Listening to: Iron & Wine’s 2007 album, The Shepherd’s Dog. The first time I heard the opening track, “… Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car,” I was an agnostic-flirting-with-atheism high school Junior, hypnotized by the colorful, cinematic sound and mysterious lyrics. This album hits harder as an adult who can appreciate the complex artistry behind it.
Obsessed with: This AI image generator that produces a grid of pictures from any prompt. It’s slow and crude and I hope it stays this way. Sophistication is sometimes the death of charm. It evokes the early days of the internet when everything was curious and light. Here’s one of mine (I love that no matter what you search, you’re bound to yield something vaguely surrealist):
Just Watched: After a short two months, I have officially finished Game of Thrones. Is it pathetic to say this show changed my life? This was the most deeply transportive viewing experience I’ve ever had. It taught me so much about honor, adventure, power, mysticism, and so much more. I feel like I just came back from battle and can’t adjust to normal life, like I’ve seen too much. Nonetheless, GoT occupied a ton of my evening time, which I look forward to devoting back to reading and writing. (But just know I plan to run that shit back in like, a month.)
Working on: I’ll be tackling a couple Bootleg Therapy submissions this week, so stay tuned for that. I’m also fleshing out this “My week as a high maintenance baddie” concept. Next week, I already have a facial booked and a Botox and filler appointment, so I decided I want to lean into that full force and live like someone whose time and money is almost expressly dedicated to maintaining Hot Girl Status. Think spray tan, nails, expensive workout classes, wearing makeup and doing my hair every day just to lounge around in athleisure, buying lattes and little bullshit salads and espresso martinis, etc. I think we all possess some degree of curiosity as to how people live like walking Revolve ads. Let me be your fearless leader on this gaudy, enlightening expedition. I can already feel myself getting more conventionally attractive.
Thinking: I’m taking a week or so off of social media. Every time I do this, I feel obligated to acknowledge how “cringe” it is to “announce” that. And every time, I hope I can motivate at least one person to give their brain a break. All the shootings and general hysteria have been paralyzing for me. How many ways can we say “humans aren’t meant to witness this much trauma” without ever logging off? We relinquish control of our emotional state to a machine that thrives on its exploitation. It’s good to be sick over national horrors because it means you’re not numb. But to absorb it constantly only promotes inertia.
Just Purchased: Before I share this shameful spending flurry as means of accountability, does anyone wanna hide my credit cards from me? I picked up some freelance work and got that familiar rush of “money isn’t real!” Here are some things I recently blacked out and bought:
The Anthropologie swing dress I got engaged in (!!). I liked it so much I wrote a review to offset the bad ones. I’m just defensive like that! For the record, I tried this on in the store and would *not* recommend buying without doing so. It’s really short and the chest is tight. I obviously love it, but it might be awkward for someone taller/bigger chested.
Caudalie Vinoperfect set. I ran out of multiple products months ago and had been doing bare minimum skincare. Like, literally just washing my face and occasionally slapping on some Hyaluronic Acid from The Ordinary. So, this was in order (and I’m loving it).
Laneige Water Sleeping Mask, which is take it or leave it so far. It smells really nice and you get a lot for your money, which is almost worth it on that alone?
Everlane Italian Leather Day Heels in Bone Stacked (awaiting arrival)
Parachute Classic Turkish Cotton Robe in Fawn (awaiting arrival). Is it becoming clearer that I’m on a mission to replace some of my garbage with (what I hope to be) better quality, longer lasting stuff?
This citrus squeezer (How did I go this long without one? Incredible.)
This steamer (have yet to use, but this, too, was a long time coming)
Ruffled socks to wear with the Everlane heels (perfect colors in a super cute, slouchy look)
Some summery clothes from Zara, like these amazing pants and this black dress that might be the new most flattering item in my closet. Perhaps this betrays the aforementioned quality mission…
This rug, which will fill the rest of my work-in-progress upstairs living space.
This stackable set of espresso cups. They add beauty to my days.
One of my personal downfalls is that I never return or sell anything. Right now, I’m wearing this Princess Polly shirt—the only Princess Polly item I own—that does not fit. Said shirt sat on my bookshelf in the packaging ready for return for a week before I decided “I can find a creative way to wear this!” which is code for “I’m too lazy to return it.” So many times I’ve said I’ll list stuff on Poshmark; so many times I’ve plopped garbage bags full of clothes as valuable as *vintage Dior* outside of the Goodwill donation center on Ridge Ave.
Weekend Recap: It’s been a while so let me recap Memorial Day. From Thursday-Sunday, I was in Raleigh, NC visiting my girlfriend Elise with our other friend, Ali. Elise just moved to Raleigh from California in Novemberish so it was great taking her new city for a spin. Raleigh is a lush, green brain massage with charming homes and dive bars that still play Gretchen Wilson’s “Redneck Woman” like it’s 2005. This is to say it checks a lot of boxes for me. I love the south. A lot of people can’t get past the conservatism but that’s cliche and reductive. It’s sunshine and shrimp & grits and sweet drawls that make it impossible to tell when someone’s being condescending. Women legitimately accessorize at the Cracker Barrel gift shop and I’m not a patriotic person, but that’s enough to make me pledge allegiance.
Aside from the city’s splendor, this trip highlighted what I love about friends with whom you can get drunk one night and lay on the couch bingeing America’s Next Top Model and ordering salads from The Cheesecake Factory the next. Traveling in small groups helps eliminate the pressure to party past the point of enjoyment which, at my age, creeps up a little earlier than it used to. Plus, if I can’t laugh with you at Tyra Banks’s brazen toxicity of the early aughts, are we really that close? I want to see her force 18-yr-old girls into bikini waxes! We don’t get that kind of problematic content these days! Anyway, my flight home was delayed a couple hours which was emotionally taxing. You know that feeling… when you’re so happy on your trip that you could easily stay another day, but when you think you’re about to be home with ease, a quick flight between you and your own bed, suddenly the world is ending. It wasn’t all doom, though. I love airports and observing everyone in their languor and freneticism while I crunch on Popeyes and chat up 50-year-old women and drain my cell phone battery complaining to everyone in my contacts about my delayed flight.
Then this past weekend, Andrew and I attended our first wedding together. Being newly engaged ourselves made things extra sentimental. Not to mention, it gives you a great excuse to ask strangers to take your picture; people are literally too stoked for you to act bothered. I was beaming watching one of my closest male friends tie the knot. A pro baseball player turned baseball biography author turned romance novelist, we’ve been along for each other’s journeys since middle school. He’s who convinced me to start this newsletter. As women, we often celebrate our girlfriends’ romantic/familial milestones, but what about the men in our lives who become great boyfriends, husbands, fathers? I’m most proud of my friends when I see them prioritize their relationships, whatever that looks like for them.
You can help me recover from my spending spree by supporting this publication for $30/year!!!! Just kidding… but if you appreciate the time and effort that goes into Broke But Moisturized, upgrading from free to paid is a kind bit of encouragement. You can also purchase your very own BBM dad cap here. As always, thanks for reading.
I can’t wait to see this gaudy expedition. Please remember to sleep with a humidifier on to moisten your vocal cords. And obviously, wear sunscreen.
Laneige cream is the shit. I love that sleeping mask in particular. I’m thinking of never bothering with anything else.