Finer Things
Summer weekend reads, sunscreens that actually work, hot-weather recipes, travels to plan, and more.
It’s been a while since I did one of these! A few very fine reads, eats, and opportunities to start your weekend off right.
Fine Reads
An American Nightmare: Young, Pregnant, and Living in Texas, by Jessica Valenti in Abortion Every Day.
The Paradox of Listening to Our Bodies, by Jessica Wapner in the New Yorker.
Bitter Rivals. Beloved Friends. Survivors. by Sally Jenkins in the Washington Post.
Why Are Young Liberals So Depressed? by Matt Yglesias
And here’s what you may have missed from me this week:
The Right-Wing War on Knowledge: From research on guns to the study of gender-affirming care to books themselves, conservatives want to shut down the pursuit of knowledge.
Rise of the Singles: Fewer 40-year-olds are married than ever. Here's the good and the bad.
The Case for American Optimism: Freedom has been a centuries-long fight. Stay in it.
America’s Birthday Comes With a Big Worry.
Fine Dining
It’s summer, it’s hot AF where I am, and I’m currently living in a space with a kitchen so small it’s virtually unusable. And so: Blender. I’ve been making a double batch of this gazpacho every week and sipping on it throughout the day; it gets better and better as the summer tomatoes do. Over the weekend I made this one-ingredient banana ice cream and it was actually good?? I added a touch of honey and cinnamon; make sure your bananas are as overly-ripe as possible. And for a Fourth of July side I made Charlie Bird’s farro salad, a dish I always order when dining at the restaurant, and even though I misread the instructions and used apple cider vinegar instead of apple cider, it was still delicious. 10/10 would recommend.
Fine Goods
It’s summer, you should definitely be wearing sunscreen. This is the only American sunscreen I have ever found that I actually like. It is obscenely expensive, but it actually works, isn’t greasy, the SPF is really high, the color-match thing is real, and it’s mineral so it’s more protective and better for your skin; I justify it by reminding myself that expensive sunscreen I do wear is better than more affordable sunscreen I don’t wear. I also don’t hate SuperGoop Unseen (although it’s a little shiny) and La Roche-Posay ultralight fluid sunscreen; lots of people swear by EltaMD but it gives me a whitecast. Whatever your brand preference, get some sunscreen! At least SPF 30! Wear it every day, on your face and your chest!
I use linen sheets all year round, but I especially love them in the summer because they’re so light and breathable. I usually hunt around for sales and order off-season (Cultiver sheets are amazing but they’re ) but I’ve been really happy with Quince linen sheets, which come in at a much lower price point than Cultiver, Parachute, West Elm, etc., but are similar in quality (and I think significantly better-quality than West Elm). The colors are really nice as well.
And I very very very much love this currently-on-sale tank top from Madewell. It’s a little cropped so it fits nicely with high-waisted pants or skirts if you’re going for that #OlderMillennial style (please go away, low-rise jeans), and it’s very soft and flattering. It runs a little big, so if that’s your thing, great; otherwise size down.
Finally, I’m curious: What are your favorite things you’ve acquired recently that you would 10/10 recommend to others?
Fine Tuning
In my off-the-newsletter life, I teach yoga and writing, including on retreats around the world. I have two more coming up this year: A writing + yoga retreat on awoman-owned organic farm in Italy, and a writing + photography + yoga retreat that takes us across South Africa with a National Geographic photographer.
In 2024, I’m hosting yoga+ writing retreats in Scotland and Morocco; details for the 2024 Kenya retreat will be announced soon. Those links will take you to more info on dates and rates. If you’re interested in joining, just hit reply to this email. These retreats are really, really fun and always draw an incredible group of people, but they do sell out, so if you’re interested, reach out ASAP.
…and that’s it! Hope you enjoy, hope you have a beautiful weekend, and hope to see you back here soon.
xx Jill
How long does a bottle of that sunscreen typically last? I've finally upgraded my haircare and makeup routines and it's costing me so much money. Turns out you often do need to spend a pretty penny for good-quality beauty and skincare products, which is highly depressing, but I need people to keep being surprised when I tell them how old I am 😂