, wavy pattern and it also has a removable cover (I love when companies listen to customer feedback, I really do). Hopefully by the time you read this he’ll be in his new bed, getting his little stink all over it. 

In My Belly 

Literally Perfect Bars 

Listen, it's been a busy week, so I don’t have much in the way of recipes. But, in thinking about what I did eat, I realized that likely not everyone has experienced the joy of a Perfect Bar. One thing about me? I need to eat first thing in the morning or my brain doesn’t work, but rarely do I feel like making eggs or dirtying the blender. That’s why my breakfast rotation pretty exclusively consists of Greek yogurt or a Perfect Bar, and I like it that way! 

Regular protein bars are usually too sweet or too mealy, but if you even somewhat like peanut butter, you’ll loooooove these. Each bar has 15g of protein (which isn’t as much as some protein bars but certainly more than I’m getting from a piece of toast) and tastes very simply like a hunk of peanut butter with a dense, fudgy texture. They also somehow manage to sneak a bunch of other things in like kale, alfalfa, celery, and kelp, but you’d never know it, and they only sweeten the bars with honey. I’m partial to the chocolate chip ones, but they have a whole bunch of flavors and nut butter bases, too. They’re usually by the eggs and yogurt in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, and I’ve found them at Whole Foods, Acme, and BJs, but lots of small, specialty grocery stores have them too. 

Crystalized Lime Packets from Heaven 

I thought everyone knew about True Lime packets, but the more I pull them out of my purse at social functions, the more I realize that they might be a hidden gem. As a recent Diet Coke convert, I much prefer cutting the sweetness with lemon and/or lime, but try as I might, I don’t always have access to fresh citrus. No problem, though, because mommy (me) is always packing heat (True Lime). Each packet is equal to one wedge of lime, and that’s the ONLY ingredient, it’s just dehydrated and “crystalized” so it fizzes and expands a little when you put it in a carbonated beverage. Bad drink at the bar? True Lime. Soda too sweet? True Lime. Water too boring but feeling dehydrated? True Lime. They also have lemon and orange versions, if that’s your persuasion. 

Omg imagine if pirates and sailors had True Lime? Scurvy begone, etc. 

You Ask, I Answer 

Q: Summer wedding guest dress ideas (affordable)?

A: Love! I’m gonna share some dresses I’ve worn this summer that I truly think anyone would look good in:

I just wore this dress to Rachel’s rehearsal dinner and I was obsessed with it. I found it at Nordstrom and didn’t think it would fit (it looks really small on the hanger) but it was v forgiving, and only $69.

If you’re down to try Nuuly (which I personally love) I also wore this dress to a wedding in May and got so many compliments! It was just the right amount of low cut and I felt very pretty in it :). It retails for $180 but you can rent 6 items for a month for $98—the most reasonable clothing rental service going, imo.

Eeeee! Mine and everyone’s favorite Ganni dress is on sale rn—some colors as low as $97. This dress has entered “sisterhood of the traveling dress” status as it looks good on everyone and fits multiple sizes, heights, and shapes. I bought it for a wedding and three of my friends have borrowed it since, all of us different dress sizes. I think mine is a size 8/10 but it can certainly fit from a 6 to 14. Buy it!!!!!

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.